Page 71 of When the Storm Breaks
But I didn’t think I ever would. I already missed Brody and I was sitting right across from him.
Why couldn’t we have the best of both worlds? Why couldn’t we have it all?
I shook off my apprehensions and smiled at Brody. “What did you rustle up for dinner, Cowboy?”
“What do you think?”
I grinned. “I think I’m going to have to be the judge in a chili cook-off.”
“There’s no contest. Mine is the best.” He served the chili in two bowls, crushed a handful of Fritos over the top, a sprinkle of cilantro and a squeeze of lime.
“Fancy,” I joked.
“It’s the only way to go. Tortilla chips don’t cut it.” He watched me take the first bite. “Tell me this isn’t better than Jude’s.”
Brody’s chili was good. Delicious, even. But in all fairness, so was Jude’s. In fact, if memory served, they tasted very similar. Jude and Brody were more alike than they’d care to admit. But for me, there was no contest.
Only one McCallister had captured my heart.
* * *
He heldhis hand up to block his face. “Enough with the photos.”
I set my phone back on the table next to my bowl. “I love your face. I want to take it with me everywhere I go.” The thought of leaving here, of leavinghim, made my stomach sink.
He tipped the neck of his beer bottle at the portable speaker. The Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” had just started playing. “You sang this the night I saw you in that bar in Lafayette.” This song reminded me of Brody. Everything was starting to remind me of him. “I like your version better.”
How crazy to think our paths had crossed nine years ago. What if they’d crossed many times in the past and neither of us had been the wiser? Maybe our paths had always been destined to cross. I stood up from my chair and walked around the table. He wrapped his hand around my wrist and tugged me into his lap, his arm encircling my waist. “You’re biased.”
“Just speaking the truth.”
I kissed his jaw then buried my face in the crook of his neck and breathed him in. Leather and cedar with a hint of lime. I wanted to bottle his scent and carry it with me wherever I went. His arm around me was strong, heart beating under the palm of my hand, his muscles toned and taut, the cotton of his T-shirt so soft to the touch. His calloused hand on my thigh was warm, caressing my skin and sending delicious shivers up and down my spine. Being this close to Brody made me feel like I’d found a home after years of searching for a place—or a person—who could fill up the empty space inside me, heal my cracked heart and make it beat just for him.
Now that I’ve found you, how will I ever let you go? What will I do without you?
“Does it get lonely on the road?” he asked a few minutes later, once again surprising me with his keen sense of observation. In such a short amount of time, Brody could already read me better than anyone ever had.
“So lonely,” I whispered, running my fingers through his thick, dirty blond hair. I kissed his face, the stubble on his jaw scraping my soft skin, and I kissed his lips. For a few seconds, we stayed like that, his lips soft yet firm against mine. Neither of us pushed for more. Yet somehow it felt more intimate than a kiss. When he exhaled, I inhaled, breathing the same air.
I pulled back to look at his face, my fingertips tracing the little crinkles next to his eyes. I wanted to capture this moment forever. “One more picture?”
His whiskey browns locked on mine and he squeezed my thigh. “Knock yourself out.”
I reached across the table for my phone, but he got to it first and handed it to me. I angled the phone to capture us both in the photo. “Smile, Cowboy. Make it look like there’s nowhere else you’d rather be.”
“I don’t have to pretend. It’s the damn truth.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Shiloh
Two daysafter our romantic dinner in the woods, Brody asked me if I wanted to go with him to pick up Noah from camp. It finished at four and he was planning to take Noah for tacos before he drove him home.
I said I’d love to. I was leaving in four days, and I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible. Ballcap and sunglasses firmly in place, we hit the road. The air was heavy, hot and humid, and it felt like a storm was on the way. We were three miles from his house when the music cut out and Lila’s name showed up on Brody’s phone screen. He pressed the button on his steering wheel to answer it, putting the call on speaker.
“What’s up, L? I’m with Shy so watch your dirty mouth.”
She laughed. “Hi Shiloh.”
