He dropped her arm and scrubbed a hand over his face. “It hurts to look at you.”
She smirked. “Gee, you really know how to flatter a girl.”
“Come on, Brynn. You know that’s not what I mean. It’s just every time I see you, I’m reminded of how I treated you this weekend, how I lost control.”
She shut the file folder and met his gaze. “Seems like you were pretty in control to me.”
His closed his eyes, and she noticed the deep bags beneath them for the first time. “I’m so sorry. I know I probably made you feel like shit.”
She blew out a breath, his remorse taking the wind out of her tirade, and touched his arm. “Hey, stop making assumptions. Yes, you pissed me off sending me home without even walking me out. But you know what I felt before that?”
He looked up, his expression wary. “What?”
“Alive.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but she cut him off.
“No, I’m serious. You don’t get how it is for me. I spend my days worrying about if I’m going to have enough money. Am I doing right by Kelsey? Is my mom going to be okay if I leave and take my sister with me? And on and on it goes. The noise inside my head can be deafening.”
“Brynn—”
She raised her hand, letting him know she wasn’t finished. “But, for some reason, when you took control in the driveway, all those worries and stresses that race around my brain all day quieted. From that moment on, all I had on my mind was you and how you made me feel. It was… freeing.”
“But the way I talked to you, the things I did…”
“Were all things I could’ve stopped at any moment. But I didn’t want to. I knew you wouldn’t hurt me.” She wanted to reach out and grab his hand, but was afraid people in the office would start raising eyebrows. She placed her palms on her lap. “I’m not scared of you. Or of what happened this weekend.”
“But I am. I don’t want to be that guy,” he said, his tone making her chest ache. “I don’t want to turn into some monster.”
“You’re not a monster,” she said, believing it with every ounce of her being.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then help me understand, Reid, because I can’t be the only one who felt the… rightness of what happened between us.”
He tilted his head back and groaned. “Look, go tell Davis you’re leaving for your lunch break, then meet me in the parking lot. There’s something I need to show you.”
Fifteen minutes and one painfully silent drive later they turned onto the winding driveway of the Jamison estate. Brynn had no idea what Reid was bringing her here to see, but getting a chance to check out where he lived was motivation enough for her. She’d heard more than one story in the office about how amazing the Jamisons’ house was. And the reality did not disappoint.
The sheer size of the plantation-style home astounded her—the garden alone taking up more space than her rental house. She half expected Scarlett O’Hara to pop her head out one of the windows and ask them inside for coffee and biscuits.
Reid had told her he lived in the guest space over the garage, so presumably the massive white mansion housed two people. Two! She shook her head. What must it be like to grow up with such luxury, such security? Never wondering if the lights were going to get cut off at the end of the month of if there would be enough money left over to buy groceries for the week. She couldn’t even imagine.
“That’s some house.”
He smirked and shot the house a derisive glance. “No one would ever accuse my aunt and uncle of doing anything halfway.” He parked his car in front of the closed garage. “Come on.”
He led her up a flight of stairs on the side of the garage and unlocked his door. She stepped inside the apartment, and he bumped the door shut behind them. The living room was small, but cozy, and was open to the small efficiency kitchen. Camel-colored couches and dark wood furniture, a big-screen TV in the middle of the biggest wall. Practical, unpretentious. Probably the complete opposite of what resided in the main house.Author: Roni Loren
“This is a nice place,” she said, running her fingers along the back edge of the suede couch.
“Thanks, it works for me. Gives me a little privacy from everything.” He tossed his keys on the kitchen counter. “Sit wherever you’d like.”
She maneuvered around the front of the couch, but before she could sit, the purr of an engine outside made them both turn their heads. Reid stepped toward the window next to the door and peeked through the blinds. “Shit. Aunt Roslyn’s here.”
“I thought she was supposed to be at a luncheon today.”
“Yeah, me, too,” he said, still peering through the window. “Dammit, she noticed my car and is headed this way.”