Page 10 of Tangled
But he didn’t know if he’d be welcome.
A throat cleared beside him.
And they had an audience.
He ignored Ryan for one more moment as he asked, “Are you okay? Can I, can we come in? I mean, I don’t want to…”
The choice to let them in or not was taken from her when the color leached from her face and her body started to collapse. In a flash, he scooped her up and strode to a small couch in the sitting room. He was dimly aware of Ryan following him in and shutting the door, but he remained focused on the woman in his arms as he set her down.
He started to tell his cousin to call 911, but Scarlett’s lashes fluttered. She opened her eyes and stared at him.
He knelt beside her, brushing a curl from her forehead, as he stared back. She reached up and traced a finger over his cheek, then along his jaw. With that single touch, any questions he’d had about the two of them vanished. He had so much to learn about her. They had a lot to learn abouteach other. But there wasn’t a shred of doubt in his mind that this woman was his future.
“Youareone of them,” she said.
He wrapped his hand around hers and brought her fingers to his lips, placing a kiss on the tips. “One of who?” he asked.
“Warwicks,” she said. “You reminded me of Ethan when I first saw you.”
“My cousin,” he replied. “How do you know Ethan?”
A tiny smile touched her lips. “Kara is my best friend. We used to work together.”
Brad racked his brain, then it clicked. “Scarlett Mitchell,” he said.
She nodded. “Nesanet is my maiden name. I had a brief and ill-advised marriage while in nursing school.” His eyes narrowed at the thought of her being married to someone “ill-advised,” but she slid her hand from his and cupped his cheek. “Ill-advised because we were young, not for any other reason. He’s a good man, we were just too young,” she said.
Tension eased from his chest. As unreasonable as it was, even in his own mind, he didn’t want Scarlett to ever experience anything bad. He wanted to bundle her up and take her home and start learning all the things he wanted to know. He wouldn’t, of course. Not yet. But he wanted to.
“I’m Brad, by the way,” he said with a rueful smile.
She smiled. “It suits you. Although so does Cooper.”
“Cooper?”
“Gary Cooper. Your eyes shine like his. And Magi?”
“Mearg Tareke, the model. You remind me of her. She goes by Magi.”
Ryan cleared his throat again, and Brad looked over his shoulder. Ryan arched a sardonic brow. “I take it you two know each other?”
Brad looked back down at Scarlett, then they both burst out laughing.
“You could say that,” she said, lifting herself up and swinging her legs off the sofa.
“Are you okay?” Brad asked, shifting to sit beside her. “Can I get you some water or tea or something?”
Her eyes searched his, then she waved to a mug sitting on the side table. “If you could throw that in the microwave for a minute, I’d appreciate it.”
Ryan took a seat in a wooden chair as Brad grabbed the mug and headed to the small kitchenette.
“So you two know each other,” Ryan repeated.
Brad glanced at Scarlett, who nodded, giving him leave to tell his cousin whatever he needed.
“We met in December,” Brad said as the microwave started. “We witnessed a murder at Roxy’s, then sort of ended up together the rest of the night.”
Both of Ryan’s brows rose this time. “A murder?”
