Page 48 of Obligation
She took a few steps forward, then stopped again. “Now I really wish I had clothes, because I am getting in that pool before we leave.”
A satisfied grin lifted the corners of his mouth. “This is my favorite place,” he admitted with a wistful sigh. “I love to just sit up here and think. And look.” He pointed up, showing her the millions of twinkling stars dotting the otherwise dark sky.
Carissa tilted her head and stared up. She was silent for so long, but then she lowered her head, her gaze settling on him. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“Everything.”
He nodded. The urge to move closer, to yank her into his arms and kiss her until neither of them could breathe consumed him, but he forced himself to stay right where he was. If she wanted something to happen between them, she’d have to make the first move. He wasn’t going to take advantage of her vulnerable state.
“Mind if we sit up here for a while?” she asked.
“Not at all.”
Before he’d even finished answering her question, she was sitting on one of the lounge chairs. Leaning back, she extended her legs and folded her hands on her stomach. Her gaze was once again on the sky.
Bradley claimed the chair right next to hers and stared up at the sky, too. He wished, more than anything else, that he’d brought her here as his girlfriend, that they were here to spend a romantic weekend together. But that was so far from what this was.
She was in a relationship with another man, and she’d needed Bradley’s help tonight. He was nothing more than a friend who’d rescued another friend. But God what he wouldn’t give to be more than that for her. He heaved a sigh, his mind once again warring with his heart.
“You okay?” Carissa asked.
“Yeah. Why?” He turned his head to look at her. “And shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?”
“You just sound… I don’t know.” She shrugged awkwardly. “Tired or frustrated.” She twisted her hands. “I’m really sorry if I ruined your plans tonight.”
He took a controlled breath, refusing to get upset with her for something she probably didn’t even realize she was doing. “Why are you always apologizing to me?”
She shrugged again. “I don’t know. It’s polite, I guess.”
Bradley let out a disbelieving laugh. “Polite?” He shook his head. “No. Polite is apologizing when you’ve done something wrong, and you’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, Carissa.”
She nodded and chewed on her bottom lip. “I guess I’m just worried you’ll think I’m too much trouble or a burden or something. I mean, we barely know each other, and it seems like every time we’re together, I’m either crying or we’re arguing.” She scrunched up her face. “Not exactly the best way to start a friendship.”
“You’re not a burden,” he said, refusing to respond to anything else she’d just said.
Her emotions and the situations she’d been in were not her fault, and he was not going to do or say anything that would lead her to believe otherwise. Danny was the one who bore all the responsibility, not Carissa.
“Have you ever slept up here?” she asked, abruptly changing the subject.
“Only once,” he whispered.
The night his ex-girlfriend had dumped him. He couldn’t stand to be in the penthouse when every inch of the place reminded him of her, so he’d come up to the roof. She would never come up here with him because she was terrified of heights, so the roof was his one truly safe space, free from bad memories and the emotional pain that always accompanied them.
“I bet it was so peaceful,” she said, her voice taking on a dreamy quality. “I think I want to sleep here tonight.”
He laughed. “It’s supposed to rain.”
She groaned and sat up. “Fine. Can I have the master bedroom?” She gave him a sweet but mischievous smile.
He stood and held his hand out to her. “You can have anything you want.”
Carissa studied him for a moment, and he expected some sort of question or snarky remark, but she simply took his hand, and he pulled her to her feet. Once standing, she didn’t attempt to move away from him, and his heart pounded with anticipation.
If she tried to kiss him again, he wouldn’t stop her. He wasn’t strong enough to deny her a second time, and truth be told, he didn’t want to. He wanted her, and if that meant he had to fight for her, then so be it.
Carissa flattened her palm on his chest, and his heart pounded even harder and faster. No way she didn’t feel that beneath her hand, but if she did, she didn’t say anything.
