“She’s married to one of my teammates.”
“Oh.” Brynnon’s shoulders relaxed. “Okay. We’ll need to call her ASAP.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
The last thing he wanted was to have to put on a monkey suit, but evidently the event was pretty important to her. Which made him curious...
“Do you compete?”
Her smile returned. “For the past three years. My partner and I have never won, but it’s still a lot of fun. I’m bummed I won’t be competing this year.”
He didn’t miss the disappointment in her voice. “Why not?”
“My partner broke his foot last week and had to back out. That reminds me...” she turned to him. “Don’t let me forget to call the dance committee chairperson later and let her know to take Danny and me off the list.”
Doing his best not to sound like a jealous asshole, Grant cleared his throat. “Who, uh...who’s Danny?”
“One of the guys I contract out for all of my landscaping. Apparently, he was working on another project and missed a patio step. Broke his foot in two places.”
What he responded with was, “That’s too bad.” What he was thinking was,thank fuck for clumsy landscapers.
It was an asshole thought to have, especially since the guy’s misfortune meant Brynnon couldn’t compete. It also meant he didn’t have to spend Tuesday night watching another man cozying up to her on the dance floor.
Grant knew his caveman attitude was asinine, given his earlier spiel about not being the right guy for her. What did he expect her to do, anyway? Wait around for him to change his mind?
Yes.
No. He’d never ask her to do that. Brynnon was too full of life. She needed to be able to have one that made her happy. Grant suddenly wished he could be the man to give that to her.
Turning his truck into the hospital’s visitor parking lot, he pulled into an empty spot and turned off the ignition. Grant started to open his door, but Brynnon stopped him with a hand to his arm.
“Wait.” Her fingers squeezed his forearm.
He looked back at her. “Yeah?”
“Before we go inside, I wanted to clear the air.”
Ah, fuck. Grant didn’t think he could take more deep discussions. “About?”
“Us.”
There is no us.
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but Grant kept his trap shut for fear he’d come off as an uncaring asshole. Right or wrong, her opinion of him was starting to matter. A lot.
Instead, he asked, “What about us?”
“I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. Between my resistance to having you assigned to me and today, my shitshow of a brother, and the discussion about us...” She sighed. “Anyway, I was just wondering if we could maybe, I don’t know...start over?”
He stared back at the adorable woman, the nervous blush in her cheeks nearly dark enough to match her hair. He’d spent the last few months imagining how it would feel to run his fingers through her long, auburn locks. How soft it would feel inside his fist as he held onto the back of her head while she—
“So?”
From the passenger seat, Brynnon stared back at him expectantly. Those deep forest eyes filled with nervous hope while waiting for his response. And he’d been over here imagining her on her knees, his engorged cock sliding between those luscious lips.
On cue, his dick jumped inside his jeans. Jesus Christ.He really needed to stop doing that shit.
Realizing he still hadn’t said a fucking word, Grant choked out, “Sure.”
