her gently, scooped his arm beneath her and rotated them both so that he rested on his back and she draped over his chest.
Roaming fingertips, which skimmed across her shoulders, turned her boneless. She allowed herself to go limp, accepting whatever may come.
The nightmares didn’t revisit her.
At least not that night, with him by her side.
Chapter Seven
“Knock-knock.” Becca gave Brielle a verbal heads-up before she peeked around the corner of the cubicle. “You know, someone should really question guests before letting any old hooligan in here.”
“What in the hell is all that?” Satin, silk, lace and tulle erupted from Becca’s grasp.
“Dresses.” The perky psychologist grinned. “I figured you should have a few choices, though, personally, I think the light blue halter mermaid would look fantastic on you. Plus it will complement Luke’s eyes.”
“Are you even speaking English?” Brielle gaped.
“I was never much into clothes either.” She slowed down a bit from Tasmanian-devil-in-a-tiara to simply infomercial intense. “Or I guess I should say I couldn’t really afford to be. Then Kurt started buying all these pretty things for me, and let’s just say he created a monster. Plus, over the past year we’ve had tons of charity events to raise funding for more Dream Machine research. And you know how that goes, can’t be photographed in the same thing twice or people will talk.”
“That sounds horrific.” Brielle shuddered.
“It’s not so bad.” A sublime peacefulness crossed Becca’s face for a fleeting moment. “There’s usually lots of slow dancing. Anyway, I thought maybe you’d like to stop down at lunch and pick one out. You could use my office to change so you don’t have to worry about the bathroom here. Luke said it’s…challenging.”
“That’s a nice way to put it.” Brielle grimaced. “Sorry, Becca, I told Luke I wasn’t going tonight. Congratulations again on your award, though.”
“Oh, I know what you said. Luke spent almost a full hour whining to Kurt this morning, wondering how he screwed up. But unlike my husband and Luke—who is a really horrible pouter by the way—I understand why you turned him down. It had nothing to do with chemistry or rejection. No way would you have let him give you a ride to work this morning on his bike if you weren’t interested. By the way, I hope he didn’t have to stop and pick you up.” A corner of her mouth kicked up.
“I’ll have to remind him to drop me off out back from now on.” Brielle couldn’t help but laugh. “And no, we didn’t sleep together. Er, I mean, we didn’t have sex. Not really. It’s complicated, I guess.”
“Actually, Luke will make things simple for you if you let him. No sneaking required. Look, I realize we’re in a weird place considering Saturday.” Becca hesitated. “I won’t be offended if you tell me to butt out—”
“That’s not what I meant. There’s no reason to be tight-lipped when it’s all going to come out anyway, is there?” Brielle shrugged as she rose and circled her desk. “Please, why don’t you hand me some of those? I’ll help you carry them to your office. I feel bad that you’ve gone to all this trouble.”
“Don’t worry about that. It’s fun to have someone to share with. Since I was away from my sister a few years, and now she’s busy with her own college friends on campus most of the time, I haven’t had too many chances to do this sort of thing.” Becca smiled. “ I’m asking you. Please come tonight. I’d like you to be there, and I’d love to see Luke as happy as Kurt and I.”
Brielle could relate. “I’ve never done something like this. Ever.”
“Wouldn’t you like to? Just wait until you see the trunk of Kurt’s car. It’s full of shoes. You can ride over with us and surprise Luke. I can’t wait to watch his jaw hit the floor.”
Becca seemed so proud of herself, Brielle didn’t have the heart to ruin her fun. Oh
Roaming fingertips, which skimmed across her shoulders, turned her boneless. She allowed herself to go limp, accepting whatever may come.
The nightmares didn’t revisit her.
At least not that night, with him by her side.
Chapter Seven
“Knock-knock.” Becca gave Brielle a verbal heads-up before she peeked around the corner of the cubicle. “You know, someone should really question guests before letting any old hooligan in here.”
“What in the hell is all that?” Satin, silk, lace and tulle erupted from Becca’s grasp.
“Dresses.” The perky psychologist grinned. “I figured you should have a few choices, though, personally, I think the light blue halter mermaid would look fantastic on you. Plus it will complement Luke’s eyes.”
“Are you even speaking English?” Brielle gaped.
“I was never much into clothes either.” She slowed down a bit from Tasmanian-devil-in-a-tiara to simply infomercial intense. “Or I guess I should say I couldn’t really afford to be. Then Kurt started buying all these pretty things for me, and let’s just say he created a monster. Plus, over the past year we’ve had tons of charity events to raise funding for more Dream Machine research. And you know how that goes, can’t be photographed in the same thing twice or people will talk.”
“That sounds horrific.” Brielle shuddered.
“It’s not so bad.” A sublime peacefulness crossed Becca’s face for a fleeting moment. “There’s usually lots of slow dancing. Anyway, I thought maybe you’d like to stop down at lunch and pick one out. You could use my office to change so you don’t have to worry about the bathroom here. Luke said it’s…challenging.”
“That’s a nice way to put it.” Brielle grimaced. “Sorry, Becca, I told Luke I wasn’t going tonight. Congratulations again on your award, though.”
“Oh, I know what you said. Luke spent almost a full hour whining to Kurt this morning, wondering how he screwed up. But unlike my husband and Luke—who is a really horrible pouter by the way—I understand why you turned him down. It had nothing to do with chemistry or rejection. No way would you have let him give you a ride to work this morning on his bike if you weren’t interested. By the way, I hope he didn’t have to stop and pick you up.” A corner of her mouth kicked up.
“I’ll have to remind him to drop me off out back from now on.” Brielle couldn’t help but laugh. “And no, we didn’t sleep together. Er, I mean, we didn’t have sex. Not really. It’s complicated, I guess.”
“Actually, Luke will make things simple for you if you let him. No sneaking required. Look, I realize we’re in a weird place considering Saturday.” Becca hesitated. “I won’t be offended if you tell me to butt out—”
“That’s not what I meant. There’s no reason to be tight-lipped when it’s all going to come out anyway, is there?” Brielle shrugged as she rose and circled her desk. “Please, why don’t you hand me some of those? I’ll help you carry them to your office. I feel bad that you’ve gone to all this trouble.”
“Don’t worry about that. It’s fun to have someone to share with. Since I was away from my sister a few years, and now she’s busy with her own college friends on campus most of the time, I haven’t had too many chances to do this sort of thing.” Becca smiled. “ I’m asking you. Please come tonight. I’d like you to be there, and I’d love to see Luke as happy as Kurt and I.”
Brielle could relate. “I’ve never done something like this. Ever.”
“Wouldn’t you like to? Just wait until you see the trunk of Kurt’s car. It’s full of shoes. You can ride over with us and surprise Luke. I can’t wait to watch his jaw hit the floor.”
Becca seemed so proud of herself, Brielle didn’t have the heart to ruin her fun. Oh
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