The corner of her lip lifted, and her eyes were flooded once again, but this time there was a smile behind them, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly.

“I was so afraid to tell you about what I’d done,” she said against his neck. “The only people who know are my therapist and the neighbors who broke down my apartment door after hearing me trash the place and screaming like a crazy person. Janecia doesn’t even know. All she knows is I had a breakdown and had to start seeing a therapist. I was afraid you’d see me differently—lose respect for me—but as usual, you’re amazing, Brandon.” She pulled away and their eyes locked. That gentle innocence he’d been drawn to way back when, reflected in the way she looked into his eyes now. “I love you,” she whispered.

For a moment, he froze. Aside from his mother, no one else had ever said these words to him, and it nearly suffocated him. It was subtle, but there was no hiding the disappointment in her eyes when he didn’t immediately respond.

“You do?”

She nodded nervously. “I do.”

This was the last thing he expected to hear tonight, especially after everything they’d just discussed. As terrified as he was to admit it—say it out loud—he had to.

“I love you too.”

He got that look from her, that same one she’d given him when he promised he’d never ride a motorcycle. It was suspicious, and he knew why. “I do.” He laughed, hugging her tightly then kissing the top of her head. “You just caught me off guard, but I do.” He leaned his forehead against hers. “I love you, Ms. Brady.”

She laughed, and it was a beautiful sound—beautiful and satisfying—considering she’d been so miserable just minutes ago.

“Make love to me, Sergeant Billings,” she whispered against his lips.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a growl as he stood up and lifted her in his arms. “Your wish is my command, princess.”

Feeling like the luckiest man in the world, he rushed off with her.

Chapter Eighteen

The following Friday Regina walked out of his bedroom after changing into nothing more than Brandon’s Padres T-shirt and panties as she often did after work during the week. She informed Brandon they wouldn’t be meeting Janecia and Clay for appetizers and drinks like they had the past few Friday nights.

Brandon chose his words carefully because he didn’t want to ignite anything, but he had a feeling she’d be regretting this later. “Babe, you can’t just stop talking to your best friend over this. I know how strongly you feel about it, but do you really want such a long friendship with someone you care so much about to end like this?”

Regina opened up the box of pizza she’d ordered in lieu of their date night out. “It’s not ending,” she said, pulling a slice out of the box and setting it onto a paper plate but didn’t look at him. “They left this morning for Puerto Nuevo.”

“Oh,” Brandon said, feeling like a complete ass now.

The last thing he wanted was to have her thinking about this all night. Mercifully, before he could come up with a way to change the subject, her phone rang. She walked away from the pizza on the table and into the kitchen where she’d left her phone.

Brandon walked over to the pizza box and opened it, examining the gourmet pizza she’d ordered from her favorite place. Unlike the pizzas he was used to with lots of red sauce, she’d mentioned this was made with white garlic sauce, so the whole thing was mostly white, but it at least it had sausage.

He’d just taken a bite of the pizza and the flavors had exploded in his mouth when he heard the tail end of Regina’s conversation and froze.

“She’s dating my Ricardo? Are you sure it’s the same one?”

Chewing slowly, he waited as Regina paused and he heard the refrigerator door open. “Get out!” she said, suddenly sounding a little too giddy for someone who’d just walked away in such a somber mood. “She’s bringing him Sunday? Does she know he’s my ex?”

She paused again while Brandon swallowed down his pizza. It went down a little harder than he’d expected.

“Oh, wow. Did she say if he’s still surfing? I wonder if he still looks the same.”

After hearing that, Brandon started toward the kitchen. He didn’t want to be petty, but Regina’s interest in her Ricardo was irritating as shit, so he figured he may as well get close enough to hear every word. It wasn’t like she’d hushed her voice or was trying to keep this conversation private, so he leaned against the kitchen entryway and took another bite, looking straight at her. Suddenly, she seemed uncomfortable. It was almost as if it’d just hit her that Brandon could hear what she’d been talking about.

Clearing her throat, she turned away and reached into the fridge. “No, don’t be silly.” Now she lowered her voice, making Brandon chew slower in an effort to remain calm. “I know she’s annoying, but I’m seeing someone now, remember? Besides, I wouldn’t play those immature games. Listen,” she said, abruptly turning back to Brandon with a smile. “We were about to eat. I’ll call you later. Let me know if there is anything you need me to bring.”

She hung up and put the phone down on the counter. “You want a soda?” she asked, reaching back for the refrigerator handle.

Brandon shook his head, staring at her as he stuck the last piece of pizza in his mouth and continued to chew.

“Did you like it?” she asked, smiling brightly.

Again his response was nonverbal; he simply nodded but continued to stare at her. She tried walking past him, but he didn’t move. His body took up most of the door frame, so she stopped, placing her hand over his chest. The tiny smirk on her face relieved him slightly. Obviously, she wasn’t too worried about this.

“My sister was just telling me about my cousin’s new boyfriend.”

“I heard.” He finally spoke up. “Your Ricardo?”

She brought her fingers over her mouth in an attempt to hide a bigger smile. “I just meant my ex.”

Brandon brought his hand around her and squeezed her ass, making her yelp then laugh nervously. “Your ex who you’re still curious about?”

“No,” she said, caressing his face as she pressed her body against his. “Not curious.” She pecked him softly. “I just haven’t seen him in years.”

She tried to kiss him again, but he pulled back. “Curious,” he restated then nipped her bottom lip as he brought his other arm around her and squeezed her other ass cheek even harder. “What kind of immature games was your sister asking you to play?”

That surprised her though she quickly recovered and kissed him a little more aggressively, but he pulled away again.

“Answer the question, Regina,” he said, spreading her ass cheeks and sliding his fingers upwards.

He almost smiled at her gasping, but he continued to stare in her suddenly aroused eyes.

“Our cousin can be annoying, so my sister thought it’d be fun if I flirted with him Sunday.”

He spun her around and pinned her against the kitchen wall. “And that’s how you refer to me to your family? Someone you’re seeing?” Before she could respond, he ripped her panties off. “Is it? Not your boyfriend? I thought we discussed this?”

Sliding two fingers into her, he loved that she couldn’t even respond since she was so hot she was almost moaning. He dove into her neck, sucking harder than he normally did. His immature side was tempted to leave a mark so her fucking Ricardo could see it Sunday, but then he thought better of it. This was not the impression he wanted to make on her family before they even met him, so he spun her around again and lifted her up, setting her down on the counter. Spreading her wide, he fucked her with his fingers while he dug for his wallet with his other hand.

“They know,” she said breathlessly as she ran her fingers frantically through his hair, “that you’re my boyfriend.”