Only then did he release her and saunter off the dance floor, leaving her staring after him, completely breathless.
Shaking herself out of her stupor, she went on shaking legs to stand beside Brody.
But you’re coming home to me.
What on earth had gotten into the man? And why had that comment made her knees weak and shivers zing down her spine?
“Do you want to see Dante and Cait off on their honeymoon?”
At the deep, intrusive voice of the man who did nothing to help her forget her unwanted obsession, she jumped. Exhaustion suddenly had her wilting. “Yeah, let’s go watch them start their future together. Then I think I’d like to go home.”
He nodded and led them outside.
When Dante and Cait appeared at the top of the steps, looking like the perfect wax couple atop a wedding cake, their joy shining like beacons of love as they held hands and ran toward the waiting white limo, Julie could have broken down and cried. From the happiness for her friends, from the longing in her heart…from the fear that she would never find that kind of love.
As they reached the limo, Dante grabbed Cait around the waist and kissed his blushing bride. She gazed adoringly up at her new husband. Julie read the whispered, “I love you, Caitlyn,” from Dante’s lips before they disappeared inside the car and the driver closed the door.
With the tumult of emotions from the wedding bombarding her, Julie’s heart squeezed tightly in her chest. She just wanted to go home, crawl into bed, curl up into a ball, and forget this whole awful night.
She turned to Brody, startled by the intense way he was studying her. “What?”
“What are you thinking right now?”
She swallowed. “Why?”
“The expression on your face when you watched Dante and Cait, it was so sad, almost…envious.” He gently touched her cheek. “It makes me want to do whatever is in my power to erase it.”
Her heart melted a little. But she knew it was time to end this. Brody was a wonderful, thoughtful, attentive man. He’d make someone an amazing husband one day.
But it wouldn’t be her.
“Brody, I don’t think… I’m so sorry, but this thing between us… It’s not going to work.”
His eyes softened. “Don’t you think I know that?”
She stepped back, completely unprepared for that.
“I see the way you look at him,” he added.
He didn’t say Tommy’s name, but there was no one else Brody could mean.
Crap. And here she’d always thought she’d hidden her feelings so well.
Apparently not.
How many other people saw the truth?
As if reading her thoughts, he said, “There’s always been speculation about you two in the locker room.”
Oh. God. She squeezed her eyes shut briefly. “Speculation about the two of us, or speculation about me?”
Brody shifted his weight and grimaced. Terrific. Well, she had her answer.
Her heart fell to her stomach. “So everyone knows I have a thing for Tommy?” she asked, feeling slightly ill.
“Most of us have wondered. Figured.” He pushed out a breath. “Okay, fine. Most of us knew.”
Please. Just kill me now.
“Why’d you ask me out, then?”
He shrugged. “Same reason you accepted.”
She blinked. They gazed at each other for a long moment, and suddenly a lightbulb went off. Her jaw dropped. “My God. You have feelings for someone you don’t want to have feelings for?”
“Yep. My best friend’s wife.”
Wow. And Julie’d thought she had a dilemma. “Damn, that sucks. I’m so sorry.”
He gave her a wry, humorless smile. “Can’t control who we fall in love with, can we?”
She let out a sympathetic breath.
So Tommy had been right. Brody really did have a hidden agenda when he’d asked her out. But she totally understood, and she was okay with it. Brody completely got her, because he was living the agony himself. He didn’t want to be in love with his best friend’s wife any more than she wanted to be in love with Tommy. Damn, it was nice to have someone who was facing the same battle.
“Yeah. Life would be a lot easier if we could control our hearts.”
“Julie.” Brody hesitated for a moment then asked, “If you had a chance, a real, honest-to-goodness chance, to be with Tommy, would you?”
That was the question of her life, wasn’t it?
She pushed out a sigh. “He kissed me that night after he saw us at the park. The first time he’d ever kissed me. Oh, Brody, it was awful. That kiss wasn’t a man opening his eyes and suddenly seeing his childhood friend as a woman he can’t keep his hands off of.” She grimaced, embarrassed to admit it, but saying it aloud somehow helped the pain. “There was no passion in the kiss. Not even a hint.”
Brody’s head tilted and he looked skeptical. “Are you saying he actually killed your attraction to him?”
She gave a short bark of laughter. “I’d love for it to be that easy, but, sadly, no. He still can flip my switch with one stupid look. No, I meant it was obvious he felt no passion.”