Love Redesigned (Lakefront Billionaires #1) by Lauren Asher

“That’s fine, but you also want someone to challenge you, and Evan—the town’s biggest people-pleaser—isn’t it.”

Shock is quickly replaced by horror.

Oh God. Did Julian and I screw each other up so badly that we can’t find happiness with others because we’re always looking for a fight?

I shake my head. “I’m not looking for a confrontational partner.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Then what?”

He pauses for a few moments before speaking again. “There’s a difference between someone challenging you to be the best version of yourself because they care”—he sneers—“and someone looking for a fight.”

I hold my breath.

He clears his throat. “Face it. You’d walk all over the guy in your glittery red-bottom boots, and he’d probably thank you for it.”

“Damn right he should. These babies are beautiful and expensive.” I knock my heels together.

“That comment alone makes you worthy of your costume because only a walking, talking red flag would smile like that.”

I yank myself free of his gravitational pull. “Excuse me?”

“Your costume.” His gaze slowly travels down my body, emphasizing his point.

“La voy a matar,” I whisper to myself.

“You didn’t know?” Julian traces the tip of the triangular piece of paper.

“No. Lily put it together.” I sharply inhale as the tip of his finger teases the sensitive spot between my dress strap and my shoulder.

“Hm.” He pulls away all too quickly, his hand flexing before it tightens into a fist.

La voy a matar: I’m going to kill her.



A shiver wracks through me despite the warm air clinging to my skin.

Fuck. How can a single swipe of his finger against my skin feel this good?

I’m grateful for the lack of lighting or else he would have noticed how much his touch affected me.

A bartender places a full glass of whiskey in front of Julian, and I snatch it before he has a chance to take a sip. I manage a single swallow before handing it back to him with a cough. “That’s disgusting.”

That’s what you get for stealing Julian’s drink.

“To you.” Julian places his mouth right over the stain my lipstick left behind and takes a sip.

My stomach muscles clench as he smears half the mark in the process. It’s the closest his lips have been to mine since college, and it makes my body buzz in the same way.

I wouldn’t be surprised if the gutter started charging me rent with how often my mind hangs out there.

I drag my eyes toward his. “Since when do you drink whiskey?”

“Since I can afford the expensive kind.”

“How much did you pay for that?”

“Enough to appreciate every last drop.” He takes another sip, sending a zing down my spine in the process as he watches me with hawklike fascination.

Screw the gutter. I’m going straight to hell for the way I press my thighs together.

“Please tell me you didn’t pay more than a hundred bucks for that.” He frowns.

“Two hundred?”

My question is met with the pounding music around us.

“A thousand?” My voice breaks at the end.

“I don’t expect someone who orders strawberry daiquiris to understand.”

I bat my lashes. “You know, maybe if you spent less time watching me and more time actively finding a girlfriend, you wouldn’t be chronically single and working eighty hours a week to fill the empty void of your existence.”

His frown reveals far too much. “Last time I checked, both of us were single.”

“I’m the one who dated a toxic, controlling man for too many years. What’s your excuse?”

I take his blank expression as a challenge.

“Are you unable to make a woman come?” I tease.

His eyes narrow into two slits.

“Maybe you’re a one-minute man?”

His deep breath says more than any words can.

“They have coaches and medicine for that kind of thing, so no need to have it stop you from finding love.”

Julian flips the script on me as he places his hand on my hip and squeezes. Before I have a chance to comment, his palm travels up the side of my body, brushing across my rib cage.

I stop breathing as his hand wraps around the back of my neck. The firm way he holds me isn’t uncomfortable, but I squirm in place regardless.

“What are you doing?” I push against his chest to no avail.

His fingers tense, applying the smallest amount of pressure against my pulse point as he leans in and whispers in my ear, “Just because I’m selective about who I date doesn’t mean that I don’t know how to fuck.”

“Am I supposed to take your word for it?”

His fingers squeeze harder, cutting off my airflow for a second. “Would you rather I demonstrate?”

“Are you suggesting I have sex with you?”

“Absolutely not. Sex with you would be…”

Every inch of my body tingles at the snapshot of him hovering above me, his heated gaze burning into me right as his mouth comes closer to mine—

I shake my head, and he frowns. “No need to look so horrified by the idea.”