by Mary Eason
“It’s good to hear your voice. You have no idea how glad I am that you’re there. Don’t try to do too much just yet. Once I’m back in the office, we’ll start working out our routine. I want us to have a good working relationship. I don’t want to lose you. So, you’ll have to promise that you’ll tell me when I’m pushing you too hard, okay. When do you start your classes?”
Reyna wasn’t sure whether she wanted to laugh or to cry at all the concern Brody displayed toward her. In the middle of a very critical business meeting, he remembered that she had registered for her final classes this morning before coming into work.
“Next week. Tuesdays and Thursdays from six until eight.”
Brody laughed at the uncertainty in her voice.
“Good, I’m glad you’re going through with getting your degree. It’s important to you, I know. Look, love, I’ll call you back this evening when we can talk. If anything comes up, you do have the number to my cell phone. I have to run now. It sounds like the meeting is about to start back up again.”
Reyna hung up feeling happy for the first time since dropping Brody off at the airport on Sunday evening. His flight hadn’t even left Denver when she returned to the empty house, feeling sad and alone. Missing him terribly.
She’d spent most of Saturday shopping for clothes alone. Thankful for once that Brody had been far too busy with preparations for the trip the following day to go with her. The task of picking out clothing with him somehow felt just a little too intimate.
The day Brody left it was raining and they spent the day reading the paper while listening to music and later, watching old movies together. Neither brought up what was happening between them, but something had noticeably changed in Brody’s behavior toward her. On more than one occasion, Reyna caught him watching her with something indefinable in those dark blue eyes. Something that awakened a response deep inside her and always, the slow smile that touched his face told her that he knew exactly what he was doing to her.
When she’d returned to the house they shared now, it felt empty without him there. She saw him in everything. There were memories of the time they had spent together in each room. She wished more than anything that she had gone with him. Just to be near him.
Reyna didn’t hear from Brody for the rest of the day. She spent it happily busying herself reading his e-mail and familiarizing herself with the Samuels Advertising computer system, as well as learning her way around the building. She glanced out her office windows, surprised to see the dusk sky turning to evening and the lights of Denver systematically bringing the city to life. Reyna didn’t taken the car as Brody suggested, choosing instead to use the subway.
She was exhausted when she walked into the house and the thought of eating alone had no appeal at all. She showered and went to bed. After tossing for hours in her bed, she found she couldn’t sleep. She got out of bed and went to Brody’s room.
She sat down on his bed, lifting his pillow to her face. The scent of him filled her lungs. She lay down on his bed. She wondered where he was tonight. What would he be doing? Somehow, Reyna doubted that Brody would be missing her in this same way. Surely, it would be okay to stay here for a few moments longer. Brody would never have to know. She wouldn’t let herself fall asleep. She’d just lay here and feel close to him for a few minutes.
Chapter Eight
Brody unlocked the door, trying not to wake the woman who had haunted him since he’d left her Sunday afternoon looking so sad. The thought of spending just one more night away from Reyna had been impossible for him to bear. He’d left the meeting that afternoon after sending his regrets to the corporate CEO. He’d left the remainder of the negotiations in the capable hands of his right-hand man, Parker Martin. No one had been more surprised by this move than Parker himself. After all, Brody never left the negotiation table. Especially not when so much was riding on ironing out the final details to get the contract signed. Never once had left anyone else to close a deal for him.
The look on Parker’s face told him how out of character this was for him. No doubt, Parker thought he’d lost his mind. The truth was Brody was beginning to wonder the same thing himself. He barely recognized himself anymore. Where was the calm, levelheaded guy who had founded the business all those years ago? In his place was a man hopelessly in love with a woman who could only offer him friendship in return. For the moment, even that was enough. Maybe that was crazy, but he would take whatever she had to offer him.
Brody wasn’t scheduled to return to Denver until late Wednesday but when he heard her voice that morning, he knew there was no way he could stay away from her another night.
He’d caught a cab to the airport and had somehow managed to get the last available seat on a sold out flight leaving Miami to LaGuardia arriving just past midnight.
Brody tossed his carry-on bag, along with the briefcase, on the sofa and started for her room. He had no intention of waking her, but he needed to see her, just to reassure himself that she was real and not just another figment of his overactive imagination. Each time he came home and he saw her there, it thrilled him. He reached her door and found it standing slightly open. His heart missed a beat as fear dissipated the exhaustion from him.
Her bed looked as if someone had slept in it, but it was empty now. Automatically, he reached for her closet door. All of her things were still hanging there untouched. Brody searched each room. When he reached his bedroom, he stopped cold. Reyna was asleep in his bed.
He stood looking down at her paralyzed before a slow smile spread across his face. So she’d missed him as well. His hand reached down to touch a lock of her hair smoothing it away from her face. He had no intention of waking her or returning her to her bed. She had come willingly to his bed. That’s where she would remain, at least for tonight.
He showered and put on boxer shorts he normally would not have bothered with. When he returned, Brody slid in beside her and turned off the light plunging the room into darkness. When he reached for her and brought her into the circle of his arms, she struggled against him. She didn’t realize where she was at first or who it was that held her close.
“Shh…Reyna, it’s okay. It’s just me. Go back to sleep, baby.”
“Brody? What are you doing here? When did you get back? I…I wasn’t expecting you until Wednesday.” Then she remembered where she was and she was embarrassed. “I’m…I’m sorry. I guess I fell asleep. Brody I—”
“Shh…” He pulled her closer. “Relax. I can’t think of anything more thrilling than finding you in my bed.” When she tried to push him away, his arms tightened around her. “I was able to catch an earlier flight home. The negotiations were pretty much over and Parker is more than capable of wrapping things up without me there. There really wasn’t any reason for me to stay. So just relax. It’s late, love, and I’m exhausted. Go back to sleep.”
Somehow, his voice remained steady. Sleep was the last thing he wanted, but he didn’t want to frighten her away. If she knew how much he wanted her at that moment, she would never let him near her again.
Eventually, she relaxed in his arms and he realized she was almost halfway back to sleep. She said something he just about didn’t catch, almost to herself.
“I’m so glad you’re back. I missed you.” He pulled her closer, kissing her hair. She felt so good in his arms. He couldn’t imagine having to let her go. That was crazy. He knew she wasn’t his to love this way. For tonight, he didn’t want to think about Cade. He just wanted to hold her close and pretend he had that right.
When the alarm sounded at five, Brody snapped it off and watched the woman sleeping in his arms. Surprisingly, he had slept in spite of being aware of her every move. He hated to leave her now, but he had a conference call scheduled for six-thirty with a new account coming on board from London. Besides, if he stayed this close to her, sleep would be the last thing on his mind. He moved slowly away from her and got out of bed just as she awakened.
“What time is it? Where are you going?” she a
sked in that sleepy voice which sounded too close to an invitation to remain this close to her.
He brought the covers back over her warm body before answering, “Go back to sleep, Reyna. It’s early yet. I have to take an overseas call in the office. I’ll see you a little later. Go back to sleep.” She turned on her side away from him, falling back to sleep. Brody smiled to himself at the way she pulled her legs up against her chest and into a tight ball. Everything about her enchanted him. He wished it had been that easy for him to fall asleep after being near her.
He dressed quickly, took one last torturous look at the woman in his bed before leaving.
Samuels Advertising was still empty at this hour. Very few employees came in this early, but for Brody, it was one of his favorite times of the day in Denver. He took the elevator up to his office, turning on the lights. The street below his offices was slowly coming to life.
He turned on the laptop he carried with him wherever he went and glanced distractedly through the e-mail Reyna had left in his inbox to read.
As he sat waiting for the conference call participants to connect, he wondered again just what it was that Reyna was keeping from him.
Whatever it was, he had to either win her trust, or break down her resistance to confide in him and force the truth out once and for all.
He hoped it would be the first choice, but at this point, his sharp business mind was telling him it was more important to know what she was hiding than whether or not she gave the information to him willingly.
Chapter Nine
Reyna glanced out her office window only to discover that it was snowing.
The first snowfall of the season. The weather reports had all been promising snow for several days, but they’d been wrong.
She walked to the door that separated her office from Brody’s. He was sitting at his desk deep into the presentation he’d been editing for a late afternoon meeting today.
“It’s snowing. Come look out the window.” She went over to the window, missing the way he smiled tenderly at her childlike excitement, every inch of him a man in love. Brody abandoned the proposal entirely and joined her at the window, standing close behind her.
She was expecting to feel embarrassed after that night Brody found her sleeping in his bed over a month ago. She should have been embarrassed at having spent the night with him, but the truth was she hadn’t wanted to leave, and Brody never once made her feel uneasy about it.
It hadn’t happened again but it seemed the most natural thing to happen between them. No doubt, it was commonplace for Brody to find a woman in his bed. Only the outcome would be different. He hadn’t made a move to touch her. He’d treated her like…a friend. Somehow, no matter how she tried to convince herself it was the only reaction she could expect from him, it wasn’t the one she wanted.
Now he put his arm around her waist and brought her close. It surprised Reyna at how easily she went into his arms, although she wasn’t sure why. She loved him after all. Being near him like this made her happy.
“It’s really coming down, isn’t it? Want to blow off the meeting and go play in the snow?” She looked up at him smiling teasingly, her breath catching as she saw the expression in his eyes. It had been there so many times before, an almost tender look that left her breathless. She wished she could understand that look. As always, her response to it was embarrassment. She looked away, nervous again.
She heard him laugh at her response before he kissed her check and let her go. “Don’t tempt me. You have no idea how much I’m not looking forward to this meeting.” He returned to his desk still watching her as she walked over to the fireplace her hands reaching out to the warm flames.
“Are you sure you don’t want me there with you tonight, Brody? I know how important this meeting is to you, and I can miss the class tonight, you know?”
The meeting in question was scheduled for six that evening in Brody’s conference room. Reyna wanted him to say yes, but she knew he would never ask her to sacrifice her class for work.
“Do I want you there? Yes. I won’t let you to miss your class for it. The meeting will be long, boring, and brutal. No doubt, the first of many to come. You go to your class. Just be careful. The streets are getting icy. With any luck, I should be home tonight around the same time as you.”
Reyna left him, disappointed by his answer. She was just finishing the last schedule change to Brody’s calendar for the following morning, when she heard the door. Distracted, she glanced up to see her cousin Jenna standing in the doorway looking every bit the rich socialite, dressed impeccably in a white wool coat and matching hat and gloves, snow still clinging to her soft brown perfectly styled hair.
Jenna’s dark green designer suit must have cost a small fortune, in spite of its simple cut. “Hi there. How are you?” She gave Reyna her usual hug, but her focus was on Brody’s office door. It was easy to see the true reason for her visit. Reyna had conveniently forgotten to bring up the subject of her cousin to Brody on the numerous occasions Jenna asked her to. She still remembered her cousin’s angry reaction to hearing that Reyna was living with Brody. Even after Reyna reassured Jenna there wasn’t anything going on between them, her cousin still didn’t believe her. Then, Jenna had decided her cousin’s living arrangements might just work out to her advantage after all. Since that time, Reyna pretty much avoided Jenna’s calls.
Now it seemed her cousin was taking the matter into her own hands. Reyna wanted to scream at Jenna’s selfish behavior. Jenna never called, and certainly never just dropped by without reason. She was hoping to run into Brody.
“I hope I didn’t catch you at a bad time? I was in the neighborhood and thought I would stop by and say hello.” Jenna looked around her office in disgust. “So, how have you been? I haven’t heard from you in such a long time, that I was starting to get worried. How’s the job?”
Reyna closed her eyes and counted to ten. She glanced nervously at Brody’s door, which she had forgotten to close.
“I’m fine, Jenna, really. The job is great, but I’m in kind of in a rush right now, I’m afraid. I have class in less than an hour and I really need to hurry or I’ll be late. Maybe we can have lunch together sometime soon?” She stood, shut down her laptop, and began gathering her things before looking pointedly at Jenna, who seemed to ignore Reyna’s impatience altogether.
“Well, since I’m already here, why don’t you just let your boss know and we can chat for a while? There’s really no need for you to stay.”
Reyna was just ready to tell her Brody wasn’t in the office when he came out looking from her to Jenna in surprise, leaving Reyna little choice but to introduce her cousin to him. “Brody, you remember my cousin, Jenna Vanderhaven. You two met at Cade’s…” She stopped shook her head. She couldn’t talk about Cade. “Jenna, my boss, Brody Samuels.”
Brody took Jenna’s hand as she smiled seductively up at him. Something flickered in Brody’s eyes before he returned her smile and glanced at Reyna.
“I see. Yes, I do remember. It’s good to see you again, Jenna. How have you been? Why don’t you come inside for a moment? We can talk for a while until my meeting starts.” Reyna followed them reluctantly feeling every bit the third wheel as Jenna looked around his office with more enthusiasm than she’d shown up until that moment. Brody turned back to Reyna and smiled, the look in his eyes telling her that he believed she’d set the whole thing up. He blamed her for Jenna’s intrusion. In fact, he looked furious with her.
“That will be all for now. You can leave.”
For a moment, she couldn’t move. She looked past Brody to where Jenna stood smiling back at her. Then Reyna turned and walked silently from the room, closing the door behind her. She wanted to cry and she wasn’t sure if it was because of the way Brody had looked at her just now, or the look he gave her cousin. She hadn’t wanted to believe Brody would be interested in someone like Jenna, but she was wrong. Reyna didn’t really know what kind of woman he was interested in; all
she did know was that it wasn’t her.
Reyna grabbed her things and started for the elevator, her vision blinded by tears. She wiped them away angrily, punching the buttons several times. She only wanted only to escape.
“Just a minute.” She hadn’t heard him follow her out, but as she looked back at him in surprise, she knew he was fighting to control his anger. Reyna looked quickly away, trying to scrub away her foolish tears before Brody caught sight of them, wishing she had been just a few steps faster. She was just about to step into the elevator and leave when he caught her.
“Don’t pretend that you didn’t hear me calling you. Don’t pretend that you didn’t know I would come after you. What kind of game do you think you’re playing? What do you think you’re doing?”
He turned her roughly to face him and she saw the way his eyes narrowed at the brightness in hers. She didn’t want him to question her. She didn’t want him to know that she had been crying. “Brody, I’m late for class.”
“To hell with your class,” he said angrily, holding her firmly in place. “The next time you feel the need to meddle in my life, remember this. I’ve never had to be fixed up with a woman before, and I’m not about to start now. My private life is none of your business.”
He released her and walked away, leaving her standing there shaken, tears falling from her eyes.
Brody could not have made his feelings any clearer if he’d told her outright. She was nothing more than a friend. At this moment, she wondered if she was even that.
The elevator doors slid open and through the blur of tears, she stumbled inside.
Well what had she really thought? That he would proclaim his undying love for her. That they would live happily ever after. Reyna laughed bitterly as she left the building.
There had been so many times when she had wondered what he felt for her. He seemed to grow closer, to need her in a way that gave her hope. Now all that false hope was gone. He had forced her to face the bitter truth. He would never love her the way she wanted him to.
