Reckless (11 page)

              A beautiful dark skinned woman with long black hair and a body to kill for stepped out of the house along with a tall, regal looking man who looked like he belonged just with her. They were a gorgeous couple with a gorgeous little girl. Looking at them brought back the conversation from the previous day with Lucian. He wanted a child with her, and she was a little disappointed in that moment that she wasn’t pregnant.

              She swallowed hard and smiled at the couple approaching them.

              “Brianna Michaels, I want to introduce you to some very good friends of mine.” Andrew said. “This is D’Shawn Edwards and his beautiful wife, Nakeisha. And this lovely creature in my arms is my Goddaughter, Alicia.”

              “So nice to meet you.” She said.

              “I’ve known Shawn and Nikki since college. D’Shawn was my roommate, and Nikki was mine first.” He winked at her.

              “She wasn’t yours.” Shawn corrected. “You just saw her first. The man with the smoothest moves won.”

              Everyone started laughing and Nikki looped her arm through hers. “They will go on like this all day. Come inside and sit down. Dinner will be ready in a little while.” She said, practically pulling her towards the house.

              Inside the kitchen, Nikki pushed Brianna down into a stool at the island and started chopping vegetables.

              “Can I help with something?” she asked. Nikki gave her a surprised look and then handed her a knife and an onion.

              “I didn’t take you for a cook. Andrew’s taste in women are the type who have chefs to prepare their meals for them.” Nikki tossed some veggies into a sauce pan and stirred.

              “I’ve known Andrew for a month, but he knows nothing about me.” She shrugged. “I’m from Colorado. I don’t come from money. I’m used to eating Ramen noodles six days a week.”

              “Really?” This seemed to intrigue Nikki. She gave her another, longer look. “You’re definitely his type as far as looks go, but you’re real. You seem to be street smart, and Drew says you work together so you have to be book smart as well. You’re dangerous, girl.”

              Bree laughed. She didn’t think she was that dangerous. Except to herself. She liked Andrew a lot, but she had a connection to Lucian that confused the hell out of her. But Lucian was engaged and she never wanted to see him again. She was moving forward, though she wasn’t sure she should be moving forward with Lucian’s older brother.

              Neither brother knew about her past, and she wanted to keep it that way. She was still a minor when everything happened with James and it was one of her biggest regrets in life. If it weren’t for Jon, she didn’t know where she’d be.

              She sighed, missing Jon so badly that her heart physically hurt. He was the only man in her life that was always with her through everything and never asked for anything in return. They were best friends and she hated that he was touring the country when she needed him the most. She kept making mistake after mistake and her heart couldn’t take much more.

              Making a vow to call John in the morning, she pushed everything out of her head and decided to enjoy the rest of her evening. She chopped the onion, made the rice, and helped with the dessert. All the while, she and Nikki were talking about mundane things like Alicia’s preschool, Shawn’s job as a government contractor, and what she planned to do when she graduated from college.

              During dinner, Shawn and Andrew mostly talked about business. Brianna couldn’t help but notice that he had Alicia in his lap the entire time. It was actually endearing to watch, and she couldn’t help but to wonder what kind of father he would be. She shook her head and tried to breathe. She was much too young to be thinking about things like that. She hadn’t even finished college yet.

              After dinner, Shawn and Nikki hugged them goodbye and Andrew made them promise to come to New York soon. And when her parents weren’t looking, Adrian pulled out all the cash in his wallet and handed it to Alicia, telling her to run and stuff it in her piggy bank and not to tell her parents. When they were in the car, Brianna couldn’t help but laugh.

              “Her parents don’t know she has all that money, do they?” she laughed.

              “Nor do they know about the other half a million dollars in her piggy bank.” He shrugged.

              “Half a million dollars!” she shrieked.

              “Some of it is for her college fund. Some of it is for a car when she turns sixteen. But most of it is for toys, though she usually gets everything she wants for Christmas and birthdays.” He grinned.

              “You really love her, don’t you?” she sighed.

              “Like she’s my own. He said.

              The helicopter ride back to New York was exhausting. She fell asleep in Andrew’s lap and somehow didn’t come awake until they pulled up in front of their apartment building. He kissed her lightly and she opened her eyes when he pressed his forehead to hers.

              “I wasn’t sure, and I’m still unsure, but I think I want to make you mine.” He said.

              “Maybe I’d like that.” She grinned.

              “Until then, I think we’d better not risk walking inside together. When I want New York to know about you, they’ll know.” He said.

              She rubbed her hand up his thigh and looked into his eyes. “Does that mean I’m sleeping alone tonight?” she pouted.

              He gave her a lingering kiss and then nodded. “Tonight, yes. We have some things to talk about, and then we’ll go from there.”

              After another kiss, the driver opened the door and helped her out of the car. She nodded to the doorman and headed up to her apartment. Dropping her purse by the door, she headed to the kitchen for a bottle of water before bed. She found a note from Ellie saying that she was spending the night with Kevin and his roommate, Aiden.

              She immediately started stripping out of her dress. She was reaching up for her bra when she walked into her bedroom and froze.

              “Now, that’s the way a man should be greeted at night.” James smiled.

              She swore, her heart stopped beating.

Twenty Three

              Samantha was in full bridal mode. She dragged Kelsey with her to some bridal shop to shop for dresses, and she spent all night talking about invitations and venues. He could see it in her eyes every time she looked at him that she wanted to know what happened between him and Brianna in the restaurant. He wanted to tell her just to get the guilt off of his chest, but at the same time, it was a private moment between the two of them.

              He knew that he was going to go along with this wedding, especially now that he knew that he wasn’t going to be a father. There was nothing at all holding him back. The instant chemistry he had with Brianna wasn’t something he had to worry about anymore. He was just going to hang that up and forget about her.

              That’s what he told himself while he was on his walk, trying to clear his head. He somehow ended up outside of his brother’s building where he knew Brianna was as well. Then he saw his brother’s car pull up and his driver open the door. He wanted to ask his brother what his deal was with Brianna, but stopped cold.

              Bree stepped out of the car and headed for the building. He wondered why she was in his brother’s car alone. It’s not like they were dating. They barely knew one another. Besides, if it were a date, his brother would be walking with her, his arms around her, smelling that sweet lemon and coconut smell of her beautiful bronzed skin.

              Damn, he just wanted to taste her one more time.

              A moment later, his brother stepped out of the car and Lucian lost his shit. He didn’t understand the rage and jealousy he felt at that moment, but he couldn’t stand it anymore.

              “What the hell, Drew?” he demanded. His brother looked taken aback for a moment before a wicked grin crossed his face. “Why are you dropping off Kelsey’s friend?”

              “You mean, Brianna? Lovely, isn’t she?” Drew stared off into the lobby of his building where Brianna disappeared a few minutes earlier.

              “A little young for your tastes, isn’t she?” he snorted.

              Drew looked at him and smiled. “I like her. She’s sweet. I have a feeling about her.” His brother headed inside of the building, and he followed.

              “You don’t know anything about her! You don’t know where she’s from, what she’s been into until she met Kelsey. Do you know that I had to have my security dispose of an exboyfriend of hers? And that exboyfriend is bad news. Dangerous for Kelsey.” He said.

              His brother stopped walking and frowned at him. “How dangerous?” he said, his face deadly serious.

              “Dangerous enough that Brianna spent a week with me towards the end of spring because he found out where she lived and she was terrified.” He said.

              Drew nodded and approached the elevator. “I’ll talk to her.” He said as he waited for the car to approach.

              For some reason that didn’t satisfy him. He wanted his brother to stop talking to Brianna at all. He knew what he was about to do was wrong, but his mouth worked faster than his mind and the words were out before he could stop them.

              “Bree and I were sleeping together. As a matter of fact, that’s what happened last night after our talk. She’s not what you think, Drew. She’s just looking for a hand up.” He said.

              His brother said nothing. The elevator doors opened and he stepped inside. He wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw something dark and calculating in his brother’s eyes as the door closed in front of him.

              “Shit!” he spat the curse and practically ran out of the building.

              What the hell was he thinking?

Twenty Four

              James waited for her in the living room while she quickly changed into sweats and a baggy t-shirt. She took out her contacts and put on her glasses and pulled her hair up into a messy knot on top of her head before joining him in the living room. She was sure to pull out her cell phone and dial Jonathan, placing her phone casually on the bookshelf behind James before sitting down on the chair opposite him.

              “What are you doing here?” she asked.

              “I’ve missed you.” He said. She snorted and stared at him, waiting for more. “You were my girl, Bree. My number one. You’re all I thought about while I was locked up.”

              “How did you find me?” she demanded.

              “Aren’t you going to offer me some sort of….. Refreshment?” James leaned forward and stared at her, a familiar heat behind his eyes. She was suddenly so uncomfortable that she stood up and headed for the kitchen. She pulled out a single serve bottle of orange juice and resisted the urge to throw it at his head.

              “Answer me.” She said, handing him the bottle.

              “I’ve missed you.” He said seriously.

              “You tried to sell me.” She snorted.

              “A misunderstanding.” He countered.

              She cocked an eyebrow at him. He looked exactly as she remembered, only harder. Half Cuban and half Caucasian, his brown eyes were still so deep that they pierced her soul. His brown hair was longer than she’d remembered, touching the collar of his tight white t-shirt. His hip hugging jeans would have brought the old Brianna to her knees, but the new Brianna was pissed off at the man sitting on her couch.

              “How did you find me, James?” she asked again.

              “You’re not hard to find, Little Bit.” He said. She shuddered at the old nickname he’d given her years ago. “My Uncle Aaron and Aunt Sarah were bragging about you going to the University of Colorado, and UC was practically bragging in a newsletter about your internship in New York. Congrats, by the way.”

              “Thanks.” She murmured.

              He stared at her, making her shift in her seat. “You look beautiful, Little Bit. All grown up.” He said.

              “What do you want?” she asked.

              “We need to clear up a few things.” He said.

              “Like?”

              “Like the money you owe me.” He told her.

              She stared at him, shocked. “I don’t owe you a damn thing, James!” she yelled.

              “On the contrary, Little Bit. You cost me a sale. A very important sale.” He said. “I was going to get a cool six figures for Laura, and triple if I threw you into the deal.”

              “So?”

              “So, I loved you, babe. I wasn’t going to sell you. That was just a misunderstanding thanks to Jon’s eavesdropping. But since he’s on tour, and you blocked the sale, having me locked away simply because you were pissed at me, I figure you owe me.” He finished his juice and stared at her.