Hard to Keep Casual (The Sister Pact #3)

Prologue

LONDON

“ W e can make this work, right?”

I resented the anxious undertone in my voice and swallowed it like a large, rough-edged pill. My boyfriend didn’t glance up from his phone as he sat across the table from me at a country bar in downtown Houston. His thumb flew over the screen while my heart flew into my stomach.

Gosh, he made my insides squirm. The crush I had on him felt intense and high stakes—just how I liked it. But we had a few obstacles ahead of us.

“I know long distance doesn’t have the best reputation,” I began, “but if anyone can beat it, it’s us. And hey, at least we only have to make it one week before you come see me in Miami.”

James Morlock was a hundred percent my type—a total player bad boy with a mysterious edge and lots of ink.

My dad would birth a cow if he ever met him, but the clean-cut types my sisters had married would never be for me.

I wanted someone who could make my blood simmer.

Not someone who would turn it to ice in my veins because things were predictable and consistent—not that I was judging anyone who opted for that life, of course.

Captivated by the colorful pictures tattooed on James’s forearms and the way they seemed to dance when he moved, I watched as he put his phone down, wrapped his long fingers around his beer, and brought it to his lips.

So freaking pretty.

A happy sigh escaped me. Sure, we’d only been together for about a month, but I really liked this guy.

James looked back at me, the expression on his face entirely unreadable, but that was part of the thrill of it all, never being able to tell what he was thinking or feeling.

He was a gorgeous puzzle begging to be solved.

“I’m going to Florida for the convention ,” he reminded me with a quirked dark eyebrow.

I knew that was his official reason for going. I just didn’t really care. The important part was that I would be moving there bright and early tomorrow, and next week, he’d be there as well. James shirtless in the Miami sunshine? Say less.

“The convention doesn’t run twenty-four seven,” I reminded him. “We’ll have plenty of time together. Besides, I’ll be working while you’re in the convention, too.”

His smoldering eyes held mine. “The schedule for it is pretty jam-packed.”

“Don’t worry.” I shot him a playful smile. “I’ll only keep you up half of every night and I’ll cook you all your favorite meals at my new place when we get home from those jam-packed days. I’ll be there too, remember?”

Loud country music blared from the speakers, and all around us, people were laughing and dancing. I’d been in Houston almost two years now and I loved it, but I was looking forward to white sandy beaches, and tropical cocktails on swanky patios.

James reached across the table for my hands, a pained expression flickering across his strong, sexy features. “We need to talk about that, London.”

“Me being there or your favorite meals?” I let him hold my hands over the slightly sticky tabletop. “I know we haven’t been together that long, but I know what you like, baby. Tacos and cheeseburgers, right?”

“Yeah, but that’s not what I was talking about.” He sighed and gave my hands a quick squeeze before he released them to rake his fingers through his thick black hair. “I’m not going to be coming home with you at night after the convention, London.”

“Oh.” My eyebrows instantly pinched together, an ominous feeling taking root deep in my gut. James was difficult to read but not completely impossible, and something was definitely not right. “Are you going to stay at a hotel?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he drawled. “I think it’s best for our time together to come to an end. This has been fun, but you’re moving and I won’t lie and tell you that I’m going to be a good boy who’s going to sit at home and wait for you to come back.”

My jaw dropped.

Wow. A good boy? Someone get this fool a shock collar.

I absolutely had not seen this coming. My bullshit radar must have been broken. Damn all those pretty, distracting tattoos of his.

Even as shock ricocheted through my insides, I refused to let him see I was smarting.

That just wasn’t how I rolled. I leaned back in my chair to create as much distance between us as possible, forced myself to give him an easy and relieved smile—I wasn’t sure how convincing it was—and let out a nervous laugh.

“This is so crazy, but I was going to say the exact same thing.”

James pulled his head back a little, blinking hard before he frowned. “You were?”

“Yeah, I mean, it’s like you said. I’m moving and you’re way too little of a man for a girl like me.

I was just trying to break it gently. I figured we’d have one last romp in Miami.

You know, I scratch your back, you scratch mine.

And then we could go our separate ways. I mean, it’s not like we’ve invested a ton of time in each other, and I think it’s pretty obvious that we’re not a good match. ”

I watched, my hurt and embarrassment subsiding by a small percentage as confusion pulled his features together.

His frown deepened. “We’re not?”

“Oh, no baby,” I said, gathering confidence as I strategically rocked his. “I mean, I don’t expect you to be a good boy while I’m gone. And I don’t intend to be a good girl either. This was fun. Friends?” I thrust my hand out across the table at him.

To my surprise, he shook it, his grip a little less certain than usual.

Good.

I shoved my chair back and grabbed my purse. Trying to keep my composure, I did my best to keep playing this off as nothing, but I felt like the walls were closing in on me. I really had liked this one.

He’d been the first guy in a long time to make me feel excited—to make me feel anything, really.

I’d genuinely planned on working my ass off at the office every day in Miami, coming home, cooking him meals, waiting on him hand and foot, and treating him like a king when the sun went down and the bed called. How did I read him so wrong?

“Thanks for a good time, James. You’ll pay, right? I need to get going.” Before he’d even had a chance to respond, I spun around and dug my phone out, firing off a quick text to my best friend and weaving my way through the crowd to get to the exit.

Me: James was a dud. Need you to come get me from the Pint House.

Lorelei: Sending a ride. Keep your chin up! I had a bad feeling about that one.

Me: Just don’t send an Uber.

Lorelei: I know. I know. You refuse to use them by yourself at night. Got it. Ride is on its way.

Me: Thanks.

I blew out a breath as I burst through the exit doors, disappointment surging through my veins.

My heart was stinging, my mind tripping over itself trying to identify any signs I’d missed that this had been coming. I felt like a fool, and hot tears welled on my eyelids as I tried to process the fact that it was over.

James hadn’t been the great love of my life. I’d known that going in, but he had been a real pretty distraction. Being alone again felt like getting kicked while I was down.

No one would ever see me shed a tear for the guy, though. One of my greatest flaws—and greatest strengths, as far as I saw it—was my ability to disconnect from people super fast. Sometimes, it was a front, but other times, like now, it was completely true.

Asshole doesn’t deserve to be the reason I cry.

I swiped my fingers under my eyes and dragged in a deep breath.

At least he’d been honest. He wasn’t willing to try long distance and I couldn’t really blame him.

The dude was hot. He’d have girls throwing themselves at him in no time, and obviously, he wanted to catch one.

Some might even argue that he’d done the honorable thing, letting me know that he wouldn’t be spending his nights alone while I was gone.

Lightning raced across the sky, a crack of thunder booming in the distance.

I looked up, and as if I hadn’t had enough to deal with tonight, the heavens chose that moment to open.

Bucketing rain drove down from above, millions of big, fat, cold drops that soaked me to the bone in sixty seconds or less.

I groaned. Well, that’s just great. Exactly what I needed right now.

Since the options were standing out here in the parking lot waiting for my ride or returning to the restaurant where I’d just been dumped, I chose the rain.

Slightly sad, slightly embarrassed, and still reeling, I tried to embrace the cleansing effect of the little rivulets already running over my face and shoulders, a few drops trailing down the back of my neck and saturating my collar.

Wiping my face so I wouldn’t look like a drowned raccoon with my makeup running, I bent my head and searched deep within myself for a freaking grip.

How the hell did I not see that coming? I really had liked the guy and I’d paid attention to him. So how did I not know?

A scream of frustration wedged itself in my throat. Drenched and dumped was not how I saw my night ending.

Just when I thought things couldn’t get any worse, Liam pulled up in his big truck, smirking as he stopped right in front of me.

“Get in,” he called after leaning across the bench seat and pushing the passenger door open. He grimaced as he looked me up and down, taking note of how wet I was. “You don’t happen to have a towel on you, do you?”

“Sure, I have a towel, Liam. I carry it in my fucking purse just in case I get caught in the rain while waiting for you .”

Completely nonplussed with my attitude, he shrugged, his chest falling on a deep sigh as he straightened up. “Just get in the damn truck, London.”

I put on my not-a-chance face. “There is no way I’m going anywhere with you tonight.”

“What are you going to do, walk?”

I scoffed and lifted one of my feet to show him my shoe. “In these heels? Are you crazy?”

“Okay well, you let me know when you’re done with your dramatic sidewalk meltdown.” He leaned against the steering wheel with a lazy smirk. “I’m dry and warm. I can do this all night.”

I glared at him, shivering violently and unable to feel the tips of my fingers anymore. With an exaggerated sigh, he leaned over again and nudged the door open farther. “There’s no one else coming, London. You’re either with me or you’re on your own.”

Ain’t that the truth .

I let out a low groan, but finally took a step forward, grabbed the oh-shit handle, and pulled myself into his obscenely large truck, dripping all over his leather seats. Maybe that’ll distract him from this being one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.

“Fantastic,” he griped as I slammed the door shut behind me. “My truck officially smells like heartbreak and expensive perfume.”

I stared directly into his twinkling hazel eyes as I wrapped my fingers around my hair and wrung it out directly onto his floor mat. “You’re welcome for the upgrade.”

“By upgrade, you mean water damage , right?” He reached into the backseat and tossed an old hoodie at me. “Put that on. I can hear your teeth chattering.”

Instead of doing what he’d said, I just frowned at the dusky blue fabric in my hands. Liam sighed. “What?”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Nothing. I just never imagined you’d own something so… average.”

He rolled his eyes at me. “I wouldn’t want you to ruin any of my nice jackets with your tears, sad girl.”

After he watched me shove the hoodie over my head, he eased the truck back into gear, ran a hand through his inky hair, and drove away from the scene of James’s crime.

I let out a humorless chuckle, breathing in the spicy, masculine scent of Liam on his hoodie and not hating it nearly as much as I should’ve.

“Thank you for coming to get me,” I said finally, because contrary to what he believed, I was not a total brat.

I inhaled through my nose, appreciating the lingering scent of Liam’s cologne on his sweatshirt.

“It turns out that James is an ass who couldn’t fathom just maybe not getting any while we were in Florida. ”

“You always have had horrible taste in men,” he said amicably. “James sucked from the beginning. I could’ve told you he wasn’t your Prince Charming.”

“I’m not looking for Prince Charming. All I want is a guy who’s willing to go without while I’m away for work. Is that too much to ask?”

Liam’s grip tightened on his gearshift, the muscles in his arms tensing, but his features remained amused.

“A guy like that is never going to wait for anyone. He’s going to wake up one morning when he’s seventy, alone and not able to get by simply on being tatted and mysterious anymore.

Suddenly he’ll realize that he never formed any meaningful relationships.

Only then will he see the error in his ways. ”

I rolled my eyes at him. “So what do you want me to do? Date someone like you? Would that make you happy?”

The asshole smirked , his lips curving into this cocky, know-it-all half-smile that drove me up the freaking walls. “No, London. It won’t, but it might make you happy.”

My eyes rolled even harder and I turned away from him, content with watching the rain splattering against his windows rather than looking at that infuriating expression on his face. “Not in a million years, buddy. Forget it. It’s not going to happen.”

What I didn’t say out loud and would never admit to anyone was that Liam was also totally my type. Tall, dark, and handsome, he was a fun-loving playboy with a heart of gold and a charming streak about two miles wide.

He and I had a good thing going right now, a semi-forced partnership that was yielding results beyond anyone’s wildest expectations. But if he ever played me , it would ruin everything, and that was absolutely not a chance I was willing to take.