They must have all been laughing at her behind those excruciatingly polite stares. He should have told her. Warned her. Was that why he played along? To hide his feelings for his brother’s wife?
Not wanting to hear anymore, she rushed through her morning routine, showering and brushing her teeth at light speed. Putting on the same clothes she drove up in yesterday – nobody except Mia and Naomi would even notice at the distillery – she looped her hair into a bun and slid the dress Daniel had bought her onto a hanger, leaving it in the closet.
When she walked out of the bedroom, Melissa was gone and the breakfast had arrived. There was way too much for just the two of them. The pastry platter could have filled every stomach in the still room at GCS. It didn’t stop her stomach from rumbling to look at it.
Daniel turned around, his brows knitting as he saw her slide her purse up her shoulder. “Breakfast is ready. You can sit down.”
She gave him a smile. “I think I’m going to head back to the distillery now.”
“Aren’t you hungry?”
Another twist of her stomach told her she was. “I’ll take something to go.” She grabbed a danish from the pastry tray, wrapping it up in a napkin. “Thank you for dinner. And for a bed for the night.”
His jaw twitched. “Is there something wrong?”
Becca shook her head. “No. I just need to get to work, that’s all.”
He poured a glass of juice, tipping his head to the side. “You heard Melissa.” It was a statement, not a question.
Becca put her hands up, giving him a shrug. “What you do with your brother’s wife is your business.”
“I’m not doing anything with my brother’s wife.” His eyes looked dark.
“That’s not what it sounded like to me.”
His eyes narrowed. His stare was uncomfortably piercing. “You think I’m sleeping with Melissa?”
The harshness of his words were like a bucket of ice water. “I don’t know...” she stuttered. She just wanted to go home.
“Jesus, is that what you think of me? That I’m having an affair with my brother’s wife?” He stood up, his face flaming as he pressed his hand down on the breakfast bar.
Becca took a step back. He was too big, too angry, too menacing. “I…” She glanced at the door, trying to work out how quickly she could get to it.
“Get out.”
Her heart started hammering against her ribcage. He was angry. Maybe she was, too. “I was just about to.”
“Good.” He turned away from her. She could see the tenseness of his shoulders. She’d almost made it to the door when he spoke again. “And for the record, I’m not sleeping with Melissa. I slept with her. Past tense. When we were in a relationship years ago. Before she decided my brother was a better bet.”
Her hand froze on the handle as his words seeped in. Her stomach churned as she realized he wasn’t the one doing the cheating. She’d made assumptions. The wrong ones.
Becca looked over her shoulder. Daniel had walked over to the huge window, and was staring out at it, his hands jammed into his pockets, his shirt taut across his back. The sun was shining brightly, casting a halo around his rigid body
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.” Her chest felt achy. Tense.
“Just go.”
But she couldn’t. She felt so damn bad. “Daniel, I…”
“Go!” His voice was harsh. Loud. It sent a shiver of fear down her spine. With a shaking hand she managed to open the door to the lobby, hearing it swing softly closed as she jabbed her finger on the elevator button.
Chapter Fifteen
He drove like a maniac back to Hartson’s Creek, testing out his new Corvette Stingray to the limit. Not that it made him feel any better. The combination of last night’s tense family dinner followed by the goddamn aggravating events of this morning were still rushing around his mind as he parked at the distillery just before lunchtime.
Not to mention the memory of that elevator kiss.
And that was all before Becca realized how messed up his family was.