Page 74 of Whisper Of Attraction (Whisper Lake 3)

CHAPTER 22

Axel tugged his shirt back on as Brynn pulled on her sweats.

He still couldn’t quite believe what they’d just done backstage at the theater. At every turn, Brynn did the unexpected. That was a quality he’d always hated considering the way he grew up. But Brynn was different than his mom. Her actions were never selfish and neurotic, they were caring and quirky.

“I feel like Julia Roberts in Sleeping with the Enemy.” She was smiling from ear to ear as she sat on the bench and tied her tennis shoes.

Axel hadn’t seen the movie but he was pretty sure of the premise. “Isn’t that movie about her escaping her abusive husband?”

“Yes.” She stopped and held her finger up. “But that’s not the part I’m talking about. I’m referring to the scene where her new love interest, the small-town drama teacher, brings her backstage at the theater so she can try on clothes. After she plays dress up he puts on ‘Runaround Sue’ and they dance. Jess has always been obsessed with the final dance in Dirty Dancing, and while it’s a close runner up, as far as great theatrical dances go, that’s the one I imagine myself as the leading lady in.” Brynn let out a wistful sigh as she bent down to gather up some fallen material. “It’s the best ever.”

It seemed that Brynn’s spontaneous behavior was contagious because the next thing he knew, he had his phone in his hand and he was pulling up Spotify. Within seconds, the opening bars of the classic Dion song were filling the air.

Brynn popped up like a jack-in-the-box, which caused her hair to fall in her face, but her golden red locks couldn’t hide her huge grin. Axel had never been a great dancer, and he hadn’t seen the movie, but that didn’t stop him from pulling her into his arms and giving it his all. There was limited space but he still managed to dip and spin her out and then back to him. She never stopped giggling as pure delight radiated from her.

It was different than the first time they’d danced on the patio of Lanterns. This was more playful and lighthearted, unfortunately as the music came to an end Axel knew that the carefree atmosphere was going to end, too.

He needed to tell Brynn the truth. Whatever this was between them, it wasn’t just a one-time thing. And he couldn’t continue to keep her in the dark.

“Brynn,” Axel’s voice was strained as he stopped dancing but still kept holding the woman that he’d fallen in love with in his arms. “I need to tell you something.”

She hesitated, narrowing her eyes. “Okay.”

He could hear the trepidation in her tone, and as much as he wanted to assure her that everything would be fine, he had no idea how she would react to the information he needed to share with her.

He took a fortifying breath and started from the beginning. “When I came here, I had no idea that—”

His confession was interrupted by a ringtone. The moment it sounded, Brynn jumped out of his arms and rushed to her purse. When she pulled it out and looked at the screen she put her hand over her chest and let out a breath.

“Everything okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah, it’s not Ryder.”

“Oh.”

“Getting a call in the middle of the night is never good news, so I thought… but it’s not.” Her eyes squinted. “It’s a seven, seven, three area code.”

“Chicago.”

“Yeah, probably a wrong number.” She lifted the phone to her ear. “Hello.”

Axel watched Brynn carefully to see if he could get some clue as to who was on the other line.

“No, I’m not Mrs. Tiller.”

She had been, though, when she was married to Max.

“He’s my ex-husband.”

He was trying to decipher what the call was about by her tone and expression when his own phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw that it was Seth calling. Axel knew he had to take it because Brynn was right. No one called at two-thirty in the morning to give good news.

He answered it and Seth didn’t waste any time with small talk. “There’s been a development in the Wilson case. Law enforcement has received a tip on the possible location of the shooter. Local law enforcement has the area surrounded and the FBI is en route to the location. It looks like the threat could soon be neutralized.”

“I’ve spoken to our contact at WITSEC and if the threat is neutralized Wilson and his family will be released and his contract will be terminated.”

Axel glanced up and saw that Brynn was still on the phone.

This meant that Axel could be going home soon. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that. With the job being over, there’d be no reason for him to stay in Whisper Lake. Not that he was sure there’d be a reason to once he told Brynn the truth.

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