Breaking Brandon (Fate) (19 page)

Chapter Sixteen

Regina

That Sunday was the first time since Regina’s fall that she felt ready to get back in the driver’s seat. She didn’t think her family would fall for another excuse not to make it for their Sunday brunch, and she
had to admit she missed them and was looking forward to seeing them again.

Fortunately, Brandon immediately mentioned that her visit to her parents would work out perfectly since he had errands to run and wanted to get back in the gym. Feeling guilty that
it was her fault he’d neglected working out and possibly doing other things he normally did, she didn’t dare ask him to come with her. Secretly, she’d been relieved. She knew she was a grown-ass woman, and if she chose to all but move in with her boyfriend of just over a week, it was her business, and her family had no say in it. Still, she preferred to wean them to this unexpected change in her life. It was better to tell them about him first rather than just showing up with him.

Seeing her family once ag
ain had been great. As expected, they grilled her about Brandon the moment she’d mentioned meeting someone. They still didn’t know the half of it, but she did tell them she was very serious about him and told her sisters that he was possibly the most amazing kisser
ever
. Of course, they all asked when they could meet him, but she made no promises. She only assured them that it would be soon.

On her way back from her family’s brunch, Regina smiled, feeling her insides simmer with the excitement of simply kno
wing she’d soon be indulging in those amazing kisses again. To her surprise, Brandon walked out the door of his apartment as soon as she pulled in.

“Feel like Tiramisu?” He asked with a breathtaking smile.

Her brunch with her parents had been hours ago. Most of the last couple of hours she’d spent being the center of attention as they all continued to interrogate her about her new man. Tiramisu right then sounded perfect.

Nodding, she walked toward him. “You bought some?”

“No.” He held his keys up. “We can go knock another Gaslamp restaurant off your list.”

Regina had told him about her and Janecia’s quest to try every restaurant on that strip. She’d also told him about how weak-minded she was when it came to cravings setting in. Advertisers loved simpletons
like her because the moment she saw anything tantalizing on TV or anywhere she’d have a craving for it until she got it. Last night they’d been lying in bed with the television on when Brandon clicked on a cooking reality show where the contestants were asked to make Tiramisu, one of her all-time favorite desserts. Brandon had laughed at the way her eyes sparkled as she watched the judges tasting the dessert. He’d even offered to go out and buy her some, but she declined, feeling like a spoiled brat. At the same time, she’d felt like the luckiest girl in the world to have found such an amazing guy, who’d be willing to run out and buy her cake just because he thought it would make her happy. Now he was offering to take her to get some.

“Yes!” She smiled brig
htly before kissing him as she reached him. “I don’t deserve you,” she said as she pulled away.

“Because I’m taking you to get Tiramisu?” He grinned playfully, already tugging her along toward his Jeep.

“No, because you remember everything, Brandon, even the silly things I tell you, and then you turn it around and do something so sweet. Do you even like tiramisu? Its main ingredient is coffee or espresso, and I know you don’t care for either.”

“I’ve had it before and it’s okay. I can always order something
else.” They reached the passenger side of his Jeep, and he pulled her to him then leaned against the door, kissing her, her insides melting instantly. Pulling away, he stared in her eyes. “If I tell you something, you promise you won’t laugh?”

She stared a
t him curiously, and already she was smiling silly. “What?”

“I missed you like crazy today. You talk about having your woman card being taken away once. I should have my man card pulled and burned.” He chuckled now, making her laugh nervously as her inside
s went wild. “Once I was done with my errands and my workout, I didn’t even know what to do with myself.” He lowered his voice, leaning his forehead against hers. “I shouldn’t even be telling you this, but for the past hour, I’ve been looking out the window every five to ten minutes.”

Regina giggled, relieved that she wasn’t alone in how terrifyingly fast she’d fallen for him, so she admitted, “Okay, maybe I drove home a little faster than I should have. The closer I got, the heavier my foot got.”

He lifted a brow, feigning anger about her speeding but didn’t quite pull it off. Then he kissed her, squeezing her even tighter than before. “Let’s go get you dessert, princess,” he whispered in her ear.

As they drove down the busy strip, Regina was still feeling a little dazed by his thrilling admission, when her eyes narrowed in on something, making her sit up a little straighter. They were passing by the very bar she’d spotted him with that blonde the l
ast time she was here. Her joyful splendor was quickly jolted by the irrepressible jealousy at the thought of Brandon kissing that woman and how he’d done it so blithely in front of everyone watching.

They drove into a parking structure as Regina struggled
to conceal her sudden unreasonable anger. He’d just admitted to her he was as crazy about her as she felt for him. Still, the visual of his lips on that woman, especially now knowing firsthand the power behind those kisses, had the demanding question spilling out before she could think straight. “What was her name?”

Brandon turned to her, brows furrowed as he pulled into the parking space. “Who?”

“The blonde,” she asked, swallowing hard. “The one you left with that night I saw you here.”

Frowning, he pulle
d the keys from the ignition. “Why?”

Why?
Good question. She was an idiot. Was she really going to pick a fight with him now after he’d been so wonderful to her all week over someone in his past? But the visual assaulted her again, and she thought of how he probably took the girl back to his place and made love to her the incredible way he always did to Regina, kissing her the entire time, until the two-bit whore was screaming his name.

“Because I wanna know,” she said, her words even more demanding.

Apparently not only was she going to do this she felt ready to ruin their entire evening. She was this close to telling him to take her home and fuck the tiramisu. Could she be any more ridiculous?

“Serenity,” he said, opening his door.

“What?”

“Serenity,” he sa
id again, stepping out of the Jeep. “That was her name.” He leaned in before opening the door. “Don’t get out yet. I wanna help you.”

Regina opened the door and started getting out as he came around with a frown. “Serenity?” she asked, her words dripping w
ith disgust. “What is she a stripper?”

Holding on to her elbow so she wouldn’t come down too hard on her ankle as she stepped out of the Jeep, Brandon seemed more concerned with her ankle than he did her line of questioning.

“I don’t know,” he said simply.

Stupidly, Regina refused to let it go. “What do you mean you don’t know? She went home with you, didn’t she? Did you not—” She stopped cold, knowing what a no to her next question would confirm, and even though she’d automatically assumed so that night, t
he thought now sickened her. Still she had to ask. “Did you not talk
at all
that night?”

“Nope.”

They’d started walking. Brandon had slipped his hand in hers, and Regina stopped suddenly, attempting to take her hand back, but he held it tight. Was she really going to get this upset over that
now?
Yes! He’d harped so much about his no-attachment rules, yet he kissed that bitch the way he had in front of the entire world. Did he expect her to believe now that he hadn’t even talked to her? He’d been chatty and all smiles with the girl that night. That is until he’d seen Regina.

“Do you always kiss these girls you want
no attachments
with the way you kissed her that night?”

Another couple walked by them, noticeably
avoiding eye contact with them. Only then did Regina realize she’d gotten loud, so she started walking again. But she wasn’t letting him off with his short answers. Brandon had asked about Antonio, someone she merely worked with and happened to speak to a little too sweetly for his liking. He, on the other hand, had slept with this girl not more than a few weeks ago.

“No, I don’t,” he said, looking straight ahead. “But why does that even matter now?”

Regina wasn’t sure why it mattered, but it did. It hadn’t dawned on her until today, when seeing the restaurant brought back the blinding reminder of how recently he’d been with someone else. Suddenly, she needed to know more about Serenity. They’d both looked a little too smitten with each other that night. Given that one kiss Regina had been witness to, it turned her stomach to think of the night they must’ve had. She wasn’t so sure anymore if she’d been stupidly naïve or not to buy into his no-return-visits’ rule. Who behaved that way in public the very first time they met? Neither of them appeared to be drunk. And who did Regina think she was to believe she was so damn special she’d been the only one he’d ever
returned
to?

“No?” She glared at him. “So she was special, then?”

If they weren’t already on the crowded sidewalk of the strip, she might yank her hand away from him like a child having a fit. She felt completely duped. Had he made that girl with the stripper name feel as special as he had Regina all week?

They walked up to the young lady standing at the
hostess bar just outside the Italian restaurant. Still seething, Regina hadn’t even heard what the hostess asked them until Brandon tugged at her hand gently.

“You like to people watch, right?” he asked. “So outside?”

Regina barely acknowledged him. She was in no mood to do any people watching or even be there anymore. A part of her told her she was being ridiculous getting so worked up over something like this, but then clarity kept winning out. The little naïve bubble she’d lived in so blissfully this entire last week had just burst. She should’ve known this was too good to be true.
He
was too good to be true.

The moment the hostess took their drink orders and walked away Brandon reached across the table and took her hand before she could pull it away.

“That kiss you saw . . .”

He squeezed her hand when she tried to pull it away. Okay, maybe she didn’t want to know more about that damn kiss anymore. Hearing him address it made her sick to her stomach, and a knot was already beginning to form at her throat.
Why hadn’t she just let it go?

“It was the only time I kissed her that entire night.”

Regina laughed; although, she felt more like crying now than laughing. Had she really been so blinded by his charm and trying to figure out his inscrutable personality all week that he now thought he could pull this bullshit on her too? She was only glad they were outside and the buzz of the people and cars going up and down the strip was so loud because her exaggerated scoff had been pretty loud.

“Really?” she asked, lowering her voice. Her heart felt completely smothered now because she knew how much kissing went hand in hand with his lovemaking. “So when you took her home and fucked her, you never once kissed her?”

That did it. She’d officially ruined their evening. She’d taken this from a fairly calm and still-salvageable argument and made it nasty. They could’ve been sitting there enjoying a delectable dessert and then gone home to make beautiful love again. Instead, she wouldn’t even be able to eat now, and she’d probably be spending the night alone for the first time since he’d first spent the night at her place. Worse yet, she felt on the verge of crossing over to that other side, that side she’d crossed over one too many times and was the reason why she’d been on meds for months. She picked up her glass of water, hoping Brandon didn’t notice her shaking hand.

Brandon squeezed her other hand a little harder, closing his eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath. “This really is not the
time or place for this, baby—”

“Don’t call me that,” she snapped, tugging her hand out of his grip. “But you’re right. I don’t think I wanna be here anymore.”

“That kiss was for you, Regina,” he said, very determined. “I kissed her out of desperation. I panicked, okay?”

“What?” Regina peered at him.

Desperation?
He looked anything but desperate that night. Regina crossed her arms in front of her, not sure if she was more annoyed or curious now.

“I supposed you took her home out of desperation too?”

“Look,” he said, glancing around, and lowered his voice a bit. “You said it yourself the other day.” He glanced down at her still noticeably unstable hand. “Obviously, there is still a lot that you and I don’t know about each other. But trust me on this one.
Please
. That girl that night meant as much to me as any of the other girls I’ve
never
seen again.”