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"Exactly. He offered to take me to Paris and all that fancy shit. The guy cornered me in the library of all places. He must have followed me because I’d gotten bored by the endless rounds of small talk and the constant laughter for no reason. So, there I was sitting in the library reading a book when he came in.
He started talking at first and it wasn’t bad, but then he started touching and talking crap about how beautiful I am and how he’s attracted to me. I asked if he was married and he waved that away. Literally waved a hand as if his poor wife didn’t matter. That pissed me off even more. Then he tried to kiss me and then I really got mad."
Brady felt his entire body tighten and had to resist the impulse to ask if he was still around.
"What did you do?" He asked casually, picking up the tray and putting it away.
She eyed him shrewdly. "I don't need you hunting the guy down and punching his lights out. I took care of that myself by kneeing him in the groin."
"Good." He said briskly.
“What about you?” She asked him curiously.
“What about me?”
“Have you ever been with a married woman?”
“Almost.” He admitted.
Her tapered brows lifted and she couldn’t believe she was feeling a dart of jealousy. “Almost?”
He nodded, a slight smile hovering around his lips. “I was in London at the time and was lonely and feeling sorry for myself.” Rising, he kicked off his shoes and climbed in next to her. “I’d just finished university and decided a break was in order.
She was older and separated from her husband at the time. She was living in the flats we’d just bought and I was living there as well. We bumped into each other on our way in and out and just started talking. It was just hi and small talks about the weather, things like that.”
He paused and took her hand in his absently. “Then she invited me to her flat.”
“Did she know who you were?” The jealousy was growing stronger, which was really ridiculous.
“No and I didn’t tell her. We had the same interests and would go to the Broadway shows and museums and art galleries.” Lifting her hand, he kissed her knuckles. “Like I said earlier, I was lonely and wondering if joining the company was something I really wanted to do.
I knew for sure I didn’t want to return home to face her – my mother. Her name was Jasmine and she filled a space in my life for several months. It just so happened that her husband had cheated on her and she was broken up about it.”
“What did she do for a living?”
“She was an attorney.”
“And you never slept with her?”
“When we decided to take it a step further, I couldn’t go through it.”
“Why not?”
He laughed, the sound a little hoarse. “She was married and still in love with her husband for one and I was-“ He looked away for a minute. “I was in love with someone else.”
“I don’t understand-“ The expression on his face sent jitters throughout her body and caused her heart rate to spike. “No.” She started shaking her head. “That’s not possible.”
Letting go of her hand, he dragged his fingers through his hair. “Isn’t it? Don’t tell me you didn’t know. It was clearly obvious I was into you.”
She stared at him for a minute before pushing the sheets off her and sitting up. “You were a snotty and arrogant teenager who didn’t want to have anything to do with me.”
He laughed at that. “I was angry and pissed at the world and jealous of the relationship you had with your mother.” He took her hand again.
“I wanted her to be my mother. I’d heard I was going to be shipped off to England, which was fine by me because I wanted to get away from that ice castle that was home.” His eyes met hers. “Why did you think I jumped at the idea of having a baby with you?”
“I just thought you were insane.”
“Perhaps.” He brought their joined hands and placed hers against his jaw. “Or it could be that I wanted to be with you, and I’ve felt that way since we were children.”
