Page 41 of Accidentally Mine
Can’t.
That damn word again.
10
Roselynn
On the Orange Line for what felt like the thousandth time that week, I hitched the latest bag of my aunt’s requests onto my shoulder and waited for my stop.It wasn’t a fun commute—taking the better part of an hour, since I had to take the Red Line to Alewife, switch to the Orange Line at Downtown Crossing, and then take the bus from Sullivan Square—but at least it beat that damn Buick Century, the car I was pretty convinced the devil drove.
I’d nearly gotten into a head-on collision three times while trying to drive it, that first day alone.Even if you knew your way around Boston, driving was pretty much hit or miss.But today was Saturday, which meant I didn’t have to dodge the going-to-work crowd.
Two days after my aunt was admitted into the hospital, she was finally being set up at a rehab facility.I’d taken a tour of it the day prior, and Brent was right—it was impressive.I had no doubt that she’d receive excellent care, especially since the way all the neurologists had been fawning over him, Brent’s opinion carried weight.Nobody wanted to disappoint him.
But I hadn’t even seen him since Ernest picked him up at the hospital the day my aunt had her stroke.He’d been so sweet, not only to me but to my aunt, buying her flowers, assuring she would receive the best care possible.When he left, I thought he might try…something.A kiss on the cheek, at least.Instead, he just told me to take care and slid into the back of the car.
And I hadn’t heard from him since.
Definitely a sad-trumpets ending compared to what I was thinking would happen.But he’d left the ball in my court.He knew the highpoints of what I’d been through, and he’d backed off.He’d left me the control.It was up to me to make the move.
Which I was determined not to do.
It was probably for the best.
If only my heart would go along with my head.It had this weird ache in it, like I’d missed out on something.
That wasn’t my fault, though.
Well, it was a little bit my fault.
I’d kept myself busy over the past few days.I’d been running around all of Boston, trying to figure out how we were going to handle Reece Associates going forward, arranging for the cleanup and sale of my father’s house, making sure my aunt’s affairs were in order.Everything seemed to take twice as long as it should’ve because I was constantly looking over my shoulder, afraid I was being followed.About half a dozen times, I actually got off at different T stations and took circuitous routes to where I was going, just because someone looked suspicious and I thought they might be one of Anthony’s henchmen.
So, by the time I got to my aunt’s new bedroom in the rehab facility, my nerves were completely shot.I walked in, and the first thing I saw was a huge bouquet of white roses.My aunt was sitting up in bed, watching television.“Secret admirer?”I asked, sniffing one of them.
“Yes.This old broad’s still got it.”She threw the remote on the bed beside her and frowned.“There’s nothing good on this television.”
“Hmmm.Sorry they don’t supply soft-porn here,” I said thoughtfully, looking for a card between the stems.I found none.“Wow.Whoever it is, he must really like you.No card?”
“He delivered it in person,” she said with a mysterious air in her voice.
I looked up at her.“Who?”
Just then, the door opened and Brent stepped in.He took my breath away.Brown hair in submission now, slicked back severely, it looked darker, almost black.He was clean shaven and wore that brooding, intense expression on his face that made me feel like I was burning up inside.
He radiated power as he strode toward me, his eyes drinking me in.He was wearing a pitch-black suit that almost matched the color of his hair, hugging his body in all the right places.Still, somehow, he looked hotter than I remembered.
I stood there, mouth agog, trying to think of something to say.Anything.But my mind was a total blank.The only words that would come to mind were,kiss me.
“Hello, Roselynn,” he said in that deep, growly voice.He was just saying hi, and it felt like a command, full of authority.He leaned over and brushed his lips across my cheek in the briefest of kisses.He smelled delicious.
I squeaked out a submissive hello.
“You should have some fun,” Marie said in a lilting, playful way.“The two of you.Alone.”
“I know what I said, about you having the control,” he said, daring me with those dark eyes of his.“And you still do.Feel free to tell me to go.”
Like I could.I wanted to do the opposite.I wanted to grab him and pull him into the bathroom for some…fun.It was then that I saw that he was holding a box under his arm.
I leaned over and whispered under my breath to my aunt, “Do you think it’s wise?Someone might see us.”
