His brow furrowed, as though he didn’t believe people could be so spiteful, but they absolutely could. She’d grown numb to it, mostly. But the thought of Brandon seeing it filled her with dread.

“Will you promise?”

“Leigh.” He laced his fingers with hers. “Why would I watch something that hurts you?”

Her heart did a weird thumpy thing as she stared down at their hands, absorbing his words. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“I promise I won’t watch it.”

The knot in her stomach loosened.

“Thank you.”

He gazed down at her and smiled slightly. “As long as we’re putting it all out there, I should admit something.” His tone was teasing, and she felt relieved that he wanted to lighten the mood.

“What?”

“When you left the other night, it did bother me a little.”

She sighed. “I had a migraine.”

“No, I was fine with that. It was your note.”

Her mind swam as she tried to get what he meant.

“The sticky note on your bar? I put that in my purse.” She frowned. “How did you read that?”

“Indented writing. It’s a detective trick.”

“I don’t even remember what I wrote.”

“You don’t?”

“No.”

He leaned his head back against the sofa cushion. “ ‘Thanks for Leonard’s. XOXO.’ ” He made a pained face. “My ego was crushed.”

“I did not write that.”

“Yeah, you did.” He turned his head and smiled at her.

Well, maybe she did. She’d had a vicious headache and she hadn’t been thinking straight.

“It was just a sticky note,” she said defensively. “What did you want me to say?”

“How about, ‘Dear Brandon, thanks for the mind-blowing sex. You totally rocked my world.’ ”

Leigh moved onto his lap and straddled him. “I’m sorry I crushed your delicate ego.” She rested her arms on his shoulders.

“I’ll survive.” He grinned and kissed her.

The kiss started out teasing, but then turned serious. The moment was serious, she realized. Something was happening here. She’d told him the thing she dreaded most, the thing that had been hanging over her life for years. And he’d opened up to her, too. For so long, she’d avoided intimacy, and she didn’t know if she was ready for it.

But it was happening anyway.

He lifted her off his lap and shifted her beneath him on the sofa. He settled between her legs, and she stared up at him.

“What is it?” he asked.

She traced her finger over his jaw. “I should warn you. I’m kind of a mess when it comes to relationships.”

He propped his weight on his elbow.

“I don’t have a great track record,” she added.

“Me either.” He kissed her forehead.

“I have some hang-ups. The phone thing is just the beginning.”

He kissed her mouth.

“And my work-life balance sucks,” she said.