“I can’t eat ice cream alone. It’s not right.”
“Oh.”
She opened the door wider, and I stepped in. Following her to the kitchen, I watched as she reached up, grabbing a couple of bowls. Her shirt rode up, and I saw her stomach, the sliver of skin enticing. I also noticed how loose her pants looked.
“How sick were you, Kelly?” I asked.
She turned. “Sorry?”
“You’re too thin. You’re not eating.” I walked toward her, standing in front of her. I leaned forward, resting my hands on the counter, meeting her nervous eyes. “How sick were you?” I repeated.
For a moment, she didn’t respond. “How sick are you?” I asked, my throat constricted as fear set in.
“No,” she said firmly. “I am not sick. I mean, I was, but it was a temporary thing. I caught a bug in the islands and it did a number on me, and I’m still recovering. But it’s not life-threatening, Brett.”
“You promise?” I asked. “I need you to be okay,” I murmured.
She cupped my face in her hands, bringing my head lower. She pressed her lips to my forehead, imitating my gesture from earlier. “Promise,” she whispered against my skin. “I promise I’m okay.”
Of their own volition, my arms went around her, gathering her close. She slipped her arms around my neck, and we stood together, both of us finding what we needed for the moment with each other. No anger. No past coming between us. It was simply us.
And dammit, it felt good.
Her face buried in my shoulder was warm. I felt her tears on my shirt, how she gripped my neck. I tightened my embrace, holding her as close as I could.
“Why are you here?” she asked.
“I couldn’t stay away,” I confessed. “I was too worried.”
“You don’t hate me?”
I held her tighter, letting the truth out. “I don’t hate you, Kelly. I could never hate you.”
“What does this mean?”
“I don’t know,” I replied honestly.
She looked up, her lovely eyes wet with tears. “This is enough,” she whispered.
I shut my eyes, feeling her head fall back to my shoulder. It felt right, holding her again. She was accepting the comfort I wanted to give her—something new for us.
“For now,” I said quietly. “It’s enough for now.”
CHAPTER TEN
Kelly
I woke up, warm and cozy. Too warm. When had my blankets become so heavy? I opened my eyes, blinking in the semi-light. Instead of the window that was on the wall across from the foot of the bed, I stared at the torso of another person.
Confused, I lifted my head, feeling my eyes widen at the sight of Brett’s sleeping face inches from mine.
Desperately, I tried to recall what had happened the night before. Brett had held me, offering me his comfort and strength. For the first time ever, I accepted it, burrowing into him. After I calmed, we dished up ice cream and sat on the sofa, eating the sweet, creamy treat he had brought with him. I asked him about his dad and how the drive home had been earlier, smiling at his rendition of the conversation he’d had with his dad in the car.
“Would it be so bad if they formed an attachment?” I asked.
“No, unless it didn’t work out. Then Stefano and I would be caught in the middle.” He frowned. “I want Pops happy, but I don’t want to lose my friend.”
“Maybe they simply want that too. A friend. Someone to have a meal or go to the movies with who isn’t one of their kids or grandkids. Rosa is still a woman. It’s nice to have the attention of a man for her… Well, just for her. Same for your dad. I think he’s really lonely.”
“You’re probably right. Besides,” he sighed, “I can’t do anything. He’s a grown-ass man.”
“Just be supportive. Both you and Stefano.”
He nodded, staring into space for a moment. Then he turned to me. “What kind of bug do you think you caught in the islands?”
He wasn’t going to let this go. I couldn’t lie to him. I couldn’t tell him the whole truth either.
“I ingested something.”
“Like food poisoning, you mean?”
I drew in a deep breath. “No, like drugs.”
He drew back, horrified. “You were doing drugs, Kelly?”
“No.”
Understanding dawned, and he became furious. His mouth pulled into a tight line, and his shoulders went back. His hands curled into fists. “Someone gave you drugs? Someone—” He stopped, fighting back his anger. “Someone drugged you?”
“Yes.” I swallowed. “And I had a bad reaction.”
“And that fucker Carl abandoned you, leaving you alone as you recovered.”
I could only nod, afraid to say anything more.
“That selfish bastard,” he snarled.
He stood and paced, the lighter mood from earlier vanishing. He yanked on his hair, muttering. He cursed and walked to the window, looking out into the darkening sky. I waited as he got his anger under control. He returned to the sofa and sat beside me. He took my hand, holding it tight, not meeting my eyes. His voice was low, fury dripping from his words. “Did anything else happen?”