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Each layer.
Always.
That was the problem about me.
The other problem was that I used to keep those feelings in. I didn’t share them with anyone. And instead of getting resolved, they would fester, making me feel even worse.
Until Brady had gotten me to talk and purge.
Like he was doing now.
“It goes deeper,” I admitted.
“Talk to me.”
I took a deep breath. “I don’t want your partners to pity my situation and think I’m being offered this because it’s your way of keeping me safe and protected.”
“Lily …”
“I know it’s not. I know you said you need a flight attendant with my level of experience. I believe all of that.” A knot was forming in my throat. Still, after all this time, it was hard to admit that I’d gotten myself into this situation. “But my past is unique. It’s challenging, it involves someone unstable and threatening, and I don’t want them to think I’m some kind of?—”
“I’m going to stop you right there.” His hands surrounded my face. “No one enters a relationship without something. Shit, I came to you with the inability to commit because I never wanted to or cared about it.” His voice was stern but soft at the same time, like he wanted to be heard, but he didn’t want the words to hurt.
“You have an ex—so fucking what? Some people have a kid or five or, hell, twelve. Some people are in the midst of taking care of their ailing parents. Some are drowning in debt. Some don’t have the ability to trust. Some are mourning.”
He moved in closer. “What I’m saying is, my partners are far from perfect, and they don’t expect you to be. But I promise, they’d never question my motive. They know I wouldn’t bring someone into our company unless they were qualified.”
He tucked a chunk of hair behind my ear. “I want you to think about it. You don’t have to make a decision now. And if you want to talk about it more, we can. If you want to meet with my partners, we can do that too.” He rubbed his thumb over my lips. “But if you say yes, this is going to be your new office, baby.”
TWENTY-NINE
Brady
“Where the hell do we start?” I said as Lily and I surrounded the island in my kitchen, where Klark had laid out a bunch of ingredients, leaving us to fend for ourselves.
It wasn’t that my private chef had abandoned us. It was date night. So, instead of having him prepare something that I knew would be five-star, I’d asked him to leave everything he would use to make his world-famous spaghetti in hopes that I could re-create it. Sure, it would have been easier if I’d just had him leave a pot of it on the stove. But where was the fun in that? Even if I fucked it up royally, which I probably would, at least I got to attempt it with her.
And at least she got to see that I was trying.
“Cooking isn’t my superpower.” She smiled weakly. “Heating up, plating—I can do that all day. Knowing what flavors are missing or lacking or the sequence to make it all turn out magical, forget it. I’m a helpless cause.”
I’d seen plenty of confidence over the years. Words intended to brag, impress, secure a second date that had no chance at all.
What I hadn’t seen was this.
Vulnerability.
Admitting a weakness, and it was so fucking sexy.
“If it turns out like shit, we’ll order in.” I grazed her chin, a spot I was surprised I liked so much. It wasn’t a beautiful feature compared to the others on her face, but it was what pulled everything together. A place that screamed to be held.
“I love that plan.”
I ran my hand past her jaw until I was holding the back of her head, tilting it so her eyes were aimed up at me. “How are your knife skills?”
“I can spread cream cheese equally around the inside of a bagel.” She giggled. “But I have a feeling that’s not what you’re asking.”
God, she was so fucking cute.
