“It was three weeks ago,” Josie reminded her. “And maybe he didn’t hear you say it.” She paused. “You haven’t said it again since, have you?”
“No, of course not. When I realized what I’d said, I had surprised myself. But when Brody didn’t react or respond, I figured maybe I was wrong and…you know…I didn’t say it.”
“So why do you think you did? If he hasn’t brought it up, then I don’t understand what’s happening right now,” Skye said.
“Because he hasn’t asked me for another extended sleepover, for starters.”
“Lea, you’re over there all the time,” Josie commented. “Like other than the nights that we’re at events until it’s really late, you’re sleeping over at Brody’s.”
“Okay, fine. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but you have to admit the whole parent thing is weird. The Kings don’t strike me as the type who continually cancel like that.”
“And why did they cancel the first time?” Skye asked. “Like what was the reason Brody gave you?”
“He said his mother had a migraine. Then his father was away on business. And now he just messaged that his father wasn’t feeling well, so…” She looked between her two best friends. “It’s suspicious, right? Like completely suspicious.”
“I want to say no, but…”
“No, it’s completely suspicious and you need to confront Brody about it,” Josie stated. “It’s the only way you’re going to have peace. And while you’re at it, you should probably address the whole ‘I love you’ thing too.”
She banged her head gently against the desktop. “Do I have to?”
“I think I speak for everyone when I say yes, you have to. If for no other reason than to put us all out of our misery.”
Lifting her head, she glared at Josie. “Gee, I’m so sorry that this is difficult for you.”
“Now look what you’ve done,” Skye said, shaking a finger at Josie. “You’ve made her get sarcastic! She’s the least sarcastic out of all of us. Stop poking at her!”
“I’m not poking, I’m just being honest!” Josie cried with frustration before she faced Lea again. “You and I already talked about this and you know I’m right. You have to talk to Brody and clear the air.”
Closing her eyes, she groaned. “I know. I know. I just…” Sighing, she let the thought hang there because they all already knew what she was thinking. After a few minutes, she straightened and reached for her purse.
“What are you doing?”
“I have to go talk to him. Now. You’re right. I can’t keep going on like this.” She stood and fished her keys out of her bag as she stepped around her desk. “Emilie’s got everything under control with the cake for the Perrys.”
“Wait,” Skye said as she rose to come after her. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Lea’s shoulders sagged. “Want to? No. Need to?” She nodded.
Skye grabbed her and hugged her. “We’re here if you need us.”
“Thanks.” Stopping in the kitchen, Leanna walked into the massive refrigerator and pulled out a tray of chocolate chip muffins. According to Brody, they were one of his assistant’s favorites and she had planned on bringing them to his house later for him to give to her. But considering she was going there now, it just made sense for her to bring them herself.
It was weird how calm she felt as she got into her car and made her way over to Brody’s office. She had no idea what she was going to say when she got there or if she’d even be able to see him–she knew how busy he tended to be–but she knew she had to try.
“I’ll start with asking about his parents,” she reasoned. “And then take it from there.”
She prayed she wasn’t making a huge mistake.
Security stopped her in the lobby of the massive building and Margaret was the one to clear her to go up. Once on the twelfth floor, Leanna stepped off the elevator and put a big smile on her face.
“Leanna! This is a surprise,” Margaret said with a smile of her own. “Mr. King didn’t mention you were coming.”
“Well…I didn’t tell him,” she said nervously before holding out the box of muffins. “But I did make these for you so even if Brody’s busy, it was worth the trip so I could give these to you in person.”
“Oh, my goodness!” Margaret opened the box and inhaled deeply. “Are these chocolate chip?”
“They are and I tasted one myself to make sure they were yummy enough and trust me, they are!”
“Like they could possibly be anything else!” Placing the box down, she glanced down at her computer screen. “You lucked out. Mr. King’s schedule is clear for the next two hours so you’re good.”
She wrung her hands, secretly disappointed that he wasn’t busy. There was a flutter of nerves in her belly and she began to second-guess her rash decision to come here.
“Would you like me to let him know you’re here or do you want to just go in and surprise him?” Margaret asked while still lovingly cradling the box of muffins.
“Um…I guess I’ll just go in. Thanks.”
“And thank you for the treats, Lea!”
With a weak smile, Leanna turned and walked toward Brody’s office door. She knocked softly before letting herself in.
To say Brody was surprised was an understatement. His dark eyes went wide and for a moment he didn’t move.
Or blink.
Then he rose and smiled at her. “Leanna! Is everything all right? What are you doing here?”
There wasn’t anything accusatory in his tone, but she still felt a bit ill at ease. “I um…I made a batch of chocolate chip muffins for Margaret and decided to deliver them myself.”
He kissed her thoroughly on the lips and she practically melted against him while telling herself she had possibly misread the situation between them.
Carefully, he walked her over to the sofa and guided them both down, his lips never leaving hers.
So good…
When Brody finally lifted his head, he smiled at her. “Have you had lunch yet? Would you like to go get something to eat? Or I can have something brought in?”
She chewed her bottom lip because lunch would be a great distraction, but she didn’t think she could eat anything right now with her stomach in knots.
“Um…no. I’m not hungry.”
He studied her for a minute. “Are you sure you’re okay? You look like you’ve got something on your mind.”
And there was her opening…
“I want to know why you won’t take me to your parents’ house!” she blurted out.
“Excuse me?”
Nodding, she went on. “Yeah. I think it’s kind of weird how they invited us and now–according to you, at least–they keep canceling. And you know what? I don’t think they are. I think you don’t want me to go there so you keep making up excuses and I want to know why!”
His eyes went wide and she thought he looked like a deer caught in the headlights.
“Leanna,” he began cautiously. “That’s not the case at all; you’ve got to believe me. My mother really does suffer from migraines–she has ever since she was a teenager. Then my father had a meeting overseas and he just got back and is feeling exhausted and asked if we could postpone. He’s in the office right now. If you’d like, I can ask him to come in here…”