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Ally rolled her eyes. “Steal an extra glass. If I’m going to drink with my dad, I might as well do it in style. Somehow I don’t think I’ll be welcome in the suite tonight.”
“I’ll take care of you,” Gavin promised. “It’s best to give your mother some time. She can scream quite loudly when she wants to. She reaches this point where I’m sure she can only be heard by dogs. I’ll ask Seraphina to bring in a cot.”
“Which you’ll sleep on,” Ally said as she opened the door.
Gavin sighed. “It’s not easy being a father.”
But he’d been a good one. Of course, a father usually didn’t hide his relationship with a mother. How many years had they kept that secret? She felt so betrayed. Why would her mother do this? No one would have questioned their relationship all these years if Gavin had been her stepdad. Or even her mom’s boyfriend.
The door closed and she was left with Duke.
She took a long breath. She’d lost so much in the course of a single evening. Gavin was right. She would likely be fired. They would pay out her contract and find a less scandalous actress to play Gavin’s daughter. She hadn’t signed the other contract, so it would likely be rescinded. It was odd that losing her career wasn’t the bad part of the evening. There was something freeing in it.
Losing her mom was much harder.
Losing Major felt bad, too. He hadn’t said he wouldn’t see her again, but it felt like he was a million miles away. She wasn’t sure how they could move forward now, or if he would even want to move forward. Losing Major felt like losing something precious. Something that hadn’t quite had a chance to bloom.
She looked down, and Duke had gone into hiding in his crate.
“Sorry, buddy. Tomorrow will be better. I promise.” She sniffled and wondered if she should be promising anyone anything. Tomorrow would likely bring new problems. Tomorrow the story would be all over the world, and people would look at her differently. Maybe she should rent a place out on one of the islands and become an isolationist. She could be that crazy dog lady who only came into town for rice and water and canvases. She could be the Van Gogh of the bayou.
There was a knock on the door, and a wave of weariness hit Brynn. “Go away, Mom. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
She wasn’t sure what she would say to her mom, but she couldn’t do it tonight. Tonight was for sleep so she could try to see things clearly in the morning.
“Brynn, let me in,” a familiar voice said. “Please, baby. I’m so sorry we fought earlier.”
She knew it was stupid, but she flew across the room. She flung the door open, and Major was there.
“I shouldn’t have talked to you the way I did,” he said. “I’m so sorry. Can we please talk? I’m worried about you. That story is ridiculous, and you need to know that no one here is going to believe it. Roxie already told that reporter if she comes out here to the B and B, she’ll arrest her for trespassing.”
He was here. She knew why he’d been short with her, and she’d already forgiven him for that. But she didn’t want to talk. She wanted to forget the world and think about nothing but him for a while.
She took his hand, drawing him into her cabin. “No talk. Kiss me. Please kiss me.”
He leaned over and picked her up, kicking the door closed behind him. He started for the bedroom, and Brynn let go of everything else.
* * *
* * *
The sun shone in through the gauzy curtains, and that familiar sense of peace flowed over Major as Brynn curled up beside him, her skin warm against his.
“You sleep okay?” He had to ask because she’d had a hell of a night. After he’d made love to her, she’d told him what she’d learned about her mother and Gavin and talked about the betrayal she’d felt. Then she’d cried, and he’d held her for the longest time until she’d fallen asleep.
She’d trusted him. She’d given him all her trouble and he’d taken it in.
God, he was going to miss her. How much time did they have left? Would she need to go back to LA to handle the fallout of those stupid pictures coming out?
She sat up, stretching, her golden hair draped across her back. “I slept better than I thought I would.”
He reached out, running his hand over her cheek. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Would ever see. Her beauty was more than her looks. There was practically a glow that came off her. “How do you feel this morning?”
“I don’t know. In some ways, it almost feels good that it’s over. Do you know what I mean? I mean obviously it’s not over. I need to talk to my agent about what the studio is going to do.” She picked up her phone. She’d turned it off the night before. Now she pressed the button that would reconnect her with the world.
