What the hell?
I called out, "What are you doing?"
In reply, he made a forwarding motion with his free hand, as if to indicate that I should ignore the camera and keep on with whatever he'd just interrupted.
I felt my jaw clench.Didn't he get it?
Whatever had just happened, it was done.
Now, if I hadmyway, I'd simply stomp off into the proverbial sunset – except I couldn’t, because I'd just learned the folly ofthatidea.
Brody was still hanging onto my wrist. And this time, Iwasn'tpulling away.
With growing desperation, I looked back to him, intending to swallow my pride and ask him to guide me back to the stairway.
Turns out, I didn't need to. The request died on my lips when Brody gave my wrist a decisive tug and began leading me toward the stairs – and yes, toward that godawful camera.
I refused to look at it, even as Brody practically dragged me first past Roy and then, all the way down the stairs.
As soon as we reached the bottom, Brody slammed the stairway door shut behind us and gave me a hard look. "Let's get one thing straight," he said. "The attic – it's off limits. And if you can't remember that, I don't care who the hell hired you, you'll be out faster than you can say Clara's Fucking Candies."
Jerk.
Okay yes, I saw his point about the attic. And he had every right to be angry. But that crack about the candy store was yet another low blow.
I coldly informed him, "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere near it."
Or you.
I didn't say that last part, because I refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing that I was thinking of him at all.
But the sad truth was, it had felt achingly good to be held in his arms, to feel his heartbeat against mine, and to feel the proof of his arousal pressing against my hip.
All of this posed a dangerous question.What on Earth had happened up there?
As Brody turned and silently stalked away, I made a point to look in the opposite direction. But when I did, I spotted Waverly eying me from the nearest bedroom doorway.
Her posture was stiff, and her eyes were hard. From the look on her face, I wasn't the only one wondering what had happened up there.
Terrific.
Technically, my work day hadn't yet begun. But already, I was more exhausted than I cared to consider. Between the lack of sleep and raw nerves, I felt like finding a nice closet to hide in.
No such luck.
The thought had barely crossed my mind when Roy emerged from the attic, looking perfectly at ease, as if hehadn'tjust violated our privacy twice over – once by watching us with his own eyes, and a second time by filming us, too.
At least now, he was holding the camera loose at his side, which told me that hewasn'tfilming at the moment.
Thank God.
And yet, for some stupid reason, I almost felt like crying.
Judging from Roy's cheerful smile,hedidn't feel like crying. No.Not him.With no trace of awkwardness, he said, "So…you ready to mow?"
I blinked. "What?"
"The lawn," he said. "I've got an idea – a way to solve the 'before' problem."
