He did.
Brennan wanted what his parents had. Not someone to fill a void, stop the loneliness, or be a temporary physical distraction. He wanted someone he’d walk through the fires of hell for. Someone who’d do the same for him. It had taken him some time to learn he wouldn’t find that by ticking off boxes on a mental list of what the perfect partner would be like.
He’d never forget the night he’d found his mother sitting in her favorite chair, crying silently toward the end stages of his father’s life. She’d never wavered from her love and commitment to him. She’d admitted missing what they’d once had. And that, though she hated he was sick and dying, and wished it wasn’t so, she wouldn’t trade a day in their life for an easier ending. Hard as it was, she said love—and marriage—was about it all.The good. The bad. The ugly and the beautiful. And if you couldn’t take it all, then you didn’t take any of it. It wasn’t fair to the other person if you weren’t all in. She’d also told him that when the right person came along, his heart would tell him, and no amount of protest from his head would make a difference. Perhaps she’d already seen the truth about his feelings for Evie.
Because five months ago at his father’s funeral, Brennan’s heart had finally shouted loud enough.
Evie.
Yes, he’d been attracted to her from the first moment, but he’d fought it. She was his opposite in so many ways. Also, given she was Lacey’s best friend, it had been an automatic no, just on that.
He wasn’t as shy as his siblings thought. Just because he wasn’t a charmer like Rhett, or an over-the-top flirt like Corbin, didn’t mean he couldn’t talk to women. But he did have a problem. The stutter during his teenage years, gone by sixteen, had left him struggling to find the right words to make the first move with a woman. And with Evie, that inability was magnified. Perhaps he should’ve realized sooner something was different. Now, with his mental list gone, all he needed to do was find the courage to be brave and reach for who his heart needed.
Brennan closed his eyes, focused on his breathing, and not analyzing the evening any further. But with the quieting of his mind came the awareness of the howling wind outside. Lacey said Evie didn’t do well in storms, but she hadn’t explained further. Hopefully it wasn’t serious. He wasn’t sure how well he’d handle a panicked Evie. He’d almost kissed her over a broken bowl because it had been the only thing he could think of to take away the pain in her eyes that had nothing to do with her physical injury. It was clear his normal logical brain hadn’t been functioning all that well at that moment. Kissing Evie to distract her wouldn’t have been the smartest move. No, if a kisswas to happen—and he very much hoped it would—he needed to be absolutely sure she wanted it as much as he did.
And with that vision and all its wonderful possibilities in his head, he drifted into a light slumber, scattered with dreams of a certain gorgeous and chaotic, blue-eyed, blonde and what might happen if he worked up the courage to ask her out.
CHAPTER 6
A loud thudpulled Evie abruptly from a decidedly delicious dream. The groan and unexpected swearing gave her a clue to its origin. She indulged in a satisfied smile as she wiggled out from the warm cocoon of her covers.
She poked her head around the corner, and sure enough, her suspicions were confirmed. Brennan was on the floor, tangled in the blankets, struggling to get up. She moved to the end of the couch and did her best to keep her grin at bay.
“Would you like a hand?” she asked.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
She was indeed. There was a certain satisfaction in being proven right. “Why would you say that?”
He looked up, his gaze zeroing in on hers. “You’re smiling.”
Oops. “Of course. It’s not every day I win a bet.” That was not something she should have reminded him about. But ‘just woken up’ Evie didn’t have a filter, which she obviously needed around this man to avoid getting herself into trouble. No matter how gorgeous that trouble might be. She ignored the itch in her fingers to draw… or touch.
“Bet?”
Evie waited for the implications to register.
His eyes widened, and the groan and small thud as he fell back on the floor in defeat confirmed the moment.
“We never made it official.” Hope brightened his words.
She should take him up on it. Let it go. Give him an out. Give herself an out. But…
“If there’s one thing I know about the O’Reilly men, it’s that they are men of their word.”
And just like that, she tossed herself right back in the fire when she had both feet already out. Why she had this insane need to hold him to it, she wasn’t sure. It would be in her best interests to let it go and find another model. Which she would’ve already done if she’d felt comfortable asking anyone else.
But had she been comfortable asking him? She wasn’t entirely sure, though it had seemed a good idea at the time. A part of her had tossed out the idea with the hope he’d decline, and she wouldn’t need to risk having him put his mark on her home, even if it was purely safety oriented. But it was already too late. Brennan O’Reilly’s imprint was here to stay. The other part of her, though? She wasn’t on speaking terms with that little devil.
“We are,” he admitted. “Unfortunately.”
Was it bad to hold him to it? He had teased her about being naked for it, so maybe he didn’t find the idea that objectionable. She’d never know unless she called it in. Perhaps she should find someone else. Tell Brennan time ran out. But oh, it would be such a shame if she didn’t get to draw this man.
“You really should’ve taken the bed,” she said when he was free of the blankets. She turned her head away as he rose, not wanting to get caught outright ogling his practically naked body. Even if she could’ve gotten away with it, saying it was preparation for the modeling session. “You’re obviously too… big for the couch.”
“Evie,” he growled. “Go back to your bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
Her cheeks flamed as the potential double meaning of her words sunk in.
