But Brock wasn’t the girl in my history class and he sure as hell wasn’t Ben, so I did it.
I could feel the right side of my lips curve up while my left side simply twitched and did nothing.
Brock’s gaze swept over my face and settled on my mouth as he slid one hand up, around my neck. His thumb massaged the space just below my pulse.
“I think there’s something you need to understand,” he said, his gaze flicking to mine. “Your smile was beautiful before. Could light up a fucking room and could bring a smile to my face seconds before I stepped into the Octagon. Your smile is different now, but even more beautiful now.”
“Come on,” I said wryly, starting to pull free. My smile didn’t make me an ogre, but it wasn’t beautiful.
“It’s true.” He kept me in place with just a hand at my neck. “You know why? It proves what you’ve been through and what you’ve survived. That smile is a fucking miracle. Just like every breath you take is. That smile is nothing to ever be ashamed of. It’s a smile to be fucking proud of.”
Oh wow.
That was more than sweet. That was a beautiful thing for him to say.
“You feel me?” he asked.
“I feel you,” I whispered back.
“Good.”
Lowering my gaze, I didn’t stop the smile that now tugged at my lips. I let it happen as I willed the knot in my throat to disappear. I cleared my throat. “First the doughnuts and now the whole beautiful smile thing? Are you trying to get laid?”
His richly colored eyes glimmered with amusement and something more, something lavish and promising. “Is it working?”
A laugh escaped me, and I shook my head. Rising up on the tips of my toes, I kissed him. His arm swept around my waist, holding me in place as the kiss deepened and consumed me. A wonderful heady warmth slid down my throat and over my chest.
Brock lifted his head, putting a little distance between us. “Yeah, we’re going to have to stop.”
“Why?” I asked, breathless.
“Because if we don’t, we’re never going to make it out of here.”
I wanted to ask if that was such a bad thing, but I grinned and slipped free. After shoving two doughnuts in my mouth, I went and found Rhage hiding under the bed. It took some coaxing to get him out. Eventually I had to wiggle his toy mouse in his face and then I snatched him up once his upper body appeared.
He was not a happy camper, struggling in my arms as I walked out into the living room. I kept his legs pinned.
Brock arched a brow when he saw me. He’d already taken out the super-cute paisley print weekender bag. “You doing okay over there?”
“Yes,” I sighed, walking to where his carrier was. “He’s just an ass.”
He chuckled. “Need help?”
“I got it.” Having a ton of experience at shoving the cat into the carrier, I knew I just had to keep him from grabbing onto the sides. Once I had him in, I tossed his toy mouse inside and latched the door. A second later, Rhage’s disgruntled face was pressed against the bars.
“It’s like cat prison,” Brock commented.
“This cat needs to go to prison.” Rhage hissed as I picked up his carrier. “Ready?”
Brock’s grin was small, but it twisted up my insides. “Been ready.”
* * *
Normally, being a passenger during a trip that was longer than an hour would put me right to sleep, but I was more interested in talking to Brock than I was in dozing. We’d chatted about how we were going to broach the subject about converting some of the space into a dance studio. Avery and Teresa had gotten early numbers back to me, and I felt confident enough with them that we were ready to talk to my dad. Then our subjects turned to less serious things.
He peppered me with questions ranging from working at the insurance firm to what the last book I was reading was about. About halfway through the trip, I got a text message from Abby.
My stomach dipped as I read it and glanced over at Brock. “It looks like a bunch of people are going to Mona’s tonight. Abby knows I’ll be in town, so she’s invited me.”
Half of Brock’s face was hidden by the cap he wore. “Do you want to go?”
I wasn’t sure. I hadn’t been to Mona’s since the shooting. I had no idea what it would be like going back there, but I wanted to see Abby and everyone else. I planned on doing so anyway, but underneath the unease was a trickle of excitement. “Do you?”
“Not up to me,” he replied.
“That’s not real helpful.”
One side of his lips kicked up. “Babe,” he said, and a secret part of me sort of loved it when he called me that, because it was something he’d never done before. “If you want to go, we can go. If you want to stay home and chill with your family, we can do that. If you want to go by yourself—”
“I don’t want to go by myself,” I cut in.
He glanced over at me. “If you did, that’s cool too.”
Nodding, I glanced down at my phone. “Abby said Colton will be there. Roxy is working, so Reece will also be there. Obviously Jax and Calla will be there.”
“Cool.”
My fingers hovered over the phone. “I think Steph and Nick were actually in Martinsburg with her mom, but everyone else will be there. Even Katie.” I hadn’t seen Katie in forever, it felt like. “It would be cool to see all of them.”
“Totally up to you.”
Nibbling on my lower lip, I was still for a second, and then I decided to act off the excitement instead of the dread. “I think we should go. For a little bit? I mean, that’s if you really want to go with me.”