Maybe he did feel something. Maybe this wasn’t all one-sided.
He broke the tense silence. “I wanted to talk to you about Jess.”
“Jess?” From riding high on hope, she crashed down to disappointment. So he didn’t have a personal reason for wanting to spend time with her. It was about Jess. “What about her?”
“I suspect she’s been having some trouble at school. She hinted that she’d talked to you about it.”
“You should be talking to her, not me.”
“If you know something, you shouldn’t keep it from me.”
There were so many things she was keeping from him, it hardly seemed to matter. “The best way to make sure a teenager never talks to you again is to break a confidence.”
“So you do know something. Come on, Brenna, you have to tell me!”
Her head throbbed. Her heart ached. “I can’t do this now, Tyler.” She started to walk past him, but his hand closed over her arm.
“You don’t seem like yourself.” His eyes darkened dangerously. “Did Josh say something to upset you?”
“No. I had a lovely evening.”
“Did you sleep with him?”
She froze. “That is none of your business.”
“Tell me what happened.” His grip tightened. “You’re upset, and you weren’t upset when you left.”
“Nothing happened.” And nothing was ever going to happen because she was in love with the wrong man.
“Are you serious about him?”
This was the moment. This was the moment when she should tell the truth and ask him how he felt.
“Why are you asking?”
There was a pounding silence. A moment in which she was aware of her breathing and his.
“Because I don’t want him to hurt you. I care about you.”
Hope, bruised and battered, struggled briefly back to life. “You do?”
“Of course. We’ve been friends forever.”
Friends.
She stood for a moment, long enough to regain her balance and her sanity.
Honesty was one thing, but there was no point in asking a direct question when she already knew the answer.
“My love life is my business.” She pulled away from him and walked toward the stairs, her vision misted by hot tears she refused to let fall. “Good night, Tyler.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
TYLER SLAMMED THE front door and hung up his coat.
He waited to be assaulted by the dogs but instead was met by silence. There was no sign of Brenna or Jess.
He was wondering where they were when he heard a burst of laughter coming from the den. The door was closed, presumably to keep the dogs out.