Forever Blake (Once Upon a Player Book 3) by Elena Matthews (free books to read .TXT) 📗

is off-the-hook with summer tunes. The only thing that would make it better is if I could interact with Ever as more than my intern. She’s so near yet so far away. I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to pretend like there was nothing going on with us. All I want to do is be with her all the time.

I just want to touch her, kiss her, hold her hand in front of everyone.

But I know I can’t.

Not without being brutally murdered by her father. My boss.

If she wasn’t heading to Harvard in the fall, I’d say to hell with it…but this thing between us can never be more than what we have now.

It can be no more than flirty banter, hushed kisses behind closed doors, blow jobs under desks.

Several months ago, that would have been perfect for me…hell, it would never have gone further than the initial one night. The more I get to know her, the more under her spell I become.

I’m fucking falling for her.

The one thing I swore would never happen to me is happening as we speak.

Christ. I honestly thought I was immune to it, to love, but I guess I’m just like everyone else.

Ever is currently holding my attention while I stand at the bar. She’s goofing around in the pool with her friends, and I love how carefree she is right now. It makes her seem even more enchanting. I’ve seen glimpses of it, especially the first night we spent together, but I don’t think she’s carefree enough. I mean, I was the same when I was studying to become a lawyer. There’s a lot of pressure to be the best, especially with prestigious schools like Harvard.

She’s very career-minded, focused, and hardworking, and I love that about her…but I also love the crazy and carefree side of her.

I’m startled when a hand slaps me on the shoulder, and I turn to Jace, who’s wearing his usual shit-eating grin.

“Fuck, every time I look at you, you’re looking at her. How does it feel, being the pussy-whipped brother?”

“Yes, laugh it up,” I say, pulling my beer to my lips and taking a sip.

“Kaelyn was right; it was bound to catch up with us all sooner or later.”

“Well, if that’s right, you’ll be the next one.”

Just as I say this, a flash of red hair gains my attention, and I smile when I see my assistant.

“Oh, there’s my assistant. Hey, Kiki!”

She stills in her steps, and I can already feel the eye roll at my god-awful nickname for her. She turns to me, and my grin gets wider when she just looks at me. I assume there is a glare under her sunglasses.

“I swear, one of these days, I will quit,” she says as she approaches us.

“Your threats mean nothing.”

I pull her in for a kiss on the cheek. “I didn’t realize you were invited.”

“I didn’t either until Edwin personally invited me. I guess it’s a perk of being an assistant to a junior partner.” She beams.

“I’m glad you’re here, and I have to say, you’re looking good, Kiki.”

“Two years of working for you, and that’s all I get? Looking good? I suppose I need to be a twenty-two-year-old blonde intern to really get your motor running, huh?”

Jace chuckles beside me. “I like your assistant.”

“There’s nothing that gets by her.”

Her eyes land on my brother with a smile, and I realize they’ve never been introduced.

“Kiki, this is my brother Jace.”

Jace pulls his glasses down and holds his hand out to shake hers. “Hi. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Jace?” she asks.

I frown, confused at the shock in her voice. She pulls her own glasses down, and in an instant, Jace looks like he’s seen a ghost.

“Kimberley?”

How does he know her name? I’ve only ever used her nickname.

She points her attention to me. “Jace is your brother?” she asks.

I nod. I mean, it is obvious since we look so similar. I glance between them as a look of recognition dawns on both of their faces.

“Do you guys know each other?”

Kimberley lets out a mock laugh. “You can say so, yeah.”

That leaves me even more confused, especially with how angry she’s suddenly become.

My brother clears his throat, the surprise slowly disappearing from his face. “Wow, it’s been a long time. How have you been?”

“What, like you really care?”

Whoa, talk about hostility.

What the hell is happening right now?

She pulls her shoulders back and looks to me. “I should get back to my husband. I’ll see you later, Blake.”

She turns away from me, and I latch on to her wrist, twisting her back around to face me. “Hey, Kim, wait. How do you know each other?”

“Maybe you should ask your brother,” she states, pulling her wrist from my grasp and walking away.

I swing my head to Jace with what feels like blood coming out of my ears. “Um, Jace, what the hell was that?”

He ignores my question and takes the bottle of beer from my hand. “I need a fucking drink.”

He proceeds to gulp down half, and as he takes a hard breath, I swipe it back from him.

“How do you know my assistant?”

He wanders over to a couple of empty lounge chairs nearby, and I follow him. He sits on one while I take the opposite.

“Do you remember that summer when I returned from college with a broken hand?”

I nod. “Yeah. You were depressed as fuck. We couldn’t get you out of bed for weeks.”

“Well, I never told you why. You didn’t even know Kimberley existed because it hurt me, just thinking about her, let alone talking about her.”

“Okay, so how did you guys meet?”

“We met at a frat party. We hit it off straightaway, and I quickly fell for her. She was… she was this amazing woman who just made everything better by being in her presence. Long story short, I fucked it up.”

“How?”

“I cheated on her.”

“Oh shit.”

He nods. “Yeah. Worst part is, I don’t remember it. I just remember waking up to a woman who wasn’t