Page 100 of Exposed

“Actually, that would be great,” Brooklyn said. She didn’t seem to have any concerns like I did. “I really appreciate it, Nigel.”

Nigel beamed up at her. “Anything for you, mademoiselle. Your word is my command.”

Why did he listen to everyone but me?

“Come, Mr. Jacob. It’s bath time!” Nigel sprinted up the stairs and Jacob ran after him.

“You’re not at all concerned about that?” I asked as I kicked off my shoes.

“Concerned about what?”

“How excited Nigel is to bathe Jacob?”

She laughed. “Nigel is a bath enthusiast. I expected nothing less, honestly.”

I glanced at the stairs. “I feel like maybe we should go up there…”

“And here I thought you’d be happy to have a little alone time with me.” She looped her hands behind my neck.

“Hmm.” I leaned down, but stopped a fraction of an inch from her lips. “And what exactly did you have in mind, baby?”

Brooklyn closed her eyes, like what I said pained her.

I touched the side of her face. “What’s wrong?”

She slowly opened her eyes again and took a deep breath. “As much as I want you to just throw me over your shoulder cave man style and take me upstairs…I need to tell you something.”

I really liked the sound of that first thing. But the second part didn’t sound nearly as fun. “As long as you’re not sneaking around with James, we’re good,” I joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

“Ha. Ha. Very funny.” But she was smiling again. “Could you imagine if I’d actually come back with the sole intention of stealing James for myself?” She laughed again.

I didn’t find the idea super funny. But I was glad she’d laughed. I’d always thought there was something between them. But maybe they’d always just been friends. “So if this isn’t about James…”

“It doesn’t have anything to do with your friends. It’s about me.”

“Okay.” She really wasn’t giving me much to work with here.

“I’m thirsty, are you thirsty?” She unwound her hands from behind my neck and walked into the kitchen.

I watched her pour a cup of water for both of us, even though I hadn’t responded. She set mine down on the counter.

“Brooklyn, just tell me what’s going on.”

“I love you.”

“Good.” I smiled. “Because I love you too.”

She looked down at the counter and traced one of the veins in the granite. “Jacob was a surprise,” she said. “A great surprise. I told you that I was trying to keep my promises to you…” her voice trailed off.

I knew she’d put off marrying Miller until she found out she was pregnant. “I know.”

“Miller wanted lots of kids. You two actually had more in common than you probably realize.” She looked over at the planters I’d built for her.

“Okay,” I said. I wasn’t really sure where she was going with this. “So…” my voice trailed off, but she didn’t fill in the missing pieces. “So you didn’t want to have any more kids with him? Because that felt like a betrayal to me too?”

Her eyes finally met mine. “No. I would have given Miller the world if I could have.”

I tried to not let her words sting. But they did. “I don’t know what you’re trying to tell me. And I think maybe it’s best if I don’t take another guess.”

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