Page 94 of Nothing to This
“I think that’s what he wants,” Brenna said, without concealing her grin.
Sucking her lips around her teeth, she sat up straight.“I am not going to dwell on this.I’m still reeling from the weekend and how amazing he was.That’s a world away from enduring living with him full-time.”
Settling back in her chair, Brenna crossed her legs and linked her fingers around the front of her knee to raise it higher.“Something you’ve been doing for weeks.”
“Yeah, but at least my bedroom has been a safe space.If he irritates me or creeps under my skin, I can go in there and close the door.”
Her friend’s smile stretched.“Yeah, and you still can do that, except if he’s your boyfriend, you can drag him with you and screw out that frustration.Take it out on him.”
Now that was a thought.Letting it fill her mind, her head sank toward her shoulder.She and JD would have dynamite sex, of that she had little doubt.Sex… JD… Was that all they had?Sexual attraction?
“But do I want to walk down the aisle to him?”
Brenna had brought the conversation back to exactly what she’d been trying to avoid thinking about.
“Who else would you rather walk down the aisle toward?”Brenna asked.“Seriously, Ry, can you imagine feeling for another man the way you do for Jamie?Can you imagine any other man being a father figure in the twins’ lives?”
That offended her.“I would never ask JD to step aside as their father.He’s an incredible father.”
“Yeah, but if you married another man, he’d be their stepfather, living with them, acting in a parental position.”Brenna wasn’t wrong.“You belong with Jamie, Rylee.You and the twins.”
Could she trust certainty?Was there such a thing?Impulse couldn’t be embraced and she didn’t trust herself.She wanted to take some time to think about it, to be sure, before opening herself up to him.And another thing, JD had become her friend.Their development as co-parents was positive, those feelings, that symbiosis could be threatened by romance.
At one point she’d loved spending time with Baxter and looked forward to seeing him, now her ex provoked infuriation and impatience.She couldn’t bear ever thinking of JD that way; she wouldn’t be able to handle it.All she wanted was peace and security, yet her life had been filled with drama and change since JD decided he wanted to settle down.
Life was changing whether she wanted it to or not.How did she want this rollercoaster to end?Did she want it to return to the start and go back to how things used to be?Did she want to take a new track, one that would throw in a few loops, but might end in a happier place?
The trouble?Her natural urge was to shun risk and JD was exactly that: risk.Yet he spelled security for her babies, and they were her priority.Her twins trusted and adored their father.Could she do the same thing?
THIRTY-FOUR
“Knock, knock.”The call raised her head to Roxie, clutching the door, hanging into the office.“I heard a whisper you were looking for me.”
“Stone is fast.”
“Let’s hope his wife doesn’t say the same.Can I come in?”
She gestured.“Yes, of course.Sorry.”
Roxie strolled across the office, absorbing the features.“No Dyce glass?”
“Dyce?”
“I’ll make a call.”Rox descended into the guest chair opposite with cool elegance.“Not a bad setup.”
“We’re still settling in.”Pulling her chair into the desk until it dug into her torso, she laid her hands on the tabletop.“I can’t express how much we thank you.I know JD would—that footage, it came from you.”
“From a guy who watches my stream.”Roxie’s head bobbed.“He monitors birds or squirrels or something.It didn’t occur to him to check the historical feed until the appeal.”
“Your appeal.”
Modest in her smile, Roxie shook her head.“This was not me.This was JD and Stone, his people, and Rourke wrote the program.Don’t worry about him, Roux will thank him for you… maybe.She might punish him instead, who can tell with those two?”
The woman was too kind, humility was unexpected.Roxanna Kyst was more than the cover she projected to the world.
“Can I ask you something personal?”
“My favorite kind of something.Go on.”
