Boudreaux 01 Easy Love by Kristen Proby

no.”
    “Wanna talk about anything?”
    I glare at her and cross my arms over my chest.
    “That may work in the boardroom, but it doesn’t work with me.”
    “You’re a pain in my ass.” I sigh and stare at Charly. She’s the second to the youngest, and I’ve been wrapped around her little finger since the day Mama and Dad brought her home from the hospital.  
    “You love me.”
    I simply grunt and then cave under her hard stare and scrub my hands over my face.
    “You took her for beignets.”
    “Shut up, Char.”
    “I’m just saying, you haven’t had beignets since Daddy—”
    “I’ve had beignets since Dad died.”
    “Yeah, the ones you make your assistant go get for you. But you never go there.”
    I raise a brow and smirk at her. “I’m a bit too busy to just run out for beignets when the mood strikes.”
    “You know, I may not be the genius of the family, leading the family business into the new millennium, but I’m not slow, Eli.”
    “I’m sorry.” I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
    “Say that you like Kate.”
    “It’s not a matter of liking her.”
    “Well, why are you here, alone, while she’s right next door, also alone? That’s ridiculous.”
    “Because she’s an employee, a friend of the family, and it sounds like she already has someone in her life.”
    “Yeah, an asshole of an ex-husband.”
    My jaw drops as I stare at Charly. “Rhys?”
    “What?” She frowns and shakes her head. “No, Rhys is her cousin. Her very hot, baseball star cousin. Daniel is her asshole of an ex.”
    I stand, circle my desk, lean my hips against it, and push my hands into my pockets. “What did he do to her?”
    “Oh, no, that’s her story to tell.” Charly shakes her head as she stands and crosses to me, wraps her arms around my waist, and hugs me tight. “Daddy wouldn’t want you to live like this, Eli.”
    I cringe, but don’t reply. No one was in that room with Dad and me right before he died. No one else knows what he said.
    What, exactly, he expected of me after his death.
    “I’m fine, bebe ,” I reply, and smile reassuringly as she pulls away.  
    “But you want me to leave now.”
    “No, you know you can stay here for as long as you want.” There are four women in my life that I’d do anything in the world for. My three sisters and my mother.
    Scratch that. Five. It seems Kate has wormed her way onto the short list.
    “I love you, big brother.”
    “I love you too, brat.” I grin as she laughs and walks back out of the room.  
    “Get some sleep! You look like shit!”
    “Thank you!” I call just before the front door closes. She really is a pain in my ass. I pour three more fingers and let myself out onto the balcony, my eyes immediately turning to the left, and sure enough, Kate is sitting out with a glass of wine in her small, perfect hand.
    She turns her head, leveling me with a cool glare.
    “Problem?” I ask and sink into my chair. She’s sitting only a few feet away, with a simple wrought iron railing separating us. I could reach out and touch her.
    But I don’t.
    “Yeah, I think there is a problem,” she replies, as calmly as if we’re talking about the weather.  
    “Would you care to share it?”
    She’s quiet for a moment, then sets her wine on the table beside her and turns to face me, and her green eyes, full of anger and frustration, take my breath away.
    “I promised myself that I would never again let a man determine the way I feel about myself. I wouldn’t play games. I’m worth more than that.”
    I raise a brow. “Agreed.”
    She laughs humorlessly and stands to pace around her small balcony.
    “You confuse the heck out of me! You were so fun and easy to be with yesterday. I actually thought we were… friends. ”
    Friends. That particular word leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
    “And then I see you today and you barely speak to me, then run out on your own family