Page 14 of Brooke
“Oh, Sawyer.” Her ballet flats sounded on the wood floor as she took a few steps toward him. “Maybe it’s time to start?—”
“I’m working on it.” He took off his glasses and started cleaning them to give himself something to focus on because his throat was feeling ripped by emotional claws. “Todayhelped. But we’re all a work in progress, aren’t we? I mean, you asked if he thought you were beautiful.”
Her unladylike snort soothed some of the edginess he was feeling. “Well, you have to admit, it’s not the kind of compliment I usually hear.”
No, they called her Third Course because she was the main event while he was Fourth Course, the salad. He knew Nanine had meant well when she’d given him the nickname, but he still thought it light and a little shallow. Forgettable even. But maybe Brooke was right. That was the same kind of criticism he gave to his art.
“I think you’re beautiful, Brooke,” he said softly because he was a good friend and they all needed to help each other in moments of real human doubt. “You don’t see it, the same way Thea didn’t see her true self when she first came back to Paris. And God knows Madison would cut me into pieces if I told her she was beautiful. But to me, you all are. You’re my friends. I see the light inside you. Great, now I sound like a total weirdo.”
She touched the fragile line of her throat. “No, that’s the artist in you, and I…I love that part of you, Dr. Jackson.”
They shared a smile so he went for broke. “He’s also right about you having more courage than you imagine. You sometimes scare the shit out of me, getting things done the way you do. And I mean that as a compliment.”
She tapped her fingernails together, like she did when she was unsure of herself. “I don’t look at completing tasks as a reflection of personal courage. But I’ll take the compliment. Hey! Did you know that Madison’s lack of any desire for personal comfort might be because she saves all her creative ideas for cuisine? Axel said that. Blew me away.”
That guy was going to cause a lot of ripples in the house with insights like this. “Well, shit. Makes sense, although I’ve never considered it. I don’t like to think about stuff like that either, but I do like a bed off the floor with nice sheets.”
“You hedonist,” Brooke teased, kissing him on the cheek, paint smudged as it was. “Thanks for saying what you did, Sawyer.”
He tapped her lips, which held a splash of purple now. “You can wipe the paint off your lips with Axel’s handkerchief.”
She looked down when he pointed to the hand still clutching it. “Shit. I… This isn’t a romantic thing, okay. I only still have it because I’m going to have it dry-cleaned.”
He wouldn’t call out a bold lie like that. Yet. “I happen to think highly of a man who carries a real handkerchief. Nanine always said that’s what a real man does, which is why I do it myself. By the way, Kyle is going to have a fit when he hears about your date.”
She tightened up with fear like a little rabbit.
“Sorry! But I had to mention it. I’m not sure Kyle will understand Axel’s perspective, and he’s really protective. But I actually get what he was saying. Totally. If I were to ever sleep with a live model from one of my paintings, like many painters do—not that I can see myself doing that—I wouldn’t let it destroy the painting.”
She rubbed the handkerchief between her fingers. “When you and Axel talk like that, I completely understand the notion. Your work is sacred. Nothing personal can mess with it. As a career woman, I can get on board with it even. It’s funny, though. If a woman talked like that, she’d be called selfish or single-minded.”
“You’re preaching to the choir. I’ve always felt women have it harder than men. Don’t get me started on the sexism inRights of Man.”
“You and Voltaire…” she teased.
He wanted to bang his head against the nearest wall. “Jeez, no! Thomas Paine. It’s only one of the most well-known philosophical treatises of all time. A damn good one despite it being sexist.”
She cut him a look, less intimidating than usual since her blond hair wasn’t in its usual state of perfection and she wore wet yoga clothes. “I didn’t take philosophy, Sawyer.”
He knew that, but it didn’t make him sigh any less. “Sorry, sometimes I feel like the very soul of the world is dying. But I digress. Regarding your date. I think everyone else will be happy for you.” He wouldn’t add they might also be worried since she hadn’t dated anyone since her loser ex had dumped her for a teenage model. How did a guy go from Brooke to a nineteen-year-old?
“Would they?” she asked, her lips tightening with skepticism.
“Thinking like that is what Axel referred to as you expecting a potential dragon biting you in the ass.”
“God, you really did hear everything!” She made a face. “Maybe I should go out with him on Friday and see if I want to do it again before saying anything to the rest of our friends.”
“You’re asking me to keep it a secret?” Sawyer put his glasses on his nose and stared down the bridge at her.
“Only for a while. I mean, it’s Wednesday and he asked me to go out on Friday.”
“Roommates aren’t supposed to keep secrets,” he reminded her. “Two days of secrecy is an eternity with people who know you so well.”
She worried her mouth. “How about a deal, then? I’ll keep Axel away from youratelieras best I can unless you say otherwise?”
He realized he didn’t want to immediately agree. If Axel hadn’t come up today, he wouldn’t have heard his praise, and that wasn’t something Sawyer would ever want to go back in time and undo. Still, he felt self-conscious about the whole thing.
“You drive a hard bargain, but I accept. Only don’t expect me to go shopping with you for a new dress and shoes. I’mnot good at that stuff.” He was mostly joking, but he’d go if she insisted.
