“I need you to go.”
“It’s not that I don’t—”
“Brian,” I cut in, interrupting his panic with a smile. “It’s okay. We’re okay. But I need you to go now.”
He still seemed confused as he bent down and reached for his pants. He watched me as he got dressed like he was waiting for me to reveal that this was all some sort of test.
It wasn’t. I knew once he had time alone to think, he would realize what I had. He lifted his eyebrows in a silent question and I pointed to the doorway to my bathroom, rushing over to grab my bathrobe while he cleaned himself up.
“I don’t want to go,” he said with a heavy sigh once he was finished. “This feels wrong.”
“You have to. But you’re welcome to come back as soon as you follow your own advice.”
He gave me a sad look as he finished buttoning his shirt and leaned down to press a quick kiss to my lips. I waited until the sound of my door closing hit my ears, then I rushed over and threw the lock back into place.
I leaned against the door just like I had only an hour ago, only this time—I smiled.
14
Brian
It figured. The first time I ever really made love to a woman and I was immediately thrown out of her house.
Just my luck. My shitty, shitty luck.
I raised my hand and waited for a cab to pull over, sliding into the back and giving the driver my address before running my hand through my hair.
I briefly entertained the thought of going back to work, but there was no way I’d get anything done. I’d spend the entire day trying to sort out my feelings about Mallory. Trying to determine what I was sure of and what was just a product of the amazing sex.
My cell rang and I dug it out of my pocket, growling a little when I saw the name on the screen. I knew if I didn’t answer I’d have a shitload of angry voicemails later. Might as well get it over with. I swiped to accept and pressed the phone to my ear.
“If you’re calling to ask me to rehire your shithead son, let me save you some time and just say no.”
“Nice to speak to you, too,” Christine said dryly. “I’m doing good, thanks for asking.”
“Well, I’m not. All thanks to my precious nephew.”
“Yeah, he called and told me what went down. Or at least his version. Figured I’d call and compare it to yours.”
I glanced up at the cab driver and hesitated for a split second before deciding I really didn’t give a fuck. I launched into the full story, only sparing the details that directly related to sex. My sister and I had always been close, but not that close.
Christine laughed on the end of the line when I was finished.
“She seriously kicked you out?”
“Not even ten minutes ago.” I glanced up and saw the cab driver raise an eyebrow as his lips twitched. “Say a single fucking word and you can kiss your tip goodbye.”
Since we were sitting at a stoplight, he had a chance to mime locking his mouth with a key. I rolled my eyes as Christine incredulously said, “What?”
“I’m in a cab. So what am I supposed to do?”
“I think she was pretty clear with the instructions, B. How do you feel about her?”
“It’s too soon to say,” I muttered, but the words felt wrong.
“She seems to disagree.”
“She’s young. Naive. She doesn’t know—”
“Whoa. Before you continue, ask yourself if you would say these things in front of her.”
I frowned, not following her line of thought.
“You mean would I call her naive to her face?”
“Yeah.”
“No.”
“Because she isn’t really naive or because you don’t want to hurt her?”
Both. “The latter.”
There was a long pause before she laughed again. “You’re such a bad liar. You always were.”
With a heavy sigh, I settled back against the seat and closed my eyes. I could tell Christine was waiting for a comeback, but I didn’t have it in me to argue.
“Do you remember when we used to go to yard sales with Mom? When I’d buy every book I could find and you banked your money for that piano?” I waited for her hum of confirmation before I said, “I told her about that. She asked how I got into publishing. She even asked about you. Asked if you still play.”
“Where are you going with this?”
“She wants to know me. What if I disappoint her?” I asked quietly. “What if dating an older man isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and she gets bored and moves on?”
Christine sighed heavily and I could just picture her head shaking.
“Welcome to the wonderful world of love, Brian. It’s scary as hell, and I hate to break it you to, but those fears are never going to go away.”