Page 15 of Mountain Man's Longing
Graham.
Eric is standing now, too, and the expression on my father’s face stops my heart. Pure joy. It’s the kind of smile reservedfor people you trust with your life. Graham claps him on the shoulder with the easy familiarity of decades of friendship.
“Graham,” Eric says, his voice carrying across the brewery with unmistakable affection. “Perfect timing, my friend. Have I got news for you.”
Chapter nine
Graham
Ispotted Eric through the brewery windows before I even pulled the truck into the open spot out front on Main Street. He was at a high-top by the window, talking to Mrs. Wilkins.
I slip in the door just as she pats his hand and heads toward the table where her husband, Will, sits. Lifting my chin in greeting to Rhys behind the bar, I head toward my best friend, whose face breaks into a wide grin when he spots me.
“Graham!” He’s on his feet, crossing the space between us in three strides. “Perfect timing, my friend. Have I got news for you.”
I clap him on the shoulder, excitement thrumming through me. “I’ve got news, too.”
The words roll easily off my tongue. I can’t wait to tell him about Brenna. About the woman who walked into my life last night and turned everything upside down. He’ll be thrilled that I’ve finally met someone worth talking about.
“Everything okay?”
I smile at his concern. “Everything’s great, but you first.”
“No, you—” Eric stops mid-sentence, his gaze shifting over my shoulder. “Actually, I will go first, since there’s someone I want you to meet.”
I turn, following his line of sight, and every muscle in my body goes rigid.
Brenna.
She’s frozen halfway between the bathroom and our table, those green eyes wide. The same woman who fell apart in my arms last night, who trusted me with her innocence, who left me a note this morning saying she hoped I was okay.
There were a dozen things I wanted to say to her when I saw her again, starting with laying my heart bare. But the words I rehearsed on my drive into town die in my throat because Eric’s standing right there.
Plus, more importantly, why does Eric want me to meet Brenna? Christ, does he know her somehow? My mind races through possibilities, but nothing makes sense. There’s no way.
“Brenna,” Eric calls, waving her over. “Come meet my best friend.”
My heart hammers against my ribs as she approaches, her fingers clutching her purse strap. Her movements are careful, controlled, as if she’s unsure what’s going to happen now. When she gets close enough, the familiar scent of her perfume hits me.
“Graham,” Eric says, his voice betraying his excitement, “I’d like you to meet my daughter, Brenna.”
Daughter?
The word detonates in my chest and burns hot. Brenna is Eric’s daughter? The same Eric who’s been my anchor since I came back broken from Afghanistan. Who helped me rebuild my life from nothing? Who trusts me completely?
And I took his daughter’s virginity.
Less than twelve hours ago.
My first instinct hits like a lightning strike—I want to grab her, haul her somewhere private, and demand to know why the hell she told me father was in finance. I want to put her over my knee for letting me touch her when she knew damn well what it would mean.
But then I catch the way her teeth worry her bottom lip. The uncertainty flickering in her green eyes. And understanding crashes over me like ice water.
She didn’t know either.
Christ. She came here looking for Eric, not knowing the man is my closest friend. Not knowing that sleeping with me would complicate everything she’d driven here to find. The realization turns my world upside down, but it doesn’t change the fact she’s as trapped in this mess as I am right now.
And one thing’s for sure. Eric can’t find out. It would ruin things between them. Between us.
