Briggs (Carolina Reapers 7)

“I thought you were coming to grab the stuff from my place,” he said, glancing around the space curiously before returning his gaze to mine. “Want to tell me what I’m doing here?” he asked. “One last photoshoot for old times?” He arched a brow at me, and I laughed a broken sound.

“No,” I said. “Nothing like that.”

He took one step closer, his scent overpowering everything else, waking me up in a way nothing else could. “What is it, then?”

I sucked in a steadying breath, telling the anxiety coiling in my stomach to calm the fuck down. Kind of hard to have any chill when I was about to risk my heart for the hundredth time with the only man I’d ever given my heart to, and the only man who’d ever broken it.

“I’m taking a gamble.”

19

Cormac

What the hell did taking a gamble mean?

I blinked, ripping my gaze away from Bristol and glancing over the unfinished space with its high, arching windows and exposed brick. My heart gave me all of three seconds before I was back to staring at her, standing there in the middle of the vast, open area in a pale-yellow sundress like she was the embodiment of the sunlight my world had been missing for the past couple of weeks. She was so damned beautiful that my chest ached every time I looked at her.

I’d expected her to call sometime in the past week, then maybe stop by my place for the boxes of samples and fabric she’d left there. Instead, she’d called this morning and asked me to meet her here, a few blocks away from downtown Charleston. Then again, when had Bristol ever done something I’d expected? The woman kept me on my toes, constantly shifting gears. It was one of the many reasons I loved her.

One of the many reasons I knew I couldn’t spend the rest of my life without her, even if it cost me a jersey.

“You’re taking a gamble?” I repeated, sliding my hands into the front pockets of my jeans. She was too close, and yet nowhere near close enough.

She bit into her lower lip and nodded, taking a step forward. The sunlight from the window danced off her curls and illuminated her skin. That touchable, kissable, soft-as-silk skin had me stepping back just to keep a healthy amount of distance between us.

The chemistry between us was too dangerous to get any closer. I’d be on her in a heartbeat, kissing her until the only thing between us was skin, until we closed the miles between us with our bodies. But where would that leave us? Right where we were.

Her shoulders fell a little as she noted my retreat. “What do you think about the space?”

“It’s nice,” I replied without taking my eyes off hers. “Good lighting. What are you using it for?” Great, we’d been reduced to small talk.

“That’s what I thought when I saw it. The light is gorgeous.” She dragged in a shaky breath and clearly dodged my second question. “Especially days like today. The sunlight comes streaming in.”

“It does.” What the hell did that leave us with for topics? The weather? My throat clogged with a lump the size of my fist with everything that had been left unsaid between us, and she wanted to chat about climate? “May is always a good month around here.”

“It’s June, now.” A small smile quirked up the corners of her lips.

“You’re right.” Fuck me, I wanted to kiss her.

“That means your contract is expired.” Her gaze dropped slightly, and she wrung her hands, fidgeting with her bracelet.

“It is.” How had six months flown so quickly? My own hands itched to caress her skin, to trace the curve of her waist, to feel her heartbeat beneath my palm. None of that was happening, so I laced them on top of my head. The entire drive over, I’d psyched myself out about how easy this would be—wrong. So fucking wrong. This was about as easy as walking over shards of glass with nothing on my bare feet. It was a ten on the pain scale.

I had the answer—the bandage to the whole solution, but was I really willing to pull that trigger if her feelings had changed? If she truly thought we wouldn’t work out?

“That means you’re no longer obligated to do any promotion for Lusso or work with me.” She swallowed, shifting her weight nervously.

“True.” Without the contract, this might be the last time I’d get to be alone with her. So what was keeping me quiet? Fear.

The skin between her eyebrows puckered, and she opened her mouth like she was about to say something but shut it with a shake of her head, pressing her lips in a firm line. Those gorgeous eyes narrowed in my direction, and if they’d been capable of shooting daggers, I had a firm suspicion that I’d be full of holes right now.