Page 69 of Falling for Brody

Brody nodded and looked at Rhea. "He means it. He'll spend time with each of his patients and I'm sure Chip will hang out for quite a bit of time. Come on." He held out his hand to her as his parents headed inside. "Let's go for a walk."

Rhea stood, but she shook her head. "I'm going to help put things away."

"Oh, shush." It was Bea waving a hand at her. "I'll take care of this. Rachel and the boys will help me." She cast a sweeping look at the Armstrong table. Helene, Brody's aunt, added her two cents. "Go. Take a walk, you two. We've been doing this for years."

Rhea still hesitated and opened her mouth to disagree.

"You can help next time, Rhea."

Rhea gasped in a breath. "I don't know when I'll be back."

Helene, with her gentle eyes and sweet smile, shook her head. "You will, dear. You will."

Brody's hand wrapped around her arm just shy of her elbow and drifted down toward her hand.

His skin, trailing against hers...

"Okay." She turned to him. "Let's walk."

CHAPTER12

As they walked away,Rhea pulled her hand free and kept her gaze straight ahead as she walked beside Brody.

He didn't say a word.

They pass under the large tree in the center of the Armstrongs’ combined backyard and around the side of the triplex that she'd admired before.

It wasn't until she was sure that they were out of sight of all of the Armstrongs that she turned to look at him. "Are you trying to make your family think that we're... that we're," her hands lifted, and she moved them around a bit as she struggled to find the right word, "together?"

"I'm not really worried about my family and what they think, Rhea. I'm hoping you'll understand that I care about you."

She closed her eyes and stopped moving. "Brody-"

"I more than care, Rhea."

She held up her hand in the direction of his voice and opened her eyes.

He was just an inch or two away from her palm.

She licked at her lips when she imagined what it would feel like to touch him.

To have him touch her.

But to let it happen?

To reach for it?

For him?

There was a lot to gain.

But there was so much more to lose.

"I can see it, Rhea. All those thoughts you're kicking around in your head? I want to know what you've got going on in there. I want to know. I want to know everything you're thinking about. I want to share that with you."

She shook her head and lowered her hand down back to her side. "Did you know?"

A cool breeze blew through and lifted her hair from the back of her neck.

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