I take a bite of lasagna, trying to act casual.
“Yeah, she mentioned that Tony died. She mentioned a lot….about you, and Gabe and Jacey.”
Brand looks up at me, but he doesn’t show any reaction. “She did, huh?”
I nod. “Yeah. She said that Jacey’s ex ran Tony off the road.”
Brand sighs and takes a bite of his food. “Yeah. It was a hard time. Jacey didn’t always make good decisions. But she’s doing better now.”
“Yeah, Maria mentioned that, too. And that’s she’s married to Dominic Kinkaide.”
Again, Brand shows no reaction.
“Yep. In fact, I think they’re in Europe right now. You probably won’t see her this summer.”
This causes my head to snap up. “Why would I see her?”
Brand looks at me in surprise. “This is her cabin. Well, she shares it with Gabe. Like I mentioned, they inherited it from their grandparents.”
He’d mentioned his friends had inherited it. He hadn’t said that one of the friend’s was Jacey Vincent-Kinkaide.
“Oh.” I feel a bit deflated. I don’t know why. He might be in love with Jacey, but she’s married. To one of the world’s most famous actors. And she’s thousands of miles away right now. She’s not a threat to me. Brand can’t have her.
We eat in comfortable silence and after I clear away our leftovers, I turn to Brand.
“There’s no cable here.”
He smiles. “I know. It used to drive us crazy in the summers.”
“I can imagine. But I saw a checkers board in one of the bookcases. Do you want to sit outside and play?”
Brand stares at me in surprise. “Sure. I just never figured you for a board games girl.”
I roll my eyes. “You don’t know me yet.”
Yet.
I set the game up and Brand hobbles out on his crutches. Even injured, his biceps bulge and flex with each movement. I could watch his arms all day. But I can’t. I’ve got a game to play…in more ways than one.
Instead, I look up. “Black or red?”
Brand sits down. “Black.”
“Then you go first,” I suggest. “But I’ve got a caveat…something that will make the game more interesting.”
Brand raises a blond eyebrow. “Oh, yeah? And what’s that? Strip checkers?”
I smirk. “You wish. But no. If one of us gets jumped, the other one gets to ask a question. And we have to answer.”
Brand cocks his head. “Clever. What if we don’t really want to know the answers? Sometimes mystery is better than reality.”
I shake my head. “I disagree. There are things I’m dying to know about you.”
Brand rolls his eyes. “I’m not that interesting.”
“Let me decide that,” I suggest. “Your move….if you’re not afraid.”
He snorts, and I push the board toward him. He moves a black checker forward.
Then I move a red one.
We go back and forth a few times, until he manages to jump one of mine.
“Bingo,” he says with a grin.
“Wrong game,” I tell him. “What’s your question?”
He thinks on that, his large hand drumming on his thigh. “Hmm. Let’s see. Okay, why are you spending the summer here in Angel Bay?”
I answer immediately. “My father wanted me to take the summer off and recharge my batteries. I just finished law school.”
“So your brain is tired?” Brand grins and I swear, it could light up the entire lake. I nod.
“I guess you could say that.”
“Your move,” he tells me.
I move. Then he moves. We parry back and forth, until I finally manage to jump him.
“Do you love Jacey?”
I’m not one to beat around the bush. Brand’s head snaps back and he stares at me in disbelief.
“Wow. You don’t mess around, do you?”
“No. Maria talked so much about her that I’m curious. What’s your answer?” I stare into his eyes and he stares back. Finally he nods and for a minute, my heart stops beating. But then he clarifies.
“Yes. But not in the romantic way. I thought I did for a while, but maybe I never did. She and Gabe have been like my family. I was close to her, and maybe I got confused. Emotions aren’t my forte.”
“So you don’t love her romantically?”
Brand shakes his head. “That’s two questions, sweetheart.”
I suck in my breath at the endearment, and Brand smirks. “What? No one’s ever called you that?”
He’s kidding, but I shake my head. “No.”
“You’re joking.”
Brand is dumbfounded now and I have to laugh. “No, I’m not kidding. Believe it or not, I haven’t had that many relationships. My father never approves of anyone.”
Brand stares at me drolly. “But you were away at college. What your father didn’t know wouldn’t have hurt him.”
I almost shudder. “My father knows everything. Trust me. It’s your turn.”
Brand drops it, and goes, much to my relief. I don’t want to get into how my father kept tabs on me at school. Before long, Brand jumps me again. He levels a blue, blue gaze at me.
“Are you happy?” he asks thoughtfully, rocking back in his seat with his good leg. I suck in a breath.
“Blunt, aren’t you?”
He chuckles. “No more than you.”
Touché.
“No, not really,” I answer honestly. “I hope to be someday.”
Brand stares at me hard. “Why aren’t you happy now?”
“That’s two questions,” I throw his words back at him. “It’s my turn to go.”
Brand rolls his eyes, but I ignore him as I move.
I jump him two moves later.
“What happened in Afghanistan?”
He doesn’t even flinch. “My HUMVEE was bombed. My leg was shattered.”
“You earned a purple heart,” I tell him. “So I know there’s more to the story.”
He shrugs. “I don’t think it serves any purpose to talk about it. Some memories are best left alone. I’ve dealt with it and moved on, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy thinking about it.”
There’s a look on his face, a don’t fuck with me look, that I decide to heed. “Your turn,” I tell him softly instead. He nods.
He moves a checker, only to open himself up to a double-jump. I crow and jump him. Twice. He glares at me mockingly.
“I don’t like this game.”
I giggle. “I get two questions.”
He doesn’t argue, he just crosses his arms and waits.
“There’s something bothering you, I see it on your face. I have a feeling that it’s not your dad’s death, and you say you’ve dealt with Afghanistan, so what is it?”
Brand looks away. “I really don’t like this game.”
I smile, but I don’t back off. “What’s your answer?”
He stares out the window for a minute, at the lake, before he sighs. “Sometimes bad things happen in life. Sometimes they happen when you’re really young. Those are the memories that won’t fade with time.”
I’m stunned. It’s a vague answer, but it’s still oh-so revealing. Something happened to him when he was a kid, something bad.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask gently.
Brand looks at me. “That was your second question, you know.”
I nod. “That’s fine. What’s your answer?”
He shakes his head immediately. “No. I don’t want to talk about it. I’m a grown fucking man, not a pussy. I don’t need to talk about it.”
“Yet it still bothers you,’ I state simply.
“There’s no fix for it,” he tells me firmly. “My father’s dead. I guess that’s all the closure I need.”
I’m doubtful as I stare at Brand’s gorgeous face. His gorgeous, tortured face. He doesn’t have closure. I can see that right now. I don’t know what to think about his family situation. He doesn’t seem to be
grieving, but he’s still troubled about something. Deeply troubled. But I can also see that he’s done talking about it.
“Your turn,” I say instead. He goes. I go.
After he goes again, I manage to jump him.
“What do you do for a living?”
He grins, pretending to be relieved, only maybe it’s not an act. I can tell he doesn’t like to talk about himself. At all.
“Gabe and I started a company together a couple of years ago. We developed military grade body armor. We started the company to keep soldiers safer, but it’s also being used by police departments and private security details.”
“That sounds amazing,” I tell him softly. And it sounds like exactly something he would do…keeping people safe. He shrugs.
“It’s a living.”
He pushes away from the little table. “I’m about done in for the day,” he tells me. “Thank you for going to get dinner, Nora. And I’m sorry you’re not happy. Hopefully you can figure that out soon.”
He hobbles away and I have to agree with the sentiment.
Hopefully I can figure that out soon.
Chapter Six
Nora
I put away the checkers, and boot up my laptop, checking a few emails. My mother has written four.
You’re only five minutes away. Can’t you come home for tea soon?
Your father isn’t happy about your current situation.
Yeah, what’s new?
But it’s her last email that sends ice water through my veins, chilling every part of me.
William called yesterday, wanted to know where you were. He said you weren’t returning his phone calls and that he had some business related questions for you. I told him where you are, but told him that you were taking the summer off. I hope that was okay.
I take a ragged breath.
Then another.
I told him where you are.
He knows where I am.
With shaking fingers, I answer her email.
I’m sorry. Like I told you the other day, I feel responsible for Brand. He got injured because of me. I’ll definitely come home soon for tea. It’s okay that you told William where I am. I’m sure he just has a simple question or something.
It’s not okay. Not at all.
But she doesn’t know what he did.
I hit ‘send’ and close my laptop.
As I walk through the house, I find Brand sitting in front of the windows again. Instead of staring out at the lake, his gaze is firmly fixed on the box his mother had brought. It stands out starkly against the white wood that it’s sitting on.
He’s staring at it so intently that he doesn’t even realize I’m watching him.
The look on his face is painful. Intent, hurt, vulnerable.
I can only imagine what might’ve happened to him in the past. But from the way he’s staring at that freaking box, it must have something to do with his father.
With a sigh, I continue on to the kitchen to make some hot tea.
I guess we both have secrets.
I keep mine closed away in the furthest, darkest place in my heart. I’m sure Brand does the same. I’m also sure that I’ll never know about them until he’s good and ready to share.
Sipping at my tea, I slouch in a kitchen chair. Looking around, I try and imagine the days when this cozy little cabin was bustling with life. Apparently, Jacey and Gabe spent every summer here with their grandparents, and Brand was here a lot.
Because I’d done a little bit of digging, I know that Brand’s parents’ house is just down the road. When we drove here, he didn’t even point it out.
There’s bad blood there, obviously. I just can’t imagine what a guy like him could possibly have done to make his own parents turn on him.
The sound of the shower running jars me from my thoughts and I look up in alarm. Brand isn’t supposed to get the dressings on his thigh wet. God, he’s stubborn.
I leap out of the chair and sprint down the hall, throwing open the bathroom door.
Brand is completely naked, balanced against the bathroom sink as he prepares to maneuver himself into the shower.
He’s surprised to see me, and I’m frozen as I stare at him.
He’s absolutely beautiful naked.
It’s like he’s been sculpted from marble by a skilled master. Michelangelo, perhaps. I suck in a breath, unable to take my eyes away from him.
Rippled abs.
Chiseled pecs.
Thighs like steel.
And then, then…
My eyes travel south.
Dear Lord.
Brand clears his throat. “My eyes are up here, Miss Greene.”
I flush a thousand shades of red as I yank my gaze up to meet his. His eyes are filled with amusement…at my expense.
He lifts an eyebrow. “Can I help you?”
“You’re not supposed to shower,” I stammer. “You’re supposed to sponge off this week. Remember?”
Brand rolls his eyes with a sigh.
“I don’t need to remember. Apparently you remember for me.”
I toss him a towel and regrettably, he wraps it around his hips, hiding his glorious body before he grabs his crutches.
“I don’t have the first clue how to take a sponge bath,” he grumbles as he limps past me.
“Me either,” I tell him. “But we can figure it out.”
We.
The butterflies start flying again, hard and fast, in my stomach. Brand turns to look at me.
“We?”
I nod. “Yeah. What kind of nurse would I be if I didn’t help? Go lie down on your bed. I’ll be there in a minute with the stuff.”
Brand rolls his eyes and mutters beneath his breath, but he hobbles away. I rush to the kitchen and get a huge bowl of warm water before I stop at the hall closet for washcloths, towels and soap. My hands shake the entire time.
What the hell am I doing?
Why is he letting me do it?
He must want me to.
That knowledge, that theory, fuels me on and forces me into his bedroom. My window of opportunity to be with this man is closing by the day.
I can’t waste it.
Grow a pair, Nora.
I set the bowl down on his nightstand and glance down. He’s reclining on his back, his towel covering his midriff and groin. His hands are behind his head and he’s every inch casual and cool as he waits for me.
I wonder if he’s as anxious on the inside as I am?
Of course not. Because he doesn’t know what I have planned.
He glances at me.
“So, where do we start?”
His voice is husky and sexy and….gah. I want to run out of the room and hide in my own, because I don’t know what I’m doing here.
I only know what I want.
I want him.
“We start by washing off your arms,” I tell him, calmly and professionally, as I move to his side. He grins up at me.
“Sure.” He holds his arm up. “Go ahead, nurse.”
I take a breath, grab the cloth, and run it along the hardened contours of his arm. Where most people are soft, he’s as solid as a rock.
“Other one,” I say softly, re-wetting the cloth. I circle the bed and wash the other one, the one with the tattoo on his forearm.
Though I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil.
“Were you scared overseas?” I ask candidly as I run the cloth over the words. Brand opens his eyes.
“Of course.”
Of course. It was a stupid question. It just doesn’t seem like he’d be scared of anything.
“Being brave doesn’t mean not being afraid, Nora,” Brand tells me, lifting his ocean blue eyes to meet mine. “It means being afraid and doing it anyway.”
“Doing it?” I ask.
Brand shrugs. “It can be anything. Whatever it is that you’re doing, whatever it is that you’re afraid of.”
I’m doing this. Right now.
&nbs
p; Because I want him. I want him this summer and he’s not getting it. He’s not making any moves even though I’m here and I’m available, and I want him. There’s only one way to make him see… I have to be as blunt as a man.
I can do this.
Because I’m brave.
I’m brave.
I’m brave.
I’m fucking brave.
I re-wet my cloth and without a word of warning, I pull the corner of his towel back, then pull it entirely off.
Brand’s eyes fly open, then fix on my face. He doesn’t say a word, but I can see him holding his breath. His flat abdomen isn’t moving.
I dip the cloth down his side, over the rippled muscle. I can feel him through the cloth, his warmth soaking into my fingers.
I pass his hip, his delicious, sexy hip. In my head, I envision it flexing as he straddles me. I flush, and gulp.
I’m brave.
I’m fucking brave.
I take a breath, and my fingers keep moving. Another breath and the cloth glides downward.
Then Brand’s hand covers my own, stopping me.
“I think I can get that part.”
I look down at him, and he’s staring at me in apprehension….because he doesn’t know what I’m doing… or what I want. I don’t know either. All I know is….I’m doing it now. Before it’s too late and he’s out of my life and I never have another chance.
“Brand, I have a proposition to make.”
My words cut the slice through the tension.
He levels a gaze at me, his eyes so fucking blue. “I’m listening.”
His hand is still covering mine. It’s warm and strong and I can hear the pulse rushing through my ears in a roar.
“I’ve wanted you since I was twelve years old. You’re here for the summer and so am I. I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again and I don’t want to look up from my desk at Greene Corp when I’m seventy and have regrets because I didn’t do this.”
I pause and Brand doesn’t say anything.
He simply waits.
The silence between us is charged and I rush my next words…I let them tumble from my mouth before I lose the nerve.
“I want you. Without any strings at all. At the end of the summer, we’ll probably never see each other again…but I want this summer. With you.”
I have to know what’s its like.
I stand on a wall and protect what is mine.
Until We Fly (The Beautifully Broken) Page 6