Page 56 of A Little Bit Engaged
As soon as Brody heard the shower shut off in Cara’s bathroom, he went into the kitchen to get the cup of tea steeping on the counter. A good thing this was herbal, or it would be too strong. She’d taken a longer shower than he expected. Though he didn’t blame her after being covered in smoothie.
He tossed the tea bag into the garbage can under the sink.
Thinking about the devastated expression on Cara’s face made him shudder. He hadn’t spoken to her other than an “I’m sorry” and a “What can I do?” He’d wanted to, except she’d bolted into her bedroom and locked the door
A justified reaction.
But he wanted to help her. Not stare at a closed door and do nothing.
That was where the tea came in. Or so he hoped.
Jackson had pushed Kai, Rizzo, and Lex out of the apartment with a grim expression that would have terrified most men. The team leader wasn’t happy about what had happened, and his men would pay the price for letting a crazy woman get that close to Cara on their watch.
Rightly so.
That was why Brody had hired them. They should have been standing closer to Cara, not giving her the space she’d requested.
Stupid.
Okay, he got that they were trying to help and make a bad situation better for her. A smoothie wasn’t a knife or a gun, but Cara should have never been attacked that way. A video taken at the bookstore with the horrible words being spouted was making the rounds on social media. The woman, the self-proclaimed biggest fan and leader of “Braits” worldwide, had been taken away by the police, but nothing could undo the damage that had been done to Cara.
He checked his phone again. No message from Caitlin, who hadn’t condemned what had happened in the bookstore. Nor had she supported it. But the neutrality portrayed was unforgiveable.
Hitting the call button, he tried Caitlin again. It rang straight to voice mail as it had the other times he’d tried to reach her.
“Call me.”
This had to be the tenth message he’d left. He sent a text to Ainsley telling her to keep calling until Caitlin answered. Then he picked up the tea and returned to Cara’s bedroom. His knock went unanswered.
That didn’t surprise him. He tried again.
Nothing.
If she thought he would give up, she was mistaken.
“Let me in, Cara.” Continued silence greeted him. “Please.”
A minute passed. Maybe two. At this rate, the tea would be lukewarm.
The door opened slightly, but he couldn’t see her, only the sleeve of the thick, white robe identical to the one hanging in his bathroom.
She cleared her throat. “I need time alone.”
The rawness of her voice knifed his heart. He wanted to help her, even if he wasn’t sure how.
“I made you tea.” Saying that had sounded better in his head. Now, he felt stupid. He forced himself not to slip into the Maxwell voice she loved so much. Brody wanted to distance himself from the industry that was wreaking havoc in her life. “It’s chamomile. Your favorite.”
She peered through the crack. “Thanks.”
Her red, swollen eyes punched him in the gut. Every muscle tensed. His heart hurt. He didn’t want to push, but no way could he let her handle this alone. “Step back.”
She did.
Entering her room, he curbed every instinct shouting at him to sweep her up into his arms and hold her until the pain disappeared. But he couldn’t with the cup of tea in his hand.
Brody placed it on the nightstand before facing her. His gaze met Cara’s.
Her breath hitched.
