Be Good A New Adult Romance (RE12)(8)

He led me into a room that was decorated in beautiful floral prints like a Monet painting.

“I call it my garden room,” he said as he placed my bag on the twin bed.

By this time, my head was spinning out of control. Why was he putting me in a guest bedroom? I had assumed we’d be sleeping in his bedroom. Why didn’t he want me in his room? What was I even doing here? Had I made a big mistake? I could feel my heart start to race and I actually felt lightheaded with all the thoughts swirling around inside it. I must have looked panicked because Brett looked at me with deep concern in his eyes.

“Are you okay? Here, sit down.” He sat on the bed and patted the spot next to him, urging me to sit next to him.

I did. Then I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself.

“What do you want, Brett?” I asked as I looked into his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“Why am I here?”

He looked like he wanted to touch me but he didn’t. “I want to get to know you better.”

He looked down at the flowered comforter on the bed and we sat in silence for a minute. Then he glanced up at me and said, “I just want you to know that I’m not going to sleep with you this weekend.”

Why not, was my first response, but I kept it to myself. Guys always wanted to sleep with me and that’s usually all they wanted. But that certainly explained why I was in the guest bedroom. I let him continue.

“I should have never slept with you at the wedding. It was a mistake and I’m sorry. I already told you why I did it but that was stupid. That wasn’t me. I’m not that guy.”

I wanted to ask him what he meant by that guy but I had a feeling I already knew. He wasn’t the love-m-and-leave-m type. He was the falls-in-love-and-gets-engaged type. At some point, I would bring up Miss Sweater Vest and the fact that he neglected to mention they were engaged but that was a conversation for another time.

“I want to take things slow and get to know you, Anna.”

I had no idea how to take things slow. I never bothered to really get to know any of the guys I had been with and they sure as hell never bothered to get to know me. This was completely uncharted territory for me. But there was something about Brett, about the way he made me feel, that made me want to at least try.

“Okay,” I agreed. Then I leaned over and kissed Brett’s cheek. He gulped then gave me a half smile. When he looked at me, he had so much tenderness in his eyes, it took my breath away for a moment.

He softly brushed his hand down my cheek, just like guys did in the movies. It always looked so romantic and I wondered if guys ever did it in real life. A slight shiver ran through me as I felt his light touch on my skin.

“I want to kiss you right now,” he said softly and he stroked my cheek again. His eyes were glued on mine. I instinctively bit my bottom lip. “But I’m going to wait.”

Then he got up and placed his hands in his pockets. “Sleep well, Anna,” he said and walked out.

Brett’s guest bed could have been the most comfortable bed I ever slept in in my entire life. His headboard was covered with overstuffed pillows and the mattress felt like I was sleeping on a cloud. The air was chilly but the comforter was fluffy and warm. I felt like I was in a cozy cocoon. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I fell into a deep and restful sleep.

Bacon. And coffee. And pancakes. I was awakened by the delicious smells of my favorite breakfast foods. I stretched and groaned when I realized I’d have to get up from the cuddly bed. I had just emotionally prepared myself for getting up when there was a soft knock on the door.

“Come in,” I responded.

Brett entered with a tray overflowing with breakfast foods. “I hope you’re hungry,” he said as he set the tray down next to me.

“I’m starving,” I said as I looked at the pancakes with butter and syrup, bacon, and scrambled eggs. He also had coffee and orange juice. “This is too much. You didn’t have to go to so much trouble.”

I loved breakfast foods but I usually got up so late I had to grab an energy bar and eat it in the car on the way to work. On weekends, I was usually out so late that I slept through breakfast and ended up eating a very late lunch/early dinner.

“It was no trouble at all and I wanted to cook for you.”

He smiled and my withered heart started to blossom. At this rate, my desolate heart would be in full bloom in no time.

“Dig in,” he encouraged.

I picked up the fork and took a bite of the pancakes. “Delicious.” They really were good, light and fluffy.

I noticed Brett was just sitting on the edge of the bed watching me eat. I was suddenly self-conscious. “Aren’t you going to have any?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I made it for you.”

“I can’t eat all of this. It’s enough for a small army. Please share it with me.”

He grinned. “If you insist.”

I noticed he had placed an extra set of cutlery on the tray just in case. That made me smile.

He dug into the other side of the pancakes. “These are pretty good.”

“So you’re a rocket scientist and a chef,” I teased. “What other hidden talents do you have?”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

I felt a twinge of pain when I thought about the night we had spent together. I wished it would have been different and I remembered being with him. I hoped I would get another chance.

I took a bite of the bacon. “Yum, I love bacon.”

“It’s good, isn’t it? I get my meat from a butcher shop instead of the supermarket.”

“Keep doing what you’re doing. This could be the best bacon I’ve ever had.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

The two of us couldn’t eat all the food he’d prepared. I felt stuffed. Brett rose from the bed and picked up the tray. “We’ve got a big day ahead of us. There are a few special places I want to take you. Wear something warm. We’ll be outside.”

I cringed.

“What’s wrong?”

“I live in Arizona. I don’t have a lot of cool weather clothing.”

He grinned. “No problem. You know how much I loved seeing you in my clothes.”

A short time later, I found myself standing in front of Gamble Garden wearing one of Brett’s oversized college sweatshirts. He was wearing one, too. We were both in jeans and sneakers. I always wanted to punch the faces of couples, who wore matching clothes. I thought they were sappy and overly sweet. Now I was one of them.

And it felt kind of nice.

The Gamble Garden was quite lovely and Brett’s whole demeanor shifted a bit as soon as we entered the facility. He was less uptight and actually seemed to be at peace. I wished there was something that brought me that kind of peace, other than alcohol, which wasn’t terribly reliable. Sometimes drinking only brought more heartache.

I was starting to feel some peacefulness being with Brett. He definitely had a calming effect on me. It was like he was taming the shrew in me.

“The rose garden was recently restored,” Brett said as he grabbed my hand and lead me in that direction. “Roses aren’t my favorite flowers but these are quite nice.”

“Are you going to show me your garden?” I asked as we viewed the roses.

“Of course. That’s where we’re having dinner tonight.”

Dinner in a garden sounded romantic but Brett had already made it quite clear we weren’t going to have sex. Bummer.

“There’s something else I really want to show you.” Brett pulled me in another direction. “This is Cherry Allee.”

It was a pathway lined with beautiful cherry trees.

“A few weeks ago, they were in blossom,” he continued. “I’m sorry you missed it. But there’s always next year.”

Next year? Was he already planning that far ahead? I could barely think about what I was doing the next day and he was already planning for next year?

We looked at the Grotto with its lovely fountain. Brett said it would be good luck to give me a kiss in the Grotto. I had a feeling he made that up just to get a kiss but it didn’t matter. His kiss was soft and delicious. I liked the way he tasted slightly like spearmint. He told me spearmint was his favorite tea and gum.

“You seem so happy here,” I observed.

“Gardens always make me happy. My mother loved them. The best times I remember spending with my mother were helping her in her garden. Unfortunately, after she died, my dad couldn’t or wouldn’t take care of it, so it slowly died after her.”

I was overcome with sadness as Brett talked about his mom. My mother was still alive and I didn’t care whether I ever saw her again or not. He didn’t have the opportunity to ever see his mom again and he seemed to desperately want to. It was obvious he missed her.

“That’s why I built my own garden in my backyard. And having a backyard is the reason I bought a town house rather than a condo.”