The Other Side of Greed (The Seven Sins #5) - Lily Zante Page 0,85
moment. Taking his hand, I tiptoe up and kiss him, missing his lips intentionally and placing a kiss just to the right of his mouth.
“Is that all I get?” He tugs my hand and pulls me towards him. This time, he lowers his head and plants a kiss on my lips. It’s chaste by comparison to the way he’s kissed me before—all hot and heavy and needy. My insides still heat at the memories of the last time we’d kissed and, as if they remember, the cells in my body jump to attention. I kiss him back, sliding my tongue between his lips, putting my arms around his neck. Just as we begin to deepen the kiss, he slowly moves my arms away, then slides his hands down to hold mine. He breaks our kiss. “Does this mean we’re back?”
“Back to what? I don’t want to sneak around anymore.”
“Me neither.” He strokes my face, and my skin tingles at his touch, a reminder of where we had last left things. “I want to do something nice for you.”
“Something nice?” Surprise makes me smile. “This is nice.”
“This?” His eyes grow round. “Being nice to you, kissing you, is nice?”
“Yes.”
“He must have really hurt you,” he says, quiet as a mouse.
I muster a brave smile. I have tried to hold back and keep my distance from this man, but it seems as if Brad Hartley and I can’t keep apart. I lean my face towards his stroking finger.
“It rips you up, tears you down. Makes you think you’re worthless. That’s why I’m just extra cautious now.”
He nods, understanding heavy in his eyes as he pulls me into him and holds me. We have gone from zero to one hundred. He wants me, but he seems to be in a contemplative mood again. I can’t read the expression on his face, and I can’t gauge his thoughts. But he holds me tight, and I lean against him because, after a long time of putting up my walls, I’ve finally find the courage to trust again.
BRAD
We go our separate ways. She might think I have cooled off and wonder why we’re not continuing on from where we left off, but I can’t go into this being Brad Hartley, the guy who has lied to her about everything.
I want to show her the real me, but who is the real me?
Am I Brandon Hawks, the man who wants Greenways? Or am I Brandon Clements—a poor neglected and unwanted child?
I still want Kyra, but I want to also do things properly. It means I’ll have to reveal everything slowly. Bit by bit, and only the parts I am comfortable for her to know about.
Chapter Forty-One
KYRA
We revert back to normal at work, but we no longer sneak around in the storeroom like before. There is a more steadied attraction between us. It is evenly keeled. I trust Brad, and even though he still remains a mostly closed book to me, he has hinted that he will tell me in his own time. I will wait.
On the next food night, we work as usual, and then clear up at the end. As we’re finishing up in the storeroom, Brad is pensive again and I find myself worrying about him.
He catches me staring. “You always seem on a downer after these nights,” I say. He doesn’t say anything. I reach forward and put my hands on his chest. “You’re not supposed to feel sorry for anyone. You’re supposed to feel good. Remember, the work we do here helps people like these to get back onto their feet.”
“You’re doing all the good things.”
“It’s what I love, and that’s why I am so eager to expand. Redhill is thriving and we need more people, which is why I need more premises.”
“How was the committee meeting the other day?”
“We had the usual complaints from the city officials.”
“What complaints?”
I tell him. “But now I’m starting to think that your advice is the right advice,” I say. “Maybe we should move elsewhere, to bigger premises, instead of trying to make this higgledy-piggledy plot of land work.”
His face twists. “Don’t listen to me.”
“Why not? You have a good business head on your shoulders and being around you has made me see things from another perspective.”
“You should go with your gut, Kyra. You told me you wanted to stay here. You said this area was starting to turn around and you got this factory at a good price.”