Page 29 of Wanting Happily Ever After

Shit.

He wasn’t going to go away.

She couldn’t risk him waking up Rory. An overtired six-year-old who was already deeply pissed off at her mother for ruining her day at the beach was not going to be fun to deal with.

With a sigh of resignation, Sarah put her glass of wine on the table and moved to answer the door.

Brody stood on her porch, still wearing his swim trunks, now dried, and a T-shirt that she’d never seen before. She realized, belatedly, that she’d probably packed up his things with hers in her haste to get out of there.

He must have seen the question in her eyes. “Logan loaned it to me,” he said as way of explanation. “Can I come in?”

She hadn’t originally intended to let him in, but still, she found herself pushing the door open before walking back into the living room.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry.”

They both said at the same time.

Sarah turned to look at him. He really did look sorry. His face was screwed up in concern and the sadness on his face might have affected her if she wasn’t still so angry with him. Because yes, she was sorry for freaking out. But she was still pissed.

“Can I explain?” Brody asked after the moment of silence stretched out between them. “Because I know how it looked, Sarah. I do. I’ve spent the last few hours going over it and trying to understand how it looked from your point of view. And I get it.”

He reached out for her, but she crossed her arms over her chest, unwilling to let him touch her. If he touched her, she knew she would crumble. She knew she would finally be able to see that shehadbeen unreasonable and shehadoverreacted. And she would forgive him. And more than anything, at least for the time being, she needed to be mad. Because her anger was the shield she needed to protect her from herself and the thoughts that had been trying to grab hold.

When she didn’t answer, Brody started talking. “I know I promised you I wouldn’t take my eyes off her, Sarah. And I didn’t.” She bristled, but he continued. “My eyes were open the whole time underwater.” He shook his head. “I know it sounds stupid, considering the circumstances, but I swear to you I was watching her the whole time.” He scrubbed his hands over his face, the exhaustion and worry evident all over his handsome features. “She wanted me to do a handstand, and I…well, I know I shouldn’t have, but…has she ever asked you for something and you just can’t say no?”

He looked so serious and so intensely upset about the prospect of not giving Rory exactly what she wanted right when she asked for it, that Sarah couldn’t help herself. She burst out laughing.

“What?” Brody shook his head, confused a moment later when her laughter died down. “How is that funny?”

“Brody.” Sarah gained control of herself and once more crossed her arms. “Of course she’s asked me for something. Every single day. That’s her job as a six-year-old. To push the boundaries and ask for all the things.” She shook her head a little. “And it’s the parent’s job to say no. To not give in to every single thing that she asks for. That’s parenting, Brody.”

She swallowed hard as the realization of what had just come out of her mouth hit her.

Parenting. Brody.

“Never mind,” she added quickly. “I wasn’t suggesting….well, I wasn’t saying…I mean, I know you’re not her parent, Brody. You’re her friend. Hercoach.”

It was all too much. Sarah crossed the room and took a big gulp of her wine. She hadn’t been trying to imply that Brody had any parenting responsibility or ever would have or anything like that.Was she?

She was tired. It had been a long day with too many emotions. She should probably just go to bed before she said something else she regretted.

Sarah put her glass down and started to turn around. Brody needed to leave. “I think you should just—”

Her words died in her throat. Brody stood right in front of her. He was so close she could smell the lingering sunscreen and see the red patch on the tip of his nose where he’d forgotten to reapply it.

“I’m not leaving.” His voice was gruff and something flashed in his eyes as he closed the already impossibly small gap between them. “Not before we figure out what is really going on here.”

Before she could respond, his arms were around her. His lips were on hers. And nothing else mattered.

It wasn’t until the very second that he put his lips on hers that Brody realized how much he’d needed to kiss her again. Her lips on his, her body pressed up against his—it was like an energy force breathing life into his body. From the moment in the lake when she’d looked at him with so much betrayal on her face, grabbed Rory and ran off, he’d felt as though a piece of him had gone with her.

Now…it was back.

Kissing her completed him in a way that both scared and energized him.

He slipped his hands up her back to hold her tighter to him, not willing to let her get away again. He needed to make her see that this was right and good and would not result in anything bad. It couldn’t.

---