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“Polite?”
She nodded. “Yes, polite. I’m not going to stay in my home and hide. I’m going to volunteer at the animal shelter and have lunch at the diner and sit in the park and paint. We’ll see each other, and I need to know you won’t give me a hard time.”
How could she think for a second he would try to hurt her like that?
Because he’d broken her heart?
Maybe he was the one who needed time to think. She’d asked him to leave, and he wasn’t respecting her wishes. He was being everything she’d said he was. “I would never give you a hard time, but I think you’re making a mistake.”
“It’s mine to make.”
The words were said with a finality that Major couldn’t deny. He stared at her for a moment, regret flowing through him. He wasn’t sure where he’d gone wrong, but it was apparent he had. “I’m sorry, Brynn.”
“I am, too.” She gave him a half smile. “You should go. I need to get dressed and go talk to my mom.”
He walked back to the bedroom and quickly got ready. When he walked back out, Brynn was sitting on the couch, Duke on her lap. The little dog was cuddled close to her, giving her comfort.
“I’ll see you around,” she said quietly, her hand moving over Duke’s back. “And, Major, I hope you know I wish you and your father well.”
He could actually feel his heart constrict. “Same.”
He walked out, realizing he’d made the biggest mistake of his life.
chapter sixteen
“So you’re engaged?” Brynn strode into her mom’s suite thirty minutes after Major had walked away.
She felt numb, and that was bad because her mom had taken a big step today and she wasn’t ready to celebrate it. She wasn’t sure she would be even if Major hadn’t turned out to be a mistake.
Her mom was still in the Chanel suit she’d worn for the morning spot. Brynn had passed the film crew the network had sent. They’d been out in the back breaking down their equipment while Seraphina had been showing some of Brynn’s would-have-been coworkers around. She’d recognized the director of photography and one of the producers. He’d tried to stop and talk to her, but she’d brushed him off.
They likely would want her back now. Now her relationship with Gavin would be a plus to the film. They could build a whole narrative around it. It would put her right back in the spotlight again. Right where she didn’t want to be. However, she was fairly certain that her mom wouldn’t understand that. Her mom would want a payoff for what she’d done today.
“Gavin sprung that on me.” Her mom shut the door behind her.
The living area of the suite was set up for a celebration. There was a breakfast tray with fruit and pastries and a tray with mimosas and champagne flutes.
“Where is he?” She glanced around but her mom seemed to be alone in the big suite.
“He went to meet the director. He got in this morning. Do you want something to drink?”
Brynn shook her head. “No. I wanted to come by and tell you that I’m still dropping out of the film.”
Her mom stopped as though absorbing the blow. “Why would you do that, Brynn?”
“If you did that interview this morning for my sake, you should have talked to me about it. I could have told you I’d already made my decision. I won’t let you put me in a position where I go back to work simply because I feel like I owe you.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” Her mom moved around the table and sat down on the couch. “Your sister and I are the ones who owe you. I would say Gavin does, too, but he would have told you a very long time ago.”
She was confused. She wanted to understand what exactly had happened. Her mom was perfectly capable of playing out a scene to fix a publicity problem. “When did you start seeing Gavin?”
“We’ve been off and on for years. More off than on.”
“Have you been seeing him while you were here?”
Her mom nodded. “Do you remember when you got this job and he came over to celebrate?”
“I remember he left pretty early that night after the two of you traded barbs the whole evening.”
“He came back after you’d gone to bed and we argued and we ended up in bed,” she admitted. “It’s kind of what happens between the two of us. Mostly because of me.”
“Why? He said he wanted to marry you back when I was a kid. Did you not love him then?”
“I loved him pretty much from the beginning.” Her mom sat back, her gaze going soft. “He was so kind to you and me. He was the star of the show, and I was nothing more than a stage mom at that point.”
