Getting away for a while to clear her head, seeing her little brother do his thing as a doctor, visiting with her grandparents. How could she say no to that?

She burrowed deeper in the bed sheets, already feeling the arms of sleep wrap around her. “You’re such a gem, Marcello. I knew talking to you would make me feel better.”

“Well, I do what I can. Plus it kills me to hear you cry and not be able to be there with you.” The smile in his voice was unmistakable. “Let me know when would be a good time for you to get away, and I’ll look into some flights.”

“Thanks,” she replied with a small grin. “And thanks again for listening to my whining.”

“That’s what brothers are for, querida.”

They disconnected the call, and unconsciousness took over.


Elisa couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so deeply. That afternoon, she’d awoken after dozing for about six hours, then dragged herself out of bed and took a quick, hot shower. The whole time, she forced her mind on what was left of the day, and not the time she and Brody had shared this exact space. All naked and wet—

No!

Dammit, could she not get through one afternoon without being haunted by the man who’d cracked her heart in two?

She’d scrubbed her scalp harder than necessary, as though it could actually scrub Brody from her mind. All that had done was give her a headache.

After tossing back a couple of painkillers, Elisa forced herself to get something productive done.

By late afternoon, she left the house and drove through town, looking for something to eat. Food hadn’t really been on her mind until her stomach let out a low rumble, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since the previous evening. Not that she cared much about food anyway. Really, nothing mattered to her at the moment, but her body would soon start to protest if she didn’t give it some fuel.

She spotted a burger joint and pulled her car into the side parking lot. The place was packed with the umbrella-shaded tables full of families and couples. Normally she didn’t really do burgers, but her mood wouldn’t allow her to put a whole lot of thought process into a meal. The only reason she stopped was because it was the first place she’d laid eyes on. And because making herself something at home would take too much effort.

On the other hand, perhaps going way out of her comfort zone was exactly what she needed. Step one in washing Brody McDermott from her life.

She slung her purse over her shoulder and strolled down the sidewalk, her stride growing stronger with each step. Why should she allow the man to affect her like this? Because she’d fallen in love and had her heart broken?

That had happened to her before, and she’d survived. Hell, if she could survive losing both of her parents, then certainly she could get over one man.

The Greasy Spoon had a guacamole burger on special. Add on a side of fries for only an extra dollar.

What the hell? Why not go for the fries?

At the last minute, she tossed in a chocolate shake because, really, who cared about calories?

Not this girl.

It’s not like she still had a man to impress.

The freshly grease-dipped fries smelled so good that Elisa couldn’t wait to try one. As she pushed through the glass door, she dug a fry out of the bag and popped the thing into her mouth.

Hmmm. Crunchy and not too salty. Just how she liked them. Well worth the calories consumed.

She went for broke and fetched another fry. And ran smack into a broad, unyielding chest. The action had her stumbling back, and the chocolate shake slipped from where she’d had it tucked under her arm. The drink crashed to the ground, sending thick chocolate crap everywhere. All over her, and spattering across the denim-covered legs of the man who.…

Ah hell.

“I would be pissed,” Brody said, “but at this point I don’t give a shit.”

The shake oozed down her legs and dripped in between her toes. Would it be totally uncouth of her to ditch the sandals and continue on bare feet?

“Did you ever get to see your sister?” she asked while trying not to cringe at the liquid seeping under her toes.

“Yeah,” he muttered through barely moving lips. His jaw was hard set and unforgiving, like granite. And his lips were pressed to a thin line. Not happy to see her. “Where’d you take off to?”

“Home. I was tired.” Why did he have to look so damn good, even all wrinkled and unkempt? Hair all uncombed, jaw unshaven. Eyes especially hard, yet even more piercing than ever. And zeroed in on her, although not at all soft as she was used to seeing them, but they still created a patch of heat in her midsection. “And what are you doing here?”

“Getting food,” he said without missing a beat. “And yeah, I got that you were probably tired. Why’d you run off without telling me? I looked all over the hospital for you.”

Something about his tone, and the irritation lacing it, got her back up. She gripped her bag of food tighter to her chest. “Really? I didn’t think I was important enough for you to worry about.” She deliberately used his own words against him, because, dammit, she was tired, confused, and just had her heart broken.

A muscle ticked in Brody’s jaw. Anger and confusion was a tangible thing coming off him in waves that it almost knocked the breath out of Elisa. She’d seen him agitated before. But this was something different. This was pure stone-cold ire.

Well, served him right.

“Yes, I heard you,” she continued when he didn’t respond to her statement. “I heard what you said,” she clarified just in case he hadn’t gotten the message.

“Then you obviously didn’t listen to the conversation long enough. And, anyway, I don’t like spilling out my personal relationships for my family. That wasn’t the time or place to have an intimate conversation with my brother. Especially with the mood he was in.”

Elisa didn’t know what to say to that. It wasn’t exactly an apology, or any kind of indication that the words weren’t true.

“That’s not good enough for you, is it?” he asked with narrowed eyes.

“I don’t know, Brody. What am I supposed to think after hearing something like that? You’ve been so evasive about your feelings for me. Quite frankly, I’m tired of waiting.”

“What do you mean?”

She inhaled a deep breath and tried to fight the tears that were threatening again. “I told you before, I can’t just be a sex buddy to you. There has to be more to this relationship than that.”

He took a step toward her, and she backed up into one of the patio tables. Luckily no one was sitting there. “And I told you before that I care about you. But right now this is all I’m capable of.”

“That’s not good enough. I know you love me, Brody, but for some reason you can’t admit it. And I deserve better than that.” She deserved better than someone who would lie to her and lie to himself.

“You’re right, you do. And I’m sorry you heard what I said to my brother. I didn’t mean it, and I shouldn’t have said it. But neither my brother nor I were in the right frame of mind to have that kind of discussion. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have feelings for you, because I do.”

She tilted her head and studied him. “But those feelings aren’t strong enough for you to stick around, are they?” Elisa accused. “And you might be leaving anyway, so perhaps it’s best if we call things off right now.” The tightness in her chest returned, the one where she felt on the precipice of having a heart attack. She pulled a deep breath and felt the organ do a little triple beat. Not much better than the tightness.

“You’re the one who’s leaving,” he tossed at her.

“At first it was permanent, yes. But after I met you, I thought about coming back to Trouble and giving this a shot. But you haven’t given me any reason to come back, or any indication that you want me to.” She stared at him, trying to read his features, but he was poker-faced. “Give me a reason to come back, Brody.” She shook her head. The tears were getting harder and harder for her to fight. “I can’t keep doing this. I love you, and I’m not afraid to admit it. For some reason, you’re terrified.”

A woman walked toward the entrance of the burger joint, which had Brody and Elisa stepping out of the way. “You’re right, I am terrified,” Brody admitted. “Terrified of what I could do to you. That I could end up destroying any faith you might have in me.”

Too late for that. “Why, because of a poor decision you made when you were still married?” she asked instead, confirming that he’d already destroyed her. “Brody, a moment of bad judgment doesn’t define who you are. We all have times of weakness.”

He didn’t respond to her. Instead he took another step toward her and narrowed his gaze. Those soulful eyes of his cut straight to her heart, like they always did. If she didn’t scurry away now, she would find herself succumbing to him again. And she didn’t need that. Her heart was too fragile to get any deeper with him. If she had any prayer at all of surviving him, she needed to end things now.

“I can’t do this,” she muttered again in a whisper. If she forced a normal voice, he might suspect the tears. “I have to go,” she murmured with her eyes focused on the ground. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She took a wide berth that would ensure she could get around him without touching him. Because, really, wasn’t being close to him enough torture?

He, however, the persistent, sneaky man, had other ideas. His hand shot out and latched onto her wrist. The touch, his skin in contact with hers, ignited all kinds of buried feelings and sensations she’d spent the better part of the night trying to forget. And all it took was one grasp of his hand to remind her what kind of control he could have over her.