Page 131 of Denim & Diamonds

It was almost ten by the time everyone left. Brock got Patrick ready for bed and tucked him in, then brought the baby monitor out to the living room. He sat on the couch next to me and hoisted me from my spot to straddle his lap.

“Talk to me. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

“How do you know something is going on in my head?”

He frowned. “You can’t hide your feelings for shit. Lay it on me, Red.”

I sighed. “I don’t want to give up you or my business.”

“Why is it one or the other?”

“A child needs consistency. Tomorrow morning I’m going to fly back to New York and work sixty hours in four days to make up for being away. Next week, I have to fly to the West Coast to meet with the production team. After that, I have to start gearing up for Fashion Week. And then it will be time to—”

Brock crushed his lips to mine. After a minute, I felt the stress drain from my body. The knot in my neck loosened, and my shoulders lowered from my ears. This man could probably make me forget my name. Too soon, though, he pulled back. Brock stroked my hair tenderly. “I hate that this is all on you, and that’s the only thing I can do to make you relax.”

I smiled sadly. “I don’t know what to do, Brock.”

“I know, sweetheart. Things got complicated real fast, and now I can’t do the things I committed to you that I would—like come to New York or meet you halfway trying to make this work out. There’s so much more on your shoulders now, which isn’t fair. And it’s not just me you’d be taking on if you decide to stick around.” Tears filled his eyes. “I will understand if you need to walk away. I’ll fucking hate it, but I’ll understand. I care about you enough to let you go, if that’s what you need to do. I just want you to be happy. Because you deserve it, February. You really do.”

It broke my heart when a tear rolled down his cheek. I wanted to reassure him—but I didn’t want to make promises I wasn’t sure I could keep. So instead, I followed his lead and crushed my lips to his. Maybe this was all we had now, the ability to make each other feel good physically.

***

The ride to the airport the next morning was somber. I’d told Brock I’d take an Uber so he didn’t have to bundle up Patrick for the ride, but he’d insisted they take me. We drove the short distance making small talk, while big questions loomed and so much was left unsaid. Brock pulled to the curb when we arrived at the terminal. The baby was in his infant carrier in the back, so after I got out, I opened the back door and gently kissed his cheek. “Be good to your daddy, little one.”

Brock stood at the back of the truck with my suitcase. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he pulled the handle up and gave me a chaste kiss. “Text me when you get to the office so I know you made it safely.”

I forced a smile. “I will.”

Awkwardness set in. Should I say,I’ll see you soonorNice knowing you?Eventually, I settled on “Goodbye” and turned to walk toward the terminal.

Halfway there, Brock called after me. “February! Wait!”

I stopped and turned back. He jogged to catch up and set his hands on my shoulders. “I love you, sweetheart.”

The words knocked the wind out of me. I was absolutely, positively, head-over-heels in love with this man, too.

But that’s not what I told him. Instead, I pushed up on my toes and brushed my lips with his. “Take care of yourself, Brock.”

CHAPTER 34

Brock

I shut off my drill and turned to Trevor. “I don’t know if this was a good idea.”

We’d just gotten to the cabin ahead of our other brothers to get started on today’s work.

“You fucked up the wood?”

Putting the tool down, I sighed. “I’m not talking about that. I’m referring to Patrick staying with the sitter today. He was pretty fussy this morning. It seemed like he was trying to get me to stay.”

Trevor rolled his eyes. “He’ll be fine.”

For the first time, I’d left Patrick with a sitter other than Linda. Elvin’s wife had to take care of their sick son, so she was out of commission until further notice. Elvin had also caught something and didn’t want me to catch it and give it to the baby. Patrick had yet to get sick, and I wanted to keep it that way. So I was all for them keeping their distance.

Linda had suggested I try a local single mom whose kids were in school during the day. The woman wasprobably more experienced than I was, but I still felt guilty for not being there while we worked on the cabin.

I shook my head. “It’s too soon. He just got used to Linda watching him. Now he’s with someone totally unfamiliar. What if he thinks I’m trying to pawn him off on people?”

---