Page 50 of Drawn Blue Lines

I expected more arguing, but to my surprise, Eden let it drop. It was just as well. I’d only been here a little over an hour and I’d already provoked everyone in the house. Not exactly the best first impression. I had to find a way to keep my resentment compartmentalized if I hoped to have a chance of becoming a permanent fixture in the Carrera family.

“It’s good to see you again, Brody.” She took six steps inside the room and stood in front of him, placing a hand against his chest. I knew. I counted them. “You know you’re welcome here any time.”

Brody flinched at the contact. “I wish that were true.”

I wanted to grab her hand and twist it until it snapped.

I tensed at the bizarre surge of jealousy. Angry at my unwelcome reaction, I tore my eyes away, only to glance down and see my hand once again fisting the bedspread.

Get a grip.

Disgusted with myself, I released the material and swung my legs around until I faced the wall. Being alone in the room I knew belonged to my mother was the last thing I wanted to do, but it beat the hell out of watching whatever this was. However, just as I was about to make my exit, a faint but shrill cry filled the room.

Eden smiled. “That’s my cue. We’ll talk soon, okay?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Giving him one last pat on his chest, she took a few steps backward. “Well, then, I’ll see you both at dinner.”

“She means la comida,” I interrupted, irritated at the way she bastardized my culture. Two sets of eyes turned my way, and I snorted. “It’s like your version of dinner only we have it in late afternoon. Americans are the only gluttons who stuff themselves like pigs right before bed.”

Brody glanced at Eden for confirmation, and my blood boiled. As if the whitest woman in Mexico would know anything about tradition. For once, she didn’t argue, offering a slight dip of her chin as confirmation, and then slipped out the door as quietly as she’d slipped in.

Oh, good. My first dysfunctional family meal.

In the wake of Eden’s departure, an awkward silence filtered through the room. Brody and I argued with each other. We insulted each other. We threatened each other. We occasionally defended each other. And, in a surprising new twist, we inexplicably wanted each other. However, the one thing we never did was ignore each other.

It unsettled me.

I climbed off the bed, wracking my brain for something to say when out of the corner of my eye, I saw steam billowing out of the open door of the adjoined bathroom.

Which of course reminded me he was standing in front of me half naked.

“There’s probably no hot water left,” I mumbled, motioning behind him.

Brody’s forehead wrinkled, and he blinked a few times before glancing over his shoulder. “Oh, yeah. Forgot about that. Guess I’ll be taking a cold shower.”

That makes two of us.

“Well, I’ll leave you to it.”

Still, he didn’t move. “I guess I’ll see you in an hour for lunch.”

“La comida.”

“Right,” he said, a smirk teasing across his lips. “I’ll see you in an hour for la comida.”

Nodding once, I turned just as he called my name.

“Adriana?”

Just let me go. Please.

However, my body gravitated toward his voice, and I twisted back around, my gaze gravitating to where his hands were shoved in his pockets, the weight drawing his open pants farther down his hips.

“You’re wrong,” he said, and the force of the two words snapped my eyes back to his, but it was too late. He sighed heavily. “You accused me of still being in love with Eden. I’m not. There’s no justification in holding on to something that was never yours. In the end, not only will you lose, you’ll answer for it for the rest of your life.”

The room popped with the electricity of his confession. Or was it a warning? I didn’t know, and I had no desire to find out. My heart thundered harder in my chest until I was halfway down the hallway, far away from his probing eyes, seductive scent, and duplicitous words.

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