Brendon (Alluring Indulgence #8)(72)
Author: Nicole Edwards

He had known the questions would eventually come and now he was doing his best to get through them.

“Have you told Braydon any of this?” she questioned.

“Yes. Not at length, no, but we’ve talked. I told him I was happy for him and not to worry about me.”

“Sometimes that’s easier said than done.”

“Don’t I know it,” Brendon replied.

“What about Jessie? Have you told her?”

Brendon figured he was going to have to tell Cheyenne sooner or later about how he felt about her, but now that the time had come, he once again couldn’t find the words. It should’ve been simple, considering how he felt about Cheyenne, how much he enjoyed spending time with her, seeing her every day, talking to her, holding her. Yeah, he knew he had it bad. But that was something he wasn’t sure he should tell her. What she didn’t know couldn’t come back to bite him in the ass.

After all, this was working while she was in town. He wasn’t naive enough to believe that they’d survive once she was back on the road. For one thing, Brendon didn’t want a part-time wife. He didn’t want to be with a woman who was never home, one he had to talk to on the phone and not wake up to every single morning.

“I’ve told her,” he assured her, but he didn’t elaborate. Luckily, the waiter brought their food, providing a necessary distraction as Brendon thought about all the things he hadn’t managed to say and wondered if he ever would.

chapter TWENTY-TWO

Sunday dinner at Lorrie and Curtis’s had become standard for Cheyenne. As she’d learned, if she missed one, Lorrie would call her the following day and interrogate her as to why she wasn’t there. This time, however, was different from the others and it was all due to the fact Brendon had invited her. She hadn’t reminded him that she had a standing invitation because, truth was, it’d felt good that he’d wanted her to be there with him.

Ever since their lunch discussion about Braydon and Jessie, Brendon had seemed to withdraw somewhat. She’d let him be. Having been around long enough to anticipate his up-and-down moods, Cheyenne didn’t question him.

“I’m so glad you could make it,” Lorrie told her when Cheyenne entered the house.

“Thank you for havin’ me,” Cheyenne said cordially.

The house was already full, the living room packed to overflowing with people, and if Cheyenne wasn’t mistaken, there were a few more faces there tonight.

“My brother and his family are here,” Lorrie informed her. “Now that the girls are back home, they’re venturin’ out more. I’ve always offered an invitation, but they rarely accept.”

Brendon’s big, warm hands landed on her shoulder as he came to stand behind her and Cheyenne fought the urge to lean into him. She had grown accustomed to having him around. So much so that when the issue with the stalker was over, she wasn’t sure what she was going to do with herself. Not to mention when she went back out on the road. Being away from him … it really wasn’t something she wanted to think about.

“Dinner’s almost ready,” Lorrie called out to the others, and then followed with, “Mind settin’ the table?” directed at Brendon.

Cheyenne was returning to the kitchen to grab silverware when the back door opened and in walked Z and RT. She had to laugh as Lorrie eagerly greeted them and thanked them for coming. Apparently the Walker matriarch had been introduced to the enforcers and extended a dinner invitation to them as well.

Z’s eyes stopped on something just over Cheyenne’s head and she realized he was looking at Brendon. There was a world of discussion going on in that brief glance and she wished she had the opportunity to ask him what it meant, but that wasn’t an option when Lorrie declared dinner was ready.

AN HOUR LATER, after Cheyenne helped to clear the table and Brendon and his brothers helped with the dishes, everyone gathered together in the living room. The Walker family had officially made it to standing-room only at this point, especially now that there were aunts, uncles, and cousins attending. Brendon perched on the arm of the sofa and pulled Cheyenne to him, keeping her close.

“Any updates?” Brendon asked Z when the big man came to stand beside them.

“No,” Z grumbled. His exasperation with the situation was apparent and Cheyenne completely understood. For the past week, she’d gained a shadow. Brendon didn’t leave her side, but she knew that come tomorrow morning, he would need to go back to work, which meant she’d be assigned another babysitter.

Needless to say, she wasn’t looking forward to it.