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“That’s not right, Peyton. He made the choice to become a father—you have no blame in this.”
“I’m sorry, Brodie. It’s a tough subject. It was for Kade, too.”
“Was he going to adopt them?”
“Kade? No. We never discussed it.” Peyton looked out at the sea. “We weren’t as close as you think we were. I loved him and considered a future with him, but I had doubts. Mainly about what he did.”
“Did he tell you he planned to retire?”
“Not specifically. I knew he would eventually, given his age.”
Brodie rolled his shoulders. “I don’t know what I should or shouldn’t say.”
“What do you mean?” Peyton asked.
“About Kade, what he was thinking.”
“What was he thinking, Brodie?”
“I knew what his plans were, so did the rest of our family. Before he left, he told us it would be his last mission. That he was retiring.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. He asked our mother to start planning the ceremony.”
Peyton closed her eyes and leaned against the headrest.
Brodie pulled the car over and took her hand in his. “Peyton, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’m…I don’t know what to say other than I realize how hard this is, for both of us. I think it would be best if we didn’t?—”
He took his hand off the steering wheel, leaned over, and gripped her nape. “Don’t say it, Peyton. Don’t say it would be best if we didn’t see each other. Please.”
Without waiting for her to answer, Brodie covered her lips with his and tangled his fingers in her hair.
At first, she resisted, but then relaxed into their kiss.
Her hand came up and rested on his chest, and her lips opened to his. When his tongue explored her mouth, battling with hers, her breath quickened. He pressed harder, then slowed and softened, nipping at her lower lip and kissing across the side of her face and down her neck. When he reached a sensitive spot, her hand grasped the front of his shirt.
“Brodie,” she groaned. “Stop.”
He did and looked into her eyes. “Stop? Am I wrong about this?”
“The question should be, is this wrong?”
“No, Peyton, it isn’t. I don’t understand your relationship with my brother, and honestly, I don’t want to. I’m angry because I can’t understand why he didn’t tell you the things he told us.” Brodie took a deep breath. “Peyton, please look at me.”
She opened her eyes and gazed into his.
“What I feel for you has nothing to do with Kade. Am I wrong? Tell me. Can you say you aren’t feeling the same way I am?”
“No,” she whispered. “I can’t, but, Brodie…”
“But what, Peyton?”
“We need to slow down. My boys…”
“I get it, but that doesn’t mean I can stop thinking about you. I can’t sleep. I walk around outside in the middle of the night, asking the sky what the hell I should do. I’ve never felt this way, and I don’t know how to handle it.”
