me. I threw out a flippant remark to push him away before I got burned. Of course I didn’t mean a word of what I said. I was with him because I wanted to be. I wanted him. I wanted to feel alive and desired, and I needed him to be the one to do it. Only Brady, with his piercing eyes that could see everything and his killer body that made my mouth water, could turn me to jelly with just one touch of his hand against my skin.
I don’t trust easily—a product of my upbringing and shitty life experiences. So why in the hell am I so ready to just hand everything over to this man? I want to confide in him. I want him to comfort me and tell me everything will be okay. I’ve never wanted or needed anyone to do that for me. I’ve learned to take care of myself and not lean on anyone. One mind blowing orgasm from him and I’m suddenly ready to throw all of that out the window.
“Morning, Lay,” Finn says with a smile as he walks through the backdoor in the kitchen and pours himself a cup of coffee. “You get any sleep last night after the cops left?”
I sigh and shake my head, taking another soothing sip of hot coffee.
“Well, I talked to them this morning and so far they don’t have any leads on the brick. They figure it was just some crazy kids out for a few laughs or something.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal and goes back to adding cream and sugar to his mug. “You have a fan meet-and-greet at Capitol Records this afternoon, right?”
I set my coffee down and turn to face him, wrapping my arms around my waist to ward off the chill that comes over me when I think about standing in my bedroom the previous night scared to death when Brady had me lock myself in my room. I had my ear pressed up against the door, listening for any sound of a scuffle when the brick came crashing through my window and sprayed shards of glass all over the place. I had been petrified. As soon as he’d heard the alarm from his cabin, Finn threw on some clothes and raced between our two yards. He saw how shaken up I was and sat with me through the entire police interview. Now he was thinking it was no big deal?
“Do you honestly think it was just a few kids playing pranks?” I ask, my voice raising an octave or two along with my shock at his disregard.
“Well, yeah. Honestly, what else could it be?” he asks nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders again and pulling out his cell phone to flip through his messages.
“Oh, I don’t know, how about the crazy stalker who’s been sending me creepy letters and attacked me yesterday.”
I stare at him angrily, my fingernails piercing the skin of my palms as I clench my hands into fists.
“One does not necessarily have to do with the other, Layla. That guy at the club could have been some lowlife bum that was standing around just waiting for a woman to walk by alone and you happened to be the one who did it,” Finn argues with a roll of his eyes, talking to me like I’m a child who just doesn’t get it.
“Are you seriously trying to tell me that you don’t think this is all connected?” I fire back.
“Are you seriously trying to tell me that you suddenly believe all of that bullshit Mr. Navy SEAL has been feeding you?” Finn shouts as he slams his mug down, coffee sloshing over the top and pooling in a puddle on the counter. “I thought you were smarter than that, Layla. I thought we decided that he was just another pawn your mother was using to piss you off. He’s a drunk with a shady past that you know nothing about. He sticks his hand down your pants and now everything he says is gospel. Jesus, if I would have known that was the way to make you listen to me I would have tried a little harder to fuck you ten years ago.”
The smack echoes through the room before I even realize what I’ve done. The sting in my hand tells me I’ve just slapped my best friend across the face, and the redness on his cheek is further proof that we’ve both just crossed a very