Page 51 of Clear Blue Sky

But what was that, exactly?

“Roxy just bolted out of her chair,” Maverick whispered.

“Good. I want her to witness this,” Nelson said. What he was about to do was a calculated risk, but one that could pay off in his favor.

If Brandi and her brother didn’t kill him first.

“Do you really want to flaunt your relationship with Brandi in their face?” Maverick muttered.

“They already know, so why hide it.”

“To protect her,” Maverick said.

“I can’t do that if I don’t put them on the defensive, forcing them to show their animosity toward me.” Nelson squared his shoulders. “You know I’m right.”

“I can’t argue that point,” Maverick said.

“Hang close, I might need you.”

Brandi sat at the table closest to the water and sipped a glass of wine, while Lake held a beer with his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles. They both looked relaxed, but he knew they weren’t.

They were anything but and Nelson could tell by the way Brandi tapped her fingernails against the chair.

A nervous habit.

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled.

“Hey,” he said, taking her hand and tugging her to a standing position. “You did real good. Both of you.” He cupped the side of her face, running his thumb under her cheek. “Lake, I’m sorry if what I’m about to do makes you uncomfortable and please don’t hit me. At least not right here.”

Brandi’s lips parted. Her big blue-green eyes grew wider. “What are you going—”

He hushed her with a passionate kiss. One that belonged in private. His tongue slipped into her mouth on a search-and-destroy mission. He heaved her to his chest, wrapping his arms tight around her firm body. He’d started the romantic moment by counting to twenty. He thought he’d end it then, figuring that was long enough to prove his point.

He’d managed to get to three and then got lost in the moment.

Someone cleared their throat in the background and reluctantly, he broke lip contact.

“Well, that was nice,” Brandi managed with red cheeks.

“I thought so.” His heart filled with emotions he had no label for. Ever since the mission that changed his life, he’d been running from his past. Running from the pain. Trying to hide from it as best he could, not allowing any real feelings to surface.

Now that Marcus and Roxy were standing directly behind him, he realized she was always going to be part of who he was no matter where he went or what he did.

He’d accepted his role in what happened, but he would no longer allow anyone else to blame him for doing his job, and that’s exactly what he’d done. He also wasn’t about to let the past walk away with his future.

Not anymore.

“Care to explain why you did that when we were planning on keeping things quiet for a while?” She rested her hands on his shoulders, keeping her focus on him, not anything—or anyone—else. Brandi Grant being in a relationship with anyone would be news. Bigger news that it’s the owner of Blue Moon, the establishment holding the main event.

That made him wonder why Marcus hadn’t outed them yet. That had to be part of the grand plan. Perhaps he wanted to create a scandal on premiere night. That made perfect sense.

“I will later, but for now, please follow my lead,” he whispered and turned. Time to face the firing squad.

Roxy stood five feet away, her brother next to her on the water side. Neither one of them looked shocked at the public display of affection, but both had a perplexed expression with their tight jaws and narrowed stares.

For the last week, Nelson had been on defense, constantly reacting to Marcus and his buddies. This was the first time that Nelson took the bull by the horns.

“Hello, Nelson,” Roxy said. “I can’t believe you walked right past me—made eye contact—and didn’t acknowledge me.” She pushed out her hip and planted a hand on it. She had a smug smirk and looked him up and down like he was a lowly human who didn’t belong anywhere. Then her gaze shifted to Brandi and she did the same thing.

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