Page 90 of Power Play

“After I kept asking.”

Briggs reached for another fry but didn’t eat it. “What else happened?”

“She was off when I got there. Quiet. She kept touching the sleeve of her shirt like something was wrong with it. She changed before I arrived and then changed again after I got there because she said what she had on felt weird.”

I glanced toward the restaurant windows, remembering the way she sat near me without ever settling.

“She barely ate the tacos she specifically asked me to bring, and that bothered me more than I wanted to admit. I knew Charm stopped eating when she was stressed because I’d seen her do it before. I had no clue how deep it went.”

The words felt heavier once I gave them to the table.

“She talked about her mother liking the dress more than she talked about herself. Every time I asked what she wanted, she looked at me like I’d handed her an exam.”

Cade rubbed his thumb slowly against the side of his glass. “What are you doing about it?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

Briggs’s brows lifted. “You’re asking us for advice?”

“Don’t make me regret it.”

He sat straighter. “I have waited years for this moment.”

“Sit the fuck back down emotionally.”

Easton laughed, but I looked at Cade.

“I know I want her. That part isn’t confusing.”

Briggs opened his mouth, and I pointed at him before he could speak.

“If you make one dick joke, I’m leaving.”

He closed his mouth.

“I know she wants me too.”

Cade nodded. “Then what’s the issue?”

“She kissed me, which tells me she wanted to kiss me.”

Easton stared at me. “You’ve become exhausting.”

“I’m serious.”

“I know you are. That’s the problem.”

I leaned forward. “She has enough people deciding what everything means for her. I’m not going to decide kissing me means she wants sex, a relationship, a fucking label, or whatever comes next. I want her to get there herself.”

Briggs looked thoughtful. “You’re seeing what happens.”

“Yeah.”

“With regular kissing.”

I gave him a look. “We kiss.”

“And nothing else?”