“He’s earned the right to tell me what he thinks, but I make the decisions about my personal life. I’ve always tried to do the right thing, and while it hasn’t always been the most exciting path, it’s what brought me to teaching, which is one of the greatest joys in my life. The other stuff—the things I don’t like about my life—I’m working to change them. But again, on my terms.”
Brick tilted his head. “You’re a teacher?”
She warmed at the approval in his eyes. “Yeah. High school.”
He chuckled. “I’ll bet the boys love you.”
“Eh. I get a few flirts, but nothing too crazy. I think most kids can tell when they get a teacher who really cares. I think it’s instinct. All I know is, helping them inspires me. I want to help them have better lives. Help them find opportunities.”
Brick rubbed his finger over the stem of her wine glass. “School was never really my thing. Maybe if I had someone like you looking out for me back then, my life would be different.” He blinked hard and stood abruptly. “Come on. It’s getting late. I told your friend I would take you home.”
She rose unsteadily to her feet, the effects of her cumulative five glasses of wine buzzing in her ears. She forced one foot in front of the other, following his broad back as he led the way through the small crowd, out the front door.
The hinges groaned as Brick opened the passenger door of his big navy work-truck, and she climbed inside. A moment later, he eased behind the wheel. “Where to?”
She was tempted not to answer. She wanted this night to last, but she murmured her address, and she’d barely closed her eyes before they arrived.
Without missing a beat, Brick climbed out and walked her to her door. She knew she was supposed to go in, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, she stepped close to his body, breathing in his scent mingled with the sweet smell of night jasmine blooming nearby. He froze, and she ran her fingertips up the side of his arm.
“Do you want to kiss me?” She bit her lip. “Sometimes I think you do. Sometimes, I think you want it as much as I do.” She let her hand fall. “Is it all in my head?”
He groaned. “I lie in bed at night, dreaming about what it would be like to kiss you.” Moving slowly, he reached for her hand. She closed her eyes, her pulse racing in her ears.
And finally, she felt his lips…feather across her palm.
Everything within her wanted to throw herself in his arms, but when she opened her eyes, he’d already stepped back.
“Thanks for making my dreams come true, Livie-mine.” Then, like a ghost, he disappeared into the night.
***
Five minutes after she locked her door and slid off her shoes, Liv’s phone buzzed in her purse.
Carol: I see u made it home OK. I want details.
Liv scowled at Carol’s text.
Liv: R U spying on me? #creeper
She set down the phone to unbutton her jeans, but it buzzed again in seconds.
Carol: U think I’d really leave u alone with some strange guy? Of course, I followed u. #dumbass
She should’ve known. She probably would have known if she could’ve taken her eyes off Brick for five seconds.
She finished stripping down and crawled into bed wearing only her underwear and T-shirt.
Liv: Fine. Will call u l8r.
She fell asleep with the phone in her hand and dreamed of soft, full lips…the rasp of stubble…and the unmistakable want in Brick’s eyes as he told her goodnight.
Chapter 9
Liv
More than twenty-four hours of insidious nausea reminded Liv why she didn’t often overindulge in alcohol. But by Tuesday evening, the punishing aftermath from her night of drinking had subsided enough for her to return to the gym. Thank God, because Izzy didn’t cut her any slack. In fact, she rode her harder than her other instructor ever did.
When she said so, Iz muttered something about Eduardo being a pussy and demanded ten more push-ups. The work-out kicked her ass as much as the hangover did. Almost.
The cardio and strength training were only warm-ups, though. “We’re going to spar tonight, Liv. You ready to show me what you’ve got?”
Like before, the only thing in the room, aside from her and her sister, was a slightly padded mat. There was nowhere to hide from Izzy’s enthusiasm, and the single metal door was the only escape from the interior whitewashed brick walls.
Using the back of her wrist, she wiped away the sweat pouring from her forehead. Iz barely appeared ruffled from their thirty minutes of exertion. “Somehow I think I’m going to regret this.”
“Hush. The only way to see what you’ve learned is to put it to the test.” Iz waved her forward. “Come at me.”
Studying her sister, she searched for an opening. Iz appeared relaxed, but underneath lurked a jungle cat…all lazy-limbed and laid back—until she ripped your face off your fucking head. Still, like an idiot, she took a swing. Iz batted her away like a fly.
“Again.”
This time, she stepped in and tried to take Iz with an elbow to the chest, but her sister stepped deftly aside and swept out her leg, knocking her down to all fours. Then for good measure, Iz gave a gentle kick to her sore midsection.
“Again.”
As she climbed to her feet, her face heated. This shit was getting old. Gritting her teeth, she launched a kick toward Izzy’s knee, but a fast-moving foot blocked her path. She didn’t wait before taking her next swing, but her sister countered.
She thought she could move out of the way. She moved into the path of her sister’s fist.
The impact made light flash in her eyes.
She couldn’t remember anything ever hurting so much. “You fucking hit me!” Her stomach rolled, her lunch threatened to decorate her shoes, and Izzy didn’t even have the decency to look sorry about it.
She covered her left eye, tears pouring down her cheeks.
“You stepped into my fist, dummy.” Bitch didn’t act even a little bit sorry, but she did put an arm around her shoulders. “I guess you’ve suffered enough for tonight.”
“I hate you. I’m going over to Carol’s tonight, and now I look like a punching bag.”
Izzy laughed. “It’s only a little red. Wait a few minutes. It will fade, and all you’ll have left is a little injured pride.” Her sister maneuvered her toward the door. “I’ll take you to Carol’s, and you can tell her all about how mean I am.”
Thank God she didn’t have to drive. She only wanted to close her eyes…and maybe whimper a little. In the five minutes it took to get to Carol’s apartment, her eye had swollen so much she couldn’t open it. This would not go over well at school.
Once they got to the porch and into the light, Iz couldn’t hide her wince. “Yeah. That’s gonna leave a mark. I’m sorry, Nugget.” She rang the bell, and Carol’s eyes were wide as saucers when she opened the door.
“Maybe I should be glad I’m an only child.”
Izzy lifted her hand in a one-finger salute before heading back to her car.
Carol led her into the living room before continuing to the kitchen. She pulled an ice pack out of the freezer, then tossed it toward the couch. Liv swiped it from the cushion beside her and gently held it to her face.
Carol handed her a bottle of water. “I don’t have any booze.”
The very thought of alcohol made her groan. “No booze. No way. No how.” She didn’t even want the water. She set it on the coffee table.
Carol curled up next to her on the sofa. “Uh oh. You got sick? I didn’t realize you drank so much. Did you have more after I left?”
She glared with her one good eye. “You left? I thought you said you were stalking me.”
“I waited outside in my car and followed you two back to your place. Call it stalking if you want, but if he was a serial killer, you would be glad I’m bad with boundaries.”
The chill from the ice pack seeping into her bones, she tugged the fuzzy blanket off the back of the sofa and snuggled benea
th it. Well, almost. Her left arm had to stay out to keep the cold to her face. “So, you saw nothing, then?”
“I wouldn’t say nothing.” Carol shot her a sly smile. “I saw him walk you to the door and kiss your hand.” She swayed from side to side in a swoon and batted her eyelashes. “So sweet. Tell me everything.”
She shrugged the shoulder beneath the blanket. “He still thinks his life is too dangerous for me to be around. Just like Will. Of course, no one bothers to care what I think.”
“What do you think?” There was the question again. Her friend kept asking it, and the answer should have been easy, but Liv’s judgment sucked. Thankfully, Carol had been a steady beacon for months.
“I think…I want a chance to know him.” Frustrated, she tossed the ice pack on the table and burrowed deeper beneath the blanket. “He’s so gentle with me. And he looks at me like—I can’t even explain it. He looks at me like I’m everything. When he does that, it doesn’t even matter what he’s doing when we’re not together.”
She flinched at her own words. “Maybe it should. I know it should, but it’s like all the stuff I should worry about goes away. He acts like I’m a dream come true. Me. When have I ever been someone’s dream come true?” She shook her head. “Never. I wasn’t Ryan’s for damn sure.”
Carol slid under the blanket with her and grasped Liv’s cold hand with her warm one. “What’s his name?”
“Would you believe me if I told you I don’t know? They call him Brick, but I don’t know his real name.” Acknowledging it aloud only highlighted how ridiculous it was. She steeled herself for Carol’s inevitable laugh.
But it didn’t come. Instead, her friend asked gently, “What do you know?”
“I know I want to keep feeling the way I do when he looks at me.” She sighed. “I know he’s a good guy underneath whatever shitty circumstances he’s in. He wants to get away from it. He wants to keep me away from it. I know he’s had a hard life.”
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the cushion, her hand slipping out of her friend’s. “I think he lost his parents too, but he didn’t have someone like Will or Izzy to make sure things would be okay.”
“Are you going to see him again?”
She could hear no censure in Carol’s voice. It was one of the things she loved best about her friend. Though Carol did sound tired and looked it, too.
She didn’t even think before she answered. “Yes. I’m not sure how, but yeah, I’m going to see him again.”
***
When she woke up the next morning, Liv found an eye patch on Carol’s coffee table. Her friend must have planted it there during the night. Gamely, she tried it on, but she quickly ruled it out. First of all, the elastic rubbed against the bruise which had blossomed as she slept, making her more uncomfortable than ever. Secondly, the patch only covered about half of her swollen purple flesh.
Third, she looked like a fucking pirate.
A wannabe pirate with a black eye the size of Texas.
She dragged herself into Carol’s bedroom, hoping to beg a ride home, but her friend had looked so exhausted last night, she couldn’t bring herself to wake her. So, she Ubered. A quick shower and half a bottle of concealer later, she figured she could pass as someone who hadn’t run into a fist the night before.
She was right. No one even glanced at her twice as she powered through the day. By lunchtime, she managed to even forget about it herself. It wasn’t until Devon returned to her classroom at the end of the day, he gave her reason to remember.
He spoke softly, but his voice was ice cold. “Who hurt you?”
Her hand flew to her eye, and she flinched when her fingers ran over the tender skin.
“Make up doesn’t last all day. It’s starting to show.”
Crap. She should have anticipated this on her own.
“You shouldn’t be with somebody who puts his hands on you.” His nostrils flared. “Tell me who did it, and I will make sure he never does it again.”
“Oh honey, a man didn’t do this to me.”
He shook his head like she disappointed him. “You gonna tell me you walked into a door? You got hit with a ball?”
She sat down in one of the chairs and gestured for him to join her. “I got hit with my sister’s fist when we sparred at the gym.”
Devon’s eyebrows shot up. “You fight?”
“Not very well, obviously. I weaved when I should have ducked, and she hit me even though she was trying to miss. Believe it or not, she actually teaches classes on this stuff.” She pulled out her phone and pulled up her sister’s profile page on the website for the gym before handing it to him.
It wasn’t until he scrutinized at Izzy’s picture, he finally relaxed his tensed features. “She looks so much like you.”
She grinned. “Except for the black eye and all, sure.”
He handed her phone back. “I’m glad it wasn’t something else.”
“Thanks. I appreciate you trying to look out for me, but it’s my job to look out for you. Humor your teacher for a second while I’ve got you here. Have you given any thought to the ACT prep classes we talked about? You still have a few days to sign up for the summer session.”
Devon’s pursed lips gave her all the answer she needed.
“What can it hurt, Devon? I’ll bet you can get a scholarship to a place close-by. You could stay home with your family if you’re worried about leaving them.”
He drew figure-eights on the top of the desk with his finger, staring intently at the wood littered with names and graffiti carved into the surface. “You don’t understand. I’m gonna have to start working soon. I’m not going to have a choice.”
“But you—”
“The answer is no.” He looked up to face her. “It means a lot to me you want to help, but you can’t. It only hurts more when you make me think about things I can’t have. If you really want to do something for me, you’ll stop bringing this up.”
Tears prickled her eyes as Devon got up and walked toward the door.
“Thanks for believing in me, though.” He didn’t turn around. “I won’t forget it.”
Chapter 10
Liv
Liv put her car in park outside Brick’s work site an hour after school. She wasn’t sure at first if he’d still be on the same build where she met him, but she recognized his truck the minute she pulled up. Her internal debate about whether to seek him out ended quickly once she realized the old Liv would’ve been too nervous to put herself out there.
Bonus points: she saw no sign of Will.
She’d barely made it two steps out of the car before Brick’s long stride approached her. He’d stormed from the house, which now resembled a popsicle-stick version of itself. All the wood bones were in place, but not much else.
Her gaze soaked in the sight of him. Jeans hugged his thick legs, and an open blue flannel shirt covered a tight white T. His yellow hardhat did nothing to detract from the intensity written all over his face. Intensity that looked a whole lot more like fury the closer he got.
Had she made a mistake in coming here?
She took an involuntary step back. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have showed up at your work without warning.”
He lifted his hand to her face but stopped short of touching her. “Someone hit you,” he growled. His eyes glowed with wrath.
She wrapped her hand around his and pulled it close to her chest. “My sister did it,” she explained quickly. “It was an accident.” She stepped in close to his rigid body. The tension poured off him in waves.
“Stay right there.” He stomped back to the house and spoke tersely with the long-haired, tattooed guy she’d seen here before. Brick handed him his hardhat and returned in less than a minute. “I’ll follow you home.”
A dozen scenarios ran through her head on the short ride to her place. Each one ended with the two of them naked. She imagined Brick inside her space with his arm around her on the sofa. His big body covering her
bed. The image still floated around her brain when she pulled into her parking spot.
She approached the door, but Brick didn’t follow her. He still sat behind the wheel of his truck. Doubling back, she opened his creaking passenger door. “Aren’t you coming?”
“No,” he said tersely. “Get in.”
She didn’t hesitate. He broke at least a dozen traffic laws in the short distance to her sister’s gym.
“Should I ask how you know about this place?”
He shrugged. “You told me she teaches Krav Maga. I looked her up. It’s a nice place.”
“So why are we here?”
Brick climbed out and passed around the front of the truck to open her door. “Because you need to train with someone who’s not going to fuck up your face.”
An explanation about how she brought on the black eye herself sat on the tip of her tongue. But she didn’t want to waste her opportunity to spend time with him, so she kept her mouth shut, and they walked together into the gym. Cassie, the girl who worked reception, waved them both past the front desk.
“Not very worried about security,” Brick muttered.
She tugged him into one of the empty training rooms. “She knows who I am. Cassie’s worked with my sister for years.”
Grunting, Brick surveyed the room. Not much to see. Only the standard mat on the floor. He stopped his inspection and faced her head-on. “Hit me.”
“What? No.”
“I need to know what I’m working with. Take a swing.”
“Not. Going. To. Happen.” To accentuate her point, she plopped down onto the floor, crossing her legs and her arms.
Putting his hands around her biceps, Brick lifted her to her feet like she was a ragdoll. He didn’t let go and he drew his face only inches from hers when he spoke. “Do you have any idea what it’s doing to me to see the shiner on your face?” His voice sounded calm, but his brown eyes flashed wild. “I need you to do this. If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for me. Please.”
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