With the way that man kissed, it would lead to other things that she was in no way prepared for.
But then, she would have thought she wasn’t prepared for Tyler at all a few weeks ago. She’d been ready to get out there, to move on then, but thinking about it and doing it were entirely different.
Her plan had involved arranging drinks with friends she hadn’t seen in while. Or going to a bar by herself. Anything that would have moved her personal life forward slowly.
The plan certainly wouldn’t have looked like this. This fast and almost inevitable progression of whatever was happening between her and Tyler, as if they’d forged some kind of a foundation long before.
Even with Kian, when she had been young and nothing in her life had cautioned her against falling, the pace had been slower. They’d been friends first, then they’d started dating. Weeks later had come the first kiss. It had been months later before anything more happened.
If she could ask whoever was in charge of controlling these things some questions, she would ask what that meant. Did the fact that she had fallen for her husband in slow and subtle ways mean what she was feeling for Tyler now was dangerous? Her relationship with Kian had been the most significant thing in her life—surely anything that didn’t feel like that meant it wasn’t worth pursuing?
But what about that feeling of inevitability? Because with Kian she had felt very much in control. With Tyler...she did not. That felt significant, too.
It was what scared the hell out of her.
‘Brooke?’
She looked at him.
‘We’re here.’
They were indeed in front of her house.
‘Right.’
This was her chance to escape. To put some distance between them so she could think about what had happened last night, this morning. She could give herself a chance to catch up with ‘the inevitability’—if that was what she was going to call it.
So heaven only knew why she said, ‘Do you want to come inside for breakfast?’
* * *
The invitation came as a surprise. More surprising was the fact that she offered him a shower, clean clothing—he tried not to think about the fact that it might have been her husband’s—and the spare bedroom on the ground floor to change.
He appreciated all of it. He wanted a chance to speak to her about what had happened. If breakfast didn’t give him that chance, at the very least it would help him reassure her that she had nothing to worry about.
Which was a lie since he was worried himself. He was trying not to think about the reasons for that.
Priorities. Your family. Your job. And those two seem interchangeable since you’re considering leaving your only family for a job.
He wasn’t succeeding very well, clearly. But it did serve as a reminder that he had enough problems; he didn’t need to add Brooke to the list.
Yet here he was, getting ready to take a shower in the en suite bathroom in her spare bedroom.
He put the water on, let it heat while he went to grab clothes from the bedroom. And paused when he saw Brooke there.
They stared at one another for a moment. Him because he hadn’t expected her to be there, let alone with a handful of toiletries. Her, probably because he’d already stripped down to his underwear.
‘I am so sorry,’ she said, whirling around.
In the process, one of the bottles in her hand went flying against the opposite wall.
‘I heard the shower, and I thought you were already in it. I was just going to leave these things here because I didn’t want you not to have deodorant or lotion. I did not expect to find you almost naked. I am so sorry. I am so, so sorry.’
He was grinning by the end of it, though he probably should be feeling a little more compassion for her situation.
‘It’s okay,’ he said easily, refusing the temptation to tease her. ‘I appreciate you bringing me all that stuff. It’s almost like being in a hotel.’
‘Except in a hotel, you get privacy.’ She nearly turned back, but stopped herself before she could. ‘If you go in the shower, I’ll leave these things on the bed, okay?’
‘Okay.’
He was still smiling when he went into the shower, aware of the fact that she had completely swept all thoughts of priorities out of his mind. It should have been bad. It was bad. But she forced him to live in the present. Not in the general now, but in the very moment that was happening.
When was the last time he’d ever had that? When he was younger, probably—except he couldn’t pinpoint any moment when that had been true.
Even before his father had left, he’d been concerned about the tremors of unhappiness he’d felt between his parents. He hadn’t understood what it truly meant, but he’d known his mother didn’t smile as much with his father as she did when she was with Tyler and Tia.
After his father had left he’d been worried about his mother, his sister. Their future had been financially ominous, along with their precarious emotional state after being abandoned by the man who should have taken care of them.
As an adult, he was focused on making himself successful. If he did that, he could take care of his mother and sister’s financial fears. Although they would barely let him, which was another concern. It felt as if the past was haunting them. They were both too accustomed to working hard, to not relying on anyone but themselves. They were afraid that relying on anyone, even him, would make them vulnerable again.
So, no, he hadn’t lived in the present for a very long time. No wonder Brooke appealed to him so much.
He made quick work of the shower, then used all the toiletries with a grin he knew was stupid before he got dressed.
Brooke was in the kitchen, freshly showered herself, preparing eggs in a bowl.
‘Hey,’ he said.
‘Hey,’ she replied, giving him a small smile. Her hands stilled. ‘Once again, I want to apologise for—’
‘There’s nothing to apologise for,’ he interrupted firmly. ‘It wasn’t like you were intentionally hoping to catch me in my underwear.’
‘No,’ she said, very quickly. ‘Not at all.’
If she hadn’t been so tense, he would have asked her why. But he could read the room.
‘I didn’t think so.’ He changed the subject before she could get caught up on the details. ‘How can I help?’
There was a pause, but then she gave him instructions to help her with the French toast, bacon, scrambled eggs and fruit she was preparing.
‘Are you sure that’s enough?’ he teased, getting the bread.
‘Isn’t it? I would usually only eat one of the above, but I figured you’d be pretty hungry.’
‘Should I be offended by that?’
‘You work out a lot,’ she said with a wink. ‘You probably need the sustenance.’
They worked in tandem, easily helping one another out. Tyler noticed that she was avoiding touching him. Hell, she was actively trying not to be in his space at all. She seemed to be doing it without thinking, shifting when he shifted, moving when he moved, as if she had some radar when he was in her space and adjusted accordingly.
It took him a moment, but he realised he had an internal radar when it came to her, too. Attraction. When she came close to him, the heat from her body sank into him until every part of him was saturated. If it wasn’t the heat, it was the awareness, skidding over his skin, causing every hair on his body to stand on end.
If she felt that, too, then she was simply avoiding those physical feelings. And he couldn’t be upset about that. One, because she was clearly responding out of instinct. Two, because she felt it. Something. Anything... Of course he knew that she did. She’d instigated that kiss; she’d responded during that kiss.
He took a deep sip from his water, remembering that response. The little moan she’d given when their tongue
s had touched; her shudder when he’d skimmed her skin; her exhalation when his fingers had sunk into the flesh at her hips...
Another gulp of water reminded him that now wasn’t the time to think about it. Now he wanted to make her feel better that it had happened—and that certainly wouldn’t be the case if he started responding physically to the memory of it.
‘I’m sure I’ve told you this before, but you’re really good in the kitchen,’ she said.
‘My mom forced both me and Tia to be,’ he replied, grateful for the reprieve from his thoughts. ‘The household chores were a team effort. We’d rotate cooking and cleaning between the three of us after my father left.’
She was waiting to flip the last of the French toast, so she had the opportunity to study him. He felt her gaze pierce through him, even though he was standing so she couldn’t see his face.
‘You guys really were a unit,’ she said.
‘Yeah.’
‘It must have been hard when your mom died.’
‘It was.’ He paused, letting the wave of grief roll over him. He didn’t try to hide it. Out of all the people in the world, he was certain she would understand. ‘She had a heart attack in her sleep. I found her one morning.’
‘You found her?’
‘Rather me than Tia,’ he said, hearing the compassion in her voice. ‘I could handle it better than she could.’
‘Yeah?’ she asked. ‘Is that something she’s said to you, or is that your perception of the situation?’
He frowned. ‘Does it matter?’
‘I guess not,’ she said thoughtfully. ‘But my gut tells me that it’s the latter, and that it’s the same reason you haven’t told her about your business opportunity. You think she can’t handle it. And where has that thinking brought you, exactly?’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
‘OH!’ BROOKE EXCLAIMED as soon as she said the words. ‘That was much more personal than I intended on getting.’
‘You think?’
At the dry note in Tyler’s voice, she winced. She placed the final slice of French toast on a plate and turned to face him. His expression didn’t look upset, more pensive.
She slid the plate over to him. ‘Truce?’
His gaze flickered down. ‘You’re offering me an entire plate of French toast to make up for saying something that might be true?’
‘Only if it works,’ she replied. She waited a beat. ‘Might be true, huh?’
She couldn’t describe the look he gave her as a glare, but it wasn’t entirely a positive one.
She pushed the plate closer to him.
He narrowed his eyes, but she could see the faintest twitch at his lips.
‘You can’t bribe me with food.’
‘I’m not bribing you,’ she said truthfully. ‘I’m comforting you.’
‘I don’t need to be comforted.’
‘Well, in that case...’
She reached out to take the plate back, but he snatched it up into the air. It was so unexpected that she gave a startled laugh, before lifting her hands in surrender.
‘Fair is fair.’
Seconds later he set the plate down next to the eggs and bacon he’d already fried. She’d meant it when she’d told him he was good in the kitchen. Much more efficient than she was. But she had managed to put the coffee on before he’d come out of the shower, and...
Her brain paused for a moment as she remembered walking into the spare room when she’d thought he was in the shower. She’d only seen him for a few seconds, but it had been enough to make an impact. She knew he worked out, knew he was built, but the man had muscles in places she wasn’t sure should have muscles.
She had never found that kind of build attractive before—she preferred tall and lean—but apparently she’d been waiting for Tyler.
And really, that should make her ashamed of her superficiality. Oddly enough, she didn’t feel bad at all.
‘Coffee?’ she asked, hoping he wouldn’t somehow pick up on the lust in her voice.
‘It’s too hot for that.’
She turned. ‘Too hot for coffee? A life-giving liquid?’
He smirked. For some reason it made her think about how he looked in his underwear again. She shoved the thought out of her mind.
‘I know it’s unbelievable. Do you have something colder? Juice?’
‘Of course.’
She got the juice out, poured him some, then suggested they eat outside. After they’d put all the food on the table and settled in under the veranda, silence stretched over them. It was the kind of silence that came after a hard day of work: quiet, content, comfortable. Almost as peaceful as their dogs laying beneath one of the trees in the garden, exhausted from their morning activities.
She hadn’t thought that, after what had happened between them that morning, they’d be able to share something like this. It made her think of the inevitability between them, and tension rolled in her stomach.
It was so unknown, all of this, and she couldn’t comprehend it. There were times when she felt that she must. That she would suffer if she couldn’t figure it all out. But at other times, when she didn’t think about it, only allowed herself to be, it didn’t matter at all.
She released a breath, striving for the latter. If only to make it through their breakfast together.
‘When my dad left I did assume a lot of responsibility at home.’
She turned, not nearly as surprised that he’d broken the silence as she might have been if she weren’t so aware of him. He’d obviously been thinking about what she’d said in the kitchen. His contemplative expression, his silence, the stiff way he held his body, told her as much.
So she didn’t interrupt, only let him work it out.
‘Now I’m wondering if that happened because my mom and Tia needed me, or because I decided they needed me.’
She tilted her head. ‘Could it be both?’
He blinked. ‘Yeah, I guess.’
She gave him a moment. Or maybe she was giving herself a moment to decide whether she wanted to say what she was thinking.
‘Just say it,’ he said, a smile playing at his lips as he studied her.
‘Only if I get immunity?’
He lifted his eyes to the sky, but nodded.
‘I don’t think it’s a bad thing, caring for your family. Especially during something as traumatic as abandonment. But... How can you think what you want to do is the same as what your father did?’
‘He took a job in a different country.’
‘And that is literally the only thing this situation and his have in common.’ She paused. ‘Unless you plan on not coming back? On leaving Tia and her son to fend for themselves?’ She waited for it to settle. ‘I don’t know the details of what happened,’ she added gently, ‘but it sounds like that’s what your father did, and that’s what you want to avoid.’
There was a long, drawn-out silence. Eventually, Tyler said, ‘He said he was leaving to make our lives better. But they weren’t better when he left. Mom was more stressed. He sent money, but she didn’t want to use it. It took me a long time to realise it was because she didn’t want to give him a reason to stay away.’ He scratched the arm of his chair. ‘They weren’t happy when he was here, but I think... I think she wanted to work on it. And his response was to leave. Things got bad financially, and she had to start using the money, and that...’ He shifted his hands, his grip tightening on his chair. ‘It made her unhappy. I think she felt like she was conceding something by taking it. Her pride and her marriage.’
‘So you’re saying that you’re not worried about Tia financially,’ she said slowly, trying to put all the parts together, ‘but emotionally? That if she needs you, you won’t be there, and that’ll make her unhappy?’
‘No...’ he said, but he looked doubtful. He sighed. ‘I’m worri
ed about her financially and emotionally. I don’t want her to get to the place my mom was in before she accepted help. While I’m here, at least I can monitor the situation.’
‘Or control it?’
‘Help her,’ he corrected with a wry twist of his mouth. ‘Like step in for a job when she needs me to.’
‘Have you had to do that before, or is it just this once?’
He didn’t answer. But then, he didn’t have to; she already knew what he’d say.
‘Basically, you’re putting your life on pause because of a potential situation that might or might not arise if you leave?’
‘It’s not that easy.’
‘No, it’s not,’ she agreed. ‘And it sounds like the only way you’ll figure it out is if you talk with her. She might feel the same way about you, Tyler.’ At his confused look, she elaborated. ‘She wants you to be happy and secure in the same way you want her to be happy and secure, I’m sure. Give her a chance to let that happen.’
When he didn’t look convinced, she leaned over and rested a hand on his. ‘There’s nothing wrong with wanting a life where you’re important, too.’
His eyes were soft, emotion shimmering through them like a rainbow after a day of rain. Slowly, he tipped over their hands so that his lay on top of hers. It should have been a warning for what he said next. She was fairly certain it was—she had simply ignored it. So when he said his next words she wasn’t prepared.
‘Is that something I could say to you, too?’
* * *
Her response was to open her mouth, stare at him, and eventually say, ‘No.’
Tyler didn’t reply immediately. Hell, he probably shouldn’t have said anything in the first place. But she’d spoken so firmly, so kindly about his situation, completely unaware of how her words applied to her own situation.
He tilted his head. ‘You don’t think you’ve been living for someone else these last few years?’
Awakened by the CEO's Kiss Page 10