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“Um, Madison’s sister showed up.”
“Great.” His fingers rub his temples. “Was it bad? Is she gone?”
“Well, it wasn’t exactly rainbows and sunshine. I think it was pretty much downhill after I slapped her.” I don’t know what Stephanie is capable of, but Sunday doesn’t need any more added bruises.
He grabs my hands and examines my palms. “You?” He’s hiding a smile. “You hit her?”
“Yeah, well, she had it coming.”
His smirk is wicked. “You should have come and gotten me.” He manages a sterner face.
“I’m tougher than I look.” I puff my chest out.
“Yeah? Take a walk with me, tough girl?” Brazen takes my hand, and his thumb rubs against my knuckles.
“Of course.”
We leave Madison’s mother to rest and head outside. Instantly, the heat amplifies under the direct sunlight while we walk down the sidewalk.
“Well, family events are never dull. I guess the same can be said for this gathering.”
My mind is elsewhere. I should be worried about Madison and her mom and Sunday, but as Brazen speaks, the only thing on my mind is the element of this day that everyone, except me, seems to already know.
Brazen stops walking. “What? What is it?”
“I don’t want to seem crazy. You don’t owe me anything, Brazen. We’re just getting to know each other. I can’t demand answers or explanations.” My insecurities are higher than normal when I admit this truth.
“Let’s get something straight, Noah. This thing between us is new, and, yeah, we’re still getting to know each other, but it’s anything but casual. I always want you to feel one hundred percent secure in what’s going on between us and comfortable to ask me anything.”
“Do you mean that? All of it?” My pulse beats at double the speed as his tender words wrap around my heart.
“I mean it. All of it. Every word.”
Every part of me knows he’s being honest, and I relax a bit. Brazen always knows exactly how to ease my doubts and settle my uncertainties.
“Okay.”
“So? What’s bothering you?” He gets to the point.
“What am I missing about today? I just have this odd feeling there is something I don’t know that everyone else seems to.”
“There is something.” Brazen leads us over to a tree between my backyard and his construction site. In the shade, under the branches, we sit in the grass, and I get comfortable against him, ready to hear whatever backstory goes along with today. “Stephanie, Madison’s sister, is my ex-girlfriend. She was always very motivated by money, and after I finally realized that, I ended things between us.”
This was definitely the hidden gem I was sensing.
“Your ex-girlfriend is dating Sunday’s husband?”
Brazen sighs and runs his fingers through my hair. The motion is relaxing during a taut conversation. Whether he knows it or not, this man naturally alleviates my burdens, and everything about his being calms me.
“Yeah, honestly, I think she started her research and conquest of him way before she and I broke up. I think she knew that she and I wouldn’t work out, so at some point, she began using me to learn more about Matt.”
“That’s awful!”
“It’s hard for me to really be mad at her about it. I mean, the prize for her efforts was Matt, and we’ve both seen what kind of man he is. No woman deserves what Sunday’s been through. Not even Stephanie.”
He’s right about that.
“Why would she do this? Why would she want him?” I ask.
