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

usual to trudge into her apartment that night. She heard the TV on from the hallway, which meant Stratton’s brother, Barrett, was probably hanging out with Emily, since they were un-freaking-separable, and though she liked Barrett very much, he was pretty much the second-to-last person on earth she wanted to see right now.
    “Hey, Val!” called Emily as Val entered the warm apartment and locked the door behind her.
    “Hey, Em,” she said, hanging up her coat on one of the hooks in the front hallway and kicking off her boots before turning the corner into the living room.
    Emily waved cheerfully from where she sat on the floor beside Barrett in front of the coffee table, where several open Chinese containers were spread out.
    “Hungry?” asked Barrett. “There’s plenty.”
    Valeria shook her head, the similarities between Barrett and Stratton—hair color, eye color, jaw line—so blaring she could barely hold his eyes. “No thanks.”
    “Hey,” said Emily, cocking her head to the side and looking carefully at Valeria. “You okay?”
    “Yeah.” She forced a smile. “Long day on my feet. And I need to start studying tonight. I can’t believe classes start on Monday.”
    “I know,” said Emily, still looking unconvinced that her roommate was okay. “Come join us for dinner.”
    Valeria shook her head, heading to the kitchen to grab a Diet Coke from the fridge. “Really, I’m good.”
    “Okay. Oh, hey. Do you mind if Barrett stays until Monday? His apartment building’s being fumigated.”
    Barrett rolled his eyes. “One flea on one dog and the condo board goes crazy.”
    “Yeah, of course,” she said. “I’ll catch you guys later.”
    She walked behind the couch to the small back hallway that led to two tiny bedrooms and a bathroom. Opening her bedroom door, she flicked on the light and closed the door behind her, flopping down ungracefully on the bed.
    What the hell had happened tonight? What the hell was happening between her and Stratton English? And what—if anything—did she want from him?
    She rolled onto her back, narrowing her eyes at cracks on her ceiling. Like all scholars, Valeria’s brain worked best when assimilating facts. As she would in any case study, she decided to carefully review the facts before coming to any conclusions.
    In regard to his mystery woman, Stratton had said, “She’s in my heart.” Valeria mulled these words, picking them apart and looking at them carefully. Was she—aka the “Subject”—dead? A dead lover would remain in someone’s heart and make it difficult to move on, she thought. But no, this woman had texted him. Not dead.
    Not dead, and yet the Subject had to know Stratton was interested in her, but she wasn’t snagging him like the perfect bit of beach sand on a sunny day. Why? Why hadn’t the Subject already closed the deal? Yes, he blurted out awkward comments sometimes, which meant that no, he wasn’t smooth. But he was smart, sweet, successful, rich, sex-on-a-stick good looking, and he was an English brother, from one of the oldest and most respected families in Philadelphia. A little social awkwardness could surely be overlooked. Frankly, to turn down Stratton English, this chick would need to be dating the Prince of Wales or a movie star or—
    “Wait!” Valeria breathed, sitting up. “That’s it. Dating. She’s dating someone else.”
    Valeria bit her bottom lip in thought. But come on. Dating someone else that blinded her to Stratton? She thought hard. What could this someone else have that Stratton didn’t?
    Okay. He could be smoother. He could be more obvious about his sexuality, more Alpha male in his dealings with women, more self-assured, less uncertain. He could be the sort of guy who attracted a woman, who got under her skin and stayed there, who blinded her to other, better men in the Subject’s world. He could even be cruel, because some women, especially broken ones, were attracted to assholes, and Stratton had