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CHAPTER FOURTEEN

W hat was wrong with him?

Forbes never told anybody that story. In the years since Matty had left school, Forbes had never told a soul. Not even Grandmother.

He loved his grandmother, but she wasn’t exactly maternal. She’d have told him to buck up and get over it. Since bucking up and keeping quiet about things was his way, he’d seen no need for the pep talk.

And yet, here he’d gone and spilled the second-worst most shameful secret of his life. Somehow, between the darkness and the fire and Brooklynn’s beautiful, mesmerizing eyes, he’d lost his ever-loving mind.

He was going to have to face her eventually. He needed to change the subject. Was there a natural segue from I got my best friend beat up?

Not surprisingly, nothing came to mind.

“I once referred to my photos as art.”

At Brooklynn’s softly spoken words, Forbes turned to face her. He said nothing, just waited.

“Lenny laughed at me.”

Anger, hot and sharp, filled his mouth. He clamped his lips closed to keep it from spilling onto the amazing woman who didn’t deserve it.

“He told me any idiot could take a picture. ‘Including my four-year-old nephew.’” She’d affected a male voice, then smiled like it was all some big joke.

“It’s not funny. Any idiot can carry a gun, too, but it takes skill to know how to use one.”

Her smile faded. “That’s true. I wish I’d thought to say it.”

“You shouldn’t have had to say it. You shouldn’t have been with a man who put you in the position to have to defend yourself.”

She looked down. “You’re right. It was stupid.”

“Don’t do that.” Forbes settled beside her again. “Don’t make his insecurities about you.”

She lifted her gaze and nodded. “You’re right.”

“You’re too agreeable. Maybe I’m not right. If I’m not, you should tell me. Don’t just agree with everything.”

“Okay.” She cleared her throat. “But you are right, in this case. I shouldn’t have let him treat me that way.”

“What else did he say?”

“You don’t want to talk about him.”

“I’m not a guy who makes conversation for no reason. I asked because I want to know.”

She bit her lip and looked at the fire. “It’s been years since we dated. I shouldn’t still let his words affect me. I don’t know why I can’t let it go.”

Forbes knew why. “Wounds leave scars, and deep scars never fully fade. You trusted him. You loved him, I guess.” He paused, hoping she’d deny it, but she just shrugged.

It did something to Forbes to know this woman had loved that pile of excrement—a man who’d trampled on her love.

What was the penalty for punching a cop? Would it matter if the guy was off-duty?

Forbes might just risk prison for the satisfaction.

“What else did he say?” He tried to make his voice gentle, though gentle wasn’t exactly his modus operandi.

“He said I should get into portrait photography. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s not…”

“Art?” he supplied.

“It’s not what I love,” she said. “He implied that only very talented photographers could make a living at landscapes.”

“The guy’s a moron.”

“You know what? You’re right.” She smiled, getting into it now.

“You know what else he said? He said, ‘Who do you think you are, Ansel Adams?’ Which…whatever. I mean, I’m not Ansel Adams, but the way he laughed as if he’d made a very clever joke, when he knew, he knew, how much I admired Adams’s work.

I told him how I wanted to do with digital photography what Ansel Adams did with film.

He knew that. He said that just to hurt me. ”

“More than to hurt you, Brooklynn.”

She narrowed those clear blue eyes, tipping her head to the side as if she wasn’t sure what he meant.

“Taggart knew exactly what he was doing,” Forbes said.

“I have a vague idea of who Ansel Adams is, but not knowing everything about him doesn’t make me feel small or stupid.

It just makes me acknowledge that I don’t know everything.

A guy like Taggart? He probably needed to pretend, to fake it.

You knowing something he didn’t know and doing something he couldn’t do?

I bet that killed him. I’ve known my share of Lennys.

Insecure little boys who can’t stand being outshined by anyone, especially a woman.

He had to cut you down to feel good about himself.

He had to cut you down because he didn’t want you to realize you were too good for him. Guys like that aren’t worth your time.”

He wasn’t sure what reaction he expected. Maybe defensiveness. Maybe an exuberant nod at his brilliance.

He wouldn’t have hated that.

But she smiled her joyful smile, her wide eyes reflecting the firelight, gleaming as if she had a secret.

“What?”

“You keep proving my theory true.”

He growled, sounding like the boogeyman she’d accused him of being.

Her smile just widened.

Okay, fine. “What theory?”

“When you get angry or feel passionately about something, you talk in full sentences, even paragraphs.”

He clamped his lips shut and faced the fire.

She was right.

This woman could read him like a trifold brochure.

He was waiting for her laugh, but her hand slid around his forearm. “Hey, Ford?”

“Hmm?”

“I like that about you. You’re like an iceberg. There’s so much beneath the surface, and every time I get a peek of it, I see how beautiful it is.”

Beautiful?

There was an adjective he’d never aspired to.

He must’ve made a face because she gave him a little squeeze.

“Maybe that’s not the right word, but…actually, it is.

Because when you get angry and passionate, it’s usually not because someone’s hurt you.

It’s because someone’s hurt someone else.

Me, in this case. That’s righteous indignation, and it’s beautiful. ”

He grunted, which was just one step above the growl. He needed to work on his communication skills. “If you say so.”

“I do. Trust me. I know beauty. I am an…artist, you know.”

Her eyes twinkled as if the admission filled her with joy. Her hair fell in waves all around her face, shining in the light of the fire. She was, quite simply, the most gorgeous creature he’d ever seen.

He didn’t stop to think, didn’t want to think. Just slid closer and brushed a tendril behind her ear.

She shivered, and he didn’t think it was because of the cold.

That reaction lit a fire inside him to rival the one in the hearth just a few feet away. He slid his fingers into her silky hair, loving the way her curls wrapped around his hand.

Loving the way she leaned into his touch.

Loving…all of it.

He held her eye contact, waiting for her to push him away. But she didn’t.

She held very, very still.

He leaned forward, feeling her breath on his face, needing to feel her lips against his.

The lights flashed on.

The sudden brightness shocked him out of the crazy trance.

He jerked back.

Brooklynn’s eyes widened in surprise. Or…hurt?

What was he thinking, almost kissing her? Had he lost his mind?

Apparently, because he wanted to curse the stupid electricity that’d ruined the moment.

He expected her to be angry, to lash out at him for taking advantage. But her expression softened. She squeezed his forearm again. “It’s okay.”

What was okay?

Was it okay?

He didn’t know, but he needed out of that room, away from this woman, before he did something he couldn’t take back.