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One thing Brett always admired about Aidan was his blunt forthrightness. Granted, his words stung, but he knew the reasons behind the questions. “No, I haven’t.”
“Don’t you think you should?”
“I don’t think she needs to know all that just because I’m painting her.”
Aidan looked him in the eye. “You know damn well you’re doing a hell of a lot more than painting her. The energy between the two of you is seismic. It’s clear you’re sleeping together, so don’t bullshit me, friend.”
Though his tone was light, Brett caught the irritation sizzling just beneath the surface. “And you don’t approve of that.”
Aidan shrugged. “Kait’s a big girl. She can make her own decisions about who she sleeps with. I just want her to have all the facts. You owe her that much.”
“It’s just sex, Aidan. And I’m sorry if that hurts you, but you know I’d never do anything to hurt Kaitlyn.”
“And you think fucking her isn’t going to hurt her? She loves you, man. She always has.”
Brett didn’t believe that. She might have thought she loved him when she was seventeen, but she was much older and smarter now. She knew the difference between love and sex. “No, she doesn’t. We have a physical attraction and we’re having sex. And that’s all there is to it.”
“I know you as well as anyone ever has, Brett. And I also know you’ve always had feelings for Kaitlyn. I appreciated you backing off when she fell all over you when she was just a kid, but now she’s a grown woman. And I know you still care about her, so don’t feed me a bullshit line about how it’s just sex between the two of you.”
He should have known better than to lie to Aidan.
“Look,” Aidan continued. “I’m not going to interfere in your relationship. Just be careful. You know I love you like a brother, but I love my sister, too. I don’t want to see her get hurt.”
Which confirmed to Brett what he already suspected. He had no business getting involved with Kaitlyn. Even his best friend had no faith in him. That hurt, more than he’d ever let Aidan know.
But Aidan was right. He had no business playing around with Kaitlyn, despite her assurances that she was only interested in sex. He knew her. That wasn’t her style at all.
The sooner he removed Kaitlyn from his life, the better it would be for both of them.
Chapter Seven
Kait stared out the back door, wishing she could hear what Brett and Aidan were talking about.
The rest of the family had meandered into the family room to watch television with Dad, leaving her alone with her mother. She knew it was only a matter of time before the questioning started.
Putting a lid on a simmering pot of crab legs, her mother wiped her hands on a towel and sat in the chair next to her. “Okay, while things are cooking we can talk.”
Here it comes. “There’s nothing going on between Brett and me.”
“Yes, there is, ma petite. I can feel it.”
Kaitlyn rolled her eyes, knowing better than to try and refute her mother’s “feelings”. The best thing to do was come clean, at least about a few things. Not everything. “We’re having sex, Mom. That’s all. Just physical, fun sex. We’re not even dating.” We’re just fucking.But she wouldn’t be so crass as to say that to her mother.
“I think you both feel a lot more than you’re letting on. Brett’s heart is aching, cher. And it’s aching for you. But something’s holding him back.”
“Amanda,” she replied.
Her mother nodded. “Partially, but not because of what you think. There’s more to it than his memories of her, or his guilt over the fact he was driving the night she died. A lot more.”
She frowned. “You know something.”
“More a feeling than anything. Besides, it’s not for me to say. You’ll have to figure that out with Brett.”
As if she’d ever be able to figure him out. “He confuses me, Mom.”
“I can tell you this,” her mother said, taking her hands and squeezing them tight. Kaitlyn felt the strength of her mother’s magic, a powerful, positive force entering her. Her mother had always given her strength when she needed it most. “I see a future for the two of you. You are the bright sun in Brett’s life. He needs you. But there are dark clouds on the horizon. You’re going to have to be strong because he’ll fight you.”
Oh great. As if she could knock him down and force him to love her. “I don’t know if I can fight him. He has very sturdy walls built up.” Huge, impenetrable walls. Some days she felt like she was trying to kick through steel plate with her bare feet. Useless.
Her mother grinned. “Knock them down, ma petite. Knock them down.”
Any further discussion was put on hold as Aidan and Brett stepped back into the house. Kaitlyn looked at him, trying to gauge his mood, but he just smiled and went past her into the other room without a word.
The quick look he gave her caused her to worry. Something happened between Brett and Aidan. She felt the tension when they came back in, and neither Aidan nor Brett made eye contact with her throughout dinner. Fortunately, there were so many people at the table no one noticed, and both Aidan and Brett seemed calm, relaxed and both smiled and joked.
She wasn’t buying it. Something went on outside. As always, a Storm family dinner was noisy with multiple conversations going on. Now was not a good time to try and figure out Brett’s mind anyway. The last thing she wanted to do was try to have a discussion with him while her nosy family was eavesdropping.
Later, after the dishes were cleared, she caught him alone and tugged on his shirt.
“I need to talk to you.”
He shook his head. “Now’s not a good time, Kait.”
“I know that. How about later? I can come to your place.”
“That won’t work. I have…plans tonight.”
A quick jolt of jealousy pounded in her stomach. She brushed it aside. Plans could mean grocery shopping for all she knew. “Okay. Some other time, then.”
“Maybe. I gotta run.”
Before she could say anything else, he left the room, saying quick goodbyes to everyone. She stood there fuming silently, watching him make a hasty exit out the front door. She tapped her foot and breathed out an irritated sigh, trying not to feel hurt over his dismissal.
So they had hot sex last night. Clearly not a big deal. He’d never made any promises to her, never even wanted to touch her. She’d pushed for it, she’d forced the issue between them.
Now she’d have to live with the consequences. Her heart might be deeply involved, but it was obvious Brett’s wasn’t.
Brett sat in the darkened bar and nursed a hot coffee, tuning out the sounds of French Quarter revelry and the slurred conversations of drunken patrons.
After he left the Storms…no, correction, after he’d run like hell away from Kaitlyn earlier, he’d driven around and ended up stopping at his favorite bar haunt, not wanting to face the isolation and quiet of his house.
Besides, he liked to come here regularly, to test his strength. The lure of taking a drink was always strong. He knew it would never go aw
ay. But the harder he pushed himself and surrounded himself with alcohol, the stronger he felt when he resisted.
Now if only he could draw on that strength to resist Kaitlyn. Making love with her had opened up a Pandora’s Box that created havoc around him.
He sighed and signaled the bartender for another cup of coffee.
He’d hurt her tonight by leaving without an explanation. Then again, he needed to avoid her. More importantly, he needed to avoid his feelings for her.
And if there was one thing he was damned good at, it was avoidance.
“Hello, darling. Whatcha drinkin’?”
He turned to the attractive woman sliding onto the barstool next to his. Well, almost falling onto the barstool was more like it. Obviously drunk, she arched a brow and rested her hand on his arm.
“Evening,” he said, not wanting to be impolite. The last thing he needed or wanted right now was company. Especially female company.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
Wasn’t that supposed to be his line? God knows he’d used it plenty in the past. “No thanks. Just coffee for me tonight.” And alone time. He didn’t want to rude, but the last thing he needed was a female hovering around.
Then again, maybe that’s exactly what he needed. A little distraction to get his mind off Kaitlyn. She wasn’t the only woman in the world for him. There were plenty of other available women. He’d just never taken the time or the interest in finding any.
“I’ve seen you here before. You always come in alone, sit at the bar, and nurse a couple cups of coffee, then leave.”
He turned to the blonde. She was about his age. Very attractive with dark green eyes and a gorgeous body that she displayed quite well in a body-hugging, short red dress. “And why are you here alone?”
She grinned and took a sip of her drink. “Nursing a divorce with a couple cocktails.”
He laughed. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. He’s a prick. Cheated on me, then lied about it. I finally had to hire an investigator and, man, did he take some interesting pictures.”
Behind the wall of alcohol he heard pain. He knew all about pain, and knew better than most about using alcohol to obliterate it. “I’m really sorry. You’re way too beautiful to have a man treat you that way.”
