Page 34 of Bewitched By the Siren
I don’t move or make a sound. Maybe if I wait him out, he’ll give up and go away. I’m not ready to face him, yet. Not ready to see the disappointment in his eyes at my little escape act last night. Not ready to hear him say he’s leaving.
He knocks again, and I blow out a long breath before pushing out of my seat. I may have only known him for a few days, but that’s long enough to know he’s not going to just leave when he knows we’re home.
I might as well just get this over with.
Walking to the door, I pull it open slowly. My breath hitches in my throat the second my eyes land on him. Arms crossed over his chest, one shoulder braced against the door jamb, and lips curled upward, he has that thoroughly-fucked look about him. He’s usually a handsome man, but with that soft, gentle smile and the burn of lust in his eyes as he looks back at me? I feel my underwear inching themselves down without any help from me, at all.
“Good morning,” he says, his voice light and happy like he harbors no resentment over the fact that I snuck out while he was sleeping.
“Morning,” I reply, my mind going blank as I fight to come up with an excuse for leaving in the middle of the night.
Because he’s going to ask why I did. I know he is.
His mouth opens, and I try to hide my flinch, but I’m left with a dizzy sense of confusion when all he asks is, “Do you have plans for breakfast?”
Wait. What?
When I just stare at him like he’s not speaking a language I understand, he cocks his head. “Breakfast? That meal you start your day with?”
I shake my head, clearing the cobwebs before answering. “No.”
His smile widens. “Good. I thought we could take your mom out to eat.”
My mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water, and though I didn’t know it was possible, Brendan’s smile grows even wider. He wants to take Mom and me out? To breakfast?
And he’s not going to bring up last night, at all?
“I don’t want to overstep,” he says, his smile fading when I continue to stand there, speechless. “It’s just…after talking with her last night, it seems like she doesn’t get out much.”
That snaps me out of my stupor.
“I try to get her out, but she always refuses. She thinks it’s not worth the trouble and doesn’t want to be a burden.”
That’s the truthandthe basis of most of our arguments. Mom’s been hiding away in her bedroom for far too long, giving up on a life outside this house when she actually has so much life to live. Just because she can’t walk doesn’t mean she should hermit herself away for the rest of the time she does have.
Brendan pushes himself off the doorjamb, straightens his spine, and puffs out his chest. “You just leave her to me.”
He moves past me into the house, and I reach out to tug at his sleeve. He freezes and looks over his shoulder at me as I squeeze past him to block the way.
“Give me minute. She just had a shower, and I should make sure she’s dressed before you go barging in to…charm her.”
He smirks at that, then nods. Spinning quickly, I rush down the hall and peek into Mom’s room. She’s dressed and sitting in her wheelchair, her eyes closed as Barb smooths some product through her damp hair. Barb shoots me a questioning look, and I shake my head before ducking back down the hall.
Lifting my hands and swinging them in the direction of Mom’s room, I say, “Have at it. Good luck.”
He smirks at me as if to sayI don’t need luckas he brushes by me. I follow at a slower pace, stopping outside Mom’s room and leaning back against the wall to eavesdrop. Brendan greets Mom warmly, and she titters like a schoolgirl, making me roll my eyes. Mom introduces Brendan to Barb, and as soon as the greetings are out of the way, Brendan starts schmoozing.
“It’s a gorgeous morning out there, and I thought we could go out for breakfast.”
“Go out?” Mom asks, a nervous rattle in her voice.
“You, me, and Hali,” he says. “And Barb, of course, if you’d like to come.”
“Oh, thank you, but I have a shift with another patient when I finish here,” Barb says, and I twist to peek through the door so I can see Mom’s face.
She looks torn. Like she doesn’t want to burden anyone, but she also doesn’t want to disappoint Brendan. That one nods at Barb, then looks back down at Mom.
“What do you say, Grace? Don’t break my heart, now.”
