20. Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty
C ody gently pushed Brooke behind his back and faced off with his ex. “Watch your mouth.”
She raised a brow, seething. “Seriously. You ruin my life and think you can tell me what to do.”
“We both said and did things we shouldn’t have, but that’s no reason to attack Brooke on the street. In public.”
“Why not? It’s very public now that you called off the wedding. You seriously told all those people that you realized you loved someone else more and couldn’t go through with the wedding because it would have ultimately hurt me.”
Brooke gasped behind me. “You did what?”
He shifted so he could see both women, though he could block Brooke easily again if Kristi got any ideas about going after her. “I told the truth. And most of the people said they thought it was a difficult but wise decision.”
“You could have said it was a mutual decision.”
“I did, because why the fuck would you want to stay with me when I love someone else?”
Her whole body went rigid, her arms locked at her sides, hands fisted. “You humiliated me.”
Cody shook his head. “There was no way out of telling everyone the wedding was off without giving an explanation. They’d all start speculating and making shit up. This way, I took the brunt of the load by saying it was me. At worst, I thought people would speculate I cheated on you.”
“You did. The whole time we were together.”
Brooke took a step forward. “That’s a lie. You broke up with him.”
“Because he kissed you , you selfish bitch.” Kristi glowered.
Cody checked out the few people walking down the sidewalks, who were now giving them looks. “You’re right. I did do that. And that’s when you and I both knew I was in love with her, even if it took me a little while longer to really let myself believe it.”
Her eyes glassed over with unshed tears. “How could you?”
He shrugged and implored her with his gaze. “I couldn’t help it. This is how it was meant to be. She’s the one.”
Kristi’s blue eyes turned stormy. “I was the one you asked to marry you.”
He and Brooke didn’t say anything to that, because the truth was, he’d never actually proposed.
The second that dawned on Kristi, she glared at Brooke. “Another thing you took from me.”
“You set yourself up for that when you got pregnant under dubious circumstances,” Brooke snapped back.
Kristi’s eyes went wide. “You told her that.”
“I don’t keep secrets from her.” They’d shared a lot of whispers in the dark each night. Mostly daydreams about what their daughter would have been like as she grew up. The things she’d love to do. The way she’d be. The milestones she’d reach. Birthdays. Each new school year. Graduations. Boys. The talk they’d each have with her about dating and sex. What they’d say to her on her wedding day, when she had her first child.
Whenever one of them started with the, “She’ll never…” the other stopped that by replacing it with, “She would have…”
It worked most of the time to keep them from drowning in sorrow for all she’d never do. But not all the time.
Kristi’s glare finally stayed on him and away from Brooke when she said, “My father can’t believe you did this to him after he got you the board position at the children’s hospital. You owe him, and this is how you repay him?”
“First, those words sound like his, and it must really piss you off that his concern is that he did something for me and thinks I owe him, not that your heart is broken. Second, I didn’t do shit to him. I appreciate the opportunity he gave me. I thanked him for it many times. But I also cultivated relationships with the other board members and came up with a lot of cost-cutting services while implementing others for the staff and patients. I’ve made myself useful and necessary, while your father uses his position to throw around his perceived power because of the people he knows and uses. I bet he even thinks he can get me kicked off the board for hurting you. I mean, that must feel nice, but you know, and I know, it’s just his ego that can’t take it. He wants me gone because I showed him up in the nine months I’ve been there. There’s no way the board will vote against me. I made sure of that by doing exactly what he wanted me to do. I showed all of them that I deserve that spot.”
He gave her a smug look. “That’s exactly why you loved being with me. Because I’m ambitious and good at what I do, and people notice. You loved standing beside me and flaunting it that I was yours. I didn’t mind. It made me feel good. You made me feel that way because you’re intelligent and strong and capable all on your own. You don’t need me, your father, or anyone else for people to see those things and more in you. I get this has been hard on you. I get that you’re angry. But we were never going to work, not after the things we did to each other. It was always coming to a destructive end.”
She still simmered with anger. “It didn’t have to be this way.”
He could see it in her eyes. She couldn’t let it go. Not yet. She was too caught up in the pain and anger.
Kristi huffed out a frustrated breath and turned a spiteful gaze on Brooke, even though it should be directed at him. “You’ll get what’s coming to you.” She stormed away.
Cody ushered Brooke into the other door that led into the small lobby of her building. Two elevators up ahead, the door to the stairs on their right. On the left, a board that they’d use to tell visitors which businesses were upstairs and in which suite.
He stopped Brooke before she hit the elevator call button to go upstairs. “I’m sorry.”
She turned to him, her eyes narrowed. “For what?”
“That? Whatever that was.” He’d thought Kristi would stay away after she left her engagement ring and walked out. He should have known better. She seemed to always come back after doing her dramatic exits.
“She’s angry and embarrassed. It’s not your fault.” She tilted her head and stared up at him. “Is her father trying to get you kicked off the board?”
“No.”
Brooke eyed him, looking for what he wasn’t saying. “Cody?”
“Just leave it alone, Brooke.”
She took a step closer to him.
He breathed in her familiar scent and all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and kiss her. “It’s nothing.”
She took another step, her breasts an inch away from brushing his chest. Her eyes were all-knowing and filled with determination to get him to talk.
So he did. “Her father is very good friends with Beecham.”
“As in the founding partner at your law firm?”
“His son, who has a lot of pull because of his family connection.”
“And what is Kristi’s father asking his friend Beecham to do?”
“What do you think?”
She gaped. “He wants you fired.”
“Oh, it won’t be that simple. I bring in too much revenue. I win a higher percentage of cases than my counterparts.”
“Is he pulling cases from you?”
He leaned in and rubbed his nose against hers because he needed to touch her. “You’re so fucking smart.”
“Cody! You can’t let him get away with this.”
“What do you want me to do? Go to Beecham and plead my case? He knows I’m a valuable asset and is still doing what his friend asked. There’s a rumor that Beecham owed Kirk a favor. He’s called in his marker. Sometimes this is the way the world works. Sometimes, a guy does you a favor because you’re dating his daughter. Sometimes that same guy uses another favor to fuck you because you dumped his daughter.”
She put her hands on his chest. “How can you be so calm about this?”
“Because it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters but you.”
“You can’t mean that. This is your career we’re talking about. You’ve worked so hard to get to where you are right now.”
“And I’ll keep working hard for my clients. I’ll find another law firm if I have to. But be clear, Brooke, after nearly losing you…nothing, not my job, not any fucking thing is more important than you.” He cupped her face. “Can I please kiss you? I need you so fucking bad.”
She went up on tiptoe and kissed him.
He tried to keep it tame, to just get a taste of her, but she had wonderfully amazing other ideas and swept her tongue along his bottom lip, then deep into his mouth when he opened up. He took the kiss deeper, sliding his tongue along hers, pouring every bit of the love he had for her into the kiss, even as he told the rest of his body—mostly his achingly hard dick—to calm the fuck down, because this was all he could have right now.
He’d take it, whatever she was willing to give, and be happy and grateful for it.
The elevator dinged and the doors opened.
Cody didn’t pay it any mind, until Brooke broke their kiss and her eyes went wide with terror as he shifted his weight to protect her from whatever threat she saw coming.
All he saw was a blond guy dressed in black jeans and a black hoodie coming out of the elevator, a hammer in his fist and tool belt slung over his shoulder.
But that was obviously not what Brooke saw…
One minute Brooke was in total bliss, kissing Cody, and the next she saw a man in black coming at her and she was right back in the dark outside the library, Adam coming at her with that knife.
Brooke screamed and scrambled backward, trying to get away without turning her back on the guy.
Cody planted his hand on Adam’s chest and pushed him to a stop. “Don’t move.” He stepped between her and her nightmare.
“L-look out. He’s g-going to get you.”
Cody glanced back at Adam, then to her again. “It’s not him, Brooke. It’s not him. It’s one of Danny’s guys. A construction worker. He’s not going to hurt you.”
Her back hit the wall and she stared from him to the guy by the elevator and back again.
Cody’s voice softened. “He’s on Danny’s crew. One of the construction workers. That’s all. He’s not going to hurt you.”
The guy peeked around Cody. “I’m not, lady. Swear it.”
Brooke’s eyes filled with tears. “I-I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about.” Cody kept walking toward her slowly, like he didn’t want to spook her again. “You got scared. That’s all.” He was only two steps away now. “No worries, baby.” One more step. “Everything is okay.” He wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her on the head and she breathed again. “That’s it. You’re safe.”
The construction worker held his hand up. “Hey, man, I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to scare your girl.”
“She’s okay. You just reminded her of someone, that’s all.” He kissed her head again. “You’re okay, right, Brooke?”
Not really. Not with her nails biting into his back as she held on tight to him.
She didn’t answer, she just kept holding on.
He didn’t seem to mind and glanced over his shoulder. “Did you need something?”
The guy shook his head. “No, man. I was just leaving for the day. Dentist appointment. I’ll be back tomorrow. Danny’s upstairs. Knows all about it.”
“Okay. If you don’t mind keeping this to yourself?”
“Sure thing, man. No sweat.” He smiled at Brooke. He had kind eyes.
“Thank you.” Cody watched the guy leave, then stared down at her. “Baby, tell me what you need?”
Her fingers clutched at him tighter. “You.”
He held her close and pressed his cheek to her forehead. “You got me. I’m not going anywhere.”
Her whole body trembled in his arms. “When will this stop?”
“I don’t know. But I think you need to talk to someone. Dr. Nash left me a referral for when you’re ready.”
Her gaze fell to the floor. “I thought it was going to be a good day.”
He put his finger beneath her chin and gently pushed up until his gaze could meet her watery green eyes. “It is a good day, sweetheart. We’re spending it together. That’s all that matters.”