Whispers of a Broken Halo by Abbi Glines

“I wanted to see you,” I admitted. Might as well be truthful.

She paused with a coffee cup in her hand and looked at me. “You did?” she asked with a confused look on her face.

“Yes, Bryn, I did,” I replied.

Cullen came running back into the kitchen, wearing a Spider-Man T-shirt and a pair of blue shorts. “I dressed myself too!” he announced with pride.

“Thank you, Cullen,” Bryn told him. “Why don’t you watch one of your movies while I talk to Rio?”

Cullen looked to be considering it, then turned to me. “You are staying to eat, right?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Okay,” he said, smiling, then turned and hurried to the television.

When he was settled on the sofa, Bryn placed a cup of coffee in front of me. “Maybe you could be a little clearer on the reason you wanted to see me,” she said in a softer voice so that Cullen didn’t hear.

I could tell her the truth, or I could make up an excuse. The first meant I had to be serious about this. Bryn wasn’t someone I could date casually. I had to accept her and her job. If I made up an excuse, then I would be in my shower again tonight, getting her out of my system—or at least trying.

“Because I can’t get you out of my head,” I said.

Her eyes widened, and she licked her bottom lip nervously. Damn, I was turned on that easily. There was a kid in the room, and I had no business getting a hard-on.

“Really?” she asked as if the fact that a man couldn’t stop thinking about her was hard to believe.

Did the woman look in the mirror?

I grinned. “Yeah, Bryn, really.”

Some of her hair hung loose from the messy bun she had it in, and she tucked a strand behind her ear. “Okay.” She let out a small laugh and blushed. “I’m sorry. I just, uh, wasn’t expecting that. I think I’m n-n-nervous now.”

“Want me to help you make breakfast? I’m real good at frying bacon,” I told her.

She licked her lips again, and I must have studied her lips a moment too long because her breathing picked up.

“Yeah, th-th-that would be n-nice,” she said with a small tremble to her voice.

“Good.” I went to the fridge to find the bacon and to stop thinking about her lips that she kept wetting.

“I was going to, uh … I m-m-mean, I thought I mi-mi-might do biscuits a-a-and gra-gravy,” she stammered out.

I set the bacon down and closed the space between us. Slipping a finger under her chin, I lifted her head to look up at me. “You’re stuttering. You don’t do that with other people. I don’t want to make you nervous, Bryn. It’s just me.”

She blushed and let out a small laugh. “I’ll try. If I concentrate on my words, I can control it.”

I looked down at her mouth and wished like hell we were alone. I’d thought about kissing her mouth since I had been a kid. When I finally did, I wasn’t going to do it with an audience.

“Th-th-at,” she sighed. “That makes it h-h-hard for me to con-con-concentrate,” she said softly.

“My looking at your mouth?” I asked.

She nodded her head.

“Good,” I replied.





Chapter Twenty-Eight

Bryn

I splashed my face with cold water a second time. I was indeed awake, and this was not a dream. Staring at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, I was wide-eyed. Rio had come here to see me. He had cooked the bacon and eaten breakfast with us. He was sitting on the sofa, watching television with Cullen. Because he wanted to see me.

What had changed?

Had I suddenly become desirable in the last twenty-four hours?

I’d had Saint talking about doing things to me last night and how much he wanted me. Then, I came home, and Rio was looking at my lips, and twice, I saw his eyes drop to my chest. His jaw flexed each time, as if he was thinking things similar to what Saint had said to me. The difference was, his heated gaze had made my bottom parts tingle in a way that hadn’t happened with Saint.

I covered my face and took a deep breath. I had to get it together. I’d stammered several times over breakfast. Mostly when I caught him staring at my nipples. I’d not expected to have company waiting on me when I got home, so I hadn’t put a bra on this morning. My reactions to Rio were hard to miss because of it.

My hands went to my breasts, and I cupped them. It felt good. I had found myself thinking about Rio touching them during breakfast, and it had been hard to eat. What was wrong with me?

A knock on the bathroom door startled me.

“Aunt Bryn?” Cullen called my name.

“Yes?” I replied.

“Can I go to the park with Rio?”

I opened the door, and Cullen’s little face was turned up, looking at me with excitement in his eyes.

“Please, can I go?” he begged.

I lifted my gaze to see Rio standing at the end of the hallway, watching me. “Uh, well, yes, if Rio asked you to go.”

Rio gave one nod. “It was my idea,” he assured me. “Thought some fresh air and guy time might be good for both of us. Then, you can do girl things.”

I’d never let Cullen go anywhere with a man before, but there wasn’t one I trusted like I did Rio.

“Please, please, please,” Cullen begged.

“Okay, yes, that’s fine.” I lifted my gaze back to Rio. “If you’re sure.”