Page 76 of I Choose You

“Don’t be rude,” I told him.

Kody rolled his eyes at me and shrugged. “What? She’s hot now. What does it matter?”

Brooke pulled her shoulders back, keeping her composure. “Which is it, Kody? Do you remember me or not?”

I was proud of her for throwing it back at him. He had been a colossal idiot at the party, pretending he didn’t know who she was.

Kody laughed, but I knew him well enough that it was his forced chuckle that meant he needed to save face. He had been caught red-handed, and we all knew it.

Mercedes stared him down, either judging him or trying to figure him out. “Let’s just go with chocolate and call it a night.”

“Circles,” I added. “Tiered.”

When the assistant replied with more questions yet, I was grateful Mercedes answered them all.

“It’s still early.” Kody glanced at us. “Why don’t we all grab drinks?”

Mercedes shook her head.

“You really don’t know how to read a room, do you?” I muttered.

“What?” He frowned. “You in?”

“No, we’re not in,” I told him as I wrapped my arm around Brooke’s shoulders.

He wasn’t a quitter. “Are you?”

“No.” Mercedes shot him down as she, too, headed to exit.

We split up, all going our separate ways.

“Let me give you a ride home,” I told Brooke.

She shrugged, and the gesture seemed like a way to get away from me. “Okay. Sure.”

Once we were in my SUV, I hesitated to start the engine. She wouldn’t look at me. Instead, she tugged at her blouse. Her fingers were clumsy, belying her nervousness as she adjusted the hem to cover her hips more. She flipped the visor down and turned side to side to check her makeup. A frown marred her face, but other than that, she was perfect. On point and just so, like she always was.

Not for the first time, I considered the time, effort, and commitment she had to invest to pull that off. I hated to think of her toiling away for the sake of vanity. That night she drank too much, she’d rubbed it all off when she got home. Fresh-faced and without makeup was just as sexy and beautiful as when she’d done it all artistically.

She pursed her lips and dabbed at the corner of her eye, contorting her facial muscles the way one had to in order to check for imperfections on the ever-changing and moving features of the face.

This wasn’t the first time I’d noticed her doing this. Little glances here and there. She’d check herself out often, almost like a fixation with her appearance. When she did, it was with an expression of concentration. She would be focused, not smiling at herself.

And for the first time, I wondered why.

“Are you okay?”

“Can you drive me home, please?” she asked, snapping the mirror shut and flipping the visor up.

I sighed and started the SUV. I didn’t push, and she stared out the window.

Silent treatment. That was great.

Fucking Kody.

“I looked over the files you emailed yesterday,” she said after a few moments of heavy silence.

I glanced at her, disappointed she still looked out the window. She would lead with that? Business? Of course, that deal between Wagner Industries and Halden Inc. stood. Actually, I was slacking on it. I had to contact Todd to inform him of the exclusive business arrangement.