Olivia imagined the pain Brandon must’ve suffered from that injury. Another daunting descent would require courage, but she had no doubt he’d do it. His daring made her smile.
She was still smiling when she realized that Brandon was watching her with a speculative expression. He had somehow guessed that her smile was related to him. His lips quirked slightly as if he was tempted to grin back at her, even though a grin wasn’t appropriate to the conversation he was having with the disapproving Bob.
“Well, you’ve got several months before you go back to Europe. You want to learn what it’s like to put in a hard day’s work, come on out to the stables,” Bob was saying. “We’ve got our hands full this year. Might be a great way to make some extra cash.”
Brandon thanked him for the opportunity but begged off, saying he was going backpacking in Nicaragua. That didn’t win him any points with Bob, but it made Olivia chuckle. Brandon knew just how to tweak his stepfather’s nose without appearing to be impolite.
She turned to hide her mirth and came face-to-face with Brandon’s mother. Paige had been talking to Nancy and Ham, who’d just left.
“I’m sorry about how things worked out for you with Kyle,” Paige said, almost conspiratorially. “We miss seeing you at the house.”
“I miss you, too,” Olivia responded, feeling an odd tug for what used to be.
“Brandon’s far more of a handful,” she responded. “But it’s impossible not to love him.”
Another warning—in case Olivia wasn’t already a believer. “We’re just friends,” she said, but Paige had already started a separate conversation with Cheyenne Christensen, whose mother was suffering from cancer. Olivia didn’t think Paige had heard the rejoinder.
“What’d she say?” Brandon had finally broken away from his stepfather.
“She said she loves you.”
Taking hold of her elbow, he guided her out. “Was she shaking her head as if it’s against her will?” he asked with a laugh.
*
Olivia had been so eager to get to Brandon’s house, but even before they walked through the door she knew she wouldn’t be able to unwind the way she’d envisioned. They no longer had to cope with the myriad emotions swirling around the wedding party. Her father’s disapproval. Noelle’s jealousy. Kyle’s sullenness. The palpable concern of Kyle’s friends. All of that suddenly seemed far away…part of another lifetime. Instead they had to cope with each other, and that was almost more difficult, because every word they’d spoken on the drive back, every incidental touch as he let her in, felt like foreplay to a sexual encounter she knew she’d be foolish to allow.
It wasn’t so unusual for a woman in her situation to want to jump into bed with the next handsome guy. Another relationship, one with a quick flame, could assuage the loneliness and ease the sting of rejection. But, oddly enough, this was different. It didn’t feel as if Brandon would be a substitute for Kyle. It felt as if Kyle had always been a substitute for Brandon!
She was fairly certain the rebound experience wasn’t supposed to work like that and couldn’t figure out why her situation was so different. She and Kyle had only been apart for about four months, and thanks to his betrayal, those four months had been the most miserable of her life. That meant she still loved him, didn’t it?
So how could she care more about being with Brandon than she did about being hurt and angry over Kyle’s Big Mistake? What he’d done meant they could never be together again.
But that didn’t seem to matter so much anymore.
“Would you like some herbal tea?” Brandon asked as she put her purse on the counter.
“What kind do you have?”
“A blend I found in Thailand.” He reached into a cupboard to get the box, which he showed her. “You should try it.”
She pictured them drinking tea together, talking into the night and eventually ending up in his bed. She wanted that exact scenario so badly she almost chose satisfaction over caution.
Maybe she would have, if not for his mother’s words: It’s impossible not to love him.
She had an inkling that might be true. She’d always been drawn to Brandon, but never more so than in the past two days. She figured it was better to get away while she could. So, after a brief hesitation, she shook her head. “No, thanks. I’ve got to get up early. I wouldn’t want to oversleep the way I did today.”
She halfway hoped he’d try to convince her to stay up with him. But he didn’t. He told her he understood and added a polite good-night.
Forcing a smile to hide her disappointment, she nodded, but before she turned away, she caught sight of something that held her fast. When he moved, a grimace crossed his face and he shifted to take his weight off the leg he’d broken in his skiing accident.
“Are you okay?” She’d heard him say his doctors had been able to put him back together, that he was healed and already training for the next season.
His expression cleared instantly. He even exerted normal pressure on his leg while putting away the tea. “Of course. Why?”
“I just thought…” She stopped herself. He wouldn’t be planning to walk across Nicaragua if his leg was causing him trouble. She must’ve imagined that he felt pain. Or maybe he’d just twisted it, which could make anyone wince. “Never mind,” she said. “See you in the morning.”
Chapter 10
Something woke Olivia a few hours later. She wasn’t sure what—until she listened carefully. Then she realized it was the TV. Although the house was otherwise dark and quiet, she could hear the drone of voices and wondered what Brandon was watching.
It had to be late.
She checked her phone on the nightstand. Sure enough, it was three-thirty.
She tried to go back to sleep. It wasn’t any of her business what Brandon was doing. But after lying awake for another twenty minutes, she got up to see if he was okay. Maybe he needed someone to cover him and turn off the TV….
He had a television in his bedroom. She’d seen it when they’d napped in there before. But that wasn’t where she found him. Perhaps he’d thought he’d keep her awake if he used that one. Or he liked the loft better, because he was there, asleep in a recliner.
He’d changed into an old T-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. That he’d wanted to get comfortable didn’t come as any surprise, but his leg in a brace and buried beneath half a dozen ice packs did.