Page 41 of Rescuing Brinley

It was good to be home. To be back in familiar territory. To listen to Cypress ask a million questions and not give her a chance to answer any of them. And especially because she’d been asked out by Dash. She’d be going on a date with a man she was extremely attracted to. A man who made her forget that she wasn’t beauty pageant material. Who made her feel as if she was good enough exactly as she was.

Brinley took a deep breath and started answering as many of Cypress’s questions as she could. She had a feeling they’d be awake most of the night catching up, and she’d be reassuring her bestie that she was really all right after the harrowing ordeal in Fiji. It almost seemed as if it had happened to someone else, but it hadn’t. It had been her; the girl who’d been made to feel worthless for much of her life had done something crazy, and saved the lives of eight innocent women in the process. It felt good. Really good.

For the first time in Brinley’s life, she felt as if she was absolutely worthy. That her looks truly didn’t matter. It was liberating and life changing. And she was more than ready to forget the past and focus on the future. One that would hopefully include a good-looking, decent, kind, and protective man who seemed to genuinely care about her.

CHAPTER NINE

Shadow was nervous.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this nervous.

Hell, for that matter, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been on a date.

The last week had been hard. Not because of the land-nav training he and his team had conducted. He’d enjoyed that. But because he’d had Brinley in the back of his mind the entire time. Wondering how she was. If she was having trouble acclimating back into her regular routine.

He’d talked to her a few evenings, and each time, just hearing her voice made him relax. It was weird but he couldn’t wait to talk to her again pretty much the second he hung up the phone.

They’d also been texting. Brinley always started by asking him if he was all right. How training was going. If he was eating enough. In short, she was eager to know about his day-to-day, and not just talk about herself.

That was a little thing, but also not so little at the same time. He’d gone out with women who seemed to only want to talk about what they were doing. Oh, eventually they asked about him, or he volunteered what he’d been up to, but Brinley seemed to genuinely care about him. Which he liked. A hell of a lot.

Now, he was on his way to pick her up, take her to one of the drive-up coffee places she loved so much, then they’d take a leisurely walk around the lake to catch up with each other’s weeks—the little they didn’t share via phone. And afterward, he’d take her to dinner. Shadow was looking forward to a low-key evening. Fairbanks had a couple of fine dining restaurants, but Brinley had told him that she preferred rustic and casual type eateries.

Which was fine with him. He actually wanted to take her to The Staggering Moose, the bar where he and his team liked hanging out when they had some down time, but not for a first date. He wanted Brinley to get to know his friends at some point—in a laid-back setting and not in the middle of a damn terrorist takeover—but not tonight.

Tonight was for them.

He pulled his Toyota 4Runner into the parking lot of her apartment complex and parked. He shot her a quick text, letting her know he was there and on his way up, and found himself smiling as he took the stairs to the second floor of her building.

He knocked on her door, and was a little surprised when Cypress answered.

“Brin’s not quite ready. But I needed to talk to you anyway.”

She stood back, allowing Shadow to enter the apartment. But Brinley’s roommate and best friend didn’t lead him farther inside, offer him a drink, or tell him to have a seat. Instead, as soon as the door closed behind him, she began speaking.

“Brinley’s been my friend since we were in the fifth grade. She’s one of the kindest, friendliest, most supportive people I’ve ever met in my life. You know how people like to say that someone will give the shirt off their back to help people? Well, Brinley has literally done that. It was just last October, in fact, and it had just snowed for the first time that season. We were downtown, and we came across a homeless lady who was sitting in an alley, shivering under a tiny little overhang, attempting to stay out of the snow. She had on what looked like several shirts and a sweatshirt or two, but no coat. Brin literally took off her winter coat and gave it to the woman. Then afterward, still felt bad that she hadn’t been wearing a hat to give to her as well.

“Her mother and sister really did a number on her. Did everything possible to make her feel awful because she wasn’t up to their beauty standards. Callista, especially, loves to point out what she thinks are Brinley’s flaws. And that hurts her even more, because they were so close when Callista was a toddler. But after she started doing beauty pageants, all the praise and compliments went to her head. And listening to their mom belittle Brinley constantly just taught her that it was okay to do the same thing.

“Anyway, Brin deserves the world. She’s naïve when it comes to relationships and hasn’t dated a lot. Men are assholes, and they’ve overlooked her time and time again. So I’m just warning you—do not fuck with Brinley. If you’re just looking for a roll in the hay, you can move on, because that’s not who Brinley is. And if you’re going out with her because you feel sorry for her, don’t. She doesn’t need anyone to feel bad for her. She’s got a healthy bank account because she’s awesome at what she does, and she can take care of herself just fine.

“In my eyes, she’s one of the most beautiful women ever, because Brinley truly doesn’t care about someone’s outward appearance. She’s learned the hard way that a beautiful wrapping doesn’t make a good person. All she cares about is who someone is deep down. And my friend deserves the best, so if you don’t want to give that to her, be that for her, then you can just turn the hell around and I’ll make something up as to why you had to leave. But you let her down easy, or I swear to God I’ll find a way to make your life a living hell. I don’t know how, but I’ll do it.”

Some men might be irritated or pissed that their date’s friend was being so aggressive. Was actively warning them off. But not Shadow. True, the lady was a little…fierce, but he was glad Brinley had such a staunch defender in Cypress. It just proved even further how special Brinley was. If her best friend felt the need to be this protective, it indicated to Shadow that she was worth any amount of effort he put into a relationship, and it made the intense feelings he had about Brinley after such a short time seem justified.

“I’m happy Brinley has a friend like you. And I can assure you that I’m here because from the first moment I met her, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her. She’s amazing, and frankly, I’m afraid that I’m not good enough for her.”

Shadow couldn’t help but smile at the look on Cypress’s face. It was obvious she wanted to agree with him, but she was holding back. He wasn’t offended though. She didn’t know him. Just because he was in the military and special forces, that didn’t mean he was a good person. He’d crossed paths with plenty of assholes during his time in the service.

“Regardless, I’m going to do everything in my power to be the kind of man she deserves. To be worthy of her. What she did in Fiji was amazing. Selfless. Brave as anything I’ve ever seen. She makes me want to be a better person. Be the kind of man she can lean on when she’s scared or nervous, and who she can share her secrets, hopes, and dreams with. The more I talk to her, the more I want to talk to her. And honestly, I don’t know what the hell her family sees when they look at her, but I’d pick a woman like her over one of the plastic Barbies she’s made a fortune dressing, every day of the week. Brinley is safe with me. I’ll protect her heart and body with everything I have.”

Cypress stared at him for a long, super-charged moment. So long, Shadow actually found himself holding his breath. He knew without a doubt that if this woman didn’t approve of him, he and Brinley didn’t stand a chance.

When she finally nodded, he felt every muscle in his body relax. He’d passed a test he hadn’t known he was about to take—but he should’ve. And honestly, he liked and respected Cypress all the more for looking out for Brinley. Everyone needed a friend like her. He wouldn’t let her or Brinley down.

“What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

Cypress spun toward her roommate. “Hey! Of course it’s fine. Dash and I were just talking. You look amazing!”