Another small snort was out as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’m an early riser, Leanna. I get up and train because I’m doing a triathlon. Every morning I’m up by five and at the gym or out jogging by five-thirty. You mentioned how you never get to sleep in and you were looking forward to it so I didn’t want to disturb you. And honestly, I fully intended to be back in the room–in bed with you–no later than seven-thirty.”
Her posture relaxed slightly and he took it as a good sign.
“While I was out jogging, I got a call from a contractor who’s working on our new site in Tennessee and there were…issues. So I got caught up on the phone with him, which led to several other calls and then a meeting with my father. By the time I was done, I went to my room to shower and figured you were up and doing your thing. I certainly planned on us at least having brunch together. But when I went to the trailer, your assistant told me you were gone.”
Now her shoulders slouched as she hung her head. “Oh.”
Unable to help himself, he carefully reached out and took one of her hands in his. “I’m sorry if you felt that my leaving that morning was in any way a reflection on…our night together. You have to know that wasn’t the case.” He gave her a bashful smile. “Sadly, I’m a creature of habit and I didn’t think going out for a run was a big deal. Now I realize how it must have looked to you.”
She looked up at him and he could tell she still wanted to be mad, but…her expression was softening. Of course she still gently pulled her hand from his before rebuking him. “You could have left a note.”
“You’re absolutely right. I should have.”
They sat in silence for several minutes and Brody still wasn’t sure where they were going to go from here. Was she going to forgive him or was he wasting his time?
Funny how just a few minutes ago, he thought he was going to be the one forgiving her. Talk about misreading a situation.
When it seemed like she wasn’t going to say anything, he knew he was going to have to be the one to do it.
“I would like to take you to dinner tonight,” he said gruffly. “If you’re free.”
This time when she looked at him, he saw what looked like regret in her eyes. “Um…Brody…I need to be honest here.”
“O-kay…”
“This weekend was…nice,” she began hesitantly. “But…by the time I left on Sunday, it was obvious that we aren’t particularly compatible.” She paused and seemed to consider what she was going to say next. “I understand that there were some circumstances beyond your control and I’m not holding that against you.” She gave him a weak smile. “At least not anymore. But the truth is that we were thrown into a situation and were basically just helping each other get through an awkward weekend. In any other situation, our paths never would have crossed and we certainly wouldn’t have slept together.”
“Sleeping with you had nothing to do with helping each other out, Leanna,” he said, trying desperately to hold onto his temper. Did she really only see him as…as some sort of favor? Had he misread everything this entire time?
“No, no, I realize that,” she quickly corrected. “I’m just saying that we are just way too different and we should just thank each other for the help and…move on.”
Hell no, he thought.
Studying her for a moment, he noticed the little nervous things she did–attempting to smooth her hair even though it was a losing battle, rubbing a hand over her thighs, and biting her bottom lip. It wasn’t like she did them all at the same time, but there was a pattern he noticed and it told him she wasn’t as brave or unaffected as she’d like him to believe.
“You want to know what I think?” he asked softly, but didn’t wait for her to respond. “I think we’re more alike than you want to admit. We are both passionate about our jobs and don’t like delegating because we know no one will do it as well as we would.”
“I wouldn’t say I don’t like delegating…”
“We both have the stress of dealing with disapproving families,” he went on. “It doesn’t seem to matter how successful we are–we still seem to fall short of their expectations.”
“Okay, that one’s true, but…”
“And lastly, I think we genuinely like each other.” He took her hand in his again. “I enjoyed our conversations, Lea. I was fascinated as I listened to you talk about your work, and your creativity and artistry blow me away. I enjoyed laughing with you and dancing with you and…” pausing, he lowered his voice, “and I really enjoyed making love with you.”
Her cheeks turned the prettiest shade of pink as she looked away, but she didn’t pull her hand back this time. “Brody…”
“One dinner,” he said before she could protest too much or come up with more excuses for why they shouldn’t. “I’d really like to spend time with you when we’re not being observed by our families. And if at the end of the night you’re still not interested in seeing me again, I’ll respect your wishes.” Then he gave her a hopeful smile. “But I’d really like the opportunity to prove that there’s something between us that we should explore.”
She was quiet.
Almost too quiet.
Brody cursed himself for pushing this.
“Our schedules really aren’t particularly conducive to going out,” she said weakly, and he knew she was really just offering up a token excuse.
“I know your weekends are usually very busy and I understand how important it is for you to be on-site with your cakes. Normally I’m here at the office every night until nine.” Then he shrugged. “But I’d be more than willing to leave early if it meant spending time with you.”
She studied him for a moment before a small smile played at her lips. The urge to lean in and claim them was almost overwhelming, but he knew he wouldn’t do a thing unless he had her consent.
And hopefully an agreement to go out with him.
“I guess I could do dinner tonight,” she finally said and Brody felt himself almost sag with relief.
“Let me have your address and I’ll pick you up at seven.”
Chapter 8
Life is short. Eat the cake.
“I should have my head examined, right? I mean, it’s totally crazy that I even agreed to this!” Leanna said frantically a few hours later as she tossed another outfit onto the floor.
“Wait, tell me again how you had no clue it was Brody who ordered the cupcakes?” Josie asked as she picked the clothes up and placed them back on the hanger.
Groaning, she held up her go-to little black dress. “You never said the order was for King Hospitality. You only said it was someone who tasted my cakes at the engagement party.” She put the dress back and pulled out a pair of black capris and a teal green blouse and held them up. “It wasn’t until I plugged in the address into my GPS that I realized where I was going and even then I just assumed it was his mother who placed the order!”
“Seriously? You didn’t even think for one tiny moment that maybe it was Brody?”