Shane rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “Clarke is currently interviewing her.”
Clarke was Shane's number two. She owned an amazing house in a gated community not far from the shop. Brady used to live there with Steve and Bo after their apartment burned down (a very long story which was really Steve's to tell). But they left soon after Shane returned from the East Coast.
“Her?” Brady focused on one word in Shane's statement.
Shane narrowed his eyes. “Are you, Brady Samson, worried about a woman showing you up?”
Brady's brow furrowed. “No. Not even a little.”
Shane smiled lopsidedly. “I told you, I need different perspectives.”
“Yeah, I know. I get it.” He did get it. Brady was being weird and he didn't have an explanation for it, so he sat quietly.
Shane let the silence hang between them for several seconds before flipping open the folder on his desk. “I have a contract here if you're ready to sign.”
Brady sat up straight. “Right now?” He reached for the pen Shane extended.
“Think about it. Once you sign, there's no going back. I'll need a week or two to plan the first three locations, the competition will begin after those are accomplished to get an accurate read on numbers.”
Brady scribbled his name on the line, his heart pounding. This. This was so unbelievably amazing. He would be able to get out of town, get away, get his head back. Maybe this was what he'd been missing. Not a girl who knocked the wind out of him, but a real, true to heart adventure.
A light knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” Shane called. The door swung open and Shane smiled. “Do we have our team?”
“We sure do!” Clarke answered. “I finally talked her into it.”
Brady looked over his shoulder—
“Lo Fredericks, meet Brady Samson, your new best friend and traveling companion.”
***
Lo
Lo rolled her lips inside and bit down to keep from smiling and also to prevent the laugh that wanted to forcefully project out of her.
Always.
In her effort to run from something troubling her, she ran smack into the very thing (or person) she wanted release from. It happened so often by this point, she wasn't even surprised. In fact, she should have predicted this exact thing.
Brady shot to his feet, his larger frame towering over her. Whether intentional or not, he stood closer to her than normal strangers would. With a familiarity, like he belonged in her space. Or she belonged in his. Either way, it was both unnerving and invigorating.
Heated blue eyes blazed wildly as they flicked over her face. Again, with more possession, more intimacy than two people meeting for a second-and-a-half time should have.
Also, a little bit of anger. Or something similar to anger. She assumed anger.
An alarm bell rang in the back of her mind. She had missed him.
“So we meet again,” she murmured, feeling her heart take off at a gallop.
Brady lifted his chin and glanced back at Shane. “Let me know when you have a departure date.” He nodded curtly at Clarke, his eyes skated quickly over Lo's face, and he stepped swiftly and carefully around them as he left.
“Sorry,” Shane began to apologize, pinching the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “Brady's normally—”
“Not such a jerk,” Clarke finished, disgust evident in her expression and tone. “I knew all those boys living together would wreck him.” She faced Lo. “He's really a great guy.”
“It's fine,” Lo said, waving a hand as a dismissal. “We met a couple times before. I think he's probably trying to figure out how to pay me back for the tacos Bo stole from us.”
Clarke's eye twitched, Shane guffawed.
***
“So, did you get it?” Spencer asked as Lo slid into the passenger seat of the Ford.
“Yes,” Lo sighed. “But there's a catch.” The biggest catch ever. So big, she wasn't sure if she had a big enough mitt to catch it with. If that's how the saying went.
Spencer tilted her head and paused before putting the vehicle into gear.
“My travel companion is the one and only Brady Samson.”
“Oh, no,” Spencer said, her eyes going wide.
Spencer knew. Because girls told each other those kinds of things. Lo had gone to Tessa's apartment that night and told her two best friends all about her fairy-tale moment and the best kiss of her life. She had since kept them updated on every Brady non-interaction that followed as well. They had big opinions on how she was handling it, which was to say, not well. They wanted her to go over and kiss him to death and get it over with. Lo's solution was to run away.
“Yep. And when we were introduced, he shot out of there like his balls were on fire.”
“Shit.”
“Tell me about it,” Lo replied, slumping against her seat belt. “This is all my fault. I should have just told him who I was that night at the party right away. Then we could have avoided all this awkward stuff. Now we have to work together. I'm sure he thinks I'm some sort of stalker woman with some sort of...” She waved her hand, wiggling her fingers as she sought the right description. “Obsession or whatever. I mean, what are the odds we both get hired for the same job on the same day?”
Of course, if she'd have told him who she was, she would never have found out that her entire body could hum with just the touch of his lips. No joke, best kiss ever.
The kiss that woke her up and made her realize she wasn't doing what she wanted to do. She'd had a taste of freedom and she wanted more.
Which was why she'd finally gone down to Soaring Bird to meet with Clarke in the first place. The young manager had been trying to get her signed to the brand for a while. But Lo had been in a weird headspace where she thought “growth” meant staying put. She'd since changed her mind.
“No! I mean shit!” Spencer said smacking the steering wheel. “Super shitty shitballs!” She smacked it again.
“What am I missing?” Lo asked, confused by Spencer's display of aggression on her steering wheel.
“You can fix this.” Spencer slid her sunglasses on and slid the car into reverse. “At least, I think you can. You're going to try anyway.”
***
Brady
Brady didn't know what was wrong with him. He was the nice one. He was the one who cared. About all of it. The people, the places, the things. Every noun in existence, he was the one who cared.
And he showed his caring in good and decent ways. He walked in a straight line, he didn't zig-zag through life.
So why, every time he was around Lo, did his good, caring, decent self, go mute? It was as if he became a live wire and she was a waterfall. Sure, maybe sparks were considered a good thing in most cases, attraction and all that. But this was different. Around her he was out of control. Tumbling, tumbling, tumbling. Directionless and overwhelmed.
Except his direction was towards her.
He'd stepped right into her space, filling it, feeling it.
And damn her, she hadn't stepped back—she'd leaned into it. Her green eyes full of all sorts of promised danger.
Danger he wanted to explore.
Instead, he found himself driving home and cursing himself for his boorish behavior. He'd been rude. Cold. Withholding. If for no other reason than he couldn't kiss her.
And it made him angry.
He slammed the door of his car but it didn't make him feel any better. So he slammed the door of the house as well. The pictures on the wall shook with the force.
“What the hell is the matter with you now?” Bo asked from his seat on the couch.
Brady's eyes narrowed on his brother. The source of so many of his frustrations. The reason he'd been made to feel a fool in front of Lo in the first place.
And surprise, surprise, he was on the couch again.
Brady was done with his bullshit.
“You!” he shouted jabbing a finger at Bo. “You're
what's the matter with me. You and your inability to grow up!” He ran a shaky hand through his hair and charged to the end of the room, paused and paced back. “I just signed up for the adventure of a lifetime. Shane is going to pay me to travel the world and surf. I signed a contract. It's a done deal.”
Bo cocked his head and sighed with exasperation. “Yeaaaahh...?”
“You're such a dick,” Brady muttered shaking his head and trying to keep his hands from curling into fists. Once they curled into fists, they were going to get all punchy. And Bo's face made such a huge target at the moment.
“You never let anything go! You have to cause trouble and drive people crazy. And you drag me into it!”
Bo blinked slowly. “Your face is so red right now.”
Brady knew he should walk away, take a breather, get some fresh air, go the gym.
But he didn't.
Instead, he lunged.
He tackled his brother and the momentum toppled the couch backwards. Bo was strong, they were easily matched physically. Punches were exchanged, grunts, curses, a slap or two. Brady grappled with Bo, wrestling him to the ground and pinning his arms to the floor.
“You're always thinking with either your stomach or your dick,” Brady growled.
“If this is about the pizza the other day, I'll replace it!” Bo spat. He rolled his shoulders and Brady lost his grip.
They pushed and pulled, Bo getting the upper hand this time and putting Brady in a headlock.
“You're ruining my life,” Brady rasped through the pressure created by the forearm along his windpipe.
“And still, I don't know how the pizza proves that,” Bo said, sounding bored, which only incensed Brady more.
“Not the pizza,” he wheezed. “The tacos.”
Bo's grip loosened. “Clementine's tacos?”
Brady landed an elbow in Bo's gut, taking satisfaction in the “oof” that followed. They fought for control again. More punching, Brady pinched the back of Bo's thigh and he howled in surprise.
Suddenly pain radiated from the shell of Brady's ear. He attempted to ignore it, but it only increased in pressure, pulling his head away from his battle. Bo seemed to be having the same issue.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow,” they said in unison as their limbs untangled and they were separated by their ears.
“Boys, really.” Spencer Clementine had hold of each of them. “If I let go, will you stop fighting?”
Bo nodded, his eyes narrowed at the petite blonde, irritation rolling off him in waves. Brady nodded too, but with less vindictive loathing.
“Now,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest, a pleased smile playing on her lips. “This doesn't have anything to do with me, does it?”
Brady tried to steady his heavy breathing, his eyes caught on Lo standing near the front door. His breathing stopped. No more breath. None. Nothing.
She was wearing shorts. Showing off the toned, tan legs he had only imagined beneath the emerald evening gown. A flowy, multi-patterned tank made her collarbone and the curve of her shoulders a focal point he'd attempted to ignore when he had seen her in the office a moment ago.
His body leaned her direction even as he tightened his jaw and rejected its advancement.
“Don't you have to invite the devil into your home?” Bo snapped, wiping blood from his lower lip.
“That's vampires,” Spencer corrected with a lip curl.
“It's not just for evil in general?” Bo quipped.
Spencer rolled her eyes. “You can come into the house, Lo.”
Brady's eyes darted around the torn apart couch and the fast food bags littering the floor. In just an hour, Bo and Steve had undone all of his hard work. What a stellar third impression. At this point she could safely assume he was a regular man-child. It's probably why she was here, to correct his bad manners and give him a wrist slap. They would be working together after all, she was probably there to make sure he acted like a grownup.
“I just thought—” Spencer stopped and grunted as she righted the couch all by herself.
Spencer Clementine was surprisingly strong for such a tiny person.
“We could go ahead and talk like adults. Seeing as Lo and Brady will be working together.” She tossed the cushions back onto the frame and Lo tucked them in. Then she proceeded to pick up the trash in front of the television. “I would hate for my homegirl to have difficulties in this brand new venture in her life simply because I have a... uh, difficult history with Bo.”
Bo's face took on that cocky glow Brady hated. “Difficult. That's a word for it.”
Spencer ignored him and took the trash out to the kitchen. It didn't matter, Bo continued.
“I prefer exciting. Or hellish.”
“Fine,” she nodded in agreement. “Hellish it is. You would know, it's where you were spawned.”
Bo growled under his breath.
“I told Lo about Bo's issues with me,” Spencer said to Brady.
“I bet you did,” Bo snarled. Spencer cast him a withering glare. “I told her you shouldn't be held responsible for your brother's more primitive behaviors.”
“Woman,” Bo warned, coking his head and arching an eyebrow.
Brady rubbed a hand along the back of his neck, feeling his ears heat up again. It wasn't that simple. It was all of it. It was the way she'd met him, his brother's childish vendetta, seeing him run away, the impression his dad had made that he couldn't take care of himself. And all he had done to prove that theory correct. How was his ego supposed to recover from that? How was he supposed to look at her without feeling like an idiot? How was she supposed to look at him without wondering if he could be trusted or if he could behave like an adult? It was a bad setup all the way around.
“Brady,” Lo spoke, her face and tone matching in gentle hesitation. “Can we talk?” She tipped her head towards the front door. “Alone?”
“If you leave me alone with the Spaz Beast, I won't be held responsible for what happens while you're gone,” Bo warned, using the cruel nickname he'd tagged Spencer with in middle school.
Spencer's head jerked back around. “Seriously? How old are you?”
Bo threw his hands in the air and stalked into the kitchen. Spencer shook her head and tilted it towards Lo. “Go ahead, Brady. I promise not to kill him. You guys should talk, though.”
Brady relented, though begrudgingly. He didn't want Lo in his house. He didn't want to talk to her. Because talking meant they weren't kissing. And since he couldn't look at her mouth with thinking about kissing her, he was looking at a pretty shitty afternoon.
They left the house and he led her around the wraparound porch to the back where the stairs opened up to the beach. He resisted reaching for her hand, even though it felt like the most natural thing to do. Part of him continuously wanted to declare her as his own.
It was alarming how strong it felt. He' never experienced a reaction like it. Even when he'd made his intentions known to Greta, it had been deliberate and controlled. This wasn't in his nature. Or maybe it was and it had lain dormant his whole life. What a time for it to awaken.
“How did you get this house?” Lo asked. “This is a prime piece of real estate.”
Brady nodded, tucking his hands into his pockets. “It's a culmination of missed rent, poor choices, and blind faith.”
Her chuckle made him smile and he wanted more. Which made his stomach hurt.
“Listen, Brady,” she said, turning serious and stopping them.
Oh boy, here came the patronizing “We have to work together so please don't let your perpetual adolescence ruin this.” It was a speech he'd heard enough times from his parents, he could have mouthed along with the words as she said them.
“I'm sorry about what happened that night.”
Wait.
What?
Lo took a deep breath and swallowed, heat creeping in her cheeks. “I knew you didn't know who I was, and I should have told you right away instead of letting it go that far.�
�
Brady took slow, measured breaths as he decided what he wanted his face to look like. Thoughtful Listening Face came to him and he went with it.
Lo rolled her gorgeous green eyes and tucked her hair behind her ear on one side as she wrapped her other arm around her middle. “It's so stupid. I'm not even sure why I did it. Curiosity I suppose.” She stared out at the water and then ducked her head before looking up at him through dark lashes. “I guess I wanted to get to know you without... I wasn't trying to fool you or make fun of any kind. I... I liked talking to you. Just you.
“Now that we're going to be working together, I feel like I've inadvertently made something that would have otherwise been awesome, awkward and uncomfortable.”
Brady let her words roll around a bit in his head. This wasn't what he'd expected at all.
Not even close.
She hesitated with her words and her eyes, the restless wild he'd witnessed before was carefully caged. She was scared of his answer, of his view of her. It was important to her to be judged correctly.
“I was hoping we could start over.” She looked up at him pleadingly. “You know, fresh, with no baggage. Because I'm really looking forward to this challenge for Soaring Bird. I really don't want it to be my fault if it's weird.”
Brady chewed on the inside of cheek as he debated his next move. He could agree to starting fresh. But did that mean he was supposed to forget about their kiss? Because, nope. Not happening.
“We're practically strangers. So we kissed once.” She shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. “It's not like I've never kissed anyone before.”
Wait.
She didn't have the same kiss he had? The mind blowing, changing the direction of the Earth's rotation, melt your thoughts kiss? It was just him?
“And it's not like people can really fall in love in a day—” Her eyes went wide in conjunction with Brady's. “That's not to say I fell in love with you. Because I didn't.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Brady held his hands up to stop her. “How about you quit using that word. Nobody said anything about love, man-trap.”
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