All Chapters of Tempted by My Brother's Best Friend (Age Gap Romance): Chapter 311 - Chapter 320

347 Chapters

6 - Don’t Catch Feelings

DerekWhat the hell was I doing?It was past two in the morning, and I was sitting at my kitchen island with my laptop open, a tumbler of Macallan beside me, trying to draft what had to be the most insane contract I had ever written.A fake engagement agreement.I could have been passed out beside Alessandra, but instead I was enjoying smelling like baby-formula and grilled cheese.I took another sip of the scotch and stared at the screen, where I had typed out four basic rules:1. Lily is the priority.2. No kissing unless Jack is around.3. Wearing rings is a must (after the engagement.)4. Stay friends. Don’t catch feelings.That last one made me laugh. It’s not like I haven’t loved Paige Mitchell for almost twenty years. My heart was telling me to be honest with her, to tell her the truth instead of hiding behind the fake engagement bullshit.But I couldn&rsqu

7 - Am I Drooling?

PaigeI woke up in an unfamiliar place, and with the scent of expensive linen.For one moment, I didn’t remember where I was. Then it all came crashing back.Jack cheated with a woman in our bed.My chest tightened, but I forced myself to breathe through it. No more crying. Not today.Morning light filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the guest room. I checked on Lily. She was still asleep in her carrier, surrounded by the fortress of pillows we had built last night. It was a miracle that she had actually slept through the night for once.I should try to sleep more. But I couldn’t.I was in Derek’s penthouse. I had agreed to a fake engagement. And I had to go back to my apartment to pack my things.What have I done?After cleaning up in the washroom, I walked out of the room, my feet making no sound on the hardwood floors. I had no destination in mind until

8 - Kissing My Hot Boss

PaigeMy eyes snagged on rule number two, and heat crept up my neck. Kissing. We would have to kiss. In front of Jack. The thought made my stomach flutter with confusing feelings.Yeah, I could do kissing. I was an adult. Kissing my hot boss, my best-friend—kissing Derek. The brush of his warm breath on my lip, the proximity of his mouth, the feel of his stubble against my skin...Yeah, I could do that.Right?“These seem... reasonable,” I said, handing the phone back. “Though rule four might be optimistic.”“How so?”“Fake dating is a romance novel trope for a reason.” I shrugged. “People catch feelings. It usually gets messy.”His gaze dropped to my mouth. “Then we’ll be careful. We are both adults. We can handle this professionally.”Professionally. Sure. Because this was a business arrangement. Nothi

9 - Don’t You Dare

DerekThree days. That’s how long Paige had been living in my penthouse, and I was already losing my mind.Not because she was difficult. The opposite, actually. She fit into my space as if she had always belonged there. Her coffee mug beside mine in the morning. Lily’s toys scattered across my living room floor. The sound of Paige humming while she made breakfast, completely off-key and fucking perfect.It was killing me softly, and I was starting to think I didn’t mind dying that way.“You’re not even listening to me, are you?” Paige’s voice cut through my thoughts, and I looked up from the contract I had been pretending to read for the last ten minutes.She stood in front of my desk, arms crossed, and wearing the navy blue dress I had always liked. The soft fabric pulled taut across the swell of her chest and over the feminine curve of her hips. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, wi

10 - Not For Long

Paige“Stop it! Both of you, stop!”But they weren’t listening. They were too busy trying to kill each other, and all I could do was stand there uselessly, watching my husband and my boss beat the hell out of each other.I hadn’t thought Derek would be the one throwing a punch.Jack shoved Derek backward, and suddenly they were fighting. Derek got Jack in the ribs. Jack’s fist connected with Derek’s cheekbone with a crack that made me flinch. They crashed into the desk, sending papers flying everywhere, and I heard myself shouting for them to stop.Then, another man was suddenly there, dragging Derek backward.“Enough!” Sean’s voice boomed through the office. “Both of you, knock it the hell off!”Sean, Derek’s best friend, law partner and my other boss. He was back from his vacation with Chelsea, standing at six-foot-thr

11 - Thoroughness is Kind of My Thing

DerekI shouldn’t kiss her. Absolutely shouldn’t. Especially after I just punched her husband.But I couldn’t bring myself to stop. Not when she was looking at me like that.Just before our lips could meet, her phone rang from the desk. She scrambled to her feet, and I swallowed the lump in my throat.Paige didn’t meet my eyes as she cleared her throat and went to pick up her phone, her cheeks flushed and eyes hooded.The moment was broken. Whatever had been building between us had shattered.But I could still feel it. The heat in my palm where I cupped her face.And from the look in her eyes, I knew she felt it too.***Paige had no right to look that fucking adorable.That evening, she was curled up on my couch with her laptop, working through emails while Lily slept peacefully in her portable crib nearby. She had changed into comfortable clothes. Leggings and one of my s

12 - Very Convincing

Paige“If we do this,” I said. “If we really do this... we can’t go back. Everything changes.”“I know.”“Jack will never forgive either of us.”“Good. He doesn’t deserve forgiveness. He deserves to watch you thrive.”I bit my lip, glancing at Lily.It’s just fake dating. It’s not that serious.“Okay,” I whispered. “Let’s do it. Let’s give him hell.”I signed the contract in one stroke. When I handed it back to Derek, our fingers touched for just a moment, and neither of us pulled away. His skin felt hot against mine, and I resisted the urge to hold his hand, remembering how warm and perfect it felt that afternoon when I had bandaged it.It’s fake.“Now we are fake lovers?” I asked, even though the word felt odd on my

13 - The Ring

DerekI stood in my living room, phone in hand and scrolling through the list of questions we might face tonight.“When did you two start dating?” I muttered to myself, practicing the answer we agreed on. “We reconnected when Paige came to me about the divorce. Realized we had been denying our feelings for years.”It sounded plausible. Almost true, which was the most dangerous part.The best lies were always wrapped in truth.I tugged at my bow tie, checking my reflection in the window. The tuxedo fit perfectly with a black jacket and crisp white shirt. I looked the part of a successful attorney attending a charity gala with his stunning girlfriend.Fake girlfriend, I reminded myself. It was all fake.So why did that kiss earlier feel so devastatingly real?I had to turn away from her, put distance between us before she noticed exactly how affected I was. How fucking hard I had

14 - Paige is Special

PaigeJack was walking toward us, and I felt every muscle in my body lock up.He wasn’t supposed to be here. Derek had checked the guest list. But there he was, weaving through the crowd with Olivia trailing behind him, and the look on his face promised trouble.“Breathe,” Derek whispered in my ear, his hand settling at my back. It was warm, and the heat radiating through the silk of my dress made my stomach flip. “I’ve got you.”I took a deep breath as Jack stopped in front of us. His cheeks were flushed, and there was a glaze to his eyes. He had been drinking.“Paige.” My name came out sharp from his mouth. “Didn’t expect to see you here. Especially not with—” His gaze cut to Derek. “Him.”“Jack,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “This is a charity event. We’re allowed to be here.”“A charity event you’re att

15 - I’ve Got You

“Y-yeah. We definitely shouldn’t since we’re best-friends, right? But then why the hell does it feels so fucking good?”15 - I’ve Got YouPaigeMy phone rang at midnight.I was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling and unable to sleep. The gala kept replaying in my mind. Jack’s face when he saw us, the photographers capturing Derek carrying me down the stairs, the weight of his arms around me feeling perfect for something that was supposed to be fake.The phone rang again, and my stomach dropped seeing Jack’s name.I should ignore it. Should have let it go to voicemail, but a small part of me needed to hear what he had to say.I grabbed my robe and padded quietly to the living room, not wanting to wake Lily.“Jack—”“You’re fucking him, aren’t you?” He said, his voice slur

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