Page 8 of Clear Blue Sky

But it would probably be at least another year before that happened.

Brandi had dived into her work with gusto. She loved her job and excelled in her new role. This last year, her fling with Nelson was just what she needed. However, there’d always been a distance between her and Nelson, and she thought that was because neither one of them wanted a lasting relationship. Or at least she didn’t want one right at that moment and Nelson maybe never. Although, they never talked about it other than to say neither of them were looking for anything and they agreed not to put a label on it.

When Ethan had come back into her life and reminded her of how she ended the relationship, she felt she owed it to him—and to herself—to see if there was anything there. She’d agreed to give their romance a chance because he did make a valid point. They had a lot of the same interests and for a short time, he gave her everything she needed, except excitement.

And passion.

Not to mention he constantly asked her about what her love life had been like the last year or so. Weirder, he wanted to know who she’d been dating. Like the details. Ethan seemed more interested in what she’d been doing during the time they’d been apart than what their future could be.

One of the many reasons she decided it was time to end it for good.

Nelson had always given her a thrill in the bedroom, but now she wanted more from him, only she wasn’t sure Nelson was up for the task. He wasn’t an easy man to get to know. As a matter of fact, she knew very little about him, which is what made their rendezvous so exciting. She wanted tonight to be the beginning of something new and special.

“I don’t know if he does,” she admitted. “When we first got together, it was incredibly casual. I didn’t see him at all when I got back together with Ethan. But that didn’t last long, and these last couple of months with Nelson have been intense, especially in bed.”

“I don’t want to hear about your sexual escapades.” Lake wiggled a finger in his ear and scrunched his face. “What do the two of you discuss when you’re together?”

“Not much. We’re busy doing other things.” She didn’t dare glance up over her plate. “I know he and his brothers all left the military around the same time and decided to go into business together.”

“Do you know why?”

“Nope.” But she did know something haunted him because the one time she spent the night, he’d been startled awake. That was no big deal, but the fact he’d been covered in sweat clued her in that something troubled him. “And for the record, I might not stay all night, so don’t be surprised if I sneak back in at a weird hour.”

“Why?”

“He might want me to leave.”

“That’s weird. He lives alone.”

“We’re not a couple. At least not yet, and I don’t know if he wants things to be exclusive,” she said.

“I don’t want you driving around in the middle of the night.” He shook his head. “And I can’t say I’m thrilled with you continuing a casual affair with him if you want more and he doesn’t.”

“I’d rather you not call it that and for the record, I take the subway sometimes at three in the morning. Besides, he lives on the opposite side of Assembly Point. It’s not that far.”

“But it’s dark and really, are you going to use coming to see your niece as a booty call all summer?”

She tilted her head. “Seriously? Of course not. But he’s here and I deserve to be able to let off some steam and see if there’s anything worth pursuing with Nelson.”

“All right.” Lake nodded. “Let me ask you this. What’s the real reason you put things on hold with Nelson?”

“I just told you. I had to know if I’d made a mistake leaving Ethan five years ago.” She pushed her plate aside and leaned back. She and her brother had been close their entire lives. She’d been lucky to have a brother she could count on, and vice versa. They’d always been able to be straight with each other, even when they didn’t like the words coming out of the other’s mouth.

That didn’t mean he took her advice. Hell no.

And she often ignored his.

But they heard each other. That was something.

“I could have told you that breaking up with Ethan was one of the smartest things you ever did,” Lake said. “It wasn’t that I didn’t like the man, I did. But he wasn’t your type. I’ll agree Nelson is more in your lane, but he’s a tough read and I wonder if maybe you used Ethan as an excuse because you were afraid to tell Nelson how you really felt.”

Her brother wasn’t totally wrong in his assessment. “He doesn’t talk much. But I need to get to know him better. I sense there’s a darkness in his soul and I don’t think anyone but his brothers is ever going to be able to touch that.”

“We all thought that about Foster. Whatever Nelson’s demons are and the fact he keeps them close to the cuff, doesn’t mean he’s never let anyone in.”

“That’s different,” Brandi said. “Foster’s wounds were out in the open. It’s not like people didn’t know about his ex-wife or the passing of his daughter, especially his current wife. Tonya waited patiently on the sidelines until it was time to help Foster move into the here and now. He needed time to heal, and he needed help to get over his loss.”

“It sounds like Nelson could be dealing with something like that based on what you just told me.”

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