Chapter 30
THIRTY
Hours later, we remained at the restaurant, one of the few tables left after the dinner rush cleared out.
We’d traded our plates for glasses of wine and spent hours laughing, reliving different moments from my childhood with Mari.
There was an ease between the three of us, one I hadn’t expected but loved nonetheless.
Brianna slid right in between me and Mari, cracking jokes and ribbing me with my little sister.
You’d never know that, hours earlier, she’d been stiff as a board, terrified of saying the wrong thing.
Turning to sneak a look at the woman by my side, I couldn’t help but smile. This was all I ever wanted. Someone who fit right in with my family. Someone to bring me out of my baseball-induced haze and make me spend more time living my life outside the game.
I never expected that woman to be Brianna, but the more time I spent with her, the more I was sure we were perfect for each other, the balance the other one needed.
She tried to hide her soft heart behind reinforced walls, but it was impossible for her to turn it off completely.
She cared more than most people bothered.
For hours, she let Mari talk about her girls, sharing different stories from their time in school and their messes at home.
Her focus never wavered; it never seemed like she was asking just to ask.
Brianna wanted to get to know my family, and that meant more than I could put into words.
As if she knew my thoughts were only of her, Brianna turned toward me, her hazel eyes softening when they met mine. She stole my breath, stole the beat of my heart, and claimed it for herself.
She was becoming my everything, even surpassing my team.
With a shake of her head, Brianna turned toward Mari. “Excuse me for a moment.”
Brianna stood from the table, and I watched every step until she moved out of sight. A snicker broke me out of my staring contest. My head snapped back toward my sister. “What, Mari?”
“Oh, nothing,” she mused. “This is just so much fun to watch.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You love her.”
I blinked slowly, unable to open my mouth to contradict her. Sure, I’d admitted to myself—this was love—but only to myself. Hearing someone else point it out—Mari, no less—cemented it in my mind. Shaking my head, I forced myself to meet my sister’s knowing smirk. “I might be.”
Mari snorted so loudly, the remaining tables turned to stare. “There’s no might about it, Damien. I’ve never seen you look at anyone the way you do Bri, not even when you were engaged. You are hopelessly in love with that girl.”
“Keep your voice down.” I turned to look over my shoulder, making sure Brianna couldn’t overhear. “Maybe I do. But Bri’s not ready, so let’s keep it between us.”
“Why isn’t she ready?”
“Nasty divorce. Her ex was a cheating bastard, and she’s skittish about relationships. It’s taken a long time to admit that she likes me, not just my—”
“Do not finish that sentence,” Mari said, holding her hand up, her smile down-turned as she weighed my words.
The sudden silence between us made my chest tighten. Mari wasn’t one to mince words, so her keeping her thoughts to herself made me worry. The longer the silence stretched on, the more my anxiety built until I snapped. “What, Mari?”
“I’m worried about you.” Mari sat back, staring at me with a knowing expression. “I like Bri, I really do, but I don’t want your heart to get broken again. After Talia, you changed, D. You became colder, more shut off from the rest of us.”
Was that true? Sure, I’d sworn off dating for a while, but I hadn’t realized it affected my other relationships as well.
Looking back over the past couple of years, it became clear.
My distance. My resistance to anyone getting too close.
The obsession with my career. All of it pointed to my hiding away from the world, happy to mask the aching loneliness with a placating smile.
Mari sighed. “Brianna seems great, don’t get me wrong, but if she’s not in the same place as you…” Her voice trailed off as her eyes filled with empathy. “I’m worried it’ll destroy you.”
My throat tightened, unable to hide the fear racing through my veins. She was right. Brianna never being able to fully commit to this—to us—was an actual possibility. Sure, her walls were steadily coming down, but each time we crossed a line, she pulled back, fear taking over as soon as we parted.
However, she’d taken the first step this time. She’d come to me. Hell, Brianna even willingly came to dinner with my sister, knowing it would out our secret for the very first time. Maybe I was reading too much into it, but I had to believe that meant something.
I meant something to her.
I sat back. “Then that’s the risk I’m going to take. Brianna deserves it. She deserves someone willing to fight for her. I can’t back down now, Mari. And I love you for worrying about me, but even if this all falls apart, it was worth it. Bri’s worth the risk.”
Normally, I loved spending time with my sister. Mari and I could sit around a table for hours, filling the room with laughter and shared memories. But tonight, with the picture of Brianna in her lingerie and Mari’s words still in my mind, I counted the minutes until we left for the hotel.
After my fourth not-so-subtle suggestion we call it a night, Mari finally relented, but not before she told me how much she loved Brianna, warning me to tread carefully. She wanted me to protect my heart, but it was too late. Brianna owned its every beat.
After we headed back to the hotel, Brianna made a comment about going to Ollie’s room, but I wouldn’t hear it.
All night, the image of her skin lingered in my mind, teasing me to the point of madness.
My dick had been semi-hard since she showed me a preview earlier, and if I didn’t get my hands on her soon, I’d combust in my jeans like a teenager.
When we opened the door to my hotel room, I moved behind her, wrapping my hands around her waist. As my fingers toyed with the hem of her sweater, Brianna chuckled, dropping her head onto my chest. “Impatient, are we?”
My lips dusted along her shoulder. “You have no idea, Bri. Almost fucked you right at the table, but I didn’t want to scar my sister for life.”
“Not to mention the other people at the restaurant,” she laughed.
“Don’t care about them,” I said, my lips continuing their path up to her ear. “I want to show the world you’re mine, Bri. I'm tired of hiding it from everyone.”
A sharp breath pressed out of her lips as she turned in my arms. Instinct made me shut my eyes, waiting for her rejection.
Too much. Mari’s words rushed through me—the warning Brianna may not want the same as me.
My pulse pounded in my ears, and time seemed to still as her breath slowly washed over me.
But as I waited for the inevitable end, the opposite happened.
Brianna’s hands cupped my cheeks, and she softly brushed her lips over the corner of my mouth.
My eyes burst open, unable to believe the sight in front of me.
She wasn’t running. She didn’t seem afraid.
Instead, Brianna stood in front of me with a wide smile, her thumbs running over my cheeks.
“I don’t want to hide this either.”
I blinked, unsure if I believed her. I waited for her to take back the words, to retreat into the safety of Ollie’s room, but the woman kept surprising me. “Kiss me, Damien.”