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“When I asked if there was medical reason for why she couldn’t talk, she nodded. There’s not.”
Elias leaned against the doorway. He seemed to think that through. “She’s not a normal client.”
No shit.
“Obviously there’s something in her past that has caused her some trauma.”
And he hated to think what that might have been.
“You do know that not all traumas are physical, right?” Elias asked.
“I was in the marines, of course I know that,” he snapped. Then it hit him.
Fuck.
He was a fucking idiot. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
With a pained groan, he sat on the sofa. “I wasn’t angry about the not-talking. I was mad because she lied.”
Elias sat across from him. “And that’s a trigger for you. Always has been but especially after Linda.”
Another moan escaped as he pressed his elbows to his thighs and buried his face in his hands. “Fuck. I’m a fucking idiot. The way I treated her today . . .”
“What’s going on, Brick? I know these past few months have been hell. Having Linda leave you, losing the business, but while here you’ve been . . .”
“A complete asshole?” he guessed dryly.
“I wouldn’t go that far. Although I don’t know what you did today.”
“Basically, treated her like I would someone who I thought had lied to me.”
“Right. Awesome. So, should I start packing our stuff now? Because I’m guessing we’re about to be fired.”
Right now, he didn’t care about the job. Which was insane since it should be all he cared about. But all that mattered was her. And the damage he’d done.
“If I’ve hurt her, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“Strange thing I noticed yesterday was the way everyone treated her,” Elias mused. “Mostly, they went out of their way to avoid her or they treated her like she was made of the finest porcelain.”
“Yeah, the sheriff did the same to her today.”
He remembered how upset she’d been earlier. How her fear had called to him. How he’d wanted to erase all her worries. Christ. She wasn’t his type. He’d always been attracted to women who were bolder, more confident. Juliet would always be shy and quiet.
Yet somehow, that seemed to be exactly what he wanted.
“Other clients have lied to you, Brick. Never seen you this worked up about it.”
“Other clients weren’t her.”
“Yeah. And you feel things for her. That’s why you were so butt-hurt over her lying.”
He glared at Elias for the butt-hurt part, but he wasn’t off the mark.
“Guess the question is: do you care about her enough to want to do something about it?”
“She’s the client.”
Elias grunted. “Small problem.”
