Blocked (9 page)

In fact, since her divorce, April hadn’t dated. At all. So the conversation was like opening a safe that had been sealed shut for years. If she wasn’t so busy listening to the blood rush through her ears, she probably could have heard the squeak of unused vault hinges. While she had absolutely no immediate plans for Eli to meet Decker, the thought of discussing her son with a man she’d just met, a man she was insanely attracted to, a man she’d thought about while pleasuring herself made her uneasy. However, with said man waiting patiently on the other end of the line, she felt the indescribable need to explain her behavior. So she did.

While she didn’t bore him with the play-by-play, she gave him the highlights or, as she referred to them, the lowlights. After four years of reflection, April was finally able to see some of the signs she’d missed along the way, and she shared those with Decker as well. Each time she felt as if she was divulging too much or going on too long, Decker would ask another question or express his disapproval over Ben’s actions. April appreciated not just the fact that Decker listened, but the fact that he actively listened.

“I don’t understand, April.” Decker sounded perplexed.

“I threw a lot at you. What’s got you stumped?”

“How the hell could any man lucky enough to have you be dumb enough to let you go?”

The heavy feeling that had sat like a brick in her belly mere moments before magically turned to fairy dust, all shimmery fine and satiny smooth. How did he do that? Still wrapped in the blanket and holed up in the corner of her bed, drained from sharing what was arguably the worst experience of her life, she was amazed to feel the small smile stretching over her lips. No, there would never be a day when what Ben did would be anything less than disgusting, wrong, and horrendous, but just the actuality that she wasn’t crying buckets, hell, the reality was she was grinning? Decker Brand had to be some kind of magician.

His deep voice pulled her from her thoughts. “Seriously, April, no offense, but your ex sounds like a loser. As for the chick, she’s his current wife, right? How the fuck could she be with a man who was not only married but expecting a child? Ech, that’s a soulless woman right there.”

Just the thought of Ben’s wife, Becky, caused April to flinch. It was a knee-jerk reaction that occurred every time someone mentioned
that
woman. She sighed, “As much as I’d like to blame everything on the homewrecking whore, truth is, she wasn’t the one who was married. That was Ben. She may have the morals of an alley cat, but she wasn’t the one who was cheating.” Ugh, thinking about it gave April a stomach ache, but actually admitting that Becky, while a nasty, skanky sleaze, was not the cause of her failed marriage… that made her want to vomit.

“We’re home,” August and Elijah chimed in unison from the bottom of the stairs.

Wow.
April glanced at the clock on her night table. Two hours had passed? Maybe the man did have super powers; he sure as hell made the time fly by.

“Hey, Decker, my brother, August, just brought Elijah home, so it’s probably safe to assume that my kid is a sticky, exhausted mess in need of a bath and a bed.” April smiled. Her son could be sugared up and shooting chocolate chips out of his nostrils, and she’d still be grateful for every minute August spent with him.

“Wait,” Decker called, his soft chuckle sending tingles down April’s spine. “Are you telling me that your parents had two children, and they thought it would be what… cute to name them both after calendar months?” His voice broke, sending ripples of laughter into April’s ear.

Unable to control her own giggle, April replied, “No, I’m telling you that my parents had
three
children, and my mother, who we’ve already established is more than a bit crazy, decided to name us all after months. There’s my brother, August, my sister, Ember, and me.”

“Ember?”

“Yep, as in November.” April held the cell close to her ear as she walked down the stairs. “Laugh it up, big guy,” she teased, “but trust me, it’s far from funny. My mother takes her names quite seriously. The woman is still holding a grudge over the fact that I was born a week late, making my birth month May instead of April.”

Amusement evident in the contorted chuckle she heard in Decker’s words, he asked the question so many had queried before. “A…April, why didn’t she just name you
May
instead?”

The sound of the ridiculously handsome man’s laugh felt like the sun warming her skin after a cold winter. So instead of answering his question with the bitterness that she usually felt toward the topic, she allowed herself to see it from an outsider’s point of view. In all honesty, it sounded crazy, ridiculous, and funny as shit.

“My mother is a stubborn woman, Deck. She’d already had a mural painted on the nursery wall that said
April,
and she was angry that I, her third child, was overdue. According to my family, she demanded to be induced just so I could be born in April, but the doctors refused to do it.” April rolled her eyes. “The woman has major control issues.”

With his laughter under control, Decker replied, “Yeah, I’d say she may be a bit controlling. However, I’m kind of glad she stuck with the name April.”

“You are? Why?” April couldn’t imagine what his response would be.

“I don’t know, May just seems so… pioneer-ish. Like the
Mayflower
.” Decker’s playful tone had April picturing the smirk that had been melting her panties for weeks on end. Decker continued to tease, “Or better yet, subservient.
May
I have my slippers and my pipe?”

“All right, funny man. I need to go get my boy ready for bed, and I’m sure you probably have another head inspection in your immediate future… but hopefully I’ll see you soon.”

“You just
may
.” He chuckled and disconnected the call, leaving April standing in the family room with a goofy smile plastered on her face.

* * *

APRIL SLID HER phone in her back pocket and moved toward her brother, whose arms were filled with sleepy little boy. “It looks like you guys had a ton of fun.” She leaned in and placed a kiss on Eli’s forehead, inhaling the sweet scent of ice cream and innocence.

“Hmm, someone else looks like they had quite a bit of fun tonight.” August grinned, the question evident in his eyes.

April felt her cheeks warm. Her own built-in lie-detector had kept her honest her whole life.

“Tiny, did the guy from the gym call you?”

“Umm.” Flames licked the soft surfaces of April’s face, turning it from pale pink to blazing red. “Eventually.”

August cocked his head to the right and smirked. “What does that mean? Wait, did you actually call him first? Holy shit, Tiny!” August’s eyes rounded with pride. “I’m so proud of you! Don’t worry, I’ll never tell Mom.”

“No!” April huffed. “I’d never call a boy first, jeez, August.” She cupped her hand over her mouth and faked a cough. “I texted him.” She used August’s temporary state of shock to swipe Elijah from his strong but trembling arms. “Stop laughing at me, Aug. You’re loud, and you’re gonna scare my child. That will make me angry.” She glared at her brother with the most evil stare she could summon. “You won’t like me when I’m angry.”

The Hulk quote lingering in the air managed to make August laugh even harder, as it always had in the past, but since August was the greatest uncle ever, August’s laughter burst from his body, completely soundless, and his eyes watered, his face was red, and his hands ran through his dark blond hair.

April nearly lost her shit just watching her brother trying to contain his. “Stay down here,” she whispered loudly through forced calmness. “I’ll put him to bed real fast, and then tell you what happened. And since you are my favorite brother, I’ll even let you laugh at me while I tell you.” With Eli in her arms, April turned and headed up the stairs.

“Wait,” August called quietly, “I’m your only brother.”

She looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Good thing you aren’t my second favorite.” The sound of his chuckle followed her upstairs.

Chapter Five

You and the Floss Fairy

DECKER KNOCKED ONCE on his brother’s office door and entered before Ford could instruct him otherwise.

“Deck, really, can’t you even wait for me to invite you in? I could have been in the middle of a meeting.” Ford’s eyes held neither contempt nor any hint of chastisement.

Decker smirked, shook his head, and held up his smart phone. “But I knew you weren’t. Our work schedules are synched now, remember? You went all crazy with your
knowledge is power
shit and forced your sweet little secretary to merge our phones. Christ, I know way too much about your damned itinerary. I’m shocked you don’t have your daily jerk-off sessions tapped in.” Decker tucked his phone back in his jacket pocket, sat in his favorite chair, and laughed when his brother flipped him the bird.

“You keep barging in, and you may just see something you can’t unsee, big brother.” Ford’s words came through a smile, but the promise was no joke.

“Oh really, what does that mean?” Decker goaded in good humor. When Ford remained silent behind his desk, his face an impenetrable mask, Decker grew serious. Just because Ford was his best friend didn’t mean they spilled their guts over cocoa on a weekly basis. “Seriously, what’s up? I know it’s not work-related because this place is booming.” A sense of pride filled every pore in Decker’s body. Their father would be proud of them. “Is it Mom? Is it you?”

Decker watched as Ford leaned back in his expensive Italian leather chair, his arms—muscular and inked with spectacular art hidden under designer suits—crossed lightly over his broad chest with his perfectly coiffed hair still in place even so close to the end of the work day. That kind of perfection used to drive Decker insane, but his brother appeared to thrive off of it.

“Relax, faux-pap,” Ford smiled, using the nickname he’d given Decker after their father had died when Decker seemed to be so much more than just a big brother. “I’m fine, I swear. I just don’t want your eyes to bleed if you ever barge in here and see more than just files spread out on my desk.” Ford’s brows lifted playfully. “You’re not the only one who has a life outside of this place. You feel me?”

Laughter ratcheted through Decker’s body. “Dude, just promise me I won’t
feel
any part of you on my favorite chair here.”

Ford leaned over and pressed a button on the phone system. “Jovanna, can you please pick up some Clorox wipes before you come into the office tomorrow? Thank you.”

“No problem, Mr. Brand.”

Decker could almost hear the blush rising on the cheeks of the sweet young woman who sat at the front desk. “You’re a dick, Ford.” Decker shook his head but smiled at his business partner. “That poor girl has been lusting over you for months. And you have her running your errands?”

Ford loosened the knot in his tie and undid the first button of his shirt. “Don’t you worry about Vanna.” His eyes glittered with what Decker always clocked as a mischievous look. “She’s doing just fine. Now what’s your deal?”

My deal
… Decker thought to himself, the reason he’d come to Ford’s office in the first place. He ran his hands through his hair and stared at his brother before blurting, “I want to ask her out.”

Ford’s brows shot up to his hairline. “Jovanna?”

“No… April.”

Ford nodded. “The hottie from the gym, gotcha.”

For some reason, after the past two days of cute text messages during work and lengthy conversations late at night, hearing her described as nothing more than eye candy grated on Decker’s nerves. “I told you, man, she’s more than that, she’s—”

“Stop,” Ford interrupted his hands held up in defense. “Christ, I didn’t mean disrespect, Deck, okay? We’ve spent the past couple of months referring to her as the gym hottie, and old habits die hard.” Ford’s eyes softened, and his lips ticked up on one side. “I’ll be more careful.”

“Sorry I jumped on you like that.” Decker shoved his hand through his hair yet again. “She’s different, this one… Christ, I don’t know her that well, but I fucking want to.” Decker glanced over at his brother and recognized the pensive look immediately.

Ford rubbed his hand across his jaw, over the shadow of hair growing where it had been freshly shaven and smooth just eight hours earlier. His brows were furrowed, and his lips pressed tightly together for a brief moment before he inhaled and began his assessment. “I don’t see the problem, Deck.”

“It’s not a problem per say. We’ve being meeting up almost every day for nearly two weeks at the gym after work, and we’re constantly texting or chatting, but it isn’t enough. I want more.”

“So take what you want.” Ford shrugged as if the concept was as elementary as addition. “It’s not like you’ve been celibate over the past few years. Women flock to you—they always have. She will too.” Ford’s face relaxed as he leaned forward in his chair, the sound of leather creaking in the otherwise quiet office. “I’m gonna give you a piece of advice you’ve been feeding me for years. Just be yourself. Whoever doesn’t accept you can fuck off.”

Decker snickered. “Nice. Sounds like brilliant guidance.” The smile slowly left his face as realization hit. “But here’s the deal. While you may choose to keep your acquaintances with women limited to them being bent over your chair or draped across this beast of a desk”—Decker motioned between the two men—“and you
know
there will never be an ounce of judgment from me, that’s not what I want with April.”

He knew he must have sounded insane. He was just getting to know the woman they spoke of, but all the same, he meant every single word that left his mouth. “I want to get to know this woman. I’ve seen her smile, and I wanna make that happen again. You should see her dimples, Ford, they’re… fuck, they’re sexy as shit.” Decker felt his dick stir in his jeans as April’s husky giggle echoed in his head. He had yet to hear her all-out laugh. It was a challenge he placed upon himself and one he couldn’t wait to accomplish. “I wanna know what makes her tick, what makes her happy. Hell, I need to hear her laugh long before I hear her moan.” With his mind and his body at odds, Decker stood from the chair, adjusted himself non-too-discreetly, and looked at his brother. “Thanks for the talk, Ford. I feel much better.”