Page 77 of Deal Takers

I glare at him. “Brody, you don’t tell someone youlove themandwant to spend the rest ofyour life with themon a voicemail!”

He mirrors my expression. “It’s not like you gave me much of a choice with all of your avoidance. It needed to be said, Rainey.”

“No, it didn’t!”

“And why the hell not?Please, tell me why the fuck it’s so difficult for you to hear?”

I throw my hands up in frustration. “Because this isn’t what I signed up for!”

“Well, too bad!”

“Too bad? That’s all you have to say?”

“I fucking need coffee for this,” he murmurs.

I follow him as he heads toward the kitchen and pops a pod in the Keurig. I get the feeling he’s choosing his words carefully because he’s completely silent as it brews. The only sound in the room is the coffee percolating and my foot tapping impatiently on the tile floor.

I wait until he takes his first sip. “Is your break over yet? Are you ready to have an adult conversation?”

He ignores my jibe and takes another sip before speaking. “Look. That’s not the way I wanted to tell you everything—I can’t imagine how jumbled my speech was considering my state of drunkenness at the time. But I wasfully cognizant, Rainey. I meantevery single word. I won’t take them back. And if you’d be honest with yourself, you’d see you don’t want me to.”

“So, you’re a mind reader now?”

He sighs. “Rainey?—”

I panic when he attempts to cross over to the other side of the kitchen where I’m standing. “Stay right there, mister! I can’t think straight when you’re close to me.”

Brody rolls his eyes but remains where he is. “Shouldn’t that tell you something? Iconsumeyou. Just like you do to me.”

“I don’t want this, Brody. I didn’t sign up for anything this intense.”

“What are you so fucking afraid of?”

That you’ll break me.

“I’m not afraid,” I lie.

He crosses his arms over his beefy chest. “Really? Because it sure as hell looks that way to me. You’refucking terrified, Rainey. And I get it. Adam fucked with your head. ButI’m not Adam.”

“Not just Adam,” I mutter.

His eyebrows pinch together. “What?”

I jut my chin out. “I said,not just Adam. I’ve been in four serious relationships, andevery singleoneended the same way. Adam was definitely the worst, but he wasn’t the only one who cheated.They all did. It’s what guys like you do.”

His jaw clenches. “Guys like me? What does that mean?”

“Hot guys.” I wave my hand up and down, gesturing to his body. “Cocky guys. Guys who are charming as hell and can easily hook a woman. Guys who like variety—perfectly happy having a new woman in their bed every night. You’re like wild mustangs—gorgeous creatures that are restless and almost impossible to tame. I’ve been trampled enough times to learn from my mistakes, Brody.”

“So, that’s what I am?A mistake?” He swallows hard.

I stare at my feet and nod. “Yes.”

He paces back and forth for a few beats before his feet come to a stop right in front of me.

“Rainey, look me in the eye and say that.”

I shake my head. “No.”

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