Page 85 of Crossing the Brooklyn Briggs
I don’t know why he thinks he needs to keep his distance. “We can still be friends while we figure all of this out,” I say quietly.
Something burns in his eyes when he meets my gaze. “Friends.” He chuckles. “You are seriously overestimating my level of control.” His hand stretches to my neck, his thumb pressed against my cheek by my ear, and he leans in.
His watch buzzes against my shoulder, making us both jump.
Groaning, he takes a wide step to the side and looks down at the message he got. “I’ve got a consult in a few minutes, and one of my guys is out today so I need to step in and cover for him,” he says without looking at me. “If I stop by later today, will you be here?”
Micah will probably show up at some point today, but until she does, I am totally free. “I’ll be here,” I tell him. And I mean that more than just today. I hope he understands that. “Jordan?”
He stops halfway to this truck, his eyes hopeful as he looks at me.
I smile. “We’re going to figure this out.I’mgoing to figure this out.”
The grin he gives me seems to outshine the sun, which is saying something when we live in a place called Sun City. “I know you will, Queens.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Jordan
Leave it to Houston tolook up the schedule and beg me to come back and help him with the duplex as soon as I finish up with work. After our quick interaction this morning, I’m desperate to see Brooklyn again, but I can’t ignore her brother when he is quickly becoming our biggest obstacle.
He may not know he’s an obstacle, but he is. In more ways than one.
Telling him I’ll be over soon, I head to Brooklyn’s first, my heart picking up speed the closer I get. After this morning, I’ve come to the conclusion that she needs to know more about Natalie. I’m going to hate this conversation, but it needs to happen if I want Brooklyn to know what she’s getting into.
She’s waiting for me outside, curled up in a chair on the front porch with a notebook and pen. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful, and it almost hurts to look at her knowing there’s a chance she’ll reject me after I explain why I’ve been hesitant.
She looks up when I close the door of my truck, her eyes sparkling. “Hey.”
I stop a few feet away from her. “Hi.”
She has to feel the awkwardness between us that came with my decision, but she hasn’t stopped smiling. “How was landscaping?”
Honestly, I probably had too much time to myself while trimming hedges because the last several hours have been full of thoughts of her. “You look different,” I say.
She tucks her hair behind her ear. “It’s been a really good day. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”
“You’re about to do some more.” Of course that confuses her, and I groan as I run a hand over my hair. “Sorry. It’s been a long week, you know?”
Chuckling, she closes her notebook and stands up. “Yeah, I know.”
With every step forward she takes, I take one step back. After three steps she stops and frowns, making me feel terrible. I’m not doing this right.
“Brooklyn, I…” I sigh. “I need to tell you something. About my marriage.”
That catches her attention, dimming all of her features as she folds her arms in a protective stance. “Okay.”
This already sucks, and I haven’t even started talking yet. “I don’t have a lot of time, but do you want to sit?” I gesture to the porch and the two chairs sitting there. Whoever lives in the top half of the house must own them, but I’m glad Brooklyn can use them so she isn’t stuck in the basement all the time.
I only spent a weekend down there, but I hated it. Someone needs to find this girl a better place to live, but I’m going to hazard a guess that she’s too stubborn to let anyone help her pay a more expensive rent.
“Okay,” she says again and leads the way to the porch, returning to the chair she was in when I got here.
I settle in the other chair, unsure how to begin. With the things I’ve learned about Brooklyn in the last few days, I need to be careful.
“First of all,” I say, “this has nothing to do with you. I’m telling you this so you can understand why I’ve been distant the last couple of days.”
“Okay.”
