*****
Gina Lee-Xiou
I’d been practicing my I’m sorry speech for two days. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best I could do. The question was would Brody listen? Nervously, I squeezed the steering wheel after giving my name to security. Then, I sat in my car . . . waiting. It was the longest ten seconds ever. Was he going to let me in or not?
The guard nodded and waved me through as the gates opened. I would take it as a good sign that at least he was going to see me. We hadn’t had any communication since he kissed me gently on the lips and told me goodbye. I mean nothing—no texts, phone calls, e-mails—nada. That was on the tarmac six months ago. A lot had happened since then.
I was nervous as I pulled my car up into Brody’s circular driveway. I’d never in my life took a risk like I was about to take tonight. He might laugh in my face and kick me out of his house. Even though that wasn’t his style, it was more like mine, it was still a possibility. My hope was that we would talk and maybe agree to a fresh start.
I was fully prepared to lay it all out on the table and do something I’d never done before. I was going to be vul . . . vul . . . vulnerable. I shivered. Hell, I couldn’t even say the word. It left a bad taste in my mouth. But, Brody wanted the real me, the honest person, and I wanted to give it to him. I wanted to be that person he saw. The woman reflected in his eyes not my own dangerous reflection. The one I see of myself.
My stomach was in knots, and I could literally vomit. What if I laid my heart out there and he stomped all over it? Then again, what if he didn’t?
I kept reminding myself that Brody wasn’t Chang or even Alexandro for that matter. He’d never asked me to be anything but honest; to give one hundred percent of myself. That was a little sacrifice for all that I would gain in return. Still, my blood ran cold wondering if he could handle my brand of truth telling. After all, I didn’t bake cookies or clean houses for a living.
No more stalling and wondering what ifs, Gina. I cheered myself on as I muttered under my breath, “Open the damn door, get out of the car, and go get your man.”
Chapter 26
My heart beat a mile a minute as I stood outside the door. I held my breath waiting for it to open. When it did, I was slightly annoyed and disappointed that Anita was standing on the other side—not Brody. He was going to make me work.
“Hi, Anita. Is Brody here?”
“It’s good to see you again, Ms. Lee-Xiou. Yes, Brody is here.” She stood back so that I could come inside. “He’s in his study. I’ll take you to him.”
I trailed behind. My palms were a little damp. When we walked down the hallway and passed all the pictures of his family, there was a much different feeling than before. Was his hall always this long? I felt as if the closer we came to his office, the farther away it became.
Finally, we made it to the door. Now that we were here, I wanted to hide my nervousness. I could put on my mask and pretend, but that would defeat the purpose. I wanted to be completely transparent with Brody, flaws and all.
Anita knocked on the door, and there was a long pause before I heard his voice.
“Come in.”
The door crept open. It even creaked just like in a horror movie. Great. I’m thinking about horror movies.
I couldn’t see him at first since I was standing behind Anita and she was almost a foot taller than me but when she stepped out of the way, I saw him.
Brody was leaned up against his desk with his legs crossed at the ankles. His hands held onto the desk, and his eyes were trained on me just as mine were on him. Seeing him in person and not just in my thoughts made me realize I’d missed him like crazy.
Anita looked back from me to him and blushed just a bit. “Umm . . . if you need anything, I’ll be in the kitchen.”
Brody responded. “Thanks, we will.”
I’d forgotten she was in the room, then nodded and smiled as she left.
“Hello, Gina. It’s been a while.”
“Brody.” I cleared my throat. “Yes, it has. H . . . how have you been?” There was a gulf between us. He was all the way across the room, and I wasn’t just talking proximity.
“Getting by. What brings you all the way to DC?”
“I just bought a house here.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“Yes.”
He folded his arms across his chest. “Why?”
“I think you know the answer to that, but if you want to hear me say it. I will. I’m here because you’re here.”
Brody pushed himself away from his desk and started to walk towards me. “Can I take your coat?”
I didn’t think I’d blinked twice since entering the room. I wasn’t sure if he did either. “Sure. Thank you.” Slowly, I untied my belt then unbuttoned the red trench while never taking my eyes away from his. Once he
