has been there for me a few times before, and despite this business, he’s one of the best people I know. I just don’t think I can destroy what he’s built by telling my dad. And I don’t want to make my dad have to make this judgment call, either. Does that make sense?”
Leo nodded and pressed his forehead to mine. “It does make sense. Let’s talk about something else now.”
I wrapped my arms around his hips. “Okay. Like what?”
He kissed my temple, then the corner of my mouth. “Let’s talk about how beautiful you are.”
I chuckled, feeling the tension ease. “That’s going to be a short conversation.”
“No, it’s going to be a long one. It’s going to take all night. Let’s go back to your room so I can list all the things about you that are beautiful.”
I let him pull me upstairs and into bed. I reveled in the whispered sweet nothings and the kisses and caresses. I gave as good as I got until we were breathless and dizzy and spent. And when we lay together afterward, tangled and tired and content, I looked into Leo’s eyes and saw myself in them. His gaze back at me was tender and raw. And as I drifted off to sleep, he stroked my cheek, and murmured in my ear, “I’m very glad I met you, Brooke.”
Chapter 26
Leo had left sometime during the night without saying goodbye, but he left a note on my pillow saying, Hope you slept in. I didn’t want to wake you. There was a tiny heart drawn in the corner, but as far as I was concerned that little heart hinted at big things. He’d said he was glad he’d met me. He’d been particularly sweet and romantic and attentive before we’d fallen asleep, and my body was still tingling from it. I stretched like a kitty in the sun, feeling sensual and sublime. Leo Walker made me happy.
Apparently, he also made me a little decadent and lazy. It was nearly nine thirty in the morning, and I was usually up and out the door by eight. Sure, it was Saturday, but I couldn’t spend the whole day lounging under the covers. Plus, I was scheduled to meet my sisters for lunch.
I got up and headed toward the bathroom, blushing at the memory of our slippery, soapy antics in the shower. My peach-colored towels sat in a heap on the white tile floor, and as I scooped them up to throw them in the wash something fell to the floor with a clatter. Leo’s phone. It must have fallen from his pocket when he’d dropped his pants. No surprise, really. He had been in quite a hurry to get those jeans off. No worries, though. I’d have plenty of time to get ready and drop the phone off at Leo’s place before I headed to the restaurant.
I thought about texting him to let him know I had his phone . . .
Yeah. That’s not going to work.
I couldn’t resist checking to see if he had a lock screen, and he did, so no surfing his photos. I probably wouldn’t have done it anyway. Especially given our conversation last night about Dmitri. Clearly Leo’s sense of morality was pretty strict, with the lines between right and wrong well defined. But that was a good thing. My lines were pretty specific, too. I didn’t lie, cheat, or steal. If I had friends who did? Well, that was something I was still trying to work out.
I walked up the slight incline on Cahill Road a little while later, glad the sun was shining and the wind was calm. Leo had told me he was staying in the yellow cottage with blue shutters, so I knew where I was headed. I got to the front porch and heard voices inside. I paused with my hand raised, ready to knock, but something made me hesitate. It was a man and a woman talking. Not so loudly that I could make out the words but loud enough that I could sense the conversation was a heated one.
I stepped back from the door and cast a glance up and down the street. Was there a different yellow cottage with blue shutters? Had somebody painted? Not that I could see. A nauseating sort of premonition swirled in my gut. If Leo was in there with a woman . . . I didn’t know what that might mean, but I knew it couldn’t be