She should tell him, Selena thought, her fingers tightening on the bannister. She should just tell Reid how she felt about him, let him know that she had no expectations about the future, but tell him that she loved him. She should thank him for being more. More than the superficial, corporate ass that she’d originally thought him to be. More than the pleasure seeking frat boy she’d assumed he was as she’d peered at him through her pain-distorted lenses several weeks ago.
He was brilliant, gentle, kind, generous, full of laughter, and loved life like no one she’d ever met before. He embraced challenges. Thrived on them! It didn’t matter if it was a mountain, a river, or a boardroom, he dove right in and figured out how to overcome any obstacle. Whether it was a new marketing plan or stopping an evil, disgruntled ex-employee, he fixed the problem with zeal and brilliance.
Selena chuckled to herself, shaking her head as she realized that she didn’t just love the man. She admired him. Boy, he was a potent combination of power, lust, passion, and laughter! What woman wouldn’t fall in love with him?
Thankfully, he used his power for good, not evil.
Looking at the beautiful stairs, the gleaming wood, she took a deep breath and banished her past. Reid was important.
She needed to banish her insecurities and embrace what Reid was offering.
And get ready for this shindig! Glancing at her watch, she realized that she’d have to hurry up if she was going to get a workout in. Too much to do and not enough time, she realized.
Skipping down the stairs, she pulled the towel closer around her, trying to cover the soft swells of her breasts revealed by her bathing suit. By other’s standards, the suit wasn’t particularly revealing. But by her standards, she felt practically naked.
Stepping into the kitchen, she pasted a bright smile of greeting on her face, wanting to make a good impression on Brant only because he was Reid’s brother. Otherwise, she wouldn’t care about the man at all. He was a cold, emotionless man who frustrated Gianna, enough of a bad endorsement in her mind.
Of course, she wasn’t going to hurt Reid’s feelings by being rude to his brother either. The two men were close. And there was that pesky detail about Brant Jones being her boss.
Yeah, she really hated having to remember those details.
“Good morning!” she called, hoping that her voice sounded happier to their ears than it did to hers.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Reid grinned, turning and snaking an arm out to pull her in for a kiss. “Sleep okay?”
Selena’s smile faltered as she put her hands on his shoulders, shyly glancing over at Brant who looked like an angry, mean statue with his arms crossed over his chest and glaring at her as if she were about to stab Reid with a fork.
“Um…” she pulled her eyes away from Brant and focused on Reid. “Yes,” she replied, awkwardly smiling up at him and running a hand over his chest slightly. “Yes. Very well, thank you.”
“So formal,” he teased as he bent his head to nibble along her neck. “Ignore my rude brother, Selena. He’s just grouchy because he didn’t wake up with a beautiful woman in his arms like I did.”
His voice was soft and low, and Brant most likely didn’t hear Reid’s words, but Selena still couldn’t handle this conversation in front of others. It smacked too vividly of another time in her past. A time when…another handsome man bragged about “bagging” her to his friends.
“I need to go,” she whispered back, pressing against his chest.
Reid sighed but relented. “Fine. But I’ll be watching you.”
Eventually, she was going to learn to stop blushing when he said things like that, but she wasn’t there yet. Especially when she knew he’d be watching her body. Not her, per se.
“I thought you had things to do to get ready for the barbeque this afternoon?”
“It’s all being catered,” he reminded her. “I just have to be here for the deliveries this morning, then the event coordinator is taking over.”
“Must be nice,” she teased, thinking about how hard she’d worked the last time she’d entertained back in Virginia. She’d cooked and baked for days before everyone arrived, and the day of the party, she’d been on her hands and knees, cleaning everything from her kitchen floor to toilets.