Chapter 5
Veronica knew something was wrong as soon as Brayden returned to the Hideaway.
Sure, he put on a cool, brave face, but the brackets around his mouth were deeper than normal.
She would know, having indulged in many long studies of that mouth.
A few hot dreams too after that interrupted kiss last night.
His hands were the real giveaway. He kept flexing and stretching his fingers as if he was warming up for a few rounds with the speed bag or heavy bag. She knew his routines intimately after so many years and he didn’t usually choose a boxing workout unless he was working through something.
Was that something about her specifically or the Hideaway situation in general?
Her sisters, still clearly annoyed with her, had refused to leave before Brayden returned. Having finally ushered them out the door, she planned to get the whole story out of him now that they were alone.
“What happened?” she asked.
He shook his head, avoiding eye contact. “I need a shower.”
Hurt, she froze. It was bad enough her sisters were pissed off at her. She couldn’t think of a single reason why Brayden would be giving her the cold shoulder.
Unless it was her crack about zero romantic interest when Natalie was suddenly shipping them.
Again. They hadn’t even talked about that strange, wonderful, abbreviated kiss last night.
He was her best friend. Knew her as well as she knew herself.
He had to understand she wouldn’t want to share anything happening between them with her sisters before they sorted out the facts for themselves.
“One second!” she called out, giving chase. “What about…”
She lost the power of speech, her mouth going dry as he turned. He’d stripped off his shirt and unbuttoned the top of his cargo pants. His entire stunning torso mocked her claims of being only friends.
The man was just too gorgeous to be ignored.
“What about what?” he prompted.
“Dinner,” she finished, a little too breathless. “You’ve been gone for hours.”
“Yeah. That’s the job. I was here on the property. You weren’t alone.”
Not at all her point. Something had happened and she wanted the update. “I’m not irritated with you,” she began. “I’ll order Parker’s for dinner while you get your shower.”
“You don’t feel like cooking?”
Fair question. She usually preferred cooking over take out. “Some days call for being nice to myself. And you too by association. This is one of them.”
Spending the day with her sisters had drained her.
That alone was deflating. She’d rescheduled all of her clients outside of Brookwell and then thrown herself into the plans they were making to prevent a disastrous hit to their reputation.
The response was great, but the underlying reasons were taxing.
Add in their disapproval and anger—momentarily on hold—and she was wiped out.
Brayden only grunted, walking into the bathroom and closing the door. As much as she wanted to press, there was no possible way she’d breach that boundary. Whatever he was processing, he’d share it when he was ready.
She could only hope he wasn’t mad at her too. She wasn’t sure she could handle that right now.
After placing the order for delivery, she started to head outside and hesitated. Now she was angry. Having doubts about her safety in this house, in this community, was infuriating. She’d always felt safe and secure here, even when they’d decided to use the family vacation home for business.
Waffling between facing her fear and defying her promise to Brayden, she popped open a sparkling water and went upstairs to her old room, curling up in a chair near the window to think.
The view of the ocean beyond the fire pit soothed her.
That steady roll of the tide made her troubles seem inconsequential.
In the grand scheme, she and her sisters would get over the hurt.
Someday the construction next door would be over.
She closed her eyes, imagining the view unchanged and the natural sounds of the island prevailing.
“Veronica!” Brayden’s strident shout cut into her reverie. “Roni!”
“Up here,” she called out, scrambling out of the chair. At the doorway, she waved at him where he stood at the bottom of the stairs, his expression as dark as a summer storm cloud. “Is dinner here?”
She knew the answer as he stalked closer, his long legs taking the steps two at a time.
Why was that sexy? Why was she finding everything about him so appealing?
She thought back to that surprise encounter on the beach months ago.
For a couple of years, they hadn’t shared more than text messages and the occasional video call and then—wham—one day he was running down the public beach totally unannounced.
It had been the worst kind of awkward reunion. From a distance, she’d been ogling him before her mind registered she was gawking at her friend.
“No.”
“You look mad,” she blurted when he stopped in front of her. “Or hungry?”
“You could’ve left a note,” he snapped.
“Just to come upstairs?” His glowering, the looming had to stop. “Joined at the hip. Right.” She folded her arms, instantly defensive after the day she’d had. “If we’re so close and sharing everything, what happened to put you in such a foul mood?”
The temper drained out of him and he pushed a hand through his damp hair. Her fingers tingled. She ordered her body to behave.
“A potential problem,” he replied. “The team and I handled it. Truthfully, the less you know, the better.”
His mind was set, there would be no changing it. “Okay.” She turned, returning to the chair by the window. “You’ll fill me in when you can?”
“Yes.” He followed her into the room, stopping in the middle. His gaze slid over the bed, then to the window. “Your old room?”
She nodded. “I keep telling myself that the forest will continue to grow and blot out whatever Indigo Reef decides to build.”
“We’ll make sure of it.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Did your sisters lighten up?” he asked, his gaze on the view.
“Only for the sake of the mission.” She sniffled.
“I really screwed up.” The emotion she’d stuffed down deep suddenly erupted.
“It’s not like I tell him everything about us.
I mean, I’m mad about the way he’s blown us off, too.
He was good with Mom while she was sick, but he left her care to Celeste and the home health nurses.
I’m not blaming him. It was hard to watch cancer steal her away day by day. We all knew he loved her.”
“We all loved your mom.”
His soft words startled her almost as much as the bellowing earlier.
Of course, Brayden had loved her mom. He’d come for the funeral to say his own farewell, not just to comfort her.
“Yeah. You’re mad that I stay in touch too.
I get it. Five years ago, I would’ve told you he was the best man on earth.
Now…” Her voice trailed off as the hard edge of emotions subsided.
“Whatever Dad is, I’m sorry for keeping my connection to him a secret from you too. ”
He rocked back on his heels and the movement made her aware that he wasn’t watching the ocean any longer.
His gaze was on her. “Apology accepted. Though you really don’t owe me or anyone else an explanation for trying to maintain a relationship with your dad.
He is a good guy, no matter how he’s grieving. ”
“You’re awfully generous with the forgiveness.”
“That a problem?”
“Only that it makes me nervous about what you haven’t told me yet.”
His wide, genuine smile flashed, alleviating the heaviness around her heart. Her dad might be a good guy, but Brayden had moved to the top of her list.
“One thing has nothing to do with the other,” he assured her. His phone buzzed with an alert a second before the doorbell rang. He checked the security notice anyway. “Food’s here. Let’s eat.”
* * *
Brayden admired Veronica’s ability to bounce back. Over a delicious dinner of shrimp po’ boy sandwiches, hand-cut potato chips, coleslaw, and hushpuppies, they reminisced over their favorite summer adventures. She’d even surprised him with slices of key lime pie.
Clearly, his girl was carb-loading after the emotional day. Understandable. And he was happy to stick to pleasant topics. The happier conversation helped him remember who she was to him, and his role in her life too.
Granted, he wanted to change his role beyond being a good friend and the skilled protector she needed. But he could be patient. He’d waited this long to open a vein and lay his heart out for her.
After dinner, they ran through her truncated client schedule and he made arrangements with Jess to have someone at the Hideaway when they were gone. He refused to give the developers any easy access.
They played a game of cribbage and watched a mystery movie before she was finally ready to call it a night. He gave her privacy to get settled, doing his best to keep his mind away from the visions of her changing into pajamas and sliding under the covers.
She was reading a book when he came in after a check of the cameras. “Can’t sleep?”
“Working on it.” The book closed with a snap. “And failing.”
“What can I do?”
“Thanks, but don’t worry. It’s not your job to entertain me or fix insomnia.”
He sat on the edge of the bed. “It kinda is.” Her eyes heated and he scrambled to keep his own reaction in check. “Besides, I didn’t sleep much last night and I’d rather you didn’t keep me awake tossing and turning.
“How about a walk?” he suggested. “Fresh air is your first go-to, isn’t it?”
“We could just sit on the deck.”
“We’ll see more stars closer to the water.” And it would be quiet at this hour. He thought she’d benefit from a normal sounding night on the secluded beach that had been hers for most of her life.
“Deal.” She threw the covers aside and yanked off her fuzzy socks. “The AC chills my feet and then I can’t sleep.”