Page 49 of Denim & Diamonds

Our lips met for the second time, and less than ten seconds later, I was ready to climb over and straddle the man.

Brock broke the kiss with a groan, tugging at the crotch of his jeans. “Jesus, woman, you turn me into a sixteen-year-old boy.”

I smiled. “I feel the same way.”

He shook his head. “You up for me to take you somewhere other than my place or the bar?”

“Sure. But I only have an hour or so. I got a roommate this afternoon. They usually don’t double up, but they’re at capacity right now, so it’ll be a few days before something opens for her and I get my privacy back. Anyway, she’s having some blood-pressure issues, so they’re coming in to take her BP every couple of hours. They took it right before I called you to pick me up.”

He put the truck into drive. “I’ll take whatevertime with you I can get.”

Brock linked his hand with mine and held it for the ten-minute drive. Eventually we slowed and pulled down a dirt road that ended at a big lake. The moon bathed the area in beautiful light.

“Wow,” I said. “This is amazing.”

Brock cut the engine. “This is where we used to come in high school to make out.”

“Are those your plans for this evening?”

He reached behind my seat and pulled out a duffle bag. “I wanted to show you more of Meadowbrook, but sucking your face is definitely on the agenda.”

I laughed, and Brock got out of the truck and came around to open my door. He spread a blanket on the grass, then took out a lantern, a bottle of wine, and two glasses. While he uncorked the merlot, I looked around and tried to stay in the moment, but I couldn’t seem to get my mind off the conversation I’d had earlier with Trinity.

I’d been preoccupied ever since my appointment. I didn’t have much time left here in Meadowbrook. Maybe my counselor was right, and I should have a conversation with Brock about how I felt about him and the things that made me nervous about pursuing a relationship after I left.

Brock passed me a glass of wine and told me some facts about the lake, but my mind was stuck elsewhere. Not surprisingly, he noticed.

“You okay?”

I forced a smile. “Sure. Why?”

He tilted his head. “I don’t know. You’re quiet…off.”

“I’m just a little tired,” I lied. “But I’m not too tired for some of what you mentioned was on the agenda forthe evening.” I crawled over to Brock and pressed my breasts against his chest before pulling his mouth down to meet mine. The kiss was nice,reallynice, even—but I quickly realized I was slipping back to my old ways, and I didn’t want to do that with Brock. So I stopped sort of abruptly.

My fingers felt my swollen lips as I spoke. “I’m sorry. I’m lying to you.”

Brock’s tone remained even. “Okay. About what?”

“About being tired. I’m not. My head is just somewhere else, and I didn’t want to talk about it so I kissed you. I have a bad habit of using sex to distract men from talking about anything real.”

Brock took my hand. “Talk to me. What’s going on, Red?”

I took a deep breath. “I got an invitation to a wedding in the mail today.”

“Okay…”

“The groom is my ex-husband.”

“Oh.” He was quiet for a moment. “Did it upset you because you’re not over him?”

“God, no. I’m definitely over Johnathan.”

Brock shrugged. “It is just him moving on then?”

I shook my head. “It’s more than that, actually. If it’s okay, I’d like to tell you about what happened.”

“Of course.”