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I smile to myself as I roll onto my stomach and rest my chin on my hands, lying on his firm chest. ‘Morning.’
He tucks my hair behind my ear and smiles, a full, dashing smile that reaches his eyes. It’s a rare and alluring sight. The tame side of the beast. And the way he looks at me makes me feel like Belle.
‘You’re pretty when you’re quiet,’ he says, chuckling.
‘Hey!’ I grab a pillow from my side of the bed and bash him with it. Then I settle back on his chest.
‘What are you thinking about, Izzy Coulthard?’
‘That we may have finally found something you’re good at, Brooks Adams.’
He laughs, filling my chest.
When he sobers, I tell him, ‘Actually, I was thinking I want you to know that I didn’t go to the bar last night for anyone but me. I didn’t go to make sure my picture was taken. I won’t be writing about it on my blog.’
He seems to take in what I’m saying, then this cheeky almost smirk that I’m getting used to comes. ‘That’s because you broke your own rules.’
‘Ha. Maybe.’ I turn onto my side and trace the lines of his tattoos with my finger.
He strokes my hair. His touch raises goose bumps on my skin. ‘Why did you come?’
‘A few reasons.’
‘A few reasons you want to share?’
I contemplate not telling him, but he doesn’t make me feel vulnerable now. ‘I told you I lost friends and didn’t really get invited places any more because of the whole exercise and not drinking thing and, to be honest, not being a Chelsea wife or a lawyer or doctor. Well, it felt nice to be invited somewhere. I know Madge invited me because of the PR thing but, I don’t know, it was nice to be in a group, talking to people.’
‘For what it’s worth, the guys liked having you around. I think Sarah might move back to the UK with you.’
‘She does seem to like the accent an awful lot.’
I find a rose inked on his hip and trace the outline of the petals.
‘Thanks, Brooks.’
‘There’s no need to thank me for the truth.’
‘Still, it’s nice of you to say.’ I also want to thank him for sending his friends to Barnes & Noble but last night, when I overheard Becky mention what happened, it was clear he didn’t want to talk about it. So I keep that tucked away.
‘I’m actually more interested in the other reasons you came. You said there were a few.’
‘More like one, really. But I don’t want to tell you.’
‘Come ooooon…’
‘I can’t really make sense of it. I just, I was in here last night, having dinner. Alone. I guess I missed having an obnoxious, arrogant man around.’
His chest bounces as he laughs. ‘I kind of missed fighting with you too, Iz.’
I don’t let him see how that short statement warms me to the core. I continue drawing shapes on his chest. ‘What is this?’
He glances down at the all-blue bird I’m tracing; its wings span both pecs. ‘A phoenix. It’s actually covering a tattoo that went wrong years ago.’
I move my fingertips along the rays of light bursting from a sun beneath the phoenix, then glide up his torso, through clouds, into trees. The tattoos are all so different but together, they paint a magnificent picture. In the trees are small birds with musical notes coming from their beaks. Against one trunk sits a man with a guitar.
‘What is this?’
‘Me, I guess.’
