Once Jessie had gotten her bearings she noticed another gentleman standing quietly in the study with them. It was obvious he was Michael’s brother. They looked so much alike. But where Michael’s features were softer, his brother’s features were much more intense. His deep-ocean blue eyes connected with Jessie’s, and she felt that all elusive zing in the pit of her stomach.
Michael stood up. “It was so crazy last night that I didn’t get a chance to introduce you to my brother. This is Brian Wright. Brian, this is Téa Carlisle and Jessica Ramsey.”
Brian could tell the moment Téa recognized him.
“Good morning, it’s nice to meet both of you.” He didn’t sound genuine but as if he was greeting his one hundredth fan. Yes, he was definitely going through the motions.
Jessie’s hair was probably all over the place and lord knew what else was out of place. She wasn’t in the mood to meet anyone, especially someone who made her feel a little unsettled. He also didn’t seem as if he were in the mood to meet them right now either.
Téa seemed oblivious to the undercurrents going on around her. She stood up and reached out her hand to Brian. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
Jessie got up as well, but her knees were feeling a little wobbly. Surely it was because of the position she’d slept in and not the warmth of his hands when they touched hers. Jessie needed to get it together. He was just a man after all. This whole scene was madness. They should get the hell out and head back to Téa’s condo.
Téa cleared her throat and Jessie realized she was still holding on to Brian’s hand. She probably turned three shades of red. She quickly released his hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too….I’m sorry but is there some place where I can go to freshen up?”
Brian was just as uncomfortable as Jessie. He gave them directions to a spare guest bedroom that had its own bathroom.
As soon as Téa and Jessie were alone inside the bedroom, Jessie closed the door and snapped.
“Téa this is the most irresponsible thing we’ve ever done. Let me re-phrase that, this is the most irresponsible thing I’ve ever done. I can’t believe I let you talk me into coming here last night!” She hissed at Téa, “We fell asleep on his sofa. Do you know how dangerous that was? We don’t know these men from Adam. You can stay if you want to, but I’m getting the hell out of here.”
Téa knew that Jessie was going to overreact and be a little upset. But, she was over the top this morning. Téa wondered if it really was because they were being a teensy weensy bit irresponsible as Jessie felt the need to have a plan for everything and didn’t know how to just live in the moment. Or, was Jessie slightly attracted to Brian? Jessie had held his hand for just a little bit longer than necessary. That would definitely freak her out. Téa couldn’t be exactly sure what attraction looked like coming from Jessie because she kept all of her emotions bottled up for the most part. What Téa did know was that she needed to calm her down.
Téa walked over and looked at herself in the mirror before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t look too bad.” Then, she turned around and leaned against the armoire. “Jessie, I think we can tell the difference between a crazed murderer and Michael and Brian. If we can’t, then we need to get out of the business we’re in.”
Jessie tracked across the bedroom into the bathroom and all but yelled, “Téa you think everything is a joke, but this is not funny.”
Téa walked into the bathroom, too. “You may not know Brian Wright from Adam, but the rest of the world does.”
Jessie took a look at herself in the mirror. Her mascara was smeared and her hair was all over the place. Just as she suspected, she looked like a raccoon. She found brand new toothbrushes, toothpaste, and washcloths under the sink. She handed one of each to Téa, turned on the water, and started washing her face.
Underneath the towel Jessie sounded muffled, “What are you talking about Téa?”
Téa was just about to brush her teeth, “If you would take a look at the world around you sometimes you would have recognized that Brian Wright is the Brian Wright.”
Still looking dumbfounded Téa continued to explain. “He won an Oscar a couple of years ago for that movie…I think it was called “Planet Zero”, and he’s been in a ton of other films. He is what some would consider Hollywood royalty. So, I highly doubt with his high-public visibility he’d be an ax murderer. Plus, he’s cute.”
Jessie turned off the water and rolled her eyes. “Cute or not, famous or not, it’s pretty obvious he’s equally uncomfortable with us being here.”
Téa was aggressively brushing her teeth until Jessie’s last remark. She looked as if she’d just gotten a hold of some world-changing technology. “So you think he’s cute?”
Jessie was annoyed. “I’m uncomfortable. I’m in a stranger’s home wearing a barely there outfit, I’m tired, and I’m hungry. I’ve played this game with you long enough. Why can’t you two set up a regular date like normal people?”
Téa looked horrified. “You know there is nothing about me that is normal. Normal is boring. If I were normal you and I wouldn’t even be friends.”
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Jessie wasn’t going to go open it. She stubbornly started to brush her teeth. “Your guy, his house, you open the door.”
“Fine. I look great in the morning anyway.” Téa went to open the door. Michael stood on
