Page 48 of My Favorite Mistake

Liza didn’t take his hand, but he continued to hold it out for her, patiently and considerately the way he always was. Something about it combined with just thinking about the topic he was asking her to discuss caused a deep ache in her chest, and her eye rims began to burn.

“You just…” She clenched her jaw and absently shook her head. “I just can’t talk about it.”

Leaning forward to rest her elbows on her lap, Liza covered her face with her hands and allowed her hair to fall in a curtain as a secondary barrier to hide her emotions. She perceived Brennan inch closer and then felt his hand stroke over the top of her head.

“You don’t have to, honey. But I want you to know that there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Including be your confidant to talk about whatever it is, and you wouldn’t ever have to worry about me saying anything to anyone. Including Connor.”

The secret baby and tragic loss weren’t things she’d told anyone about, and her private, solitary anguish gnawed at her heart. The temptation to spill her guts was fierce, and Liza lifted her head, putting her spilling eyes on full display.

“I…something happened…” she started to say. “It was…back when Connor…I never got to…” Her bottom lip trembled violently, her brows knitted together, and then a quiet sob burst from her throat, killing her gumption completely. “I can’t.”

“Then don’t,” Brennan said quietly. He reached to hold the side of her face, thumb stroking under her eye to wipe a tear. “You don’t have to. Ever.”

She sniffled, staring at him incredulously, and all his behavior begged a question she’d already asked. “Why are you like this with me?”

He smiled warmly. “I told you already. I have a personality flaw that makes me need to take care of people. So, I want to be somebody you can depend on and trust.”

“But why are you like that withme? You’ve been like this since day one when I was just some random new employee, who happened to be your best friend’s ex. And none of this isat allthe way men typically treat their friends’ exes.”

“Well, there’s nothing typical about you.” Brennan stroked his thumb below her eye again and looked at her thoughtfully. “I don’t know, L. Sometimes we meet people and feel connected to them. I felt that about you on day one, and it was probably compounded by you being connected to not only Connor, but also something that I know was hard for him—which meant it had to be hard for you, too. So I really don’t know. You’re just…” He retracted his hand from her face and sat up straight, shrugging. “Precious. To me. That’s the best word I can think of to describe it.”

His word choice forced a happy-tears smile across her face. “So, I’m like yoursister from another misteror something.”

“Uhhh…” He cringed, his mocha eyes squinting. “I have sisters, and this is nothing like that.”

His expression was hilarious, and Liza laughed, unable to resist teasing him. “Ohno?” She made a big show of rubbing his thigh flirtatiously while leaning toward him with a big smile—even though she knew it was nothing likethateither. “You don’t see me as asistertype?”

Brennan leaned back in his chair and eyed her hand on his thigh. He looked a little like a deer in headlights, and it was clear there was a line she shouldn’t have crossed.

Liza pulled her hand away and folded them in her lap. “Sorry.”

They avoided each other’s eyes for a moment. Brennan drummed his fingers on his lap and then pushed out of the chair. He pulled out his phone again, tapped the screen a few times, and then tossed it onto the desk just as an upbeat brass band jazz song started playing from the small speakers. Before Liza could say anything, he grabbed her hand, pulled her out of the chair, and dragged her to an open space in the room.

She laughed as he lifted her arm above her head and pushed her through a spin. “Why are we dancing?”

Brennan drew her closer to him and led her through quick, impromptu steps. “I’m running out of ideas to make you feel better when you’re crying.”

She laughed again, resting one hand on his shoulder while he held her other one against his chest. “I already stopped crying.”

“Well, then it worked, didn’t it?” He drew her slightly closer and led them both through a quick turn.

“I guess so.”

Liza continued to laugh from simple happiness, and Brennan chuckled lightly, smiling at her while they shuffled through steps and intermittent spins. Eventually the music drew to a dramatic close, and Brennan spun her once more, then bent her backward in an equally dramatic dip.

“Holy crap!” she wheezed, clutching his biceps while she held on for dear life. “Don’t drop me!”

Brennan laughed heartily. “Oh,L.” He lifted her back up and planted a kiss on top of her head. “I’d never drop you. You’re like a feather.” Releasing her and stepping away, he bent forward at the waist in a theatrical bow, then said in a snooty, British accent, “You have my most sincere appreciation for the great pleasure of allowing me a dance, miss.”

She snickered and daintily held the sides of her slim-fitting skirt between her fingertips as she curtseyed. “The pleasure is all mine, kind sir.”

They laughed lightly for a few more moments until she sighed quietly and shifted her mind back to work.

“So,” Liza said, switching gears and strolling back to her desk. “How’s it going in there?”

“They were wrapping it up.” Brennan picked up an apple out of a bowl of fruit she kept on the corner of her desk and started tossing it so high in the air it seemed impossible that he kept catching it. “We have to let Oscar feel his way around things. Something about being in a studio for the first time rattles these guys.” He moved to sit on the opposite corner of her desk and raked one hand through his dark hair as he spun the apple between his fingers. “He keeps getting choked up. I think he’s thinking about his mama.”

Liza clutched her chest and turned to the screen of her laptop. “Oh, God. Now I’m gonna cry again.” She clasped her hand over her mouth and mumbled, “Poor, sweet boy.”

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