“Whatever you say, angel.”
“This counts as stalking.You realize that, right?”
Brianna’s eyes reached a new fever pitch as I dropped into the seat next to her. While the rest of the room hummed with conversation, she’d found a seat at the furthest table in the back, not engaging with anyone else. Without another thought, I shifted my chair closer to her and dug into the breakfast spread I’d gathered from the buffet. I groaned as I bit into the eggs. “Damn, these are pretty good. Usually, the eggs at these things are trash.”
Brianna reached out and snatched my fork away. “No. You shouldn’t be here, Damien. These brunches are for members only.”
“That’s not what they told me.” I pointed the knife over to the group of women I’d befriended during the service. Brianna thought I’d left after I’d dropped her off, but I’d snuck in, determined to bethere for her, even when she didn’t ask for it. While she darted up to the front row to sit with her family, I’d tucked into the back, among a group of women in their eighties. They’d latched on to me almost immediately. Their congregation suffered from a lack of young men among their parishioners, with way too many eligible women. I’d laughed off their matchmaking attempts, telling them I was already in love with someone.
Even though she seemed to hate me right now.
Brianna followed my line of sight and sucked in a sharp breath. “Did they say anything about me?”
“What?” I said, narrowing my gaze. “No, but have they said somethingtoyou?”
She shook her head. “Nothing important.”
“If it matters to you, Bri, it’s fucking important. Now, tell me what they said.”
“First—don’t curse so loudly. Not here.” She sighed, turning away so her eyes could avoid mine. Anger clenched my heart at the sight, knowing shame when I spotted it. Brianna continued, but her voice shook with each word. “Divorce might be pretty common now, but people around here still act like it’s a cardinal sin. When I left my husband, even thoughhecheated onme, they treated me like a pariah. As much as I try to ignore them—it hurts.”
My hands clenched in my lap. “I’ll kill them.”
Brianna chuckled. “I shouldn’t have said anything. Bad enough to be divorced and over thirty. Now I brought someone threatening murder into our church.”
Despite the humor in her words, I could sense the hurt lingering underneath. For too long, the world had forced its judgments onto Brianna’s lap. But now that I was here, I refused to let it happen again. I reached out and took her hand. “I’m glad you told me, Bri. Promise, no bloodshedtoday, but I can’t promise to keep my cool if they say anything like that to you in front of me.”
“You don’t have to defend me, Damien.”
I reached out, shifting her chair so she faced me. Her hazel eyes met mine, and the same familiar spark ignited between us. She tucked her lower lip between her teeth. She felt it too. I sighed, trying to force down the lust building in my veins. “You’ve had to fight your own battles for long enough, angel. Let me stand at your side.”
She sucked in a sharp breath then shook her head. “Stop saying things like that, Damien. It’s making me forget why I was mad at you in the first place.”
“Kinda the plan, angel,” I chuckled, bringing her hand up to my lips. As I kissed her knuckles, I said, “But I mean every word, Bri. When you give me back your heart, I’m going to protect it like my own.”
“When?”
I chuckled as I pulled back. “Yeah, angel.When. Because you might not be ready to admit it just yet, but you loved me once, before I fu—messed everything up. And if it’s the last thing I do, I’m going to prove to you I’m worthy of your love.”
Brianna’s hazel eyes shimmered as she looked back at me. “You’ve always been worthy of it, Damien. That was never the problem.”
But before I could respond, her gaze darted over my shoulder, and her entire body tensed. She dropped my hand and shoved her chair away from me. I would’ve been offended if it weren’t for her expression. She’d pulled back those walls I’d spent so much time dismantling, schooling her features into an impenetrable mask. It took me back to when we first met, when Brianna guarded her joy and kept everything closeto the vest.
“Are they coming over?” I asked, referring to the group of women I’d befriended earlier but who were now at the top of my shit list.
“No, worse,” Brianna whispered. “It’s my family.”
FORTY
As soon as my mother’s footsteps faltered, my stomach sank. Her eyes narrowed on Damien, taking in his imposing frame and the tattoos that stuck out under the sleeve of his shirt. Her lip curled before her dark eyes turned toward me. Even with half a foot between us, her confusion and disappointment were palpable.Please let the floor swallow me up right now.
Damien didn’t bother to turn around, simply keeping his eyes on me. As he searched my expression, he whispered, “Do you want me to go, Bri?”
I paused, unsure how to answer. The answer should have been easy—yes, please go, before my mother makes you rethink everything between us. My mother was notorious for her invasive questions and judgmental stares, which was nothing I wanted to subject Damien to right now. But the words refused to come. As confusing as it was to be around Damien, I didn’t want him to leave. Somehow, having him here was like pulling on my favorite worn blanket, keeping me from spiraling.
“No,” I whispered, offering him an apologetic grin. “But you might want to after you meet my mother.”
He smiled at me, some of the earlier tension melting from his shoulders. “You're not getting rid of me that easily, angel. Gonna have to meet her eventually.”
