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Luke looked thoughtful. “Hey, I resemble that remark.” He grinned at his own joke.
Jules couldn’t help but chuckle. Luke was a character. Brock had labeled him a ladies’ man. He certainly had no trouble goingnose-to-nose with Nikki. Jules could tell that her cousin liked the challenge.
“See ya, beautiful,” Luke said to Jules and then brought two fingers to his temple in a jaunty salute that was meant for Brock. “I’m headed back to the house.” He threw him a cheeky grin. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Don’t need that much latitude,” Brock rolled out in a smooth cadence.
Jules's eyes went wide, and then she let out a chortle that morphed into a snort. Gah! So embarrassing.
A lopsided grin tugged at Brock’s mouth, and the two shared a long, intense look. The distance between them shrank, and she got the sensation of time rewinding itself. For a second, all of the bad was erased, and they were as they once were—so wrapped up in their own world that they hardly knew anyone else existed.
“You know what they say … two’s company, three’s a crowd,” Luke quipped as he left through the door, leaving only Jules and Brock.
Chapter 8
It was crazy to think that the one person who’d caused her so much pain and angst was actually sitting in her living room. And now the two of them were alone.
The space felt smaller somehow. She’d like to think she wasn’t affected by Brock anymore—by his voice, his presence, the way his perceptive eyes tracked her every movement, but that would be a lie.
Her gaze settled on his hair. She actually liked it longer on top. When they first met, he’d kept it military-short, all sharp edges and precision, like everything else about him. But now, the slightly tousled waves softened his face and gave him a stylish, almost disarming charm. It suited him.
She shifted in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest like armor. Maybe it was time to take a play out of Dad’s book. She’d sit in silence for as long as it took for Brock to speak first.
She ignored the discomfort pulsing between them. It was maddening how easily Brock stirred something inside her, even when she didn’t want him to. Brock wasn’t just attractive. He radiated such strength and authority. But more than that, he’d filled her world with a brilliance she didn’t even know was missing until he came into her life. It would take her years to findanyone else who lit her on fire the way Brock had. Maybe she would never experience that type of bliss again. Didn’t people say that true love only came around once in a lifetime? Hers had come like a thief in the night when she least expected it and had left just as suddenly.
They sat in silence for what seemed like forever until he mercifully broke it. “So…” He cleared his throat. “Where do we go from here?”
She lifted her brow. “Do you really have the nerve to ask me that?”
He lifted his hands in surrender. “You know me—I don’t dance around the elephant in the room. So, I’m just going to say it out loud. I goofed.”
She grunted in response.
“I thought I was making the right decision,” he went on, “but I was wrong. I was so wrong.”
A harsh laugh fell from her lips. Even though he was admitting his fault, it gave her no pleasure to hear it. This couldn’t be fixed with mere words.
His jaw twitched. “After the wedding, I was a wreck. A dark cloud of confusion had choked over me, and I couldn’t see a way out.” He paused. “And then when I got that call from Fitz… everything suddenly snapped into place. I realized I’d made the biggest mistake of my life by letting you go.” Desperation coated his voice. “I need you in my life.”
Her breath caught, and it was all she could do to school her expression. Oh, how she wished she could hear those words and feel nothing. She’d needed him, too, but then he hurt her.
He swallowed, his Adam’s apple zipping up and down in his throat. “The thought of anything happening to you rips me apart. I had to come here. I had to know that you’re okay.”
She gave him a weak smile. “Well, as you can see, I’m okay.” He searched her face with an intensity that nearly moved her to tears. Luckily, she was able to contain her emotions.
“Are you really?”
Curse him for being able to see right through her. She narrowed her eyes, suddenly fighting mad. “The pain that I’m experiencing because of the accident is nothing compared to the pain I feel here.” She touched her heart. So much for holding her cards close.
Regret shadowed his eyes. “I’m so sorry. What can I say to make you believe me?”
“There’s nothing you can say. What’s done is done,” she said dully. “Let’s just try to move on.”
“No.”
She flinched, not sure if she’d heard him correctly. “No?”
He thrust out his jaw, his expression fierce. “I won’t let you go.”