Page 29 of Truth

“Jamie.”

“My assistant? What about her?”

Brianna pressed her lips together for a long moment. “She’s pretty.”

I tilted my head to the side and appraised her. “Yes. Jamie is attractive. What does that...”

I paused, and she looked down. Was she really jealous?

For several minutes, I watched her and tried to digest the information she’d just hit me with. Never in a million years would it have crossed my mind that Brianna would be jealous of Jamie, but it did explain the difference in Brianna’s reaction to Jamie from when we’d arrived to when we’d left.

Cupping her face with my hand, I massaged her cheek with my thumb. “Brianna, you never have to be jealous when it comes to other women. I promise you that. I...” The words died in my throat. She wasn’t ready. “I care about you. A lot. I said once that I’d be here until you ordered me away, and I meant it. I’m not going anywhere. Not unless it’s what you want.”

She looked up, tears in her eyes again. This time, however, I knew they weren’t because of distress.

Leaning down, I captured her lips with mine, sucking first her bottom lip, then her top into my mouth. It was a slow kiss, one meant to show her the depth of my feelings. When we finally broke apart, I brushed the remaining moisture from her cheeks and smiled. She smiled back.

For the next hour, we sat on the blanket, ate the rest of our cheeseburgers, and people-watched. By the time we walked over to the water, she was much calmer than she’d been when we’d entered the park. Brianna was amazing, and she constantly made me so proud of her I could barely contain it. She was brave beyond what any person should have to be. It made my love for her increase with every passing day. I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

She was bracketed by my arms as we stood in front of the railing, looking out at the river. Although I couldn’t see her face very well from this angle, I could tell she was smiling. A warmth grew in my chest at seeing her so happy. I felt like I was floating, and I didn’t want to come down, ever.

As I rested my chin on top of Brianna’s head, completely content, the sound of laughter nearby drew my attention. Some thirty or so feet away was a group of four playing Frisbee—two guys and two girls. They didn’t look much older than Brianna, and I wondered if, had it not been for what had happened, that could have been her playing out in the sun on a spring day with her friends, not seeming to have a care in the world beyond catching the Frisbee being tossed their way.

Like a cold slap in the face, my conversation with Oscar replayed in my head. I wasn’t willing to let Ian get away with what he did to Brianna. One way or another, he was going to pay for breaking this beautiful woman. The chances of that happening and me not being pulled into the fray were next to impossible. I’d written a large check to him recently for something I couldn’t easily explain. Although I had every confidence in my lawyer, there was no telling what would happen, especially once the press got involved. There would be lots of questions and not many answers.

There was also the matter of her father. The man ranked right up there with Ian and Karl in my book. Actually, he was worse. Any man who would sit back and allow his daughter to be taken... just the thought had me wanting to punch something.

I tightened my hold on Brianna, letting her warmth seep into me. Taking a deep breath, her scent filled my nostrils, and the tension in my muscles eased.

All three of them needed to be strung up and beaten for what they’d done to her. Ian was no longer a part of her life, and I was working to help her deal with all that he’d done. I hoped that one day she’d be able to completely put that part of her life behind her, although I was sure she’d never be able to entirely forget.

Karl’s influence had been less, but his actions certainly hadn’t helped how she viewed people in general. Her uncertainty of people and the world around her had only increased.

Her father, however, was different. Nothing I could do would make him any less than what he was. I could try to protect her, keep her away from him, but I had no idea if that would be enough. I had to hope that it would, for her sake.

With that thought, I pulled her back against my chest and placed a kiss on her cheek. “It’s time to go.”

Brianna

The park was nice once I relaxed. I didn’t like being around people. Stephan said I had to get used to it, and I did understand, sort of, but it was still hard. I don’t think I could’ve done it if he hadn’t been there.

After the park, he drove us across town to get ice cream. “I’d like one scoop of each of these in a large bowl with two spoons, please.”

“You want a scoop of each of these, sir?” The woman behind the counter asked, pointing to the large case in front of her. I didn’t blame her for asking, because there were at least thirty different types of ice cream.

“Yes. Is that a problem?”

“No. Not at all. That’s just a lot of ice cream for one person, or even two,” she said, looking over at me.

“I think we’ll manage.” Stephan looked down and kissed me. He squeezed my hand and smiled as he turned back to the lady behind the counter.

We waited for several minutes while the woman scooped out the ice cream and placed it in a large bowl. With each scoop, my eyes opened wider. No wonder she’d asked for clarification. By the time she was finished, the bowl, which was the size of a large mixing bowl I sometimes used to cook, was heaped with all different colors of ice cream. I had no idea how Stephan and I were going to eat all of that, but I didn’t question him.

After paying for the ice cream, he guided me over to a small table along the wall. He set the bowl down on the table between us and handed me one of the spoons. “Go ahead,” he encouraged.

One at a time, I tasted each of the different flavors of ice cream. I liked most of them. There were two, however, I had no desire to try again—coffee and key lime. Both had me scrunching up my nose in distaste as I tried to force the bite I’d taken down my throat.

Stephan chuckled at the faces I made, which eventually caused me to giggle as well. Some people looked at us, and it made me slightly uncomfortable but not enough for me not to enjoy the moment with him. He didn’t have to do this for me. He didn’t have to do anything for me.

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