Of course she read what he hadn’t even said.
Nothing. Everything.He was discontent and didn’t know why or what to do about it.
CODY: I’m fine. Just tired and busy.
BROOKE: Mom told me you donated your obscene client fee to the children’s hospital, so they could get a new MRI and CT machine. Get a company off on pollution charges and heal sick kids why don’t you!
Cody laughed at that, too, but also felt incredibly proud of what he’d done to compensate for defending his client so well they got away with a slap on the wrist for that shit. His firm had gotten their cut, but his portion had gone to the kids.
Brooke understood his need to do good in the world. They had that in common. He didn’t always get to pick his clients. Some of them he didn’t like. Others he loathed. Especially those who used the law to get away scot-free with doing bad things.
BROOKE: I see your cape showing under your bespoke suit.
He chuckled again.
CODY: But you’ll keep my secret, right?
BROOKE: Word is out. You’re running with the big dogs now. You’ve got the money, the woman…next you’ll be too famous for the likes of me.
CODY: Never. You keep me grounded.
BROOKE: Because I know you better than anyone.
Yes, she does.Because he didn’t open up easily to others. Not even with Kristi.
She was starting to feel that. He was trying to be better, but it wasn’t easy for him. He guarded himself after his mother walked out. He didn’t need a therapist to know he had trust issues.
Not with Brooke.
Maybe because she was just a kid when they met. You couldn’t hide things from kids. They saw right through you. And Brooke had been so eager to be accepted by him and his dad.
Brooke was his best friend, but Kristi was the woman by his side, the woman who complemented his life because she was a part of his work world. They shared friends and acquaintances, many of whom they ran into on a regular basis.
CODY: But will you help me bury the bodies?
BROOKE: I’ll bring the shovel, you bring the beer.
He grinned at that, too.
CODY: Deal. And if you need me, I’m just a call away. Day or night. I mean it.
BROOKE: I know you do. But I also need to learn to stand on my own.
He hoped that didn’t mean she didn’t need him anymore.
BROOKE: I have to run to class.
BROOKE: And Cody…work isn’t a life. You deserve to have a really great life.
BROOKE: Have some fun. That’s an order from your partner in the ranch. And your friend.
That’s when it hit him. This feeling he’d been having since she left. Guilt.
He shouldn’t have touched her the way he did. He shouldn’t have looked at her the way he did. He definitely shouldn’t be thinking the things he thought about her all the time.
She cared about him. She wanted more with him. And for a brief second, he’d given in instead of stepping back. For a split second, he’d seen in her eyes how happy she’d be if he reciprocated her feelings. For that brief moment, even he thought it could be so, so good to let her unleash all her desires and love on him.
And then he pulled away. In rolled the familiar disappointment he saw on her lovely face. He knew every soft curve, every expression she made by heart. He’d seen them all. Well, most of them. But he didn’t let himself think about what she looked like in ecstasy.
