I Crave You - C.C. Wood Page 0,94

I wanted to make up after all was said and done. When Monica made her threats, Brody hadn't talked to me about it. He hadn't tried to work out an alternative plan with me, or even let me know what was happening.

He'd dumped me. He made the decision without my input and left me heartbroken.

I wasn't entirely sure I could forgive that.

Maybe that made me a petty person or inflexible, but my parents always encouraged open communication. They wanted us to feel comfortable talking to them about anything. But they also led by example. They talked about everything under the sun. J.J. and I rarely saw them argue, but when they did, they resolved the disagreement fairly quickly.

I'd had a good example of how to work together in a relationship. So had Brody. He spent enough time with our family growing up that he saw the same things I had. He knew how to communicate openly and honestly.

But he'd chosen not to talk to me. That's why it hurt so much when I realized why he'd done it.

"Well, he's free right now and at his desk, so why don't I show you in. I'll hold his calls until you leave so you can get out of here and have a nice, long lunch."

There was a twinkle in her eye and I knew it was because she thought we were going out for a quickie rather than food.

I forced myself to smile at her and said, "Thanks. That'd be great."

She rose from her desk and walked to Brody's door. I made sure to stand off to the side behind her when she knocked and stuck her head in.

"Your eleven-thirty is here," she murmured.

"Go ahead and show them in, Kara." Brody sounded tired. And frustrated. There was a short pause. "Sorry about earlier."

Earlier? What the heck happened earlier?

Kara stepped back and I nodded to her as I entered the office and shut the door behind me.

Brody's office was bright and neat, his furniture new but not luxurious. His desk was L-shaped and he sat, his head bent as he shuffled a few papers, organizing them before he put them into a manila folder, and shut it.

When his head came up, I nearly winced. There were dark circles beneath his eyes and he looked as though he hadn't slept for the last forty-eight hours since we'd broken up.

If he was doing what I thought he was, he probably had been overextending himself.

"Cameron," he said, blinking several times. He rubbed his eyes and looked at me again as though he couldn't believe that I was standing in front of him. "What are you doing here?"

I reached down and clicked the lock on his door. He looked destroyed. As if he'd suffered a mortal blow, but his body didn't understand that the fight was over. Seeing him like this made my decision for me. I was going to give him hell. When I was done, he would never, ever again make a decision that affected both of us without talking to me. Then, after a sincere apology and maybe even a little groveling, I was going to forgive him.

Because he loved me as much as I loved him.

If he didn't, he wouldn't look so horrible.

"You're a dumbass," I said.

Brody blinked some more. "Excuse me?"

I walked further into his office and leaned a hip against his desk. I looked down at him and repeated, "You. Are. A. Dumbass."

He opened his mouth but I didn't let him speak.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't wonder why both my mortgage and car loan were sold to the same lender? Or look into it?"

His mouth closed with a click.

"You were adamant that you weren't going to let Monica control your life, or Jacks' life. But now, here we are. You broke up with me because she threatened me. You didn't talk to me about it. You didn't give me a chance to make any decisions for myself about my life. And that's not okay, Brody."

"It wasn't supposed to be permanent," he replied.

I shook my head. "Wanting to back off until the situation was resolved, I would have understood. But you made a unilateral decision that affected both of us, without consulting me. And you know, you know, that's not how a healthy relationship works. I've heard Mom lecture you and J.J. both about how important communication is for a couple. Not just talking, but listening, too."

"If you're so upset with me about this, why are you here?" he asked,