Page 107 of Winning Brynn

The relationship between them runs so much deeper than Brynn simply being her nanny. It's woven into every one of their interactions, in the looks between them, in the way Salem finds instant comfort in Brynn's arms, and how Brynn is always so in tune with what Salem needs and when.

It was there the moment they first met, even if I didn't recognize it at the time. They were like kindred souls finding each other for the first time.

Brynn staggers backward, her tears finally spilling from her eyes to run heartbreaking tracks down her cheeks. "Leo..."

The room around us appears to dim, though whether it's from diminishing light or the thickness of the air, I don't know. My hands slam down on the island, my head hanging limply between them.

Her hand whispers across the planes of my back, her touch tentative, before it gains confidence and strokes up and down my spine.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. "I shouldn't have yelled. But in my eyes, Salem already has a mom, and it sure as shit isn't the woman who gave birth to her."

I hear her whimper, but I can't see her face from my position.

"I told you I need a new nanny, because I didn't want that to be the reason you're here with us. I wanted..." My voice trails off, my throat blocked by a lump that won't shift. "I wanted you to be here because youwantto be here, not because you have to. I wanted Salem to have a real family."

Her fingers wrap around my biceps, tugging until I'm facing her again. But still, I can't look at her. I'm sad, and scared, and pissed off, and I know one look at her beautiful face will wreck me.

"Leo, please look at me."

My jaw trembles as I shake my head. "I can't do this."

"I'm not going to make you do anything you're not comfortable with, okay? Salem is your daughter. You make the decisions. I just... I just think that, one day, she's gonna ask where her mom is, and you'll have to tell her the truth. That she wanted a relationship with her, but you didn't allow it."

"But she'll have you."

My eyes finally lift to hers, and the heartbreak I see inside them fucking destroys me.

She nods resolutely, sniffing as more tears fall. "That's true. No matter what happens between us, I will always be here for Salem. I love her like she's my own daughter, and god, how I wish she really was. But she isn't."

I shake my head, my mouth opening to reply, but she doesn't let me.

"She isn't, Leo. She isn't my daughter, and I'm not her mom." She sucks in a shuddering breath, her eyes scrunching shut. "But Issy is."

Unable to hold back any longer, I wrap my arms around her and pull her into my chest. Her entire body sags in relief as she cries into my shirt.

"I don't know what to do."

"Talk to her." She looks up at me, resting her chin on my chest. "And once you've heard her out, if you still feel the same way, then that's okay. Nothing has to change. The ball is in your court, Leo, and no one can make you do anything you don’t want to do."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

With a sniff, I kiss her on the head. "I'll think about it."

"That’s all I can ask."

“I’m not doing it for Isabella, though. You know that, right?”

She nods. “Good.”

And though she already knows, I say it out loud anyway. “I’m doing it for Salem.”

Text thread between Leo and Brynn

Leo:You can tell Isabella I'll stop by Alex's apartment tonight for a conversation.

Brynn:Okay.

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