Marco (The Men of Indecent Exposure #1)(14)

‘Good morning. How would you feel about me taking you out to breakfast?'  was my attempt at extending an olive branch. I reread the text I sent  several times, first wondering if it was too cold, and then wondering if  it sounded like I was coming on to her. Eventually, I stopped worrying  about it and trusted that she'd know where I was coming from.

‘I wouldn't mind, but my stomach has been really sensitive lately.'

I read her response, assuming it was a cop out until she sent another.

‘Would you mind coming here instead?' she asked. ‘I can make something.'

I let out a breath and hoped this was a good move. If not, I had Justin to blame.

‘I'll be there. Text the time and address,' I said in closing, getting up to shower right after.

I was already standing beneath the water when I heard the alert on my  phone, letting me know she had sent the info. I don't know if it was the  talk I had with the guys that set me straight or what, but I woke up  this morning with a sense of resolve. I approached this situation wrong  from jump. It was hard at first trying to see anyone's position in this  other than my own, but Brynn was just as caught up in all this as I was.  At first, I worried that we'd have nothing to relate to one another on,  no common ground. But if nothing else, this was our common  ground-expecting a child together. Neither of us had done it before and  we were both struggling to adjust. I didn't want us to be enemies or at  each other's throats for the rest of our lives. We'd be partners, in a  way, for the next eighteen years at least, so we would both benefit from  trying to get along.

When I got out of the shower, I ironed a red Polo shirt and some jeans  to throw on, grabbing my red, fitted baseball cap on my way out the  door. I'd just started the engine when the phone rang. Touching the  screen of my truck's dash, I answered.

"Whassup?"

"You're meeting us at the gym, right?" Justin asked, speaking loudly  over his music and the commotion in the background. Knowing his routine  as well as I know my own, I knew all the noise was him preparing his  green, breakfast smoothie. The music was his way of getting amped up for  this morning's workout.

I pulled out of my driveway before answering. "Not today. I've got some other stuff to do."

His music went silent at the same time he killed the noise of his  blender and I knew he was about to get on my head about ditching him and  the guys. "Like what?" he asked, proving me right.

I blew out a breath and thought again about what I was on my way to do.  "I'm taking your advice," I admitted. "I'm on my way to Brynn's."

This guy never did a good job of hiding it when he gloated. There were  few things he loved more than being right. The very next second, he  proved that today was no exception. "Ohhhh …  I see somebody was  listening!"

Shaking my head at how predictable he'd become, I went on. "I'm just trying to keep the peace, you know?"

"I feel you," he agreed. "It's early; you taking her to breakfast or something?"

"No, I offered, but she wants to cook instead-something about her stomach being sensitive. Probably a pregnancy thing."

"Oh ok," Justin replied, but then his voice came back through my car's speakers. "You're not going empty handed, though, right?"

I frowned, staring at the elapsed time on the screen before I spoke.  "What the hell am I supposed to bring? She didn't ask me to-"

"This clown," he cut in, talking about me, but not to me. "Dude …  you're trying to get on her good side, aren't you?"

I shrugged. It wasn't really like that, but I listened anyway.

"Pick up some flowers or …  something. At least ask her if she needs you  to bring something to add to the meal," he suggested. "If you show up  empty handed, expecting to eat up all this girl's food, you're gonna  look like a bum," he concluded. "And I can't let you go out like that."         

     



 

It was too early for this. Pulling off the road and into the parking lot  of the grocery store I was just about to pass, I cussed Justin out in  my head. Flowers? I wasn't trying to date her, it was just breakfast.  Still, on the off chance that he was right, I didn't want Brynn looking  at me like I literally had nothing to bring to the table.

"I knew I shouldn't have picked up when I saw your name," I mumbled, shutting the engine off again.

"Whatever. I probably just saved your damn reputation," he reasoned, sounding amused.

I switched the call from Bluetooth to my phone and climbed out of the  car, headed for the store's entrance. "You're gonna have this girl  thinking I'm-"

"Thinking you're what?" he cut in. "A good guy?"

I didn't say anything back, just scanned the flower selection. I'd taken  several women flowers over the years, but none under these  circumstances. It still felt like it was too much, but Justin had  already talked me into it.

While I thought, the clerk re-stocking the glass enclosure beside me  lifted a bright, yellow bouquet of roses off the cart, preparing to  place it on the shelf.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

The woman looked my way when I spoke. "Yes? Can I help you?"

I pointed at the arrangement in her hands. "Mind if I take that one?"

She smiled and handed it over before going back to her task.

"Man, send me a pic," Justin said into my earpiece. "They better not look cheap."

I'd already started toward the register and decided I didn't need any  more of his advice this morning. I rushed him off my phone, paid, and  then got back on the road.

Within twenty minutes, I was standing at Brynn's door knocking, trying  to think of stuff we could talk about while we ate to keep things from  getting weird. We hadn't gotten off to the best start, so I wasn't sure  what kind of mood she'd be in. However, the point of me coming to see  her today was to start over. Or at least try to.

Justin did a lot of talking, like …  a lot …  but most of the time he made  sense. He was right about Brynn and I needing to establish positive  communication between us, some dialogue about how this would all play  out. We both needed to know where the other was coming from.

I heard the last few steps she took as she approached the door. For some  reason I stood a little taller and straightened my shirt as I breathed  deep.

The door unlatched and a smile, much like the one she wore when she met  with me at the restaurant a few weeks ago, greeted me on the other side  of the threshold. Nothing like the cold shoulder she'd given me the  other day at the doctor's office. Maybe she'd come to the same  conclusion I had about turning over a new leaf and trying to get along.

The sunlight hit her in just the right way when she stepped into it,  making her pretty, brown skin glow a little. Or maybe it was just that  glow people say all pregnant women have. Whatever the case, it made her  look even more beautiful today than the other times I'd seen her.

Her hair looked good, too-parted down the middle, long with big curls at  the ends. She had it pulled forward over her shoulders, covering her  chest. Another pair of those tight stretch pants-gray this time-covered  her lower half and I swallowed hard, trying not to notice how good she  looked in them. The hip-length, button-down shirt she had on left her  thighs exposed, drawing my eyes to the ‘Y' shape where they touched at  the top and then fanned out into the spread of round hips. My jaw  stiffened at the sight of her and, as inappropriate as it may have been,  I found myself wishing I could remember what she looked like wearing  less. Much less. Of course, nothing came back to me, but trust me; it  wasn't for lack of trying. Her shape was something like perfect and, as  usual, I had to keep my thoughts in check.

But damn, it wasn't easy.

"Uh... good morning'," I forced out, redirecting my eyes to hers.  Hopefully, I played that off well, but probably not. "These are for  you," I added, holding out the flowers Justin said would serve as a  peace offering. Thinking about it, I hadn't made such a great impression  and I hoped to change that. I wasn't going to let her down. We got into  this together and we'd get through it the same way.

Brynn's eyes, naturally large and bright, widened at the sight of the  yellow roses as she took them from my hand. "Oh wow …  thank you." She  glanced up from the bouquet and looked at me, smiling again before  inviting me inside.

I stepped onto the freshly-waxed, wood floor and looked around. Her  place was nice, well-kept. I could tell from the outside that it was  small, but the way she had the living room arranged made it feel bigger,  more open. Right off the bat, I picked up on her favorite color being  yellow. There were subtle hints of it everywhere-the throw pillows on  her gray sofa, yellow and white striped curtains, and the view I had of  the kitchen from the living room showed that the far wall had been  painted yellow, too. Clearly, this particular flower arrangement had  been a good call.