“Come in,” he growled with impatience. He waited for her to close the door and walk toward him before he asked, “What are you wearing?”
She stopped short and looked down at herself. “Clothes.”
He shook his head. “That’s not your normal look.” And it threw him because she looked…lovely. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen her with her hair down. Thick and long, it hung past her shoulders and brushed the tops of her breasts over the pretty white blouse she wore to go with a pair of black slacksand a killer pair of black heels. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think she could be one of the interns working here.
“Like I said, I need to talk to you. I thought it best to dress appropriately to meet you in your office. Plus, I had a meeting in town that I wanted to be taken seriously for, so…” She held her hands out to emphasize her point.
He didn’t like the self-conscious look on her face and tried to ease her mind. “You look really beautiful, Brooke.”
Her whole body went still.
He meant what he said, but he hoped she didn’t take it to mean more than it did. Though he was still taken aback by her appearance and the strange pull it made him feel toward her on top of the feelings he’d been resisting since she came home for summer break.
“Thank you.” The sincerity in her voice surprised him. She seemed to catch herself staring at him and moved forward again and set the food bag on his desk as she dropped her satchel in one of the client chairs. “I got you your favorite carnitas fajitas with rice and beans.” She pulled out his container and set it in front of him with a plastic fork and napkin.
“How many chicken tacos did you get?”
“Just two. I’ve got a lot to talk about, so I won’t have a lot of time to eat and do that before your one o’clock meeting.”
“Brooke, you don’t need to make an appointment to talk to me. You know that.”
She tilted her head and studied him. “When’s the last time your day ended before the sun went down?”
He stared at her for a long moment, recognizing the emotion in her eyes. “You’re worried about me.”
“Yes. But that’s not what I want to talk to you about.” She handed him an orange Mexican soda.
He took the first bite of his food and groaned out his pleasure. “You want to talk about what happened between us at thepicnic.” His stomach knotted. He didn’t want to say the wrong thing and hurt her again.
She shook her head. “It’s not about that. But I do owe you an apology.”
No, I owe you one.
But she continued before he could say anything. “Probably a lot of them for the stunts I’ve pulled over the years. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”
Disappointment washed over him.What the hell!
“You’re with Kristi. I need to respect your choice and the boundaries of our relationship.”
What?
“That’s so…very grown-up.” And it pissed him off. He didn’t know why. But he didn’t like any of this.
Brooke went on like he wasn’t floundering inside. “Which is why I’m here. I need some money from my trust fund.”
He smirked and shook his head. “Did you already spend your allowance going out with your friends?”
She thumped her soda bottle on his desk, her eyebrows narrowing. “Don’t do that. Don’t treat me like a child.”
He sat up straighter and stared at her. “I’m not. I was joking.”
She raised a brow. “That was very condescending. I’ll be twenty-one next May. At which time, the trust fund will be mine without restrictions.”
He didn’t know what to do with this too-serious Brooke. “Until then, I decide how you spend the money.”
“Exactly why I’m here. I’m going to graduate next June. I’ve been thinking about what I want to do next.”
What? Really?“I assumed you’d help on the ranch, like we always talked about.” Unless she’d changed her mind. If she did, she would have told him. They talked about everything. Didn’t they?
