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“I’m sorry if we scared you. I didn’t know who he was for a start. I thought he was a threat.”
She nodded her head.
“You feeling okay? You need anything?”
She ran her finger over his chest. N.O.
Okay.
“I’m going to get your whiteboard. We can’t have this talk without it.”
She let out a noise of protest.
“Duchess,” he warned. “We need to talk. I know you’re upset. I know you were frightened. But we have to talk about who Xavier is to you. And me. About what I am to you.”
Nervousness flooded her.
Along with shame. Fear. A whole raft of emotions.
She’d been so sure that Brick was going to shut her out. That he’d go back to being the cold man who was just doing a job. And she wouldn’t see those minuscule smiles, wouldn’t get those heated looks or the small acts of kindness that he hid from most people.
But she’d seen that her secret stash of chocolate downstairs had been refilled. And that the pool had been cleaned of leaves when it wasn’t the gardener’s day to work. When she’d gone into the garage the other day to check on something, she’d noticed that her bike was shining and that the tires were pumped up.
She knew it was him. He never spoke about it, never tried to lay claim to what he’d done. Never looked for a thanks.
His ex was a fool for letting a man like this go. A man who took care of her in ways she didn’t know she needed.
She didn’t want to lose him. It would hurt. Badly.
And what about Xavier?
What sort of person wanted two men at the same time? What the hell did that make her?
“Duchess, I’m not good at talking about my feelings and shit. It’s gonna be even harder if I’m doing all the talking. So, let’s get your whiteboard, all right?”
She shook her head. She either trusted him or she didn’t. And if she didn’t, then they couldn’t do this, because she had to trust someone to open up, to be vulnerable.
But God, it was hard.
“Juliet, I know this is difficult. It’s fucking near impossible for me to sit here and wonder if you’re gonna tell me to get lost. That you don’t want me. But you have to tell me. Because hiding isn’t an option right now? Got me?”
It welled inside her. She knew that she had to let it free.
“I know I acted like a dick downstairs. I . . . fuck . . . you know about Linda, what she did. For a moment, I was wondering if you had this thing going on with Xavier and I was just someone you were stringing along. But only for a moment. I’ve got fucking trust issues and I know I have to work on them. Just give me time.”
She opened her mouth. It was coming.
“I know I don’t fucking deserve you. You’d be better off with him. He’s got a good job. Obviously makes good money. Knows you. Lives here. Fuck, there’s no reason you should choose me. I get it.”
Shoot. What made him so talkative all of a sudden?
She tried again.
“But give me a chance and I’ll treat you like a fucking queen. Maybe I can’t give you material stuff now, but I’ll get there. I’ll take care of you, protect you, I’ll work every day to make sure you never regret being with me.”
He was killing her. Killing her.
“Brick,” she whispered in that broken, tiny voice of hers. The one that had made her feel so much shame and embarrassment. The reason she never spoke to someone she didn’t fully trust.
