Regina giggled, relieved that she wasn’t alone in how terrifyingly fast she’d fallen for him, so she admitted, “Okay, maybe I drove home a little faster than I should have. The closer I got, the heavier my foot got.”
He lifted a brow, feigning anger about her speeding but didn’t quite pull it off. Then he kissed her, squeezing her even tighter than before. “Let’s go get you dessert, princess,” he whispered in her ear.
As they drove down the busy strip, Regina was still feeling a little dazed by his thrilling admission, when her eyes narrowed in on something, making her sit up a little straighter. They were passing by the very bar she’d spotted him with that blonde the last time she was here. Her joyful splendor was quickly jolted by the irrepressible jealousy at the thought of Brandon kissing that woman and how he’d done it so blithely in front of everyone watching.
They drove into a parking structure as Regina struggled to conceal her sudden unreasonable anger. He’d just admitted to her he was as crazy about her as she felt for him. Still, the visual of his lips on that woman, especially now knowing firsthand the power behind those kisses, had the demanding question spilling out before she could think straight. “What was her name?”
Brandon turned to her, brows furrowed as he pulled into the parking space. “Who?”
“The blonde,” she asked, swallowing hard. “The one you left with that night I saw you here.”
Frowning, he pulled the keys from the ignition. “Why?”
Why? Good question. She was an idiot. Was she really going to pick a fight with him now after he’d been so wonderful to her all week over someone in his past? But the visual assaulted her again, and she thought of how he probably took the girl back to his place and made love to her the incredible way he always did to Regina, kissing her the entire time, until the two-bit whore was screaming his name.
“Because I wanna know,” she said, her words even more demanding.
Apparently not only was she going to do this she felt ready to ruin their entire evening. She was this close to telling him to take her home and f**k the tiramisu. Could she be any more ridiculous?
“Serenity,” he said, opening his door.
“What?”
“Serenity,” he said again, stepping out of the Jeep. “That was her name.” He leaned in before opening the door. “Don’t get out yet. I wanna help you.”
Regina opened the door and started getting out as he came around with a frown. “Serenity?” she asked, her words dripping with disgust. “What is she a stripper?”
Holding on to her elbow so she wouldn’t come down too hard on her ankle as she stepped out of the Jeep, Brandon seemed more concerned with her ankle than he did her line of questioning.
“I don’t know,” he said simply.
Stupidly, Regina refused to let it go. “What do you mean you don’t know? She went home with you, didn’t she? Did you not—” She stopped cold, knowing what a no to her next question would confirm, and even though she’d automatically assumed so that night, the thought now sickened her. Still she had to ask. “Did you not talk at all that night?”
“Nope.”
They’d started walking. Brandon had slipped his hand in hers, and Regina stopped suddenly, attempting to take her hand back, but he held it tight. Was she really going to get this upset over that now? Yes! He’d harped so much about his no-attachment rules, yet he kissed that bitch the way he had in front of the entire world. Did he expect her to believe now that he hadn’t even talked to her? He’d been chatty and all smiles with the girl that night. That is until he’d seen Regina.
“Do you always kiss these girls you want no attachments with the way you kissed her that night?”
Another couple walked by them, noticeably avoiding eye contact with them. Only then did Regina realize she’d gotten loud, so she started walking again. But she wasn’t letting him off with his short answers. Brandon had asked about Antonio, someone she merely worked with and happened to speak to a little too sweetly for his liking. He, on the other hand, had slept with this girl not more than a few weeks ago.
“No, I don’t,” he said, looking straight ahead. “But why does that even matter now?”
Regina wasn’t sure why it mattered, but it did. It hadn’t dawned on her until today, when seeing the restaurant brought back the blinding reminder of how recently he’d been with someone else. Suddenly, she needed to know more about Serenity. They’d both looked a little too smitten with each other that night. Given that one kiss Regina had been witness to, it turned her stomach to think of the night they must’ve had. She wasn’t so sure anymore if she’d been stupidly naïve or not to buy into his no-return-visits’ rule. Who behaved that way in public the very first time they met? Neither of them appeared to be drunk. And who did Regina think she was to believe she was so damn special she’d been the only one he’d ever returned to?
“No?” She glared at him. “So she was special, then?”
If they weren’t already on the crowded sidewalk of the strip, she might yank her hand away from him like a child having a fit. She felt completely duped. Had he made that girl with the stripper name feel as special as he had Regina all week?
They walked up to the young lady standing at the hostess bar just outside the Italian restaurant. Still seething, Regina hadn’t even heard what the hostess asked them until Brandon tugged at her hand gently.