Self-doubt came and went in my life, ebbing and flowing based on how I was doing, and right now it was in full force. Of course Brigham wouldn’t want to continue this. He could have models with huge tits and all sorts of skills in the bedroom. Women who didn’t cry at their mom’s attitude or want to open a dog boarding house.
Fuck this.I got the dogs in their harnesses and leashes and was about to take them on an evening walk, since the sidewalk should’ve cooled off. But voices stopped me in the hall.Brigham! He’s back!My heart lurched and my adrenaline spiked at the thought of seeing him. I gripped the handle to open it up, but a deeper voice, one I didn’t recognize, spoke.
“I cannot believe that fucking worked.”
“I know.”Brigham.
“The innocent virgin. Ha. Blue-hair really did save your ass.”
“Charles, enough,” Brigham said, a warning bite in his voice. “It’s done.”
“Chill out. The girl won’t know.”
The girl.
Me.
Innocent virgin.
I gagged as the weight and meaning of the conversation dawned on me. I flung the door open, startling both men to the point Brigham jumped. “The girl won’t knowwhat?”
The man in a suit raised one eyebrow at me, half his face smiling while he looked me up and down. It was nighttime and my stupid starfish pajama shorts and bright purple tank top felt silly under his stare. “Ah, Sarah, right?”
“Don’t speak to her.” Brigham’s expression was hard. No sign of the soft or tender man I got to cuddle with a week ago. “Charles, get into my place.”
“We’ll need her to sign an NDA at some point if you want to have a future in baseball. You know this.” Charles shook his head and curled his lip as he looked back at me. “I’ll be reaching out, Sarah. There will be some forms you need to sign.”
“Charles, I swear I will fucking fire you. Get inside my place. Now.” Brigham growled at his agent and clenched his fist around the strap of his bag. He shoved past Charles, slammed his key into the lock and pushed the man in before facing me. Every part of his body was hard. His jaw, his stance, his mouth set in a firm line that solidified everything that had gone through my mind the past two days.We are done.
“Sarah,” he said without warmth before swallowing and working his jaw like he was chewing gum. “I’m sorry you had to hear Charles say that.”
“What the hell is going on?” I asked, proud that my voice didn’t shake like my insides. Pico jumped up and down, excited to see Brigham, but I held him back. “I tried calling you.”
“I know. Fuck.” He ran a hand over his face and let his guard down just enough for me to see how tired he was. No light in his eyes. No smiles.
“Why did Charles say that stuff about me? Did you tell him I was a virgin?” My voice broke a little at the end, because that was a major violation of my privacy. “That was…why would you tell him?”
He gulped. “There is a lot going on right now, okay? I can’t quite explain it all to you.”
“Why not? I just want the truth. I’m not asking for a piece of you, Brigham.” Tears fell down my cheeks now and he flinched when he saw. “You shared something very private with your agent? And I have to sign something? Did you…useme?”
A look of revulsion crossed his face. That split second of silence told me everything. “Oh my god. You did.”
“Sarah, no.”
My heart rate sped up to the point I gasped for air. This was heartbreak. The feeling like my chest was closing in on me and all the oxygen disappeared. My bottom lip trembled as shame and regret and disgust went through me. “It makes sense now.”
“No,” he said, reaching for me, but I jerked away.
“Donottouch me.” I half-sobbed, half-laughed. “Wow. Hope your life goes as planned.”
“Please,” he said, looking so tortured and torn. “It’s not what you think. Blue Bell, I swear. I fucking love you. Let me fix things.”
“How dare you?” I recoiled at his use of theLword. “Don’t talk to me again.” I shook my head back and forth, finding my backbone and steeled myself. “If I need to sign something saying I won’t tell a soul, I will. Because I won’t tell a person about you. You are not worth it.”
I let Mr. Alexandre’s door slam and I marched down the hallway. Brigham remained quiet besides his heavy breathing. I only had four more weeks of staying here.I can survive that, right?
Chapter Twenty-Six
