Alexia smiled in return, seeming to be more comfortable around him again. He would guess that it would be hard to remain on formal ground when someone knew most of your secrets. “I was hoping I could take you to dinner. I wanted to thank you for the last few days. I wasn’t sure if you were . . . planning to come home tonight.”
He settled back in his chair, noticing that Alexia seemed calmer today, more relaxed. He hated that he felt guilty about not calling to let her know where he was last night, but truthfully he hadn’t wanted to imply an intimacy that wasn’t there. She needed to get back to her life with Carter. “That’s not necessary, Lex. I am happy to help. Are you feeling okay today? You look great.”
She smiled, seeming happy over the compliment. “Thanks, Brant, not just for that, but for everything. I know that I had no right at all to come to you and expect you to solve my problems after what I put you through.”
When he started to protest, she held up her hand. “No, just let me finish, please.” She took a deep breath and continued. “I was horrible to you. It doesn’t matter that I was strung out on drugs. I still knew what I was doing, at least in the beginning. I lied to you, I took money from your wallet on more than one occasion and I . . . God, I cheated on you, too.”
Brant shut his eyes briefly, finding that he could still feel a twinge of pain over her confession even though he didn’t love her anymore. He had suspected at the end that she was cheating, but hearing her confirm it was still a sucker punch to the gut. No man liked knowing that someone he loved had slept with another man during their time together, regardless of the circumstances. He rubbed the back of his neck, working on the knot of tension that had formed there.
“Lex, that was a long time ago. We’ve both moved on. Does it bother me? Sure, of course it does. But it’s in the past. If you’re looking for absolution, then I forgive you.”
“I’m not looking for forgiveness, Brant. I guess I just needed to come clean with you. Even though you probably knew what was going on for the most part, I still just walked away from you in a restaurant parking lot.”
Brant was afraid that the tears in her eyes would soon turn into full-blown sobbing if he didn’t stop the conversation that had left them both so uncomfortable. This wasn’t the time or place for this discussion. He leaned forward, getting her attention, and said, “Lex, stop doing this to yourself. It’s over now. I don’t hate you. You have far too much on your plate right now to rehash the past. If you want to do something for me, then take care of yourself. If you love Carter, then don’t waste time second-guessing yourself. Build a life for you and for him.”
She gave him a trembling smile. “That was the other thing I wanted to tell you. Carter called again last night and we talked everything out. I . . . still feel like he deserves better, but he promised me that he would let me know if it all became too much for him.”
Brant had a feeling that was a conversation that Alexia would never have to have with Carter. He seemed like a good man who was very much in love with the woman sitting in front of him. She took a deep breath and wiped the last moisture from her eyes. “So, back to my original question, would you like to have dinner tonight? Please don’t say no. We were friends before we were anything else, Brant, and I’d love one evening to catch up before I leave.”
He found himself agreeing for old times’ sake, even though he wasn’t completely comfortable with the idea. “Sure, that sounds great.” He jotted down the time and place she suggested and walked her to the door as Emma buzzed him for his last conference call of the day.
When he finished his call, Emma was waiting with her handbag to walk out with him. He wanted to take her hand but knew it wasn’t advisable to openly advertise their relationship at the office. He settled instead for a quick kiss in the elevator on the way to the lobby. No doubt the guys in security were having a laugh about it. As they exited the building, he saw Mac pulling up to the curb in his black Tahoe. He put his hand in the small of Emma’s back, leading her toward the other man.
Mac was one of the few men Brant found himself looking up to. He was also one of the few people who made him want to run that extra mile on the beach in the mornings. Mac was all hard muscle, and leaving the military hadn’t changed his dedication to physical fitness. In his line of work, he had to be observant, and Brant saw him take note of the possessive hand that he had on Emma’s waist. Even though he didn’t want to advertise their relationship to everyone at Danvers, he knew Mac could be trusted. The other man grinned at him before extending a hand. “Hey, man, we’ve run into each other a lot this week.”