The third time she tries, I decide to put a stop to it. It’s obvious Brett doesn’t want her attention.
“Sophie, I said you could stay the night. That doesn’t mean you can flirt or touch my fiancé. You had your chance and blew it, but I’ll be damned if you’re going to come in here and take what’s mine.”
I’m leaning across the table now. The more I say, the louder I get.
Brett clears his throat. He reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. “You have nothing to worry about there. I’m yours.”
He looks at me with a hard stare. I know this is all fake. I know that tomorrow when Sophia is gone, it’s all going to go back to me being the housekeeper and him being my boss, but I definitely got caught up in the moment. I don’t know if he’s mad or what, but I’m wondering if I took it too far.
Brett pushes his chair back and stands up, grabbing his plate and mine too.
He washes the plates and stacks them in the drainer and comes back to the table, holding his hand out to me. “Sophia, ya know how ranch life is. We’re going to hit the hay.”
I push my chair back and let him lead me into the bedroom. As soon as the door closes, I slap my hands to my face, mortified. I whisper to him, “I’m sorry. I went too far, didn’t I? I just got caught up, and she kept touching you.”
He puts his hands at my waist. “You didn’t like her touching me, did you?”
My head whips up to his, and I stutter, “I thought—” I clear my throat and try to calm myself. “I thought you didn’t want her to touch you. If that’s not the case, you can go back out there.”
I put my hand on my hip and stare at him, waiting to see what he’s going to do. I have no doubt that my heart will rip into a thousand little pieces if he goes out there. Surely he knows what kind of girl Sophia is, but if he doesn’t, that’s on him at this point.
“I don’t want her to touch me, but that wasn’t the question. You.” He points a finger and gently presses it to my chest. “You didn’t like her touching me.”
“It doesn’t matter what I want.”
He laughs, and I start to walk away, but he stops me. “It matters a lot to me. I know you didn’t mean what you said out there, but fuck, Emma, after last night and today, there’s a part of me that hopes one day you’ll say those words and mean them.”
I shake my head in confusion. “What words?”
His hand goes to my jaw, and I couldn’t look away from him if I tried. “You said I was yours.”
I huff out a breath. “Brett, you met me last night. I’m so messed up, you don’t mean that. You’ll be tired of me by the end of the week.”
He shakes his head. “I won’t be.”
So unsure, I don’t even know what to think. The first man I meet, and I’m going to fall for him? Shouldn’t I date and live a little before I commit to anything? But looking at Brett with feelings already bursting inside me, I couldn’t imagine going on a date with someone else.
He points at me. “That. What’s that look?”
I try to hide my face, and he catches my chin. “No, tell me. You’re looking, I don’t know, whatever you’re thinking, it wasn’t good. Talk to me about it.”
“You don’t want to know.”
“I do. I want to know everything about you.”
I lean closer to him. “I was thinking about how you’re the first man that I’ve ever really been around. I was thinking I should probably date or something.”
His hands tighten on my arms, but just as quickly, he loosens his hold. His jaw tightens. “You want to date other men?”
I shake my head side to side. “No, that’s why I looked that way. I thought it would be what I should do, but just thinking about it, well, honestly, I just don’t want to date someone else.”
His chest deflates, as if he had been holding his breath. “Good. I don’t think I could have handled that.”
This time I don’t pull from his arms. “So I’m sleeping in here...”
He nods. “Sleeping. That’s all we’ll be doing. I’m not going to take advantage of the situation, but I do plan on holding you all night.”
A tremble goes through my body, and I know he notices. He takes the back of his hand and goes up and down my arm, feeling the goosebumps that are raised there.