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I smiled, feeling pleased, but still said, “You don’t have to worry too much about me. I’ll go along with whatever you want, no problem, as long as it’s actually what you want. I can even beat the guy up for you.”
She smiled wryly at me. “Mr. big CEO beating someone up, wouldn’t that get you into trouble?”
I shrugged. “It’s not like there’s a lot of people here that know who I am, and the ones that do aren’t people that want to go against my family. Besides, if we get him somewhere alone…”
She huffed a quiet laugh and lightly slapped my arms. She wasn’t completely out of her funk, but at least she looked a little better. Then she took my arm and led us back to the event.
“It’s fine if we just leave. Honestly, a guy like that isn’t worth so much trouble. I don’t mind going back early if you don’t.”
Of course I wouldn’t mind, I thought, smirking. Going back to the inn meant it was just me and Brooklyn in a room, alone together. I was looking forward to it as we made our way back to the car and sat down, then waited as Brooklyn put on her seatbelt. When she was ready, I started up the car, headed for the inn. It was only about fifteen minutes away and we got back in no time.
My thoughts swirled around in my mind as we made our way to the room. I was looking for a way to ask the question that was burning inside me. I was sure already, but I needed the confirmation from her, or there was no way I could relax.
We made it back to the room, and I sat down on the couch I’d spent the night on, and she sat on the other side from me. She took off her shoes so she could fold her legs under her, and I watched the edge of her dress as it lifted up to flash a bit more thigh.
“There is one consolation,” I said, forcing my eyes up to her face.
She frowned at me. “What kind of consolation could there possibly be in this?”
I grinned. “At least he’s not one of the men you’re marrying,” I teased.
I watched as her expression stilled, then got overtaken with guilt. Once again, I felt relieved, because I hadn't been a hundred percent sure it was a lie. She could have been seeing someone, whether or not a wedding was about to happen. When her expression turned to confusion, I felt my heart freeze in my chest.
“I… don’t really get what you mean? One of the guys I’m marrying?”
“You don’t even realize it, do you,” I murmured. “Every time you’ve mentioned this soon to be husband of yours, you’ve used different names. I think there was John, Kevin and back last night, I heard a Richard.”
“Oh,” she murmured, frowning thoughtfully. “I… guess I wasn’t that great at keeping it a secret, huh?” She sighed. “I’m not used to doing this sort of thing so you can't blame me, though.”
“Why would I blame you?” I said, leaning back in couch, feeling relieved again. “I like that you’re not good at lying, and I like that you’re not actually seeing someone.” I paused. “You’re not actually seeing someone, are you?”
She paused, and I narrowed my eyes at her, because her expression made me think she was thinking of lying to me again. But eventually she sighed and slumped into the couch, giving me a defeated look.
“All right,” she admitted. “A wedding really is in the works, but it’s not mine. Nora is the one that’s supposed to be getting married. That day when you showed up at the shop, I was trying on dresses for her so she could get the best view. I’m actually just the bridesmaid.” Then she frowned. “Well, I’m not one anymore, since Paul is obviously two-timing.”
“I figured that much out already,” I said. I checked the time on my watch. “Now, there’s a while to go before we can have dinner. Is there anything you would like to do?”
“Not really,” she said, shrugging. “Do you have work to do?”
“I have some documents I could be looking over,” I admitted.
“Then you can do that and I’ll read something.”
She pulled her cell out, and in moments, she was engrossed in something on the screen. I watched her for a bit, before taking up work again. I kept an eye on her the whole time. When it was time for dinner, I ordered the food brought over to us. We had it on the couch, and the entire time, we were both silent. I’d had some wine brought with the meal, and as I called for the dishes to be taken back, we both had a couple glasses of red wine, until Brooklyn looked ready to go to sleep.
I watched as she got up, left her glass on the table, and headed for the bedroom.
“Can I move from the sofa to the bed?” I asked, making her freeze.
There wasn’t a door between the living area and the bedroom area, but there was a wall and I couldn’t see around it to the bed. The door to the only bathroom was in the bedroom area, so aside from going to the bathroom, she would be out of my sight the whole time.
We spent last night that way, but I wanted something different for tonight.
Slowly, Brooklyn turned around to look at me with a guarded expression on her face. I got up from the couch, set my own glass on the table after emptying it, and moved closer to her. I stepped close enough to touch, but didn’t reach for her.
“Why do you want to move to the bed?” she murmured, blinking up at me.
“You know why,” I said simply.
