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It wouldn’t take much. He wanted to hear her voice. To feel like a normal man for a little while.
He didn’t keep any contacts in his phone, so he went to his list of recent calls. Hers was the only number he hadn’t erased. He resolved to memorize it, to minimize the possibility of exposing her.
His finger hovered over the touchscreen for several seconds, as his need for her warred with his conscience. His conscience lost. Before he could argue with himself any longer, he touched the screen, initiating the call.
She answered on the first ring, and her soft voice soothed like a gentle balm on his ragged soul. “Hello?”
“Olivia?” he rasped.
“You called. I—I didn’t think you would, but I’m glad you did.”
He took a long pull of his beer. “I just…wanted to hear your voice.”
She made a small humming sound. “Bad night?” She didn’t wait for an answer, which was a blessing. “I have a feeling your threshold is pretty high.”
He made a noise somewhere between a grunt and a laugh. She had no idea.
Or maybe she did. The girl was pretty fucking perceptive. Beautiful and smart. The whole package.
He needed to lose himself in her for a while. “What are you doing right now?” he asked.
“Mmm. Grading papers. I’m glad you’re giving me an excuse to take a break. How are things going at the construction site?”
“Not bad. I worked with your brother today.” Though the man hadn’t even spared him a glance. These days, Will treated him as though he didn’t even exist. At least the guy didn’t try to take a swing at him.
“How is it with him? He’s not being an asshole, is he?”
He loved the bite in her voice. Like she would take her brother to task for him. He’d never ask her to, but the idea warmed him. “Nah. But things would probably change if he knew we were talking right now.” Will could never know. Nobody could.
“I am going to tell him about us.”
He sat up, tendrils of alarm wrapping around his chest. “Tell him what? There’s nothing to tell.”
She laughed softly. “Yes, there is. I’m going to tell him we’re talking. He should know… I like you. I want his support.”
“Olivia, you can’t.” Even one person knowing she mattered to him was one person too many. Even if Will would never intentionally hurt her, one wrong word said to one wrong person could be the difference between life and death.
“I can, and I will. Look, my family is important to me. You’re not some dirty little secret I have to keep.”
Another flash of warmth shot through him, but he shook it off. “I know, baby, but…there are bad people in my life.” Understatement of the year. “We have to be careful or they’ll hurt you to hurt me.”
She said nothing for a moment, then she answered. “Someday, you’re going to fill me in on those details, but I’ll accept what you’re saying for now. Still, you’re not getting off the hook with my family. They won’t spread our business to the underworld. I promise.”
Will would lose his shit—and rightfully so—but Brick couldn’t help the welling pride because this smart, beautiful woman wanted to claim him as her own. No one had wanted to claim him in, well, ever. “Your brother is not going to take this well.”
Her laugh tinkled like bells. God, he loved the sound of it. “You let me worry about my brother. We’re having lunch together next Sunday. I’ll break it to him in person.”
At least he had a little more than a week before the inevitable fallout. “You’ll call me if you need me before then?” he asked gruffly.
“I promise. Sweet dreams,” she said before hanging up.
“They’ll all be of you,” he whispered into the silence.
