Page 21 of Every Breath

“Hey, he’s my husband. I know his faults, but if anyone else says anything about my baby, I’d scratch their eyes out. Now stop trying to change the subject. You are not in love with Rodney, so I think the kindest thing to do would be to give him back his ring before a date is set. It will hurt him more in the long run if you keep stringing him along like this.”

Brandi let out a deep breath. She knew her sister was right. When Rodney kissed her and she didn’t feel a spark of passion, she should have known that they weren’t meant to be together.

His kisses left her feeling empty and she certainly wasn’t happy with how he had tried to force his attentions on her. She’d been fooling herself when she thought she could learn to love him. Brandi supposed she would never love him as anything more than a friend.

“I hate to hurt him though. Maybe I should wait a couple of weeks.”

“Why? Call him tonight. What’s the point of waiting?”

“I feel bad.”

“So what? You’ll feel worse if you end up married to someone you don’t love. You never did like to hurt people’s feelings, did you? God, I remember that asshole you dated in high school. You didn’t want to break up with him, either. Instead, you avoided him like the plague.” Lisa chuckled.

Brandi smiled back. “Oh, yeah. He was something else, wasn’t he?”

“He was a piece of shit. I would bet my last dollar that he’s in jail right now.”

“Well, if you can remember me having a hard time breaking up with that ‘piece of shit’ in high school, then how do you think I feel about breaking off an engagement? He’s a decent guy.”

“Would a decent guy do some of the things you told me he did Friday night? I’m a little concerned. I’ve always felt uncomfortable around him.”

Brandi frowned. Lisa was usually very outspoken so it was surprising that she hadn’t mentioned anything earlier.

As though reading her mind, her sister said, “You don’t remember, do you? I did try to tell you, but you thought I was imagining things.”

“What? When?”

“When Damon was alive, you guys used to have barbecues. Rodney was always there and he was always watching you…it was a little unnerving. I mentioned it to you then, but you laughed it off. And at the engagement party, he seemed to go berserk when you were out of his sight. It was a little creepy.”

What could she say? He had become a little more possessive of her time and attention ever since she accepted his proposal, but she dismissed it as a sign of his eagerness to get married and into her bed. Now certain little incidents played in the back of her mind…like how he would always show up unexpectedly where she was and how he seemed to want to know her comings and goings.

Could her sister be on to something? Lisa took her hand. “Sweetie, only you can make the best decision for you, but I will say this: whatever you decide will affect your children as well.”

“You’re right.”

“I know. I usually am.”

Brandi rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

“You know, you never did tell me why you wanted me to pick up DJ when you were home all weekend. Mason was very nice and pretty darn good looking for a white guy. He seemed pretty disappointed when I showed up at his doorstep. Did something happen between the two of you?”

“Why would you ask that?”

“Aha! So, something did happen. All you had to do was say no. I didn’t know your taste ran to vanilla. Hmm, I wonder what Daddy would say. You know how vocal he is about certain social views.

“Daddy won’t say anything because there’s nothing to say. Now, can we drop the subject?”

Lisa gave her a knowing smile. “Hey, I don’t have a problem with him being white, and he’s obviously rich. Hmm, if I were single, I would date him.”

Brandi thought it would be best if she didn’t answer or she might end up decking her sister. She never felt more relieved than when her lunch hour was over.

Mason was sitting in the waiting room when Brandi walked through the door. She didn’t notice him as she walked to the back of the office. God, she was beautiful. More than anything he wanted to get out of his seat and pull her into his arms. He couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss they shared on Friday. She tasted so sweet, just as he remembered.

He remembered.

He was still trying to come to terms with the fact that he might forget some of his most precious memories. Mason only hoped that he could win her back before that happened. Perhaps he wouldn’t have the old memories, but he could at least make new ones with her. It was a good thing he made this appointment with Dr. Cross or he didn’t think he would have been able to come up with a good excuse to see her again.

It upset him on Saturday when Lisa came to pick up DJ. He had his apology ready and hoped she would be open to them seeing more of each other after she got some time to think about it, but she didn’t show up.

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