“Is Brooke inside?”
Someone answered, and within seconds the door was thrown open without so much as a knock. He was angry, and he made no secret of it.
“Why did you leave?”
I remained silent. He moved around the desk and stood in front of me, arms pressed against the cabinet, inches away from my face. His impressive stature blocking my sight, I had no choice but to meet his gaze and answer his question.
“I couldn’t sleep, so I came to work early.” I pretended to search through the folders, trying to find the one I needed.
“What’s wrong?” His eyes scanned me up and down, noticing, analyzing. I had been stupid to think Jett wouldn’t pick up on my emotional undercurrents.
“Nothing.” I shrugged. “It’s not even a big deal. You were asleep, and I didn’t want to wake you. Don’t blow it all out of proportion.”
His voice dropped to a whisper. “Did I hurt you last night? Is that why you’re mad?”
“No.” I frowned, thinking back to our lovemaking session. He had been rough but not to the point of hurting me. “I wanted it. Remember?”
His eyes continued to scan my face, my business suit, and then he noticed the dark bruise on my arm—the result of my unfortunate encounter with Jett’s father. I almost stopped breathing when he grabbed my wrist and held it up. I had seen it the previous night while soaking in the bathtub, but he hadn’t.
“What’s this?”
I shrugged. “I fell. No big deal.”
His eyes narrowed on me as he considered whether to believe me. Something flickered in them, and I knew I had to come up with a better lie.
Damn!
He was being suspicious, and I had never been a good liar. I walked over to the window, putting as much distance as possible between us, and turned away. In a little more than half an hour I was expected to get into a car and leave everything behind. Now was the time to release him.
“This isn’t working, Jett. I don’t think it’s a good idea we’re dating.” The words flowed so fast from my lips, I could barely think. I held my breath and bit my lip hard to keep myself from looking at him. The room was so quiet my heartbeat sounded like a drum counting down the seconds in my ears.
“Why not?” he finally asked. His tone was cold, any trace of his love for me gone. I shuddered and pushed my hesitation to the back of my mind.
“We rushed into this and I—” My voice failed me. Even though we weren’t touching, I could feel him all around me. He was beautiful and so very angry. The pressure behind my eyes grew stronger. I lowered my head so I wouldn’t give in to the magnetic pull urging me to look at him just one more time. “I think we should take a break.”
He inched closer. His fingers clasped around my shoulder, and I had no choice but to turn and face him. I expected anger, sadness, indifference, anything but—
Gentleness.
“What are you afraid of, Brooke?”
My eyes filled with unshed tears before I could stop them. I didn’t see this reaction coming and had no idea what to say to him. That I worried for everyone’s safety because I wasn’t welcome in his family?
“Maybe I’m afraid of the fact that you mean more to me than any other person ever will,” I whispered. “I’m not used to having such feelings. They scare the hell out of me.”
His fingers settled beneath my chin and pushed lightly, forcing me to meet his gaze.
“I’m scared, too,” he said. “But that’s not why you’d break up. What’s the real reason?”
His words didn’t manage to settle the storm inside me—they made it worse because they reminded me just how much I believed him.
“Maybe I don’t have a choice,” I said before I could stop myself. “Maybe I want to, but that’s not an option for me.”
He stared at me confused. “What the fuck are you talking about? We always have a choice, Brooke.” I had heard it all before. Everyone seemed to mention choices lately. I should never have started, because Jett wouldn’t understand. No one could.
“I’m not afraid of loving you, Jett. I’m afraid of what it might mean for us…and my child.” His eyes narrowed on me, and the glint of anger from before resurfaced. I swallowed. “I don’t think what we have is healthy. I just think—”I stopped in mid sentence, for a moment lost in the magic of his green eyes rimmed by dark, long lashes. “There’s no assurance in life that’ll last. I want to get away from you before we collide. Just because we were meant to meet doesn’t mean we’re meant to last.”
He stared at me with a look that said he couldn’t understand me, that I was crazy. Maybe I was crazy to give it all up, but he didn’t know my dilemma, and his drawing at straws and trying to understand when I was running out of time made me desperate.
“Damn it, Brooke!” Glowering, he wiped his hand over his face in fury. The intensity in his eyes made me flinch. ”I thought we had left all those fears and insecurities behind us. I thought you had learned to trust me that I’m not going anywhere after the baby’s born—if that’s even what you’re so worried about. Obviously, I don’t know, because I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” His shoulders slumped, the tense expression on his way giving away his disappointment.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
He shook his head. “No, you’re right. There’s no guarantee it’ll last. But there’s one truth, Brooke. A simple naked truth that I’d do anything for you. Do you know why? Because I don’t care about anyone but you. I don’t care that you have issues. I don’t care that you don’t trust me. My feelings for you will never change.”
The heaviness in the air was oppressing—the sea was about to crash upon me. I smiled to hide my tears. He didn’t return my smile, and his voice was cold as he spoke. “The baby’s not yours, it’s ours. There’s no way I’d let you raise her alone. Maybe we’ll collide someday, but you know what? We’ll make up, because what we have isn’t something that will crumble easily.”
A knock on the door, and Emma’s head popped in. Jett’s expression changed to an angry frown at the disruption.
“Miss Stewart? Your meeting’s about to start.”
“Give us five minutes,” he barked.
“I’ll be right there.” I turned my head from Emma to Jett and whispered, “I’m sorry. Gotta go.”
The door closed behind Emma. Grabbing my handbag, I stopped and shot Jett a smile. “Let’s talk over dinner.”
A dinner that will never take place.
“Okay.” He hesitated. My body burned to touch him one last time. Run my fingers through his hair. Kiss him so I’d remember the taste of his lips forever. Instead, I bit my lip hard until I drew blood, grabbed my handbag and a folder, and walked past. His hand gripped my arm, stopping me.
“Brooke?”
I froze to the spot, unable to respond, unable to turn around as an electric shock ran down my spine. There was no point in saying anything else. No point in trying when I had failed. He wasn’t released. He wouldn’t be for a long time.
“You can’t break up with me. I won’t let it happen,” he whispered. “If you don’t want me, I understand, and you’re free to go because I want to see you happy. But if you love me the way I love you, I won’t let you go. I’m not giving up on us. I can’t force you to love me just as you can’t force me to stop loving you.”
And then he let me go. I walked out of the door, away from him, away from his promises and the future I had looked forward to. My feet carried me so fast I barely acknowledged the people in the corridor and in the elevator.
Walk. Walk. Walk. Do not think. Do not feel. Do not look back. Just walk.
Never in my life did I force myself so hard to get away from the one person I loved the most.
My cheeks were damp with tears, and I wiped at them angrily. Life sucked. Absorbed in my thoughts, I didn’t notice the guy around the corner—until I bumped into him and his soda can dropped to the floor.
“Whoa.” Nate’s arm went around my waist, steadying me.
He was standing in front of a vending machine. I picked up his soda can from the floor and gave it back to him. “Sorry.”
“Are you okay?” He pointed at my lip. “You’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine.” I wiped away the blood with the back of my hand and ran the tip of my tongue over my lip to stop the flow. “Just having a bad day. That’s all.”
The excuse came out effortlessly, probably because it wasn’t much of a lie. I wasn’t just having a bad day; I was having the day from hell.
As I met his gaze and smiled, something passed between us.
“Don’t we all.” He smirked. “Want to tell me about it?”
I shook my head, wishing I could tell him.
“I’m not sure my brother told you, but I’m staying for a few weeks to sort out the issues my father’s death caused,” Nate said. “We’re researching a new brand image.”
My brows shot up. Mayfield Realties was huge and successful already. Why would anyone want to change anything about the that? “What’s wrong with the company as it is?”
He shot me a quizzical look and lowered his voice. “I assumed you already knew we’ve been in trouble for a while. Internal changes have been initiated.” He opened his can and took a sip, his eyes never leaving mine. “Jett’s been working around the clock the past few days to save what’s left before the media get hold of it. We’ve been looking into ways to transfer all our employees and their positions to other branches, but—” He clicked his tongue, leaving the rest open to interpretation.
He took another sip and then pointed at the vending machine. I shook my head, declining his silent offer. Too many thoughts kept swirling inside my head: Jett working around the clock…new company…people being transferred.
His eyes focused on my lips, and I wondered whether I was still bleeding.
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Nate’s voice pulled me out of my trance. I peered at the analog clock above his head. It was almost eleven a.m. The red pointer scared me the most, because with every second that passed it kept making a ticking sound reminding me of TNT ready to blow up.
“Maybe another time.” The words stumbled out all mumbled. “Nate, my conference meeting is starting in a few minutes. Do you mind taking notes for me? Just for a few minutes. I need to use the restroom. Everything you might need is in there.” I pressed my folder into his hands.
“No prob.” He smiled, the smooth skin beneath his eyes crinkling a little. “You can repay me later.”
I pointed at Conference Room 1, and we walked the short distance together. Through the glass partition I saw my team had already gathered and were chatting animatedly.
I squeezed Nate’s arm. “Thanks.”
