Page 28 of The Forbidden Sitter
Gannon
Iwatchedher sky-blue eyes dance as she looked at me, trying to grasp what I’dsaid.
I’d never planned to say that to her. It had just popped out of my mouth. She was so jealous over me that it had me kind of giddy withemotion.
Maybe inviting Jasmine over had been the right thing to do after all. The truth—or a form of it, anyway—was out. And Brooke wasn’t running away from me. She was stunned and looked a bit pale, but she wasn’trunning.
“So?” I urged her to saysomething.
“Are you messing with me, Gannon?” She blinkedrapidly.
“No.” I ran my thumb over the back of her hand, grateful that she hadn’t let go yet. “I have to ask you that question because, you see, I’ve been thinking about that for a while now. Like maybe you’re the one for me. I didn’t know how to go about asking what you thought aboutthat.”
“So you invited this woman over for what reason then?” She seemedstupefied.
I was too. “I don’t really know why I did that. I bumped into her after lunch with August this afternoon. She wanted to get together; I didn’t. But she gave me an idea. A terribleidea.”
“Like the idea of seeing if she made me jealous?” she asked me as she cocked her head to oneside.
“Well, to be honest, I wasn’t sure why I did it. I wanted something to change with you and me. She seemed like a thing that would accomplish that. You know, making you look at me differently, stopping this connection we have that just keeps getting deeper as it grows andgrows.”
“Or making me jealous and bringing it all out of me?” she asked. Then she pulled her hand out of mine and turned away. “You’ve manipulated this whole thing,Gannon.”
I put my hand on her shoulder and turned her back around. I wanted to see her face. “I know that. I’m sorry. If this wasn’t such a hard place to be in, then I’d have done things differently. You see, I value your brother’s friendship. That’s one reason I didn’t let you know for sure how I was feeling about you. But more than that, Brooke, I value you. I knew I had to be the man you deserve before I could ever present myself toyou.”
“So, what does this mean, Gannon?” she asked, still looking a bitperplexed.
“This means I want you. I want you in the worst possible way. I’ve never felt like this about anyone. Not ever. I can make you promises I never even thought about making anyone before.” I knew I was wearing my heart on my sleeve, and I just didn’tcare.
“What kinds of promises?” Her eyes went wide as she looked atme.
I knew she was taking each and every word in and storing it in her heart. She’d remember this conversation for the rest of her life. I knew she would. So I was careful about what I said, even as I came to a decision in my mind. Brad was just going to have to deal, because the fact of the matter was, I needed his sister. I … loved his sister. It was true. I’d fallen for her in way more ways than just the physical. The thought of waking up one day and not having her beside me left me completely gutted. I thought about her as much as Braiden, wanting nothing more than to see her smile. “Brooke, I promise that I will be faithful to you. I will never intentionally hurtyou.”
“You and I would be exclusive?” She looked like she didn’t quite believe me. “Have you ever been that with anyoneelse?”
I shook my head. “Thirty years old and you are the first girl I’ve ever asked to be with me in that way. Brooke, I want to be your first love and your last onetoo.”
She stared at me in such disbelief that I wrapped my arms around her and held her in a way I’d only dreamt of. Her body melted into mine and I took in the sweet scent of her mint-scentedshampoo.
“Love?”
“Love, Brooke. I love you.” It felt good to get that out. “I love you so much that if you tell me that you don’t want this, you don’t want me, then I’ll let you go and never fault you for it. Above anything else, I don’t want to lose yourfriendship.”
Her head was pressed against my chest; her heart was pounding so hard I could feel it. “I want it all, Gannon. I have for a while now. I’ve dreamt of this moment.” She raised her head to look at me, and I found tears glistening in her pretty eyes. “I love you too. I have for quite some time. The way you are when you’re with Braiden and me—I’ve fallen in love with that man. But I know how my family will react. We’ll have to keep this asecret.”
“No. I can talk to your brother. You don’t have to worry.” My lips were quivering, wanting to kiss her so damn badly. “Brooke, can I kissyou?”
She grabbed my biceps as she licked her lips and stared into my eyes. “Please. I’ve wanted this for such a longtime.”
Slowly, I moved my head to reach her lips and when they touched, something inside of me woke up just as something else exploded, shattering me in a way I didn’t know waspossible.
I knew then that I would move heaven and earth for this girl; I’d do everything I had to, to keep her with me and onlyme.
When our mouths parted, I looked at her, her eyes still closed. “Was that how you thought it might go,baby?”
“Better,” she murmured. Her arms went around me as she hugged me tightly. “Can we domore?”
I nuzzled her hair and kissed her neck, moving up to her ear. “We can do anything you want to. But I’m not rushingyou.”
