Page 26 of Protecting Bree
While Bree had already known that Smiley wasn’t going to let her disappear into thin air, hearing Fiona and Julie also confirm it made a ball of tension she’d carried around for months ease just a bit.
“Thanks.”
“Right, now that the bad stuff is out of the way…can we talk about you and Smiley?” Fiona asked with a grin.
Bree blinked. “Me and Smiley?”
“Uh-huh. Girl, I thought Dude was intense with the way he watches Cheyenne, but he’s gotnothingon your Smiley.”
Bree wanted to correct her new friend. Say there was nothing between her and the man who’d taken her under his wing. Who’d decided it was his mission in life to keep her safe. But she really couldn’t. Smiley was an intense man normally, but she’d caught him looking at her in a way that made her tingle from her head to her toes more than a few times.
“I don’t know why,” she admitted. “Or how to keep his attention. I’m afraid that once the threat to me is gone, any interest he has will disappear as well. I’ll go back to Vegas and he’ll continue doing his thing here.”
“I think this is the point where a lot of women would say all you have to do is get naked or suck his dick and you’ll keep his interest,” Julie said bluntly. “But I have a feeling Smiley isn’t like most men. That stuff…of course he’d love it. But I don’t think you have to worry about doing anything to keep his attention. You being you is doing that just fine.”
Bree shook her head. “But I’m notdoinganything.”
“Exactly,” Fiona said with a nod. “I agree with Julie. There’s something about you that draws people in. I feel as if we’ve been friends for ages rather than just meeting today. You have a vibe that makes me want to rage at anyone who dares look at you cross-eyed. And trust me, that’s not me. That’s more Caroline’s habit. Or Jessyka’s. She’s good at that kind of thing. Comes with being a bar owner, I think.”
“Smiley’s…stoic,” Julie said. “It’s usually hard to figure out what he’s thinking. But today? He’s an open book. His attention has been laser focused on you all afternoon. Every time you so much as frowned, he shifted, as if he was going to storm across the room to find out what was wrong. He got you snacks, refilled your drink, and was basically so in tune with you, I’d be jealous if I wasn’t already a happily married woman.”
Bree blushed. Not sure if she should be embarrassed, defend Smiley, or be concerned he was so focused on her.
“None of that is bad,” Julie was quick to say. “I’m just suggesting you go with the flow. That man would no sooner hurt a hair on your head than he’d run screaming down the street in the middle of a mission. You don’t have to do anything to keep his attention, you already have it. He’s a goner, Bree. If you want him, for good, he’s yours.Just tread carefully if he’snotwhat you want. Because even though I don’t know him all that well, it would suck if you broke his heart.”
Bree blinked in surprise. Instinctively, she turned her head to look inside—and immediately met Smiley’s gaze.
And in that moment, she saw what Julie was talking about. She’d either blocked it out or purposely misconstrued what she was seeing because of everything that was happening.
He wanted her.
Which was a heady feeling.
And she secretly admitted…she wanted him too. She’d already wondered what kind of lover he’d be, and now she couldn’t think of anything other than his hands on her.
He’d thrust his hand into her hair earlier that afternoon, and now she couldn’t help wondering if he’d do the same thing to hold her still as he kissed the hell out of her. Her mouth practically watered at the thought of getting her hands on him. Of him touching her in return.
Fiona chuckled. “I think you got through, Julie.”
But Bree barely heard her. She only had eyes for her man. And there was no mistake, Smileywashers. She’d been watching him for months, and he’d been with no one else.
She suddenly decided if she didn’t experience everything that was Jude Stark, she was going to die.
Okay, that was a bit dramatic, but she didn’t care.
She felt transfixed as Smiley stalked toward the door, still holding her gaze. He slid open the door and asked, “You ready to go?”
“Yes.”
Bree felt no remorse that she was ditching her newfriends. That she was suddenly having a hard time talking at all.
Before she knew it, she was walking toward Smiley’s truck. She didn’t really remember saying goodbye to Julie, Fiona, and the others. She vaguely recalled promising to stop by My Sister’s Closet to check out some outfits Julie said she’d put together for her, and Fiona agreeing to come too. Her entire focus was on the man next to her.
It was as if Smiley was in the same trance. He kept looking over at her while he drove, and eventually he reached out and took her hand in his. Bree jolted with the first touch, feeling as if she was truly living for the first time.
It was corny. Ridiculous. And yet that’s how she felt.
Despite whatever had come over them, Smiley didn’t skimp on her safety. His sharp gaze swept over every inch of the rapidly darkening parking lot before he walked them into his building. His fingers were tight around hers as he led her toward his apartment. He didn’t relax until the door was locked behind them.
