Cora’s soft breathing, her very presence was everything he needed to stay strong, to face the demon that still haunted him.
“He grabbed my shoulders and shook me.” Braxton could still feel those strong hands gripping his slender frame. “My mom grabbed his arm and tried to tell him she’d find the lighter, but he turned on her and slapped her across the face. When she fell, I ran into my room and locked the door.”
A decision he’d regret until the day he died.
“My dad tore through the house, stomping and yelling. I heard my mom crying and decided I couldn’t hide, not when she needed me.” He pulled in a deep breath, the hardest part yet to come. “When I came out, my dad had a gun and was waving it around. He always had one on him because he was paranoid even inside our own house. He didn’t see me at the top of the stairs and my mom was frantically still searching for that damn lighter.”
Braxton blinked back the burn in his eyes. Tears wouldn’t change the ending. “At that point he was just angry because that was his default emotion. He kept waving that gun and when my mom came up behind him with his lighter, he turned and fired.”
Closing his eyes, Braxton willed the pain to go away, and fought to finish. He’d come this far.
“When he saw what he’d done, he crumpled to the floor and held her. For a few seconds, I caught a glimpse of the man my mother swore he was. In those few moments, he held on to her and told her how much he loved her, how sorry he was. And I know he was sincere. It took killing her to snap him back. But the second he picked up his gun, I knew. I just knew in my gut what he was going to do. I was still frozen at the top of the stairs, he never looked my way.”
Braxton choked out the last words. Cora framed his face, swiping his tears with her thumbs. He bit his quivering lip, hating that he couldn’t keep up his strength.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I didn’t mean to ruin the evening, but I had to tell you. I didn’t want my past between us because it did shape the man I am today and I wanted you to know everything about me.”
She threaded her fingers back through his hair and tugged until he rested his forehead against hers. “Nothing you tell me could change my feelings. If anything, I’m even more in awe of the struggles you’ve faced and how you’ve overcome each of them.”
Relief flooded through him. Needing the contact, Braxton slid his hands around her waist and held on. “I need to tell you something else.”
“Anything.”
He lifted his head, wanting to look into those beautiful violet eyes. “I’m pretty sure I’m falling in love with you.”
Cora stilled, her breath caught as her mouth parted. “You-you don’t mean that. It’s too soon.”
He smiled despite her reaction that stemmed from fear. “Is it? Because I can’t put a time frame on feelings. If you’re honest, you feel the same.”
She blinked a few times, her lips pursing together. “Really? You and that ego are full of it again. You have no idea how I feel.”
The pulse at the base of her neck quickened, her cheeks pinkened. Braxton closed the space between them and hovered his mouth just over hers.
“I know how you look at me, I know how you’re guarded, but when we’re together you let loose and you have this look of contentment.”
Her lids fluttered down as he stroked his lips back and forth across hers. “And I know you have feelings because I can tell when you touch me. You aren’t just trying to take in my physical appearance, you’re actually seeing me, all of me, and now you’ve seen my darkest side. You’re still here, you’re not afraid.”
Braxton trailed his fingertip down the column of her throat. Her head tipped back and rolled to the side as a soft sigh escaped her lips.
“Tell me you don’t feel everything when I touch you,” he whispered. “Tell me we aren’t on the same page.”
“Fine,” she groaned. “You win.”
Arching her back, she bit her lip as he continued to stroke his fingers over her skin. “Say it,” he demanded.
Cora sat straight up, gripped his wrists, and looked directly at him. He knew she couldn’t see him, but she literally stared right into his eyes.
“I’m falling for you, too. I didn’t want to, I even told myself I wasn’t, but you consume all of my thoughts and this new world I have started building. I need you, Braxton.”
Every bit of his tension, every single thing wrong in his past suddenly vanished for a moment. All that mattered was right now, this second and how Cora was opening herself just as much as he was. The fact they were both exposed and vulnerable only proved how deep they were forging their bond.
He knew her admitting her need didn’t have anything to do with right now and intimacy, but everything to do with life. And he needed her in his life, too. Needed her in a way that left his heart wide open for the risk of being crushed, but he didn’t care. Cora was worth . . . everything.
Braxton came to his feet and scooped her up into his arms. “I need you, too,” he told her as he carried her down the hall, toward her bedroom. “I’m staying tonight.”
Her hand caressed his jawline as she rested her head on his shoulder. “I wasn’t going to let you go.”
Chapter Fourteen
Tangled in sheets with her head resting on Braxton’s shoulder was exactly where she wanted to be. The way he’d opened up to her last night had shaken her and completely caught her off guard. Thinking about all of these feelings was so much different from getting them out in the open. Once they were said, they couldn’t be unsaid.
Would she take the words back, though? Cora closed her eyes and sighed with content. No. The timing may be bad, the upheaval that was her life certainly would cause issues sooner rather than later, but she didn’t for one second regret being honest with Braxton.
And her revealing her heart had nothing to do with the gut-wrenching story of his childhood and everything to do with the strong man who trusted her enough to open his life in such a way.
Braxton’s arm tightened around her, drawing her even closer to his side. She had no clue as to the time, no clue if the sun was coming in through the windows or if it was pitch-black outside. She didn’t care. Time didn’t matter at this moment, not when her body was still humming after last night.
The man couldn’t be more perfect. He brought her a freaking tree. And ornaments. And lights.
What man thought to bring a woman Christmas decorations? A blind woman at that? She couldn’t see what they’d done, but to know that her home was festive for the holidays had seriously warmed her heart. He’d wanted to make her feel more at home, had wanted to share the tradition with her of putting up a tree. Somehow that seemed more intimate than lying here naked with him.
After last night, with Braxton projecting every single thing about his life, she knew she needed to tell him every part of hers. It was only fair and he deserved a woman who was completely honest. He hadn’t had that in the past and she didn’t want to be just another woman who betrayed his trust.
He shifted in the bed, the coarse hair on his legs tickling hers. When he rolled to his side and wrapped his other arm around her, Cora inhaled the sexy, masculine scent she’d come to associate with Braxton.
“Why are you awake?” he muttered against the top of her head.
“I’m enjoying the moment.”
“You enjoyed it last night,” he told her. “Now you should be resting up.”
No, she needed to rehearse her speech in her head so she could tell him the truth. But the end result would be the same and there was no easy path to get there.
“What time is it?”
He shifted a bit, then moved back to nestle deeper into the pillow with her. “Five. Way too early to be talking.”
Yeah, well, there wouldn’t be a good time. Cora slipped her hand beneath the sheet and rested her palm over his taut abs. The man was absolutely amazing and the fact he cared so deeply because of such a tragedy only made her want to be with him even more. She only hope
d it was possible after she explained who she was.
Not that keeping her life a secret was a big deal, but he prided himself on honesty and he’d been burned before because of money. Would he see that she was so much more than a company worth millions?
“We’re not going back to sleep, are we?”
Cora laughed. “I haven’t been asleep.”
He smoothed her hair away from her face and ran his hand down her bare shoulder. “Tell me what’s on your mind because clearly I didn’t do a good enough job of keeping you distracted.”
Cora pulled in a deep breath. “I don’t want any secrets between us, but I also don’t want to tell you where I came from before I settled here.”
“You can tell me anything,” he assured her, still stroking her shoulder.
“My family is . . . wealthy.”
He snorted a laugh. “I know. You have class and poise written all over you, but you still have fun and relax when your true side comes out.”
“I want you to remember that.” It was imperative that he keep that image of her in his mind. “I have a large company that is my responsibility. It’s a responsibility I don’t want, but one that isn’t easy to just pass on to someone else.”
Well, legally she could pass it on, but at what price? What would signing over her shares and the title of CEO do to the already strained relationship? Just because she didn’t see eye to eye on things with her parents didn’t mean she wanted to be completely cut out of their lives. But she worried they might never see things on the same level no matter what she decided to do.
“How large a company are we talking?” he asked.
Cora sat up, gripped the sheet to her chest, and kept her back to him. “Buchanan Chocolates.”
Silence settled into the room and she’d never known how deafening the void of noise could be. She closed her eyes, cringing at the unknown reaction yet to come. She’d said it, she’d gotten this out in the open, and now she had to wait and see how Braxton would deal.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
His slow question didn’t shock her and she knew he wasn’t referring to here in bed with him.
“I can imagine how this looks to an outsider, but I didn’t want to be stuck in that life another minute.” She sounded like a spoiled brat even to herself. “After I lost my sight, I realized how much my parents were counting on me, then I saw how they struggled with my blindness, but not from a parental standpoint. They were worried about the company and how it would continue on after them. They kept pushing Eric and me together, kept saying how if we married I’d have someone to take care of me, someone to help run the company.”
Braxton remained still behind her, he hadn’t moved one bit. She kept waiting, wanting to feel his reassuring hand on her back.
“I didn’t want to marry or be taken care of,” she went on. “I had my degree in accounting, but that was also at my parents’ request. I wanted to do something for me so I got my massage therapy license. After that I started working part-time in the spa in Atlanta. My clients had no idea about my family status, the name Buchanan is too common.”
Restless, Cora shoved the sheet aside and reached for the robe she kept on the bedside chair. She couldn’t sit here another second waiting for him to say something or reach for her. After pulling her robe around her, she came to her feet and jerked the ties together.
“I don’t expect you to understand and I’m sure you’ll have questions, but I need you to know that I didn’t plan on finding you, I didn’t expect to fall for someone because I’ve never had the idea that I would ever find anyone. And all of this has snowballed and I just wanted to live in the moment and be with you.”
She carefully moved toward the window seat and sank down onto the cushion. The sheets rustled and she held her breath.
“This is why you didn’t want to invite your parents to the open house?” he asked. “You didn’t want them to see this new life, to meet me. It’s all clicking into place now.”
The bed creaked slightly and Cora knew he was up. Fear gripped her. “No, you’re looking at this from the wrong angle.”
“Really?” he mocked. “How can it be wrong when plain as day you made a fool out of me and this relationship? Damn it, Cora, I let you keep this secret even when I knew it was big. I knew you weren’t ready to share and I respected your decision to take your time.”
She heard him jerk his jeans on, the rasp of the zipper slicing right through the tension. Cora came to her feet.
“Are you seriously leaving?”
“If I stayed what would happen?” he asked. “I don’t even know how to respond to this. Leaving is the best choice for both of us.”
“I’d think if you stayed we could talk.”
He moved across the hardwood floor, more rustling of clothes, the thud of shoes. Each noise made her heart clench more.
“What do you want to discuss, Cora? The fact that you could’ve told us up front who you were? The fact that you’re a millionaire, yet you want to work for us? Were you serious about staying? Was this just a spur-of-the-moment decision to get back at Mommy and Daddy? Because this is my damn life and you can’t just play with people’s feelings like this.”
“I would’ve stayed,” she defended. “I wasn’t playing with your emotions and I wasn’t going to leave the resort in a bind. I bought this house, didn’t I? That should tell you this wasn’t some fleeting phase.”
Silence once again filled the room. She wanted to crawl back into the bed, have him wrap his arm around her and tell her that he understood why she made the decisions she did. She wanted to have that reassurance that she hadn’t killed this bond between them, but she feared she’d done exactly that.
“I’m not quitting,” she whispered. “I still want to work for you.”
His mocking laughter had her cringing once again. “Well, you’re in luck, seeing as how we have no one else and the open house is less than a week away.”
Cora wrapped her arms around her middle, trying to keep any more hurt from seeping in. “Will I hear from you before then?”
“I wouldn’t count on it.”
Heavy footsteps sounded out into the hall, the front door opened and closed, leaving Cora alone and wondering how this could be fixed. For the first time in her life she had actually found a sense of happiness, a sense of belonging, and a place she wanted to call home. But home had nothing to do with her new house and everything to do with the man she’d just driven away.
* * *
Three days had passed and Cora was in no better mood than when Braxton walked out. Sleep had become her enemy, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She’d done way too much online shopping, but it was Christmas and she figured she deserved to give some gifts to herself. Unfortunately, retail therapy wasn’t working either.
She’d just finished washing her plate and putting it into the cabinet when her doorbell rang. Instantly she smiled, but then reality hit. Braxton wouldn’t be back. She’d pushed him too far and she couldn’t blame him for being angry.
So who could be dropping by?
Heidi obediently brushed against her side as she felt her way down the hall and toward the foyer. With her hand stretched out in front of her, she closed her fingers around the dead bolt.
“Who is it?” she called.
“It’s Sophie and Macy. Can we come in for a minute?”
Sophie and Macy? Cora wasn’t necessarily in the mood for company and she hadn’t met Macy before, but she’d heard mention of the local hardware store owner.
With a sigh, she flicked the lock and opened the door. It would be rude to turn them away and, honestly, she was getting sick of herself at this point.
“We come bearing gifts,” Sophie stated. “And I’m sorry I didn’t call, but this is sort of a last-minute girl gathering. We hope you don’t mind we’re using your house.”
Two sets of feet moved on into the foyer so Cora closed the door and forced a smile. “I’m in a crappy mood a
nd I’m out of junk food, so I can’t guarantee the ambiance for this party.”
Sophie laughed. “Bad mood? We’re in the right place, Macy.”
“I’m Cora.” Cora held out her hand, hoping Macy would take it so she didn’t look like a fool. “We haven’t met before.”
Macy shook her hand. “I’m sorry for barging in on you. Sophie was on her way to your house when I called her. I needed to vent and she said she was coming over here because you and Braxton were having problems, so she picked me up and here we are.”
“I didn’t say they were having problems,” Sophie defended.
Macy laughed. “Fine. Your exact words were ‘Braxton is acting like an ass and Cora hasn’t been around for a few days. I want to figure out what’s going on.’ Did that sum it up?”
Cora crossed her arms, intrigued at the banter between the ladies and the fact they were talking about her as if she were their old friend. Small towns. Gotta love them.
“Pretty much,” Sophie stated. “I’m sorry, Cora, but I can’t handle seeing Braxton like this and I figure if he’s miserable, then you probably are, too, and I know you still haven’t made many friends in town and I like to think we’re friends—”
Cora held up her hand. “We’re friends and I’m actually glad you guys are here. I need some serious girl time.”
“Good because we have rocky road ice cream,” Macy proclaimed, a smile in her voice.
“It’s like an early Christmas present.” Cora gestured toward the back of the house. “Head on back to the kitchen and we’ll get some bowls. Ice cream is exactly what I need.”
As they gathered in the kitchen, Cora pulled out the bowls and spoons. Sophie scooped up the servings and they all sat around her small kitchen table.
“Cora, do you want to start?” Sophie asked.
“Not really. I’d rather just plant my face in this bowl of ice cream.”
Caught Up In You Page 22
