A Love We Deserve (True Love Book 2) (18 page)

Katie tells me to be at their house by 6:00 p.m. I’m so bored, I head over early, around 5:30 p.m. She answers the door, not dressed for a Christmas party.

“Why are you here so early?”

She looks frazzled.

“I’m sorry, I thought I could go ahead and start cooking some dinner for the kids. Where are they?”

“They’re, playing, somewhere. I think at the Miller’s down the street.”

She shoos me in quickly, and slams the door. I see Jason at the top of the stairs, also casually dressed.

“Oh, hey, Mel. Well, you ready to go, Kat?”

He rushes past me and grabs her hand as he heads for the door.

“See you later!” I hear Katie say as she disappears into Jason’s car. They speed out of the driveway and down the street. I’m standing here, a bit stumped. I’m in their house, but no kids and they’re obviously not going to a party. A bad feeling creeps up my spine. Anxious sweat, beads on my forehead. My cellphone, still in my hand, buzzes.

Please don’t be mad. The kids won’t be home. Love you!

Oh shit. Those two sneaky ones aren’t trapping me in a practical joke. I open the door to go home and eat the entire gingerbread house I made this afternoon. Screw the calories. I look up when I open the door just in time to run smack into someone’s chest. Ouch! I know this body well: It’s Brian.

Chapter 18

I stumble back a few feet after running head-on into this brick wall of a man. His hands instinctively grab my upper arms to help me regain my balance.

“Whoa! I’m sorry, I had no idea someone was on the other side of the door. Katie told me to go in, that it was open. What are you doing here?”

He has a mixed look of concern and confusion. Oh that face. I haven’t seen him in weeks, so I didn’t realize how many details I had forgotten: his delectable scent, those gorgeous eyes, his long lashes. He has cut his hair, and he has what appears to be a couple of day’s growth of beard too. This man couldn’t be sexier, even though he doesn’t have a clue that he is. That’s part of his appeal. No conceit. Chris was hot, but he always knew it. Women would fawn over him and he took the bait every time. I don’t think Brian has so much as glanced in a mirror. His appearance is who he is, not something he uses for advantage. His physique comes from working hard for his sport, not vanity. He’s wearing the same sweatpants he had on the night we were together. I remember pulling them off of his body.

“Mel? Are you OK? You seem out of it.”

Oh my God, he’s been waiting for an answer to his first question, and I’ve been standing here in a fog. I’m just praying I wasn’t too obvious while I had wayward thoughts of him.

“Oh! I’m sorry. What did you say?”

Thank goodness, he laughs a little. Maybe to ease the tension.

“I said, what are you doing here? Jason and Katie asked me to babysit for them tonight. They know I’m usually free these days, so I told them I’d be happy to. Where are the kids?”

He’s trying to act casual, but I couldn’t help but notice him checking me out too. My heart has either stopped or is beating so fast I can’t feel it. Either way, I might pass out at his feet. Wait a minute. They asked him
to babysit too? I
knew
it! I knew Katie was up to something. There’s no telling how long she and Jason have been planning this little “accident.” Now I understand what she meant in her text. Well, I have one of two options. I can continue out the door, telling him to leave because we’ve been tricked and go home and pout. Or I can stay here and take advantage of the situation. I may be a bitch at times, but I’m no fool. I gather my wits, and step around him to close the door.

When I turn around, he’s staring at me.

“What’s going on, Mel?”

“Apparently, Jason and Katie set it up for you and me to see each other. They asked me to babysit for them, too. The kids are supposedly down the street, but I’m not buying that. Care for a drink? If they’ve tricked me, then I’m going to drink all their booze. Want to join?”

My equilibrium is starting to normalize. His presence puts me at ease, unless you count that my hormones scream at me to pull off his clothes. I lead him over to the wet bar, so I can check out the goods. Neither of them are big drinkers, but they always have a stocked bar for company. I know my way around it fairly well.

“Beer? Wine? Cocktail? I make a mean Long Island iced tea.”

“Sounds great. I could use a little liquid courage right about now.”

I can’t believe he said that. OK, he’s a bundle of nerves, too. It helps to know I’m not the only one. I take all the necessary ingredients, and a couple of tall glasses. I measure and pour, showing a little finesse, as he watches closely.

“I’m impressed! The best I could do is bite off the beer cap for you.”

It’s hard for me to look him in the face. I can feel his eyes boring through me, begging me to look up. I pretend to be more focused on the task at hand. I know if I engage with him right now, I’ll start crying. He doesn’t need that, so I’m going to do my best to keep the mood light. I find a couple of paper umbrellas for the finishing touch. I give him the pink one with yellow flowers, hand him the drink and hold mine out for a toast.

“To Katie and Jason. May they never stop looking over their shoulder for me.”

He laughs, and understands what I mean. I’m sure he’s just as glad as I am to be thrown together this way, but it could have been bad. What if he had been upset and didn’t want to see me? My heart would have shattered had the look on his face had been any different. I’ve missed him so much. I’ve lain in bed at night thinking about him. His story about his mother has permeated every waking minute of my days. I try to imagine what she must have been like. I have many other questions, too. Has he ever met his dad? His grandparents? I want to know every detail about him and his life. I swallow hard, because I feel a lump rising in my throat, and I don’t want him to hear pity.

“About your childhood, Brian, I’m really sorry. I had no idea what you’d been through. I’m also so sorry for the loss of you’re mother.” Swallow. “I’m so ashamed for not returning any of your messages. I just feel like you’re…too good for me.”

I take a huge
gulp. When I set down my glass, it’s nearly empty. I can feel the warmth of the alcohol work its way through my bloodstream. Go faster, I need the help! When I look up at his face, he’s red as a beet. Shit. I’ve embarrassed him. Wait. No, he’s
furious
. I know I’ve never seen him like this. His nostrils are flaring, and he slams his drink down so hard I think the glass is going to shatter. He rubs his hands over his face like he’s exasperated.

“Is
that
why you’ve been avoiding me? You think
I’m
too good for
you
?”

He’s shouting now. His southern drawl is thick, and if I weren’t so shaken by his reaction, I’d think it was the cutest sound I’d ever heard. He’s aimlessly pacing around the living room exhaling puffs of air from tightly pursed lips.

“Why would you ever think like that? I’m nothing! I have nothing to offer anyone. I have no family, very few friends, not even a true place to call home. I play a sport that, if I’m lucky, I’ll have five good years left. Then what, Mel, huh? What then?”

He looks as if he could cry. I know he won’t because he’s visibly fighting it with everything he has. He goes on, to my shocked amazement.

“And look at you. You have three amazing boys, close friends and a family in Georgia who misses you. You’re smart, beautiful, and dammit, so fucking sexy…”

He crosses the space between us and grabs my head in his massive hands. His warm lips are all over me before I know what’s happening. He’s kissing and biting my lips and neck like a starved man. My nerve endings snap to attention, and I feel deep warmth all over. I throw my arms around his neck and squeeze him tightly against me. We don’t need any words right now; our bodies are speaking for us. His hands caress my head as he kisses me. The gentleness with every move he makes is humbling. He pulls himself away from me just far enough to look into my eyes. He locks his fingers with mine.

“I don’t want to be here, in their house. Can we go to yours? I’ve only seen your place once, and I’ve had fantasies of going back. There are so many things I want to do to you and Katie would kill me if I did them here.”

That thought makes me laugh, and he’s right. Doing it in someone else’s house is weird. I do a quick assessment of the place, and see our glasses. I won’t pause now to clean up; I’ll have to owe her one. I owe her and Jason a big one for setting this up. I’ll have to come up with a good way to say thanks to them both.

We leave their house and make the cold but quick journey over to mine. Oh God, I hope it’s clean, I don’t remember. Benny greets us at the door; he must remember Brian. He flops over to show his stomach for a belly rub. Brian laughs.

“Hey, bud! I remember you. I must have made a good impression that night, at least on you.”

Ouch. At least he’s smiling when he says that.

“Yeah, one more night I need to apologize for. I was so on edge and tired when I saw you. All I wanted to do was lie down.”

“I have to confess something. When I came to the fundraiser, I was a little nervous. Normally, I don’t go to things like that, but since it was Jill asking, there was no way I could say no. As soon as I got there, Katie pointed out everyone I didn’t know, including you. I was awestruck. I stayed in the corner of the room all night and watched you move. You seemed so happy. I didn’t know at the time that it was your house.”

He moves closer to me as he speaks.

“Honestly, my plan was to show up, leave the check inconspicuously and leave. Once I saw you though, I couldn’t. All the talk that night about the shelter made me a little homesick for my mother. She was going through chemo at the time, and I couldn’t be with her because of practice. It was killing me. I had to disappear and get my head on straight. When I tried to get my car, the kid out front essentially told me they wouldn’t be able to get it out, there were too many in the way. That’s when I came upstairs. The only reason I opened your son’s door was because of this guy.”

He rubs Benny on the snout.

“I have a soft spot for animals, especially when I hear them whining like he was. He wanted to be a part of the party.”

He bends down to rub Benny’s tummy, and he shakes his head.

“When I saw all the Georgia stuff in John’s room, I couldn’t believe it. What were the odds? He has a program from one of my games with my picture in it. I saw it on the shelf. Only when you came upstairs did I realize it was your house. I should have guessed when I heard you talking all night with your adorable accent, but I didn’t put it together. I tried not to think about you after that because I figured you were married. I subtly got your story out of Jason. I’m not the type to go after women; I guess I’m too shy. I just prayed that I would run into you again. I have to admit I was hoping it was you they were setting me up with that night, and not that other girl.”

The night I was such a bitch.

“I’ll bet once I opened my mouth you were relieved it wasn’t, huh?”

I pull away from him; I’m still ashamed of that night.

“I was hurt, I won’t lie. I felt a spark between us, though, that night at your house, and I know Jason and Katie to be great judges of character. I knew that if they loved you like they seemed to, then you weren’t really as you came off. The more I spoke with them about you after that, the more intrigued I became. When you didn’t respond to my text, I just assumed I’d been wrong.”

He’s looking at me with anticipation. He needs affirmation that I felt something then, too.

“I wasn’t in a great place when you and I met that first night. Getting involved with someone was literally at the bottom of my list, below having all my toenails pulled out. I
did
feel something when I saw you. Not just how gorgeous you were, but I saw a sweetness in your eyes. I was startled by the attraction and more than a little annoyed. I didn’t
want
to be attracted to anyone. I didn’t want any more man trouble in my life; I think that’s why I was such a bitch. I was trying hard to push any of those other thoughts away. I wanted to focus on my job with Jill, and not have any distractions. Of course, the more I tried to forget you, the more you stayed with me. Can I tell
you
a secret?”

I move closer to him for emphasis. He nods his head; he’s intrigued.

“I masturbated while fantasizing about you. Your face popped into my head while I was trying to…take the edge off. It was the day after the dinner party. It wasn’t intentional, but there you were. In my head, watching me.”

My face is heating up; I feel the rush of blood flooding my cheeks. He notices and smiles.

“Hey, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. If we’re being honest, I did the same that first night I met you. And many times thereafter. I guess when we were finally together at my place, I felt like we had already spent intimate time together. That’s weird, huh?”

He leans into my face, and grazes his lips ever so slightly against mine. Now the blood is leaving my cheeks and headed for every other nerve ending in my body. It makes me lightheaded. I love this discussion, though; he’s really opening up to me. I don’t want it to stop, just yet. Grudgingly, I step back and take a deep breath.

“Wait a sec, I need to catch my breath. This is the most forthcoming you’ve been with me yet. I want to hear more, and not just the dirty stuff.”

He smiles, and then groans when we pull our lips apart.

“OK, for you, I’m an open book. What else do you want to know?”

He’s sitting up straight on a barstool, waiting for me to grill him. I don’t even know where to begin. I decide to dig right in.

“How do you feel about kids? I can’t allow my heart to always lead the way, God knows; I have to use my head. I can’t get too deep into a relationship without thinking about my boys.”

“I love kids. In fact, if football hadn’t worked out, I was going to be a teacher. My degree is in education. I’ve always pictured myself with a big family someday, especially since it was just my mom and me. I never had an extended family, so I want to make one. Your boys are an extension of you. I love you, I’ll love them.”

What?

“Can you back up a second? What did you just say?”