As I walked up, I watched Enzo studying Briana and wondered if I should have left them alone together. From Briana's face, I could tell that she was extremely uncomfortable with whatever it was they were talking about. Which made me think that he'd made his move.

Bastard.

I tensed as I waited to hear her response.

“That's a really nice offer, Enzo, and I would love to take you up on it.” She gave an apologetic smile. “Unfortunately, I can't.”

“Why not?” he pressed.

I could have punched him. I'd never seen a woman so immune to Enzo's charms, and I could tell it was driving him crazy. He'd never been one to push an issue, but I didn't think he'd ever been in the situation to need to. Then again, I didn't think he'd actually been in this sort of situation before.

“I don't have anyone I could leave my daughter with for an extended period of time.” She leaned toward him a bit. “But it is a lovely offer.”

She had a kid?

“A daughter, huh? I didn't realize you were a mother.”

I glared at him as he made an obvious assessment of her physique, clearly impressed. Not that I could blame him. She looked damn good, and I doubted she'd had any work done.

“How old is she?” He almost sounded like he was genuinely interested.

“Six.”

If Briana had noticed Enzo checking her out, she was doing a good job of not showing it. It made me think that her diplomatic talents would be of better use in the UN than they were here, dealing with men like my brother. Then again, I was fairly certain that Enzo and politicians had a lot in common.

As Enzo and Briana started chatting about her daughter, I lay back on my lounger and concentrated on the feeling of the sun drying the moisture from my skin. Enzo could still chase her if he wanted, but I was out. No matter how attracted to her I was, now that I knew she had a daughter, it was all business and platonic small talk.

I knew that some of the escorts I'd fucked had probably been mothers. It wasn't that I had hang-ups about being with a woman with a kid. In fact, I had a new layer of admiration for Briana. It couldn't have been easy to work the kind of job she had – with the long nights, uncertain hours, and ever-changing duties – while being a single mom. And she had to be one since she said she didn't have anyone she could leave her daughter with for an extended period of time. I would have put money on her having a well-behaved kid too. A woman who could wrangle my brother like Briana did wouldn't raise a little brat, that was for sure.

But children were more than just little bundles of joy to their parents. They were a complication. They changed the rules of the game. And that wasn't something I wanted to deal with. There was a reason I paid for sex. Much less complicated.

The chatter faded away as we each got caught up in our own thoughts. We baked in the sun for a while longer before Briana announced that she would get us more drinks. Part of me wondered if she needed a break.

I watched her leave. It didn't matter that I told myself she was completely off-limits now. An ass like hers had to be appreciated. Firm and perfectly proportioned with the rest of her body. My cock stirred appreciatively.

When she'd taken off her wrap, I noticed she had a tattoo of some numbers on her right hip. A date, it looked like. Now that I was getting a better look at her, I could see she also had a tattoo of a rose on her ribcage, just below her left breast. I made a note to ask about them, then I tossed that note in my mental trash can after I remembered that people who weren't interested in other people didn't ask about their tattoos. Especially tattoos in relatively intimate places.

I glanced over at Enzo, who was also staring at her backside. “The bet's off.”

He turned around, surprised. “What? Why?”

“She's got a kid,” I said, frowning. Wasn't it obvious? Why else would I suddenly want to back out?

He shook his head. “I'm ashamed of you. Just because the woman has a child, you want to deny her the pleasure of our company and a free vacation? It's the twenty-first century, Dorian.”

“I know it's the twenty-first century.” I injected acid into my tone so he would know I meant business. I didn't like the way he was attempting to cajole me into continuing our wager, and I wanted him to know it. “She's a single mom with a tough job just trying to make a good life for her kid. It isn't fair for us to keep betting on whether she's going to sleep with you or not.” I couldn't help but add, “Even though I still say she won't.”

Enzo's expression soured further. “Oh you do, do you? But you're not willing to bet on it?”

Of course, he'd be this pigheaded about the whole thing. That was my brother.

I sighed and rubbed my nose between my thumb and forefinger. “Don't be difficult.”

“I'm not the one backing out on our bet,” he shot back. “If anything, you're being difficult, and I'm just trying to conserve the status quo.”

“And I'm trying to preserve the poor woman's sanity,” I snapped back. “If she were interested in you, don't you think she would have acted already?”

“I've thought about that.” He leaned back on his lounger, a smirk on his face. “I think she's being coy. Either that, or she doesn't know that she wants me yet and all she needs is a little further...prodding.”

“You're an asshole, and it's going to come back to bite you in the end.”

“I'm a realist.”

I scowled at him. “You can't be a realist when your theories hinge on a colorful imagination.”

He laughed, clearly enjoying the banter. “No colorful imagination about it, brother. Women like Briana will do anything for enough money. Hell, I'd be tempted to go on the record saying that any woman would do anything for enough money.”

One of these days, he was going to say the wrong thing, and my self-control was going to snap and twenty years of brotherly frustration would come down on his head.

“And what kind of woman do you think she is, huh?” I challenged.

He shrugged and adjusted his shades. “The desperate kind. Come on, Dorian. If anything, her having a kid has made things so much easier. What broke single mom wouldn't leap at the opportunity to earn some money by getting to have awesome sex with someone like me?”

I shook my head. “One of these days you're going to get decked, and I won’t lift a finger to stop it.”

Enzo laughed. “Want to bet on it?”