Page 40 of Truth

“Be a good girl and fix my pants, and then we’ll go see what you made for dinner.”

Brianna wasted no time doing as I’d instructed, all with a smug smile on her face. I’d been holding off pushing too much, for fear it might trigger a past memory for her. Maybe I’d been wrong to do so. She seemed ready for the next step, ready to explore. Brianna was the one who’d brought up the ropes. She was the one who’d been waiting at the door kneeling. My lunch with Logan couldn’t come fast enough. I just hoped he and Lily agreed.

I helped her stand and then made my way to the table while she checked on the food. She was still smiling as she carried the baking dish over to the table and set it down. If nothing else, she seemed quite pleased with herself.

Once she sat down, and we each had food on our plates, I continued to watch her. She showed no signs of discomfort, regret, or anything other than happiness. It hadn’t escaped my notice when I’d walked in, either, that she was wearing a dress. Brianna always chose to wear pants or shorts. I had to assume her wearing a dress held some significance.

“I like the dress.”

“Thank you.” The smile never slipped from her face, but she lowered her head and blushed. It was adorable.

I thought about beginning our normal, nightly conversation here at the table but reconsidered. Brianna was smiling and happy. Although I didn’t want that to change, I knew there were some serious things we needed to discuss. I also had assignments for her to work on during the week. The topics were almost certain to wipe that smile from her face, at least temporarily, and I wasn’t ready for that to happen yet.

“Did you read any more in your book today?” I asked later, once we were sitting in my chair.

“No. I cleaned.”

I glanced around the room and frowned. The condo was clean when I left. There was no way it should have taken her an entire day. “You don’t have to clean every day, you know. In fact, you don’t have to clean at all if you won’t want to. I used to have a maid who came in three days a week, and I can easily make that happen again.”

“I like to clean. It... it helps me clear my head.”

Her hair was still a bit messy from where I’d twisted and pulled it earlier, and I pushed it back out of the way. She was looking down, so I knew there was something on her mind she wasn’t crazy about discussing. My guess was the assignment I’d given her, to come up with three things that had stuck out to her from the weekend. I didn’t care if they were good things or bad things. I just wanted them to be important enough to stand out in her memory.

“Did you come up with three things from this weekend?”

She nodded.

I waited.

For the longest time she said nothing. I was almost ready to scold her when she answered. “Yes.”

I rubbed her arm letting her know I was pleased. “Tell me the first one.”

“I liked the picture of you and your family. I liked... I liked that you shared it with me,” she whispered.

Hugging her closer, I kissed her forehead. “I enjoyed that, too. You are very special to me, Brianna. You make me want to share those things with you.”

She snuggled closer, her lips grazing my neck as I held her. It brought back the memory of earlier, and my body reacted. I closed my eyes briefly, trying to concentrate on our current conversation.

“What was the second thing?” I asked, trying to refocus.

“Diane and... Samantha.”

I halted the movement of my hand up and down her arm for a moment before resuming. “What about Diane and Samantha?”

“I don’t think Samantha likes me either.”

I heard the words, but I didn’t like how detached they sounded. It was as if she expected to be disliked. “Why do you think Samantha doesn’t like you?”

She didn’t answer right away, but I gave her time to gather her thoughts. “She started asking me questions. I felt uncomfortable, like I was missing what she was really asking.”

“Was this when I was in the kitchen?”

She nodded, her hair tickling my face as she moved.

“Did you tell her she was making you uncomfortable?”

She shook her head. “Diane did. She told her to stop or she’d have to ask her to leave.” Brianna paused. “I don’t like causing trouble.”

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