Page 113 of Legally Mine

As if he could read my thoughts, Brandon came up behind me and wrapped his long arms around my waist, leaning down to set his jaw on my shoulder.

"Don't think about her," he said.

"How do you always know?" I wondered.

"I can see it all over your face, Red."

I sighed and tried to turn in his arms, but he held me still, forcing me to continue looking at the view. I sighed.

"It's her place too, isn't it?"

Brandon finally loosened his grip so I could turn around, but he kept me pressed against his hard chest.

"It's mostly mine," he said. "She never liked it here."

I frowned, remembering some comment she had made so long ago about seeing her family at the Cape. "She didn't?"

Brandon shook his head. "Her family owns a place near Provincetown. She doesn't like how isolated this place is, so most of the time she wanted to stay over there."

"So why are you giving it to her in the divorce agreement?" I asked. "You were going to give her all of your property."

Brandon shrugged and rubbed my back meditatively. "A lot has changed since then. Six months ago, the most important thing to me was keeping my companies intact. But now I'll probably have to divest anyway, not to mention..."

I watched curiously as he trailed off. "Not to mention what?"

He cocked his head shyly. It made me want to tackle him onto the bed, except I wanted to know the end of his sentence.

"Not to mention that now I have more important things to fight for," he said with a hopeful gaze. "Maybe there are things worth keeping if they are important to you too. To us."

"Oh."

We gazed at each other, letting the gravity of his words, those others "things" sink in.

I looked around at the room. "So, the decor, then..."

Brandon gave me a lopsided smile. "Would you believe me if I said I pored over design magazines trying to find the perfect lamp?"

In response, I just raised my eyebrow. He laughed and dropped a kiss.

"I bought the property as is," he said. "I'll tell the previous owners you like it."

With yet another brief kiss, he released me from his embrace and took my hand again.

"You hungry?" he asked.

As he spoke, my stomach let out a loud growl. He laughed again, and it filled the room with even more light.

"Come on," Brandon said. "Let's feed you, and then I can show you the grounds."

~

We spent the next few hours exploring the property while Brandon pointed out all of his favorite spots: the cluster of driftwood that was perfect for reading on nice days and the tennis court where we could play doubles with Janette and Maurice. My eyes grew wide at that one; I'd played tennis maybe three times in my life.

"Don't worry, babe, I'll teach you," Brandon said with a laugh.

I couldn't help but laugh with him. He was different here, somehow. Lighter. Happier. It was infectious.

He led me into a small grove of oak trees on one edge of the property's bluff. At the end, there was another set of several deck chairs and a dining area underneath the of the trees. A tire swing had been hung from one of the trees.