Page 60 of Mr. Big Mistake
“Whiskey.”
“At three in the morning?”
“Helps to focus my mind when I’m working.”
I rolled onto my side. “What are you working on?”
“Just this project.”
“A property?”
He shook his head but didn’t say anything.
“What are you working on, then?” I asked.
He sighed. “Well, while I know I’ll always be part of Stonewater Realty, I’ve been working on getting my own production company up and running. You know, as a side project.”
“I didn’t know you enjoyed stuff like that.”
He shrugged. “Just a way to expound on my own dreams.”
“What are your dreams?”
“Well, at one point in time, it was to be an actor.”
I bolted upright. “I didn’t know you wanted to act.”
“Yep. I mean, Dad thought it was frivolous, and Mom thought it was just a phase. But, at one point in time, it’s really what I wanted to do.”
I scooted to the edge of the bed. “Why didn’t you pursue it?”
“I don’t know. I guess what my parents said really got to me. But, now that I’ve got the money to do something like this, I figured this is another avenue I can use to pursue something in the performing arts. Which I’ve always loved.”
“Wow.”
He snickered. “That’s hard to imagine?”
I cocked my head. “Not at all, actually.”
He peeked over his shoulder and smiled, and there was something in his eye I’d never seen before. Dedication. I didn’t think it was possible for Brenden to ever dedicate himself to something--or be serious about anything. Yet, here he was, developing a way to carve out a path toward his original love.
The performing arts.
“Well, I, for one think, it’s a great plan.”
He turned back to his computer. “Thank you for that. It means a lot.”
And the sincerity of his voice also broke my heart. Because it came from a place of sadness. It came from a place of longing. It came from a place of emptiness.
Maybe Brenden wasn’t the kind of man we thought him to be at all.
Maybe, just maybe, he was playing a part that had him pigeonholed.
16
Brenden
One Week Later
