I Crave You - C.C. Wood Page 0,87

I'm going to talk to her and let her know that I don't appreciate her approaching the woman I love and offering her money to leave me."

I had a feeling that would go over as well as my conversation with her had today.

"Whatever happens," he continued, reaching out and taking my hand. "We'll deal with it together, okay?"

I had to hand it to him. When he said that to me, I believed him completely.

Too bad he lied.

27

When Brody called me later that night, I was smiling. On the nights that we didn't have plans together, he called me in the evenings and we talked. It wasn't the same as seeing him and holding him, but it was still better than nothing.

"Hey, you're calling earlier than usual," I said by way of greeting.

"Yeah. Something came up and Jacks is with her grandparents tonight. I was wondering if I could come over."

He didn't sound very enthusiastic, but I wrote it off to the trouble Monica caused earlier.

"Sure. I'd love to see you."

"I'll see you soon," he said.

Sierra was still in Dallas, but she was supposed to be coming home later tonight. She said she would call me when she was on her way, but I hadn't heard from her yet. She hadn't mentioned Ben, but I hadn't asked. I figured that conversation would be better face-to-face over ice cream.

When the doorbell rang, I pulled the door open and pretty much jumped on Brody.

"Hey! I'm glad you were able to come over tonight."

I got my first obvious clue that something was wrong when he didn't give me his trademark tight squeeze. Instead, he set me away from him, his hands gentle but insistent.

"Brody?" I asked.

He took a deep breath but I already knew what was coming. It didn't lessen the pain when he said, "I think we need to take a step back for a while."

"What?"

His eyes were distant and cold, chips of emerald ice. "Jacks said something today that concerns me and I think it's best if you and I take a break from seeing each other until I'm sure that she really is okay with it."

I opened my mouth and then shut it immediately. What could I say to that? If I argued, I was being selfish and didn't take Jacks' feelings into account. If I didn't argue, then I didn't really care about him either. Proverbial rock meet hard place.

"What did she say?" I asked. "Did I do something to upset her?"

Brody shook his head. "As much as I hate to admit it, Monica was right. You and I are moving far too quickly for Jacks to adjust. I thought she was handling it until today. She asked me if you were going to be her new mommy and if that meant she wouldn't be able to see her real mommy anymore. Then she started crying."

My heart broke a little. I never wanted that sweet girl to hurt. It was clear that she needed more time to figure out what was going on.

My lips were numb when I asked, "How long do you think this break will need to be?"

"I don't know," Brody answered. "But it will be a while. I want her to feel confident and calm when you're around, not scared or uncertain of what your role in her life will be."

I wanted to say something, anything, to change his mind. To convince him that we could make it work, that I would do anything to make Jacks feel better.

"What about Sunday lunch?" I asked. "Are you still going to bring her? She'll be seeing me then." I couldn't prevent the last sentence from coming out with a bit of snark.

"We won't be there this weekend because we're going to take a short trip before school starts. But after that, it's really up to you."

And just like that, he pissed me the hell off.

"Up to me?" I asked, my eyes narrowing.

"If you think it's best if we don't come, I'll defer to your—"

I lifted a hand, stopping his words. My heart ached and my blood pounded, furious and hot, through my veins. "Won't Jacks also wonder why I'm suddenly not in her life at all anymore? I agree that she should be your first priority in this mess, but it was my impression that jerking my presence out of her life completely and without explanation might hurt her more."

Brody's jaw flexed and some of the iciness in his eyes melted. I couldn't read his expression, but just looking