Page 26 of Unbearable

When they’d first met, she had doted on her son. Fox had only seen the side of Brooke that she wanted him to. She was beautiful, fun, and a good mother.

After they had been kicked out of their apartment and moved in with him, he began to see a much different Brooke. She was still beautiful, but she spent most of her time either fighting with him or going out. Ethan barely mattered at all.

“You’d better get changed, silly,” she said, walking out of the bedroom. She was wearing a short blue dress that barely covered her ass. Her high heels could double as a weapon. This was the Brooke he remembered from before. He might have altered her mood a little too much.

“I need to run through the shower. Give me twenty max.” He walked into the bathroom shedding clothes.

The reservation wasn’t until seven thirty, but he knew Brooke would want to do some window shopping before then. Even knowing she was buzzing around the bedroom hunting for accessories for her outfit, he couldn’t stop his mind from moving to Bailey. His hand automatically moved to caress his hardening length.

“Are you doing something naughty in here?” Brooke asked playfully, stepping into the bathroom.

“No,” he answered. His hand moved to press against the wall of the shower. He turned his back to her.

“I can join you if you want,” she teased.

“No, don’t do that. You already look perfect. I don’t want you to have to start over again.” In truth, he was having a hard time convincing his mind to let go of the images of Bailey he had just been envisioning. Being with one sister while fantasizing aboutthe other was undoing him piece by piece. “Wait until we get home. Then I’ll help you out of that dress with my teeth.”

“Can’t wait,” she purred. He breathed a sigh of relief when she left the room. Turning off the water, he stepped out and grabbed his towel. Tonight was already shaping up to be agony. He wrapped the towel around his waist.

Staring into the mirror over the sink, he studied his face. He couldn’t see any way out of the situation with Brooke. He had willingly traded his happiness for a small boy.

He stepped into the shared closet. He pulled on a gray pair of slacks and a white dress shirt. It would complement Brooke’s dress without calling any attention away from her. He knew how much she enjoyed being the center of attention everywhere they went. Not his of course, just everyone else’s attention.

“Are you ready?” he asked, walking into the living room.

“What do you think?” Her mood was already shifting. He knew he couldn’t alter it forever. If he could, then they would all be living happily as a family.

With Brooke though, it seemed like her good humor lasted a little less every time. There might even come a day in the near future where he couldn’t control it any longer. Then what?

“We’ll take the truck tonight,” he said, ignoring her comment. All he had was his work truck. It made parking in the city a real nightmare. “I don’t want this beauty sitting on a dirty train seat.” He held out his hand to her. She finally relented and took it. “We’ll even do valet.” He saw her eyes light up. She loved putting on airs. He just didn’t want to hunt for a parking space downtown on Friday night.

They found the restaurant easily. Fox pulled into the valet line. Brooke exited the car like a movie star when the man opened the door for her. She waited just long enough for Fox to join her before marching her way into the restaurant. The hostshowed them to the bar until their table was ready. Fox couldn’t convince her that they were too early.

“I’ll have a whiskey sour,” she said when the bartender found them seated at the bar.

“Just club soda with a twist. Thank you,” Fox added. “This is nice.”

“It’s not bad. We might come back.” He caught himself before he rolled his eyes. She was just a working-class girl from Newton. What would she know about upscale dining? The bartender set their drinks on the bar. She took a sip of hers. “Heavy on the whiskey. It just went up another point.”

“Glad it meets your standards.” She shot him a glare. He simply held up his drink to clink against hers until she relented. “The fish is supposed to be first class.”

“We’ll see.”

Fox’s phone buzzed in his pocket. “They’re ready to seat us.” He took both of their drinks and followed her to the host stand.

They were shown to their table quickly. Brooke was seated by the host while Fox set her drink in front of her. She took another long drag before picking up her menu.

If they’d been paying better attention, they would have noticed the man who followed them from the bar to the dining room. He now sat in a dark booth just far enough from them that he couldn’t quite hear what they said to each other. Fox wouldn’t have known him even if he saw the man, so he had no reason to pay attention to another diner.

Brooke, however, had missed him also. She would know him instantly. She had sent him a text the moment she went into the bedroom to dress.

Looking around for him would only serve to alert Fox that something was going on, so she didn’t dare. Gooseflesh rose on her arms just knowing he was somewhere in the restaurant watching.

“Are you cold?” Fox asked. He slid his jacket off and slid it around her shoulders.

“I think there’s a slight draft on my side is all.”

“Do we need to trade sides?”