Brynne #2
“What about you?” he asked, and I lifted my shoulder.
“You’ve always been off-limits. So, no. I’ve never thought about it.”
Not a total lie. I had thought about being with him—not only sexually, but actually with him.
When we spent time together, whether it was just the two of us or with everyone, I’d always felt comfortable around him.
But a part of me now wondered if I felt like that because I saw him as a friend first.
I’d never let myself believe we could be anything other than that to each other, but now we were, and it was honestly terrifying knowing if things exploded between us, the fallout could ruin everything.
“I want a relationship now,” he said. “Obviously. That was why I asked you?—”
“I know.” I shook my head. “I guess I never realized you were serious when you said you never wanted to be with anyone.” I glanced at him again. “You never dated in New York?”
He snorted. “God, no. I—” His eyes dropped to me. “We don’t need to talk about that.”
“It’s alright.” I twisted more toward him. “We’ll have this conversation eventually. Might as well be now.” His lips twitched into a smile. “You only slept around? Never seriously dated?” He shrugged.
“I never wanted a girlfriend. I never wanted a wife.” He hesitated. “I never slept with the same woman twice.”
I finished my glass and grabbed the bottle for a refill. “What about Scout’s mom?”
It was something I’d been wanting to ask since I found out he had a kid.
He took the bottle from me, refilling his own glass. With a long sigh, he shifted on the couch, dropping his foot to the floor.
“She was a waitress at this bar my friends and I used to go to all the time,” he began.
“She was kind and funny, but not really my type. But one night, I went in after a long day at work—I can’t even remember why I’d been so pissed off, but I was.
And she offered to listen to me complain.
” He had a faraway look in his eyes as he told the story.
“One thing led to another, and she came back to my place. And the fucked-up part was I never thought about her again. We fucked, and when I stopped seeing her at the bar, I didn’t think anything of it.
I hadn’t thought of her in twelve years, and then some social worker showed up on my doorstep telling me she was dead and I had a daughter. ”
“How would you have reacted if she told you about the pregnancy?” I asked quietly. He took a deep, shuddering breath.
“You know, I’ve thought about that a lot,” he said.
“I want to say I would’ve done the right thing.
I want to say I would’ve been with her, and we would’ve raised Scout together.
But I think the truth is I would’ve been fine taking Scout on weekends and giving Sarah all the money she needed to raise her.
” Shame filled his face. “I know that makes me an asshole—a selfish asshole. But I didn’t know her.
I didn’t love her. But she was the mother of my child, and for that, I’ll be forever thankful to her.
That doesn’t mean I wanted to be with her, or marry her.
I wanted my kid—” Roughly, he cleared his throat.
“I wanted my kid, and if she wouldn’t have died, I would’ve never known Scout was out there.
I missed out on so much of her life. Her first steps, her first words, her first smile. ”
I reached out, resting my hand on his. “You’ll have more firsts with her,” I said softly.
“She’s too grown,” he muttered. “Too hurt to let me fully in.”
I stared at him, my gaze flitting across his face. “Do you realize how much she’s changed in the few months you’ve been here? It’ll take more time, but she trusts you, Theo.”
His eyes stayed on the floor, his throat bobbing as he swallowed thickly. “She’s made me look at my life differently,” he murmured.
“That’s what kids are supposed to do.”
He shook his head, his brows creasing. “No, I mean…she’s made me realize how selfish and irresponsible I’ve been my entire life. I—what if I have other kids I don’t know about, Brynne? What if I’m just another deadbeat?”
I rested my glass on the table and slid closer to him. Wrapping my arm around him, I tugged him into my side.
“You’re not a deadbeat,” I murmured, smoothing my hand over his broad shoulders.
“You could’ve let Scout go to foster care.
You could’ve sent her away to a boarding school and pretended like she didn’t exist. You could’ve hired a nanny to take care of her so you never had to see her.
But those things never crossed your mind, did they? ”
He shook his head. “No,” he whispered, his breath brushing my neck.
“Because you’re a good man,” I said softly. “Whether you’re ready to believe that or not doesn’t change the truth. You’re a good man and a good father, and she’s lucky to have you in her life.” I pressed my palm to his cheek, urging him to look at me. “We all are.”
He flicked his eyes between mine before dropping them to my lips. “I didn’t know you’d stroke my ego so much,” he said, breaking the serious tension, and I rolled my eyes.
“Keep it up and I won’t stroke anything.”
“Oh, come on. You’re not cruel, Red.” His gaze stayed glued to my mouth. “You’ll stroke every bit of me.”
I swallowed thickly, shifting closer to him. His lips brushed mine, his breath warm against my face. I braced myself for him to kiss me—to take control like he always did.
My body pulsed in time with my heart as my eyelids fluttered shut.
And then his lips found mine.
His hand cupped the back of my head, holding me to him, his fingers tangling in my hair. I moaned into his mouth as I rested my hands on his chest, feeling his heart beating as quickly as mine.
The door opened, and we pulled ourselves apart, flying to opposite ends of the couch. He wiped his mouth with his thumb, my red lipstick smeared over his lips and chin.
“I’m sorry,” Dom said, clearing his throat. “Um. I—um.” He shook himself a few times. “The Captain said we’re about to head out. We’re not going very far, but sunset is soon and he wants you to be on the water for it. Dinner will be served at that time, too.”
“Thank you,” Theo said, never taking his gaze off me. In it, lust burned. Anticipation welled inside me at the promise that gaze held, at everything he said he’d to do to me.
And everything I wanted to let him do.
I leaned against the railing of the boat, overlooking the setting sun over the water. Theo stood behind me, arms caging me in. The dinner was beautiful and romantic, and the way his eyes kept melting every time he looked at me only did stupid things to my heart.
I knew we were technically together but until we agreed to tell people, it wouldn’t feel real.
And I wanted it to feel real.
I spun, my back pressing against the railing, Theo’s arms around me. His chest pressed against mine with every breath, his scent mixing with the rich, fresh ocean. Sunlight cascaded over his features, bathing him in a golden glow.
He lifted his hand, palm gently caressing my cheek before he tucked my hair behind my ear. “What is it?” he murmured, the light reflecting in his eyes making the blue look like Caribbean water.
“What if we tell Scout about us?” I said, the words coming out in a rush. “If we told everyone about us?”
He bit his bottom lip, eyes flicking between mine. “What, a few days later and you’re ready for that now?”
“Are you?”
A slow smile spread across his face. “I was ready to tell everyone at dinner after you agreed.” He laughed, his fingers still playing with my hair. “What made you change your mind?”
“I don’t want to hide this.” I waved my hand between us. “I’m ready for it to be real.”
Golden sunlight glinted off his teeth as he smiled so broadly, his eyes disappeared. “I’m ready for that too,” he said. “More than ready.”
Excitement rose inside me like a hot air balloon. I bounced on the balls of my feet before wrapping my arms around his neck and tugging him down. His lips immediately met mine, and he kissed the breath from my lungs.
“Scout is staying at Mom’s tonight,” he said against my mouth. “Do you want to come home with me? We can tell Scout tomorrow.”
“Yes!” I laughed. “Oh my god, we’re doing it.”
“We’re doing it, baby.” He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly to his chest, his laughter rumbling through his chest.
The rest of the boat trip was full of smiles and laughter and anticipation for what we both knew was coming when we made it to his house.