Regina had only taken a few bites of her cake, but now she was sick to her stomach. She stared at him, speechless.

“That’s why I swore off attachments of any kind.”

“You said you feared them,” Regina reminded him, but he said nothing. “Do you still?”

To her relief, he shook his head. “I know now that, unlike my dad, I am capable of feeling very deeply for someone, but I’m not gonna lie. It makes me nervous to think maybe this won’t work out. I made the exception to take a chance this one time. If something goes wrong, I know I never will again.”

Suddenly, that knot she’d felt earlier was back, but this time it was for a different reason. She reached for his hand and kissed it as he so often did to her. “Nothing’s gonna go wrong,” she assured him. “As long you promise me you’ll always be this honest with me, we’ll make this work.”

Regina had thought it before, but now she was sure of it. Brandon was different from any guy she’d ever met. Now that she had a better understanding of his heartbreaking past, she understood why. They weren’t so different from each other. She too had gone through some very dark times. Now she and Brandon could look forward to the brighter times ahead of them. Together.

And those kisses. Dear God those kisses that melted her into a puddle were something he’d saved exclusively for her—the only girl he’d made an exception for. Her heart felt swollen to twice its size.

“What’s past is prologue,” she whispered.

His eyes brightened, making her smile. “That’s right,” he said. “That’s why I’m here with you now.”

Chapter Seventeen

Brandon

The following two Sundays, Brandon had made sure to mention before Regina even brought up the brunches that he had plans. She had already told him these brunches would be a weekly thing and unless she had good reason to not make them she’d likely be there every time.

Brandon knew it was just a matter of time before he’d have to suck it up and meet her family. He just needed a little more time. This whole relationship thing was a huge change for him. While everything seemed to be going smoothly and telling her about his past and his dad had been less painless than he’d anticipated, he was still trying to get it right. What he had agreed to was to meet her friend Janecia for what had started out as their girls’ night out on Fridays but had now turned into date night.

This, of course, was another first for him. Fortunately, Janecia’s boyfriend, Clay, was a cool dude. He was a little on the foul-mouthed side but otherwise easy to hang with and talk to while the girls caught up on their girl talk. It helped that he seemed just as crazy about Janecia as Brandon was about Regina, because at this point, there was no hiding how he could barely keep his hands and lips off her. It should have been embarrassing, but Clay’s behaving pretty much the same way with Janecia made Brandon’s behavior seem less offensive.

This was the third Friday they’d done this, and Brandon was feeling way better about it than the first time. Just like the first two times, the girls laughed a lot, but this time there was a lot more talking between the couples, not just the girls having their own girl conversation while Brandon and Clay talked motorcycles, their careers, and sports.

Everything had been going fine until the girls came back from their third trip to the restroom. They were both very quiet compared to how they’d been before they left, and Regina was noticeably upset. Brandon had noticed they were gone a bit longer this time, and he wondered if something may’ve happened to them on their way back.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, leaning in and clenching the arm of her chair as soon she sat down.

Regina shook her head, and Brandon stared at her for a moment then looked up at Janecia. “Did something happen?”

Clay’s concerned expression went hard as he too noticed the change in the girls’ demeanor. Janecia quickly took Clay’s hand with both of hers. “Nothing happened, but Regina . . .” She gave Clay a strange look Brandon didn’t understand. “She’s not feeling too hot all of a sudden.”

Brandon turned back to Regina, feeling more than alarmed and rubbed her back. “What is it, babe?”

All Regina would do was shake her head, until she finally admitted it might have been something she’d eaten. “Maybe we should just call it a night?”

Her words were barely audible, spiking Brandon’s concern into overdrive.

“Yeah,” he said, immediately holding his hand up to the passing waitress. “Whatever you want.” Both he and Clay pulled out their wallets, but Brandon told Clay he had it then turned back to Regina. “Should we go to urgent care?”

She assured him she just needed to get home and lie down. They paid and said their good-byes to Clay and Janecia. Brandon didn’t miss how Janecia’s and Regina’s words to one another seemed strained.

By the time they reached his Jeep, Regina was in tears. Brandon held her against the door, his heart speeding up as he searched her eyes. “What is it, baby? Something hurt? Are you sure we shouldn’t stop at the ER?”

She shook her head again. This time she seemed angry. “Let’s just get out of here, please. Take me home.”

Things only got worse on the ride home. Brandon couldn’t get a thing out of her, but by the time they made it back to his place, she was really crying. He started to pull out of the driveway. “We’re going to the hospital,” he said as he turned to look back.

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