Hidden Pleasures - Brenda Jackson [64]
“So what do you think of my parents?” he leaned close and asked her.
“I think you are blessed to have them. They are super.”
“Yes, they are,” he agreed. “And what do you think of my mother’s courtyard?”
Brittany grinned. “If I wasn’t in the holiday spirit before arriving here, I would definitely be now.”
Galen threw his head back and laughed, and Brittany couldn’t help herself when she joined in with him. His mother’s courtyard looked like a Christmas wonderland. Beautiful as well as festive.
“Christmas is her favorite holiday,” he said, placing an arm around her shoulders and bringing her closer to his side.
She lifted her glass to her lips and smiled before taking a sip of her wine. “I can tell.”
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see his parents were taken with Brittany, Galen thought. From the moment she walked into their home, Drew and Eden had begun treating her like the daughter they’d never had. Galen could tell that at first Brittany was overwhelmed, didn’t know what to make of such an overflow of love and kindness, but then he figured she assumed that’s just the way his parents were. Not really.
He would be the first to admit his parents were good people, but even he had noticed how solicitous they were toward her. And his brothers were no exception. They flocked around her like the caring brothers they would become once they married. He had thought of that word a lot lately and he knew he truly wanted to marry Brittany. He couldn’t imagine his life without her.
They needed to talk, he knew, and he’d start that conversation in earnest when they returned to his place. Now he crossed the room to where Brittany stood talking to his parents and brothers.
“Time to go, sweetheart,” he said softly.
She smiled over at him. “All right.” She then turned to his parents. “Thanks so much for having me here tonight.”
Eden beamed. “And we look forward to you coming back.” She then shifted her gaze to her oldest son. “You will bring her back, Galen, won’t you?”
Galen grinned. “Yes, whenever she’s in town. If I come, she’ll be with me.”
“Wonderful!”
Galen noticed on the way back home that Brittany seemed awfully quiet. He knew for sure something was bothering her when they arrived back at his place and he saw her lips quivering. She was mad about something. What? He found out the moment he closed the door behind them.
“How could you do that, Galen?” she asked angrily.
“How could you let your parents assume I meant something to you and I’d be back to have dinner with them again when you don’t want me? Do you know how that made me feel?”
Yes, Galen thought, leaning back against the door. He knew precisely how she felt. She had gone through life assuming no one wanted her. In her eyes, she had been the flawed baby no one wanted to adopt. Not worthy of anyone’s love. Well, he had news for her and he might as well set her straight right now and not while making love to her later tonight as he’d planned.
He moved away from the door and crossed the distance separating them. When he came to a stop in front of her, he saw the tears she was trying hard to hold back and promised himself that he would never let her shed a single tear for thinking no one wanted her.
“It should have made you feel loved, Brittany, because you are. My parents treated you the way they did tonight because they knew what you evidently don’t. Granted, I’ve never said the words, but I’d thought my actions spoke loud and clear. I love you.”
He could tell she didn’t get it for a moment because she just stood there and stared at him. And then she spoke. “What did you say?”
He had no trouble repeating it.