Seduced by Stratton (The English Brothers Book 4) by Katy Regnery

her reddened lips before touching them softly with one pink mitten. Her chest heaved up and down against his as his phone pinged again. “You should probably see who that is.”
    He relaxed, and when she stepped back he instantly missed the warmth of holding her. Still staring into her brown eyes, he swallowed the lump in his throat, feeling lost and confused as he took his phone from his pocket. Swiping the screen to unlock it, he hazarded a look at Val, whose face was undecipherable to him—unsmiling, possibly confused, possibly upset, he couldn’t tell.
    He looked at his screen again to see that he had three new texts. Clicking on the text app, his stomach filled with butterflies and flipped over nauseously as the name “Amy Colson” came up.
    Of course. Of course she would text me right now, right this minute.
    The first text, Stratton, look what I’m watching . . . was accompanied by a photo of her hotel room TV screen featuring a scene with Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams.
    The second text said, Name that movie?
    And the third text was a picture of a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia with a sad-face emoticon.
    “ Mean Girls ,” he murmured, picturing Amy’s pretty face in his head. Damn if karma didn’t have perfect timing. It’s like the universe wanted to be sure that Amy wasn’t too far from his mind or heart, interrupting the best kiss he’d ever had by reminding him of the girl he was supposed to love.
    “What?” asked Val, who stood against the wrought iron gate of the park. “What did you say?”
    “Nothing.” He sighed.
    “Is everything okay?”
    No, everything’s not okay. I’m supposed to be waiting for Amy, not kissing you. But you’ve suddenly come along, and I like you, and I can’t stop thinking about you, and—
    “Stratton?”
    “Yeah,” he said, as he dropped his phone back in his pocket. “Everything’s weird . . . I—I mean, fine.”
    “Was that . . . her?”
    He took a deep, shaky breath and nodded.
    “I think we should talk,” said Val, walking through the park gates and gesturing to a nearby bench lightly covered with snow under a leafless tree. Stratton brushed it off before they sat down. She shivered beside him, but he kept himself from reaching for her and pulling her against his side, even though he wanted to.
    “You just kissed me,” she said softly.
    He shook his head with regret. “I had no right to do that.”
    “I liked it. I like you, ” she said. “But you’re confusing me.”
    “I know,” he said softly. “I’m confusing myself.”
    “Are you with someone or not?”
    “Sort of. Not exactly.”
    “I don’t understand,” she whispered in a thready voice.
    “I’m not with her, but she’s in my heart.”
    “Oh,” said Val softly from beside him.
    He heard the explanation in his head. For two years, I’ve been in love with Amy Colson, the girl who lives down the hall from me, and all the while she’s been dating this total jerk. I need a plan to win her heart, to save her from more pain, and I thought you might be the perfect person to help me.
    Taking a deep breath, he turned to Val, sinking into her deep, dark brown eyes. She was lovely and warm, smart, interesting, and fun, and she felt like heaven in his arms, both on the dance floor and under the stars. If there was no Amy in his heart, if he was free, he’d drag her back up against him, he’d taste her mouth until she was begging for more, and then he’d take her to his apartment and—
    “Stratton?” She tilted her head to the side expectantly, and sitting there beside her in the winter twilight Stratton’s heart clutched. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t ask for her help. In fact, he was surprised to realize he didn’t want her help anymore in seducing Amy. He’d figure it out another way.
    “I’m sorry,” he whispered instead, feeling helpless.
    “Where do I put that kiss? Where do I file it in my head?”
    He swallowed the lump in his throat. “How about