Oh, to have such problems, Brenna thought wryly as she stepped forward to wave good-bye to Grant’s parents. They were nice people—really nice—but they lived such a different lifestyle that she couldn’t quite grasp it at times. Why did you need more than one house for only two people? It was bizarre to her, but she supposed that was what you did with your money when you had a lot of it. You bought stupid shit.
Which, of course, made her uncomfortable to think about. She watched Grant head into the main lodge to retrieve one last bag, thinking about all that money and how much pointless crap Justine and Reggie probably owned.
But Reggie and Justine were so very nice, and normal-seeming. Justine moved to hug Brenna and, to her surprise, she was immediately hugged by Reggie as well. “We’re so happy that Grant has you in his life,” Reggie told her, patting her on the back. “You’re good for him.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, pulling away from the hug.
“I’m glad you worked out whatever it was,” Justine told her with a beaming smile. “We like to see you two together.”
“Thank you,” she repeated again, because what could she really say? Your son won’t like me once he finds out the real me, so don’t get too attached. But all she said was, “I think he’s pretty great, too.”
Brenna turned to hug Elise, who was standing next to the car. But the quiet woman lifted a hand and grinned, seeming more at ease than when she’d first arrived. “You don’t have to hug me. I’m staying.”
“You are?” She couldn’t hide her pleasure at that. She liked Elise.
“There’s still the photo shoot to do, of course,” Elise told her. “And I’m working on, um, a few other projects in the meantime. I can fly back whenever.”
“Oh right. Beth Ann mentioned the pin-up photos.”
“Yes!” Elise’s face lit up with enthusiasm, light sparkling in her eyes. “They’ll be a lot of fun.”
“It’ll be good to have you around,” Brenna told her. “We can have a girls’ night out this weekend. Or next weekend. Or every weekend.”
Elise chuckled, the sound soft and shy. “How about we start with this weekend.”
“Works for me.” Brenna raised a fist for a fist bump.
After an awkward, almost-too-long moment, Elise fist bumped her back. Getting somewhere, at least.
Grant emerged from the lodge with the last suitcase, and his parents practically beamed with pride at the sight of him. Brenna had to agree that he was gorgeous. Silky brown hair fixed perfectly, wire-rimmed glasses perched on a perfect nose over sculpted cheekbones, and clothes that would make a model in GQ weep with envy. He always looked so perfect and put together, just like his parents.
His rich, rich parents with lots of stuff. Her stomach churned.
But the way that Justine and Reggie watched him? Their eyes were full of pleasure at the sight of their son, and happiness at his happiness. And Brenna realized with a sinking feeling that he would never understand where she’d come from.
But she needed to tell him anyhow. Because leading these nice people on wasn’t fair. She liked all of them. They’d made her feel welcome and accepted from day one.
It was only right that she got all of her dirty laundry out in the open.
• • •
Something woke Grant from a sound sleep the next morning. He continued to lay in bed, still in a half doze, wondering what it could have been that woke him. The cabin was silent, the only sound the chirp of birds in the early morning light.
A finger poked him in the stomach again, then lightly tickled his sides. “Wake up, Grant.”
Brenna. Delicious, warm, curvy Brenna. He dragged her closer, nuzzling her neck in a sleepy embrace. “It’s early.”
“I can’t sleep.”
He cracked an eye open, surprised at the tension in her voice. “What’s wrong?”
Her troubled face gazed back at him, her purple and brown hair tousled. There were shadows under her eyes. She chewed on her lip, but was silent.
He was instantly awake, the need to soothe and protect her rising in him. To keep her safe from everything that upset her. Grant leaned up on one elbow and rubbed her shoulder. “What’s wrong, love?”
A tear trickled out of her eye, falling onto the pillow. “We need to talk.”
A horrible ache started in his gut. He forced himself to remain calm. “Talk about what?”
“About me. With you.”
Immediately, Grant knew. He’d f**ked this up again. He’d shown Brenna his vulnerable side the other day, in the shower. He thought things had been okay, but she was skittish when it came to commitment, and he’d been a dumbass and confessed his love to her. Still, when she hadn’t panicked, he thought things were okay with them. That she was okay with him being in love with her as long as she could still say that she was in a no-strings-attached relationship. And he hadn’t pressured her to say it back. He knew it was just a matter of time before she felt the same way.
Or so he’d thought.
But seeing her so distraught now? It tore at his heart. He wanted to make things better for her. Hell, he wanted to silence her with a kiss and make her forget whatever was worrying her. Anything to stop her tears.
“Brenna.” He forced her name out of his throat and gently brushed away her tears. “Don’t cry. It’s okay. I’m not trying to pressure you at all. How I feel about you doesn’t mean that you have to reciprocate. I know you don’t feel the same way about me, and it’s all right.”
She stared at him, confused, and then burst into a few watery sounds that he couldn’t quite tell if they were giggles or choked tears. “Oh Grant. Would you shut up for a moment? I said it’s me, not you.”
His heart stopped for a moment. “Then we’re okay?”
“We’re not okay,” she said, and tears slid down her face again. “There’s something wrong with me.”
And just like that, his heart began to trip again, rapidly. Relief mixed with unease. She was talking and he still didn’t know what to think. “What do you mean there’s something wrong with you? What’s wrong?”
“I . . .” Her throat flexed, as if she couldn’t say the words. “It’s hard to explain.”
Oh God. She was dying. He’d finally found the perfect woman for him—a woman who infuriated him as much as she made him happy. A woman as abandoned and easygoing in bed as she was out of it. A woman who made him feel like the king of the world instead of a worthless sack of shit that wasn’t enough for her.