Page 82 of Between Never and Forever
Brynn’s got her arms crossed and is frowning out the window. She hasn’t spoken a word, and I feel like an asshole. But in my defense, I wasn’t prepared for her to meet Savannah today. I sure as shit wasn’t prepared for the paparazzi mob. I’ll need to scour the internet tonight to make sure Brynn and I didn’t make it into any of those fucking photos.
“Want to have a sleep over with Ms. Sharon tonight?”
Brynn shrugs. She usually loves sleepovers with Sharon, which shows just how pissed she is. Ms. Sharon has even started decorating the guest room the way Brynn likes. She’s become something like an adopted grandmother to Brynn, and I’ve been grateful to her for the last two years despite the guilt.
It used to eat me up, seeing them interact. Seeing Brynn grow closer to her. When I hired Sharon as office manager, it never occurred to me that she and Brynn would spark up a relationship. I wanted to shut it down—even had a talk with Sharon about it—but then I realized Brynn deserves more people in her life who love her, and Sharon definitely loves her.
“I can take you to the house and let you pack up a bag and your tablet? I bet Ms. Sharon would order pizza and let you have a movie night.”
I watch Brynn’s nose scrunch as she shrugs again, so I sigh loudly.
“Alright, you can stay home with me, then.”
She sits up straighter and whips her eyes to mine in the mirror. Her brow is furrowed, and her lips are twitching. I can practically see the struggle going on inside her head. She’s determined to give me the silent treatment, but she really loves movie nights with Ms. Sharon.
“What do you say, Boss?”
She purses her lips, shrugs once more, then groans loudly. “Okay, fine.”
I grin and nod. Brynn doesn’t say another word for the rest of the drive, but she’s not frowning anymore, either.
When I pull up to our house, she jumps out and sprints inside, so I give Sharon a call.
She’s excited for Brynn to stay over, just like I knew she would be, and tells me she’ll bring her to the office tomorrow. Sharon gives me a quick rundown of the job progress on our sites, then we hang up with the plan to drop Brynn off in an hour. When I walk up the stairs and into the house, Brynn is waiting for me with her magazine in her hand.
“I didn’t get her to sign it,” she says, and my stomach sinks. Her eyes are misted and she’s trying hard not to cry. “I wanted to get her to sign it.”
I step up and pull her into my side.
“I’ll get it signed, Boss.”
“Are you sure?” She sniffles into my shirt, so I tighten my hug.
“I’ll take the magazine with me on Monday and have her sign it,” I promise.
Fuck. I was hoping not to have to interact with Savannah again. Maybe I can pawn the job off on one of my guys.
“Thank you!” Brynn shrieks, then turns and runs back up the stairs, shouting at me as she goes. “I’m almost done packing!”
Then I hear her door shut, followed quickly by loud music. Through the door and the floor, the music is muffled, but I can still tell what it is.
The Hometown fucking Heartless.
I literally cannot escape Savannah Shaw.
“Thanks for doin’ this, Sharon.”
I shut my truck door and walk up to the porch where Sharon is standing. Brynn’s already barreled her way into the small house. I kick at the step, making sure my repair job from last summer is holding up, then give the stair railing a shake, testing its sturdiness.
“It’s no problem at all,” Sharon says. “You know I love having her here.”
I glance at the shutters and window trim. The house could use a clean now that the worst of the spring pollen is gone.
“I’m going to have Lucas come by this weekend with the power washer and get—”
“You will not, Levi Cooper. I can take care of this stuff myself.”
I raise a brow at her.
