Brave Enough Read Online Free PDF Page B

would want to love the man I marry? That I would want to
want
him
? To
like
him? That I would want to enjoy his company?”
    â€œI don’t think that’s too much to ask.”
    â€œAnd yet . . . here I am, being forced into this like it’s 1850.”
    â€œSo you’ve come here to think of a way out, is that it? Is that the rebellion?”
    â€œYes. As pathetic as that is, that’s pretty much it in a nutshell.”
    â€œWell maybe I
can
help.”
    â€œAnd just how, exactly, do you propose to do that?”
    It’s more her phrasing that catches me off guard than anything. And it gives me an idea. But that’s another discussion for another day. Right now, I need to salvage the evening.
    â€œI’ve been known to think strategically a time or two in my life. Maybe I can think of something. If not, maybe I can at least take your mind off things. Maybe just not being so overwhelmed by it will open you up to new possibilities.”
    I wink at her and her face slowly softens. I think she wants to abandon this topic as much as I do.
    â€œNew possibilities?” she asks, a smile running through her voice like a golden thread. “Is that code? Are
you
a new possibility?”
    â€œHell yeah, I am,” I admit, pinning her with my gaze as I sip my wine. The sweetness pours over my tongue and I think to myself that she will taste just as sweet, just as intoxicating. I don’t know how I know that, but I do.
    She tilts her head to one side as she considers me. It’s a subtly sexy move that hits its mark. “Are you like this with every woman you meet?”
    â€œLike what?”
    â€œSo charming and flirtatious. So . . . forward.”
    â€œAm I being forward? I didn’t mean to be. I thought I was just being honest.” She narrows her eyes on me. Not really in suspicion, but more like she’s trying to see inside my head. “Maybe you’re just not used to honesty,” I offer casually.
    â€œAre you always so honest, then?”
    â€œI try to be,” I answer carefully, knowing that my honesty definitely has its limits right now. Some things are just more important. They have to come first. But I can’t really tell her that either.
    â€œAh, so no promises of absolute truth?”
    â€œI think promises of absolute truth are usually lies in and of themselves. Haven’t you found that to be true?”
    â€œNo one has ever bothered to promise me the absolute truth before.”
    I set down my glass and lean forward, taking one of her hands from where it rests in her lap. “Then how about this? I promise to tell you the absolute truth about everything I’m feeling.”
    She leans forward, too, putting her face, her delectable lips, even closer to mine. “Why would you think that would matter to me?”
    â€œBecause if you stay here very long, there’s going to be more between us, and I don’t want you wondering if I’m feeding you a line of shit or not.”
    â€œStarting now?”
    â€œStarting now.”
    â€œThen tell me, honest Tag, what is it you see happening here?”
    â€œI see me wanting to kiss you the longer I stare at that incredible mouth. I see that you’re curious about whether I will. And I see that kiss turning into something more.”
    â€œWhat’s ‘more’?”
    â€œWhat do you want it to be?”
    â€œMy life is extremely complicated right now.”
    â€œSounds like it. But
this
doesn’t have to be. You intrigue me. Not because of your money or your father or what country club you belong to. Just you. The way you smile, what you’re thinking behindthose violet eyes, how your skin will feel under my hands. Maybe I’m just what you need right now.”
    â€œHow will I know?” she asks softly, her face oddly vulnerable. Her big eyes hold her every insecurity and, if anything, I’m