Page 36 of The Billionaire's Commitment

“I’m so sorry. Did you want to take it home?’

“No. Not at all. Really. Enjoy. Who am I to get between a man and his pizza?”

“You can get between me and anything you want anytime you want,” Brody said, and I blushed.

“Finish the pizza, so it doesn’t go to waste,” I said and looked away.

“Yes, ma’am,” Brody said and took a bite of the pizza.

By the time the server came back with the bill, Brody had finished the pizza. He put down some cash, and then we stood up. He was quick to hold back my chair. It was still something I was getting used to. I smiled my thanks, and he reached over to get my jacket for me.

“Let me help you put this on,” he said.

I was more than capable of putting on the jacket myself, but I didn’t mind Brody helping me out. It was so rare for the man to touch me that I was actually looking forward to feeling his hands close to mine and on my shoulders. I turned away from him and slid my arms into the jacket. As I did, his hands ran up my arms and to my shoulders. It sent a shiver of excitement through my body. Brody put his hands on my shoulders and gave them a soft squeeze. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation.

Imagines of him touching me more, of turning me around and pulling me into his arms, filled my mind. I leaned into him slightly, and I had to open my eyes and catch myself. Feeling embarrassed about where my mind had gone and what I wanted him to do, I reached down and picked up my purse. It gave me something to do and allowed me to collect myself and my thoughts.

When I turned back to Brody, it was to see him standing in the same spot as before. His hands had dropped to his sides, but his eyes were intent on mine. I could see how much he wanted me in how he was looking at me. I opened my mouth to say something, but I couldn’t think of anything to say. I couldn’t think at all.

I felt like a fool. How could I have been so blind as to think he wasn’t interested in me? It was evident that he was, and I wondered just how long he had felt that way. We stood and stared at each for a few moments. I wasn’t sure when he moved, but suddenly his hand was lifting up and moving a stray hair behind my ear.

I blushed and leaned into his hand. Or at least I tried to. He moved his hand away before I could and cleared his throat. He stepped to the side as if to have me walk in front of him and out of the restaurant.

Whatever had been between us only moments before was gone, and the change was so sudden that I wondered if I had imagined it. Was I just wanting to see things that weren’t actually there? Was I trying to make more out of this friendship than there was? He had been nothing but kind and caring to me the last three weeks. Would I ruin what we had if I were to ask him if he wanted more? Was it worth the risk?

I didn’t have answers to any of those questions as I walked in front of him and out of the restaurant. The movie theater was only a few blocks away, and Brody was his usual chatty self. I listened and responded to his comments, but I was lost in my thoughts. I could tell he wasn’t as affected by what had or hadn’t happened in the restaurant as I was. I ran a mantra through my mind that I was just seeing and feeling things.

But as we walked towards the movie theater, I could feel his fingers brushing up against mine. We had walked close before but never this close, and I had never been more aware of his hands and body next to me as I was then. I wanted to reach out and grab his hand, intertwine our fingers together, but I didn’t.

Instead, I kept my head facing forward and tried not to think about how good and yet torturous it felt to feel his hand so close to mine or how I longed for him to take my hand and then do so much more.

Chapter 17

Brody

I am sure the movie was good. It had decent reviews and was the perfect murder mystery romance you would want on a date, but I didn’t actually watch any of it. My eyes were on the screen, and I could see the actors, but I didn’t comprehend anything that they said or did. All I could think about was the woman who was sitting next to me and how she was slowly driving me crazy.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like spending time with her. I liked being around Zoey more than I did Eric and Logan, and I never thought that would happen. It was fun to see her opening up, coming into her own in the city. I liked seeing her wonder as she experienced something new, found something out about the city that she never knew, or better yet, found something about herself she didn’t know.

I will never forget the look on her face the first time she had hot cashews from a vendor on the street. She had been wary, stating she was sure she would get some horrible disease. It took some coaxing to get her to try it, but the look on her face had made it all worthwhile. She had thought it was one of the best things she had ever eaten, and we would get some whenever we saw a nut vendor when we were out.

She was getting more comfortable in the city and with herself. I could see her gaining confidence the longer we hung out. She had told me about Adam, but nothing specific and I got the impression he had done a number on her and her self-confidence. I remember Zoey being determined and intelligent but a bit reserved and shy. It was good to see her getting her confidence back. She was changing the more she was in the city, she was taking more risks, and started exploring the city on her own. It wasn’t anything big, but she tried a few new restaurants in her area and found out she liked Cuban food.

It made me want to see more of what she could become, who she would be, as she learned more about herself. I loved that I was the one who was not only giving it to her but witnessing it as well.

Every day, I fell more in love with her. It was easy as she kept giving me reasons to. Even tonight, when she teased me about eating the pizza, it allowed me to see she could still catch me off guard. I liked that she could be more upfront and honest with me about things.

As much as I did like spending time with her, I worried if I didn’t kiss her, if I didn’t hold her in my arms, I was going to go insane. There was only so much I could take, only so much I could suppress. She had said she was only looking for a friendship, and for the past weeks, I had given it to her. Still, there were times when she would look at me, when she would smile at me, or even on the rare occasion she would touch me, and I could tell she wanted something more. As soon as it was there, it would be gone, and it left me confused and annoyed with myself.

I never should have agreed to be her friend. The last thing I wanted was to be put in the friend zone with her. I had thought I had the perfect plan. I could spend time with her, we would get to know each other, she would see how wonderful we were together, and we would then be together. So far, that plan hadn’t worked, and it looked more like it wasn’t going to.

As we sat and watched the movie, all I could think about was her, how she looked in the light of the screen, and how I wanted to reach over and take her hand. I wanted to lean over, whisper in her ear, and see her blush at what I said. I wanted to run my hands through her hair and smell her intoxicating scent.

As we took a cab back up to her place, we talked about the movie, and I did my best to sound like I knew what I was talking about.

“The scenery was beautiful. It made me want to go to Montana,” I said.

“I have family out there but have never gone. I’m surprised you would think it was so pretty considering how gruesome the story was,” she said.

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