“I’m waiting…”
“I was in the area.”
“Bullshit. What the hell kind of business do you have in Liberty, Kansas?”
“All kinds. My company manufactures products used in construction, or have you forgotten?”
“Yeah, and I’m sure you have a lot to do in such a thriving metropolis. We don’t exactly have skyscrapers here. Besides, Ben said you were in New York.”
Shit. Fatal error. Now he knows I talked to Ben.
Oddly, he doesn’t press me on it. Instead, “I have a meeting in Kansas City tomorrow, so I flew in early, called your parents, and they invited me over.”
“Of course they did. My parents are very hospitable people. But why? We’re not together.”
“Because I wanted….” He rakes his fingers through his dark hair. “I wanted to meet them. I guess I…”
“What, Braden? For the love of God, what?”
“I wanted to meet them because they’re part of you.”
“Why?”
“Because… For fuck’s sake, Skye, you know why.”
“I’m afraid I don’t.”
“Because I love you, all right? I fucking love you, and I want to figure out what’s going on with you. That’s why. Satisfied?”
I raise my eyebrows. Do I believe him? If I do, I have to accept that we both came here for the same reason.
I came to find myself. To figure out why control—and more recently, losing control—is such a big part of my life.
Is he here to help me?
“I call bullshit.”
“Call it whatever you like,” he says. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”
“Oh, you sure as hell do when you show up unannounced at my parents’ house.”
“I wasn’t unannounced. I called them first.”
“It was unannounced to me.”
“I had no idea you’d show up today.”
“Didn’t you? I call bullshit again.”
“You think I’m having you watched?” He stalks closer to me, that look in his eyes I know so well.
Have I gone too far?
His eyes are on fire, his jawline tense. I’ve seen this look before. He’s angry. Angry and full of lust.
He wants to grab me. Kiss me. Tie me up and fuck me, just like he did that day in his office when I came rushing in, throwing accusations at him.
“Y-Yes.” My lips tremble. “I wouldn’t put it past you.”
“Why would I have you watched if we’re not together?”
“Why would you show up at my parents’ home if we’re not together?”
“Damn it, Skye!” He grips my shoulder. Hard. “Damn it all to hell!” His lips come down on mine.
My parents are still inside the house, only yards away. They may very well be watching.
I don’t care.
Braden is impossible for me to resist. When his tongue demands entrance, I part my lips and let him in. We kiss angrily for a minute, until he breaks the kiss abruptly.
“Damn it!” he says again.
“You don’t have any business here, do you?” I say.
He doesn’t reply.
God, he and Ben are cut from the same cloth. If they don’t like the answer they just don’t reply.
“So why are you here, then?” I ask.
“I’m worried about you,” he says.
“I’m a grown woman.”
“I know that.”
“Why worry, then?”
“Just because I can’t be with you doesn’t mean I no longer love you.” He trails one finger over my cheek.
I tingle all over. “I love you too. Why can’t we make this work?”
“You know why.”
“Why do you think I came here?” I ask. “I came here to start at the beginning. To figure myself out.”
He nods, though I’m not sure what he’s nodding to.
“So why are you here?” I ask again. “And don’t tell me you’re worried about me. You know I can take care of myself. Tell me why, Braden.”
“Maybe I came here to try to figure you out, too.”
“Is it me you want to figure out, Braden?” I inhale a deep breath, gathering courage for what I’m about to say. “Or is it yourself?”
Chapter Ten
Again, he doesn’t answer.
I’m getting real sick of this silence game he and his brother like to play. It’s old news.
“I think I have my answer,” I say.
Still, he says nothing.
“You’ve looked in the mirror, haven’t you?” I continue. “Just as I have. And you’re not exactly sure what you see.”
“To the contrary, Skye, I know exactly what I see.”
“Do you? Or do you only think you know? What are you hiding, Braden?”
He pushes his hands into his pants pockets. “I could ask you the same question.”
“You could, but I don’t have an answer. I came here to find one.”
“And you can’t believe that maybe I came here for the same reason?”
“You have no history here. That belongs to me. You want to find yourself? Start in South Boston.” I gather more courage. “Start with Addie.”
“Damn it, Skye—”
“Scratch that. Addie came much later. Start with your father, Braden. Start with your mother.”
His jaw tenses again, and his eyes are alight with wildfire. “Damn you,” he says between clenched teeth.
“Damn you, too,” I counter. “Fucking damn you.”
Then his lips are on mine again, without even a semblance of gentleness. It’s harsh. It’s painful, even.