Page 122 of Ask Me Something

* * *

Patience wasn’tmy strong suit, so waiting on Brian at his place after nine o’clock that night—after not hearing from him all day—was about to drive me mad. Finally, I couldn’t stand it any longer and sent him a text.

“Everything okay? Anything I can do to help?”

“On my way home,” came the reply.

I didn’t like this restlessness I was feeling. I hoped a glass of whiskey would take the edge off.

Pacing until I heard the garage door open, I had to physically grab the countertop ledge to keep myself from launching at him when he came through the front door. I tried to keep my inner turmoil at bay and focus on him. It wasn’t hard to make that switch when Brian entered the kitchen, looking emotionally exhausted.

“That bad, huh?”

He nodded, walking over and kissing me briefly before crossing over to his bar. He fixed himself a stiff drink to match mine. “Yeah, it was.”

“Do you feel like talking about it?”

His tired eyes met mine. “Not really. Do you mind? Right now I only want to decompress a little.”

It stung. But with another glance at him, I recognized that he had the weight of the world on his shoulders at the moment. “I don’t mind. Come on, let’s go sit on the sofa.”

I snuggled up next to him, and we both sat there in the silence, sipping our whiskey.

“Tell me how things went with Vanessa.”

I was surprised he hadn’t checked his email, but it spoke volumes about how wrapped up he must have been today. “Good. She signed off on the proposal. I have a meeting on Tuesday afternoon with the media department to go over the commercial shoot, but if you think that you won’t be able to get away, I can reschedule for next week without an issue.”

He squeezed my hip and tossed me a small smile. “No, Tuesday is good. Great job.” He held up his glass, and I clinked mine to it.

“Thanks,” I murmured, thinking about the train wreck of a day it had actually been. “How is Juliette?”

He kissed me on my forehead. “I had to tell her that within hours of the PI following her husband, he had proof that he was cheating. The investigator is going to dig for more, but clearly Rob is enjoying the fact that his wife is out of town. She’s going to be okay though. The tricky part is the custody. She wants proof that he’s using drugs as leverage to ensure she can keep Tristan safe. Mark found a reputable divorce attorney that Juliette will work with once she gets back in a couple of weeks.”

“How did she take it?”

He sighed. “Better than I thought. I think she’s angrier with herself for being duped. She’s put up with a lot from him over the last couple years and tried to remain positive, so an affair was a slap in the face.”

“I bet, but thanks to you she has a plan and is being smart about things.”

“I hope so. I’d better get to my emails. I’ll let you get some sleep.” He kissed me quickly and made his way downstairs to his office.

I tried not to let the fact that he wanted to be alone bother me. After showering, I waited up for him in bed awhile but finally fell asleep. Feeling him crawl in beside me later, I curled into him. When he didn’t make a move to touch me after a few minutes, I propped up on my elbow.

Huh. He was already fast asleep. That was a first. Lying in a bed with Brian and no sex. I was annoyed with myself for expecting it. It had been a long, emotional day. Looking over at his sleeping face, I appreciated what type of man he was to ensure his friend was well cared for.

Deciding I wasn’t going to get back to sleep anytime soon, I padded into the bathroom. It seemed that I stood there frozen in front of the mirror for an eternity before I realized there were tears streaming down my face. Before I registered what it meant, the dam started to break. The terrible things Juliette had facing her. The meeting with Vanessa that had turned into a personal attack. And lastly, although I didn’t want to it to hurt, the death of my biological mother.

I grabbed a hand towel, trying to muffle the sound of my sob that sounded strange even to my own ears. I didn’t hear Brian come in but felt his strong arms come around me. Turning, I buried my face in his shoulder, unable to control it any longer.

He didn’t say anything, only stroked my back and let me cry it out.

Finally trusting my voice, I pulled back and murmured, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have—”

He put a finger to my lips. “You have nothing to apologize for.” He fixed his mouth over mine in a gentle kiss, only pulling away to tuck my hair behind my ears.

“The last thing you need right now is to have to comfort yet another person.” I took a deep breath. “I’m okay. It’s only a stupid moment of weakness.” I was hesitant for him to see even a glimpse of my vulnerability for fear it would expose so much more.

He frowned. “You view needing someone, even for a moment, as a weakness, whereas I see it as a privilege to be that person for you. Would it help to hear that I needed to come home to you tonight? Needed to see your face and hear your voice?”

---