As he walked away, I had the urge to yell out at him. To tell him he was wrong, that Brighton wouldn’t care, that me being an actor wouldn’t change anything. But a part of me knew it wasn’t true.
Of course, she might not know who I was because she was a workaholic, like most lawyers were. My father included.
When I glanced back toward the ladies’ room, I saw her coming out with my mother right behind her. Her eyes swept over the room, and when she found me, a wide smile appeared on her face…and for the first time in my adult life, I had the feeling my father was right and I was wrong.
My mother turned and headed toward my father while Brighton practically sprinted over to me. That coppery brown dress she had on fit her like a glove. My hands itched to feel her body under it. Her cinnamon-colored hair was piled up in large curls on top of her head, and those brown eyes of hers…fuck, they were beautiful. Large and luminous and so warm in color. Most guys I knew wanted the blonde and blue-eyed women, but Brighton’s eyes stole my breath. They were a light shade of brown with a dark ring that made them appear deeper in color. Rich, yet soft. Like chocolate—and I fucking loved chocolate.
“I need to leave,” Brighton said when she approached, though she continued to smile.
I shook my head in confusion. “Why?”
She let out a nervous laugh as she looked over her shoulder at my mother, then back at me. “Well, it’s a little hard to explain.”
I placed my hand on her back and led her to one of the corners of the room for a bit more privacy. My mother had obviously said something to Brighton, and I wanted to know what it was that had her so freaked out.
“Try me,” I said.
She chewed on her lip. “I may never be able to look at your mother or your father, ever again. That’s going to be really hard since he’s my boss and all. Oh my God…I might have to quit.”
I pulled my brows in. “And why is that?”
When she looked at me, I felt my knees go weak. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on, and I’d worked with some very beautiful women.
“Well, she asked me if I…um…if I, um…”
My heart started to beat harder. “If you what?” I asked, clenching my fists at my side to keep from shaking the words out of her.
“She asked if I saw myself having sex with you.”
I nearly stumbled back. “She what?” I shouted, then quickly looked around before lowering my voice. “She asked if you saw yourself having sex with me?”
Brighton nodded. “That’s not the worst of it, Luke.” She closed her eyes and shook her head before glancing back toward my parents. She leaned in closer and said in a low voice, “I answered her…truthfully. I have no idea why. I think it’s your fault.”
“Mine?”
She nodded. “You danced with me all Gene Kelly like, then whispered you wanted to kiss me, and my mind went to all sorts of dirty ways you could kiss me.
Smiling, I replied, “Is that so?”
“This is not funny! It’s serious. What came out of my mouth wasn’t something I should have said to my boss’s wife.”
I couldn’t help it. I chuckled and took a step closer, bent slightly so I could look into her face, and lowered my voice. “What did you say?”
She blinked rapidly before she looked down at the floor.
I placed my finger on her chin. “Don’t get shy on me now, Brighton.”
“I said…” She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. “I said I wanted to have more than sex with you. I wanted to fuck you six ways from Sunday.”
“What?” I said with a disbelieving laugh. “You said that? To my mother?”
She buried her face in her hands. “Yes! Yes, I said that. I was thinking it, and it sort of just…came out! Then I confessed to thinking you were gay and that you were off limits, but I still had this weird attraction to you. And then you said you wanted to kiss me and I got all turned on by it and my mind started to race… She finally held up her hand and begged me to stop talking! I, of course, told her it was your fault. Then I blamed her for even bringing up sex when all I’d been thinking about was kissing before she walked in.”
Brighton took a deep breath in and then blew it out.
I laughed. “Well, she was the one who started it.”
Her eyes went wide. “That’s what I said! Apparently, she expected me to say I liked you and would like to get to know you better.”