As I make my way toward the front door of the police station, déjà vu hits me hard. I let out a breath and keep my head down as I stroll out into the night.
I was arrested again in a town where I've been trying to redeem my reputation. Thinking about Brooke should be the last thing on my mind, but I need to know that she's okay. I know I’ll obsess over it until I see her with my own two eyes. I reach into my pocket and pull out my phone. But as if my body knows she's nearby, I stop.
Brooke is standing at the bottom of the station steps, staring at me.
Behind her, my brother is getting into his truck. He gives me a wave and a tight smile before he drives off.
He stayed with her for me.
I owe him big-time.
“Hi,” she says and takes one step closer.
“Hi.” I take two steps down. “Are you okay?” I ask. My eyes scan her from head to toe. On the outside she looks fine, but on the inside? I need to know more.
“I am, actually, all things considered.”
“Is Tony gone?”
She shrugs. “He followed you and my dad here, and I haven't seen him since.”
“How does that make you feel?”
“Uneasy but better now that I have my eyes on you, and I know where you are.”
Funny how I’d just been thinking the same thing about her. I lift my chin and study her.
“If one of us gets to be worried about the other right now, it's me about you.”
She smirks.
“Let's agree to disagree on that one.” And then, as if she just can’t help it anymore, she rushes toward me, wrapping her arms around my waist and holding me tight.
I let out a deep breath and hold her in my arms even tighter.
“I’m so sorry,” she says, followed by a sniffle. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Hey, no crying. You have nothing to be sorry for.”
I try to pull back to look at her, but she doesn’t loosen her hold.
The embrace lasts longer than I expected it to. And just when I think she's about to pull away, she rests her forehead against my chest. My hand slides to the back of her head, holding her there. And on instinct, I lean forward and kiss the top of her head.
The expression that she pins me with isn't the one I'm expecting. It's soft, almost one of admiration.
“Can I stay with you tonight?” she asks.
“Of course,” I say without hesitation. “Until we know where this guy is, I don't think you should be staying at your house anyway.”
“Those were my thoughts, too. Will it be weird if I stay with you?”
“Trust me, this is something I never thought I would say, but I feel it with more truth than anything I've ever said. Being with you? There's nothing weird about it. It's the most right feeling I've ever had.”
She bites her lower lip and nods. ”Yeah, me too.”
Silence fills the air around us, and then she backs up, takes a step to the side, and nudges me.
“Let's go before we make this any more awkward.”
