Penalty Clause Read Online Free PDF Page B

think I had too many margaritas,” Jill whispered to Andrew at a volume that let the whole group hear her confession.
    Andrew laughed. “I think you might be right.” He turned to Jack and Kelly. “I’ll get her home, guys. See you tomorrow, Jack?”
    “You’re coming to the office?” Jack asked Andrew.
    “Yeah. I’ve got Nora settled in at home and the nurses seem to have things under control. I’m going to stay in the carriage house a while longer in case she needs me around, but I’m ready to get back to work. Being a bum for a couple of weeks was fun, but I’m bored.”
    “What happened to Nora?” Jill frowned.
    “Oh, uh. She fell on some ice and broke her hip. That’s why I’m staying there for a while. I wanted to get Nora and Lydia more help at the house and set up nurses for Nora so she can recover at home instead of in a rehab center,” Andrew explained.
    “Ha! I thought you were a bum who partied all day and lived at your grandmother’s,” Jill said.
    Jack and Kelly started to laugh while Andrew looked down at Jill and scowled.
    “Why would you think that?” Andrew asked.
    “You came wandering over at 10:30 in the morning and it was obvious you had just woken up, hadn’t shaved in days... You said you were ‘taking a leave of absence’ and you were sleeping in Nora’s carriage house. I thought ‘leave of absence’ meant you were living off your grandmother. What else would I think?” Jill asked.
    Jack and Kelly continued to laugh at Andrew, who was anything but a lazy bum. Even Andrew cracked a smile as he steered Jill outside to his Aston Martin and settled her safely into the front seat.
    As they drove home, Andrew realized just how drunk Jill was when she started to slur and babble. She talked about the snow and the trees covered in ice as they drove on the small New England highway that took them from New Haven to Westbrook. Andrew had a feeling Jill didn’t get this drunk very often. When they were close to home, Jill turned in her seat and studied him through sleepy eyes.
    “So, you’re really not a bum? You’re like this huge financial wizard and you have a big career. Nora’s not supporting you?”
    “Nope.” Andrew grinned at Jill. He wondered why this revelation seemed so significant to her. “I’m really not. I’m a grown up with my own place and everything. Does that bother you?”
    Jill sighed and turned back to the front windshield as Andrew steered them toward home. “It just confirmed that you really, really, really can’t be my rebound guy,” she said with a drunken little wave of her hand.
    This brought a huge grin from Andrew. “Oh, yeah? You wanted me to be your rebound guy?” Hell, yes!
    Andrew kept one eye on the road and glanced over at Jill.
    She must have been very drunk because she didn’t hesitate to spill the beans as Andrew pulled the car down the driveway of Jill’s grandparents’ house. Andrew turned off the engine when he reached the front door.
    “Of course. You’re hot. But you’re also Nora’s grandson so that makes you a bad idea. A verrrry bad idea. When I thought you were kind of a bum, it might have been okay to have a fling, but now you’re not, so it isn’t.” Jill babbled on, making it a little hard for Andrew to follow her logic, but he mostly understood where she was coming from. Still, he was surprised to hear her frank assessment of their relationship possibilities. Or rather, lack thereof.
    He watched in bemused shock as his sexy -as-hell neighbor explained that she couldn’t sleep with him even though she wanted to because he was friends with her friends and he was the son of her grandparents’ friend. Too complicated.
    Andrew laughed at Jill as she finished her speech. Since Andrew also knew getting involved was a bad idea, he didn’t argue with her. He wanted to argue, though. He wanted to find some reason to say Jill was wrong and it would be perfectly fine for them to sleep together. That’s what his body