Blackwater 3 - Breaking Brodix by Anne Rainey Read Free Book Online Page B

mom dead. She felt like the lowest of low for making him relive it. “What was it like to be a family?”
    He stroked his thumb across the wooden handle of the steak knife, and Sarah suddenly wished Brodix was stroking her instead. “You’d think it’d be the greatest thing in the world, wouldn’t you?” He snorted. “And it was, eventually. But at first it was tough. We weren’t the easiest bunch of boys, for sure. We gave Mom and Dad a hell of a time.”
    “But they loved you enough to adopt the five of you?”
    “Dad was a former Marine, so he didn’t exactly wear his heart on his sleeve, but yeah, he loved us.” A corner of Brodix’s lips kicked upward. “He used to say that we always belonged to him, it just took God a little longer to bring us to him is all.” He laughed. “And hell, you’ve met Mom. Does she strike you as the type to give up?”
    Sarah laughed. “No, she doesn’t. When I tried to decline her peach pie offer, she brushed my denial right off and practically dragged me out of the store.”
    Brodix set down the knife and took a drink of his ice water. “When Mom sees something she wants, something she’s passionate about, she doesn’t stop until she gets it. That’s how she was with us. We gave her plenty of reasons to dump our asses too, believe me. But she never gave up, never let us forget that she was there for the long haul.” He paused before adding, “She was the first person to ever tell me she loved me.”
    Sarah’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
    “Yep. I didn’t buy it, though.” A smile curved his lips. “I figured for sure she’d leave. They all did eventually.”
    Learning more about Brodix might have been part of her job, but at the moment, she could care less about the Gazette . She simply wanted to know everything about him because he fascinated her on a much more personal level. “And Chet Jennings, your father, sounds every bit as tenacious and loving. Together they must have been quite a pair.”
    “They were.” It wasn’t a question, but Brodix responded anyway. “Dad definitely had a different way of showing affection than Mom. He wasn’t as gentle, but he loved with his whole heart.”
    There was a wealth of emotion in Brodix’s voice. “What’s your fondest memory of him?” she asked gently.
    “The day I graduated from college,” he answered, as if he didn’t even have to think about it. “He looked at me in that cap and gown and teared right up. It was the only time I ever saw my dad cry.” Brodix cleared his throat. “He told me he was proud of me.”
    Sarah’s throat closed up. For the first time, she was at a loss for words. Without thinking, she reached across the table and placed her hand over his. Brodix went completely still; his intense gaze held her captive. “Sarah,” he whispered. Her name was a caress on his lips. Sarah had to remind herself to breathe. She looked at their hands, mesmerized by the feel of his thumb stroking over her palm. Once more, Sarah wondered what it would be like to have him touching more than her hand. When Brodix’s fingers drifted over the inside of her wrist, Sarah trembled.
    As the waiter brought their food, the spell around them broke. They ate in relative silence, as if neither of them was willing to ruin the moment with idle chatter. When their check came, Sarah’s heartbeat sped up. Soon they’d be back in his car, but would she be going back to her cold apartment to sleep in a lonely bed, or would Brodix want more from her than a quick peck on the cheek and a promise to call? When she found him staring at her, his warm brown eyes eating her up, Sarah knew the answer. He wanted her. The offer was written all over his face. The only question remaining was what did she want?
    “Come home with me,” Brodix said, putting her thoughts into words. “No expectations, just two people sharing a nightcap and great conversation.”
    Sarah’s pulse went from a gallop to a sprint. “That’s