Chapter 14
Ryan
Monday was my weekend.
I slept late, barely aware of Brooke getting Cameron ready for school. I recognized her bright laughter, and it made me dream of her lips. By nine o’clock, I could sleep no more. The house was too silent, and my back still ached from sleeping on the couch the first night she spent here.
I rolled up and dangled my feet off the bed. The floor was icy cold and stung at the bottoms of my feet as I stood and stretched. Wiping the sleep out of my eyes, I stumbled out of the bedroom and into the hallway. I took a deep breath when I hit the bathroom and opened the door.
Brooke was inside, draped in a loose towel, steam billowing out from behind her. I’d forgotten about the lock I’d broken on the door, kicking it in to get to Cameron.
“Damn lucky towel,” I mumbled under my breath, as she looked up with wide eyes.
“Ryan,” she gasped, holding the towel tighter to her chest. “Thought you would be still asleep,” she said, low. In the mirror above the sink behind her, I could see the towel wasn’t fully wrapped around her body. She was just holding it up, blocking my damn view.
“I always hated that towel,” I chuckled. Her cheeks bloomed deep red.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured, looking up at me. Somehow, I was closer to her without realizing I had moved. That’s not good. “I should have asked if it was okay to take a shower. I was going to uh…go where you and Sergeant Kannon said. File a complaint.”
“Okay. Good. I heard you say something about a towel and handing it to me,” I said, gazing longingly at the way her neck curved into her shoulders andthat stupid damn towel.
She snorted cutely. “Did you need to use the bathroom?” she asked.
“Yes. Probably. Yes. Right,” I stammered.
She held the towel tighter and tried to pull it around her back without dropping it. “Shoot,” she mumbled, looking down.
“Is it too heavy? Want me to hold it for you?”
“There you go, back to your flirty self,” she smiled, shoving me softly with one hand.
I caught her fingers in mine, both of us stilling, laughter quickly falling from our lips. I tugged her hand up to my lips and kissed her knuckles, like I did the very first time I met her, months ago.
Slowly, she pulled her fingers away, a frustrated look across her face. Briefly, I wondered about her agitation. Then, I remembered of course, telling her about the date with Lydia. I had never told her I cancelled.
Her eyes closed, and she pulled her hand back to her chest, swallowing loudly. “I’ll just get out of your way then,” she said, slipping past me, out the bathroom door and into the hallway. I couldn’t help watching her and that blasted towel walk away.
“Brooke,” I called after here.
She stilled her steps and hesitated before turning around toward me. Her expression was guarded. I had no idea what she could have been thinking. Like I had no idea what the hell I thought I was doing.
“What, Ryan?” she said, curtly. “What could you possibly want to say to me right now standing in the hallway with me half-naked that wouldn’t get you smacked? I’m not letting another man hurt me.”
Chuckling, I leaned my shoulder against the wall. “First time I saw you, I thought you were the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen. And when you’re standing up for yourself, you’re fucking unstoppable, and you take my breath away.” She looked down, her blush traveling down her neck and probably burning down to her toes. “After all this is over, whatever man you end up giving your heart to is going to be the luckiest man alive.”
She nodded, eyes still focused on the floor.
She rubbed her toe across something on the hallway tiles and looked up at me with sad eyes. “Same for you, Ryan. You’re a good man. I hope you and Martinez have a nice date. Hope she realizes how awesome you are.”
I winked, “Yeah, I definitely think she knows how awesome I am. Good luck today.”
“Thanks,” she whispered as she walked away. I closed the door to the bathroom and couldn’t get my laughter under control. When all this bullshit was over, I was going to show her exactly who she should be giving her heart to. And honestly, where the hell was she going to get dressed, in the living room?
It didn’t matter. She was gone by the time I got out of the bathroom. Having the house to myself after the few days of chaos was strangely unpleasant, and I found myself missing the pandemonium.
“I can’t stay here,” I said out loud to myself, grabbing my coat and my laundry bag. Running errands would probably get my mind off Brooke and stop me from running there to stand beside her while she signed her name to the papers taking that asshole down.
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