Made for You (The Best Mistake 2)

That she was afraid that it wasn’t real.

Finally she worked up the courage to turn back.

But he was already gone.

* * *

It took Will several minutes to figure out what he was looking at.

He pulled himself into a sitting position, wincing a little at his sore back. Apparently, he was past his days of being able to sleep on the floor all night without repercussions. He rubbed one hand over his face groggily as he accepted the mug of coffee that Brynn held out.

He would have been able to tell it from her face, but he didn’t have to. Her clothing and the suitcase by the door said it all.

“You’re already dressed,” he said simply.

She nodded once from where she sat on the hearth. The fire had gone out long ago, leaving nothing but dark, depressing ashes in its place.

The symbolism wasn’t lost on him.

He took a bracing sip of coffee as his eyes swept over her put-together face. She’d applied makeup he hadn’t even known she’d brought with her. This wasn’t the rumpled Brynn on a casual beach vacation.

This was carefully styled career Brynn.

She pressed her lips together before folding her hands and carefully setting them in her lap, her shoulders back and straight, and her sterling posture confirmed what he’d known the second he’d seen her.

The old Brynn was back.

“I got a call from Susan today,” she said, her voice steady and even.

Will shook his head to indicate he didn’t follow.

“Susan’s my partner. She’s been covering me while I’ve been on this little…meltdown.”

Will didn’t misinterpret her word choice. Meltdown. Not adventure, or vacation, or even rebellion.

It had been a meltdown.

Her time had been cut short and now she had to justify it to herself. He got it. Had been waiting for it. Didn’t mean he was going to make it easy for her.

Will didn’t say a word. Didn’t prompt her. Didn’t give her a reassuring smile. He just waited.

“Anyway,” she said, licking her lips nervously. “Susan’s mom had a stroke. She’s flying down to San Jose this afternoon and will be in California for at least a week.”

“There’s nobody else who can cover?”

“Well, there’s Dr. Anders, but he’s not ready to handle the whole office by himself.”

“So what, you just go rushing back? Cut your vacation short?”

She gave a short huff of irritation. “It’s a Tuesday, Will. It’s time I start being an adult.”

His head snapped back slightly at the scorn in her voice, and he remembered her blatant dismissal of his own “work” the day before. Never mind that he had more money than he knew what to do with and had worked his ass off to launch some of the most innovative start-ups in the tech world. Never mind that he’d stepped back and put all of his companies on autopilot so that he could help her with her life.

“Got it. Better get going, then,” he said, calmly setting the coffee mug on the hearth and getting to his feet, not caring that he was buck-ass naked.

She averted her eyes and blushed, and damn if that didn’t just about say it all.

By the time Will got out of the shower, Brynn had already put half the stuff in the car and was wrestling with the big blue cooler, which was still heavy because it was still full. Full with food for a long getaway.