Chapter Thirteen
Brian
The smell of bacon hit me once I was halfway down the hall toward the kitchen, making my mouth water.
I heard Jade exclaim, “Penny Lane! Where have you been? Are you hungry?” Followed by the sound of what I guessed was Jade filling the cat’s dish with food.
She was standing at the sink washing her hands when I hobbled in. Forget bacon—my morning was made when she simply smiled at me.
“Good morning!” she called as she pulled a paper towel from the holder and dried her hands. “I hope you’re hungry.”
I uttered, “I am,” as I stared at her when she returned to the stove.
“Good! I’m making bacon, eggs, and toast.”
Her long blonde hair was up in a ponytail, like how she wore it at work, and she was in black running shorts and a pale pink tank top that showcased her toned body.
Like last night, the domesticity of the situation punched me in the solar plexus.
“So, I woke up to Penny purring next to me. No butt in my face.”
“That you know of,” she teased.
“I don’t know how she got in my room, though. The door was closed.”
“She probably was in there hiding when you went to bed and only ventured out once you’d fallen asleep.” She used the spatula to gesture to the table. ”Have a seat.”
I did as she instructed and teased, “I thought you said we were only eating healthy food today.”
“Well, you don’t strike me as a berries and Greek yogurt breakfast kind of guy, so this was the only other option.” She smirked and continued, “I’m trying to be a good hostess.”
I tried not to gawk at her, but it felt like it was impossible to look away. “You’ve been the perfect hostess, Sunshine. Breakfast wasn’t necessary.”
Jade tsked. “It’s the most important meal of the day, Bri. Juice or coffee? Or both?”
I blinked as I tried to process her question, which was hard to do with her nipples poking through her tank top.
“Um, coffee and water?”
“Coming right up!”
She flitted to the cupboard and pulled out a mug and a glass. After pouring the coffee, she asked, “Cream or sugar?”
“Just creamer if you have it.”
She reached into the refrigerator for the creamer and I couldn’t help but add, “I hate that you’re waiting on me like I’m an incapable child.”
Setting the coffee and creamer in front of me with a scowl, she replied, “First of all, you’re my guest.”
“That you didn’t invite—”
She moved to the refrigerator and started filling the glass with ice from the door dispenser, as if to drown out my words, then switched to water and continued like I hadn’t said anything.
“Secondly, you were shot three days ago—saving my sister. Serving you breakfast and letting you stay is the least I can do.” She glanced at my thigh as she set the water down in front of me.
“Speaking of getting shot. We need to change your bandage after breakfast.”
I wasn’t convinced I could have her that close to my dick without it getting hard, so I blurted out, “I’ll just go see Brady in his office.”
One of her eyebrows shot up, and she put her hand on her hip.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Brian. We’ll make sure your cock is completely covered with a towel and a blanket, and I promise I won’t try to rip them off and ravish you.”
My head almost exploded right there on the spot.
She said cock, and I found that sexy as hell. Then she added the part about promising not to ravish me, but my Neanderthal brain only heard “ravish you,” and suddenly I wanted to swipe the table of all its contents so I could bend Jade Beaumont over it and ravish her.
Fortunately, my injury kept me in check.
But the idea of her hands on me was too tempting to turn down, so I grumbled, “Fine,” before dumping way too much creamer into my coffee.
****
Jade
Okay, so making Brian a hearty breakfast obviously hadn’t made him see me any differently.
I guess the bigger question was, why did I even care? There’s no way I’d go on a date with him even if he did.
I chalked it up to my bruised ego needing validation that I was attractive. Worthy of a handsome, age-appropriate man’s attention. The eighty-year-old men that came in from the assisted-living facility and proposed marriage didn’t count.
If a player like Brian wasn’t even interested in me, what were the odds another, more eligible man would be?
I knew the answer: not great.
And even though I wanted to pretend like it didn’t matter, deep down, I knew it did. I wanted to get married someday and have children. Granted, my biological clock wasn’t banging like a gong yet at the ripe old age of twenty-seven, I understood how quickly time was starting to fly by.
Thirty would be here before I knew it. Then thirty-five, and if I wasn’t careful, I’d be lumped in the high-risk pregnancy category before I realized it.
Dramatic much, Jade?
Okay, so I had some time. But still. And why did my conscience sound like Sophie?
Brian finished the last of his breakfast and leaned back in his chair.
“That was excellent. Thank you.” His expression turned serious, and he pinned me in place with his stare. “For everything. I really appreciate it; more than I can express. You’ll definitely have to let me return the favor once I’m back on my feet.”
The intensity of his gaze made me self-conscious, so I tucked a phantom stray hair behind my ear to break eye contact and flippantly replied, “If I ever find myself in a situation where I can’t go home because the media is camped outside my house, you’ll be the first person I call to spend the night. ”
“It doesn’t have to be that spectacular. Who knows, maybe you’ll want to sleep over sometime just because.”
Just because?
Okay, how’s tonight sound?
I gave myself an internal shake. No! Knock it off!
Thankfully his phone buzzed, pulling his attention away from me.
I saw him glance at the screen, then put the earpiece to his ear.
“Hey, Dad, what’s up?”
Brian was quiet for a beat, then replied, “No, everything seems to be fine.” He glanced over at me and asked, “You haven’t noticed anything unusual outside the house, have you?”
I shook my head no. “I made sure no one followed me when I went for a walk this morning.”
He tilted his head and furrowed his brows, like he was surprised I’d left the house, but told Chief O’Shaughnessy, “Jade says she was out earlier and there was nothing out of the ordinary here.”
He was still as he listened to his dad on the other end. Finally, he asked, “Are you sure you want to do that? I think you’re going to get some pushback and be made to look bad, like you’re abusing your power.”
Brian nodded along with whatever Angus was saying, and replied, “I mean, you’re the boss. And I’m definitely not to go turn it down, so yeah, that sounds good. Let me talk to Jade and see if she can drop me off.”
I inserted, “Of course I can.”
“She says she can.” He tilted the phone away from his mouth and asked, “Is an hour and a half too soon?”
“Not at all.”
That would give me time to clean up the kitchen, change his bandage, jump in the shower, and pack an overnight bag so I could head to the beach after dropping him off.
He put the mouthpiece next to his lips and said, “We’ll be there at ten thirty.”
The realization that he was leaving didn’t hit me until after he hung up, and a melancholy feeling washed over me.
Yeah, Brian and I would never be a thing, but it’d been nice having him there, even if it was just as friends.