“Well, it’s not every day we get a meet the parents type of situation over here.”
My eyes widened when I realized what she said was true. Brady inviting me here was the equivalent to him taking me to breakfast at his parents’. Brock had practically raised him, and although she was about the same age as Brady, she was now the mother figure of this family.
Holy shit!
Dazed, I stopped in my tracks and asked, “Is this a dream?”
Victoria turned and looked at me.
“Does it feel like a dream?”
“Yes,” I admitted, and her face softened.
“Good,” she said. “You deserve that. You both do. You work so hard, and even though I can tell you love what you do, I hope together you will see how much more life has to offer.”
Leaning against the counter I asked, “Is that what it was like for you? When you and Brock got together?”
“Definitely,” she said with a small smile as she remembered. “He helped me appreciate living, and helped me get the stick out of my ass…”
“What?” I asked with a laugh.
Victoria nodded, her perfectly straight hair shining with the movement.
“My priorities were all messed up. You know, Scott and I were actually together first. Before Gaby, and before Brock, and we were terrible together.”
“No way,” I said, totally surprised. How did I not know this?
“Yes,” Victoria answered, laughing. “The group of friends I have now … they didn’t like me before. I would go so far as to say they hated me; well, everyone but Brock. He saw something in me that no one else did, not even myself, and he helped me reprioritize my life and taught me what love really is.”
“Wow. I had no idea. That’s really beautiful.”
“Yeah,” she said, that smile still playing on her lips. “I’m a lucky woman.”
“I think you’re both lucky,” I replied truthfully. They were two of my favorite people. And I honestly couldn’t imagine them with anyone other than each other.
“Brady’s lucky too,” Victoria said. “I can tell you’re nervous, but don’t be. Brock and I are really happy about the two of you, and I think you already know that Brady isn’t the type of guy to bring just any woman to breakfast. That alone should give you confidence.”
“Thanks. It’s just new for us right now … and quite a change in what our relationship has been so far. I don’t want to get my hopes up over something that may not even work out.”
Victoria turned off the stove and plated the last of the crepes, then crossed to me and said, “But that’s what love is, right? Taking a chance on something that might not work? Giving in to the hope and taking a leap of faith. Don’t over think it, Ming, just be yourself and get to know Brady. I promise, underneath that staid exterior is a man capable of loving a woman with every ounce of his being. It runs in the family.”
Chapter Nineteen ~ Brady
When we’d walked into the house, I could tell Ming was nervous, so I tried to dispel her nerves. Then Brock had to open his mouth and start in with his shit. Luckily, by the time the women came out of the kitchen to announce breakfast was ready, Ming appeared much more comfortable.
Leave it to Tori to put her at ease in less than fifteen minutes.
I smiled gratefully at my sister-in-law, then swooped Declan up off of the floor and asked, “You ready to eat, buddy?”
“Ball,” was his reply.
I chuckled at my nephew and promised, “We’ll play after we eat.”
That seemed to appease him, and once we entered the dining room and he locked eyes on his high chair, which already held his plate of food, he started bouncing in my arms, eager to get to it.
“I hear ya, little man,” my brother said, taking Declan from my arms and securing him in his chair.
Brock was barely able to lock the tray in place before Dec dove in, both fist flying.
I chuckled at his exuberance.
“He sure does like to eat,” Ming said, her voice sweet in a way I’d never noticed before.
“He and his sister get their healthy appetites from their father,” Victoria replied as we all took our seats.
“Hey, now, nothing wrong with that,” Brock argued. “I like the fact that they aren’t picky.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “We were always taught that when someone works hard to make food and is kind enough to offer it to you, you should be grateful and show your appreciation by eating every bite.”
Brock nodded. “Our dad was a stickler about that. He’d lose his mind if he thought we were being disrespectful, especially to our mother.”
I paused, the memory of our parents hitting me full force. Not in an unwelcome way. I couldn’t always remember them anymore, since they’d been gone almost as long as I’d had them, so it was nice when Brock brought up a memory that I could actually grab on to and visualize.
I felt eyes on me and looked up to see Ming watching me closely.
I tried to give her a smile, but knew it came off a little shaky. Instead of calling me on it or making me feel awkward, Ming turned to Victoria and asked, “Is Rose asleep?”
Victoria’s face blossomed, just like it always did when her baby girl was mentioned.
“Yeah, she was up early this morning, and went down for a nap right before you guys got here. We probably have about another thirty minutes before she wakes up.”
The conversation lulled while everyone was eating, then Brock said, “Brandt wanted to know if we could come down to the studio next weekend. Work on some of Brendan’s new songs.”
“Uh, yeah, what time? You guys are doing the baby shower thing at my place on Saturday, right?” I asked Ming and Tori.
“Yeah, I’ll finish up your living room this week,” Tori replied.
“Cass and I will need to come by around ten to set up and get ready, if that works for you,” Ming added.
“No problem,” I said, then turned back to my brother. “If that works for Brandt, we can hit the studio while the ladies are at my place.”
“I’ll shoot Brendan a text, then call Brandt,” Brock said. “And I gotta say, I’m grateful that you guys didn’t plan one of those horrible co-ed showers like Cal and Shelly always like to torture us with.”
“Oh, c’mon, Brock, they’re not that bad,” Victoria said.
“They absolutely are that bad,” he replied, causing laughter to erupt from both Ming and Victoria.
I didn’t say anything, but I agreed with my brother, one hundred percent.
“I still have to come up with six games,” Ming said, and the way she sounded made me think she wasn’t too thrilled about a baby shower either.
“I can talk to Abby. I think she still has a file on her computer with the games she found for my shower.”
“That would be great.”
“You guys go ahead,” I said when they started to get up and clear their plates. “I’ll take care of cleanup.”
Ming looked at me, the surprise evident on her face, but Victoria just smiled at me and said, “Thanks, Brady.”
When they left to go talk baby showers, or whatever, I turned to Brock and asked, “You gonna help?”
My brother looked at me, then over at his son, who was still going to town on his breakfast and replied, “Sorry, brother, I’m on Dec duty.”
“Well isn’t that convenient,” I muttered with a scowl, even though I didn’t really care about doing cleanup on my own. I wasn’t one to shy away from being alone, and I always got a lot of thinking done when I cleaned.
I was almost done with the last pan when Ming came into the kitchen and said she had to get going.
“I’m supposed to meet Natalie in forty-five minutes, and I need to stop by my office first.”
“Okay.” I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to say or do at this point, so I stood there awkwardly with my hands in the soapy water.
Ming stepped closer and pressed her lips to my cheek.
“Thank
s for inviting me to breakfast.”
I turned, leaving less than an inch between our lips.
“I’m glad you came.”
Ming’s eyes flitted down to my lips, and I heard her breathing get shallow.
“I’ll call you later?”
Testing, I darted my tongue out, barely grazing her lower lip. When she inhaled sharply I held back a grin and asked, “Can you get dinner sometime this week?”
Ming’s eyes were still focused on my lips when she answered, “I’ll check my calendar while I’m at the office and let you know.”
Rather than answer, I tilted my head down another half an inch, then fought back a grin when she said, “Fuck it,” and leaned in the rest of the way, her mouth clashing against mine as she kissed me.
“Later,” Ming said when she broke away, a knowing sexy grin on her lips.
I didn’t reply, just watched her walk away, before licking my lips and going back to the task at hand.
Chapter Twenty ~ Ming
Still riding high from the family breakfast that had gone much better than I ever could have hoped, I arrived at Natalie’s friend’s house with some pep in my step.
“Hi, Ming, thanks so much for doing this,” Natalie said when she opened the door.
Her face still had some lingering bruising, but she looked much better than I’d expected.
“Of course, Natalie,” I replied as I followed her inside. “I’m sorry we couldn’t meet face to face until now, but after our last conversation on the phone I made a great deal of headway in the case. It looks like Zeke has accepted the court-appointed defense attorney. They had the arraignment just this morning, and he pled not guilty to the charge of domestic violence assault, so we will be going to court.”
I watched as Natalie seemed to deflate in front of my eyes.
“Not guilty?” she asked incredulously.
“Come here,” I said, taking her arm and maneuvering her to the sofa where we both sat down. “We have the police report. Pictures. Plenty of evidence to make sure he pays for what he did. Trust me, Natalie, this will be okay.”
Natalie’s large eyes sought mine and she nodded. She was so small and delicate, that I if you weren’t paying attention, you might think she was weak, but if you looked closely, you could see the steel underneath.
I pulled out my briefcase and we went over the paperwork involved with the case. I told her what to expect and what our next steps would be.
“You must think I’m an idiot,” she said softly, causing me to look up from the papers in front of me in surprise.
“No,” I replied, my tone serious. “Why would you think that?”
Natalie gave a half shrug.
“Waitress, living in a trailer with a man who treats me like trash … I wasn’t always like this, you know. I went to college, have a degree in HR … It’s just that when I met Zeke, he seemed so into me, ya know? He was so tall and handsome, and he looked at me like I was something to be treasured. I followed him here, moved in almost right away. He didn’t start talking down to me until after we were married six months, then it was like I couldn’t do anything right. He didn’t want me working in an office, making more money than him, thinking I was better than I was, but he hated me working at Jake’s too. It was like nothing I did was good enough. It wasn’t until Brady, well all of the O’Malley brothers, showed me how great men could be, that I started to think maybe there was something wrong in my marriage. Zeke refused to go to counseling, and eventually, I just had enough. I hate to say it, but when he disappeared, I was relieved. Those months he was gone were the best of my life. I finally started to feel like myself again, then he came back.”
Her eyes were so wide I was surprised they didn’t take up her whole face.
“He’d never hit me before. I wasn’t expecting it, didn’t know he had it in him, but when he hurt me that way … Well, let’s just say I was sorry that I only shot him once, and that he lived through it. Do you think that makes me a horrible person?”
“God, no, Nat,” I assured her, scooting closer to take her hand in mine. “It makes you human. No one blames you for protecting yourself. Zeke is the one in the wrong here, not you. You’re not an idiot … You just fell in love with the wrong man. The good thing is, you have your whole future ahead of you. You’ll find yourself again.”
She gave a self-deprecating laugh as she wiped the tears off of her face.
“Who’s going to want to be with someone like me? Who’ll hire me other than Jake?”
“Hey,” I said sternly, wanting to have her complete attention. “You are a gorgeous, smart, hard-working woman; any man in his right mind would want you. Shoot, I see guys watching you all the time at Jake’s, and I think once you’re ready to move forward and you start paying attention, you’ll see that you have plenty of options. And as for a job, if you want to move on from Jake’s, what’s stopping you? You have a degree, and although you may not have a lot of experience, everyone has to start somewhere, right? I’m sure you can find a human resources job … I’d even be willing to ask around and see if there are any openings.”
“Really?” Natalie asked, looking at me with such hope that I vowed I’d start making calls as soon as possible.
“Really.”
“Thanks, Ming, you’re really amazing. It’s no wonder Brady has a thing for you.”
“What?” I asked, sure I hadn’t heard her correctly.
Natalie smiled.
“I’ve seen the way you guys watch each other when you think no one is looking. You guys would be great together. Both caring, protective people, who’ve made it their jobs to help others in need. Plus, you’re both hot.”
I chuckled nervously, while my head spun. Had I been misconstruing my situation with Brady this whole time, sitting there thinking he preferred Natalie, when really the entire time he was as into me as I was to him? Did he just not know how to show it?
Natalie took my silence the wrong way.
“I’m so sorry if I overstepped, I didn’t mean to be unprofessional.”
Her hand was still in mine, so I squeezed it reassuringly and said, “No, not at all, you just surprised me. I didn’t think anyone noticed what was happening between me and Brady.”
“Most people probably didn’t,” Nat replied. “I’m a people watcher, and I tend to catch on to things that others don’t. Your secret’s safe with me.”
“Thanks, but actually, Brady and I decided just last night to start seeing each other, so everyone will know pretty soon, if they don’t already.”
“That’s wonderful, Ming. I’m so happy for both of you,” she replied, then her lips turned down, and I knew she was thinking about Zeke again.
“I’m sorry, we don’t need to talk about this,” I said, moving back to my original seat and picking up the paperwork. “I promise that my full focus will be on your case. Let’s get this resolved, and then we can celebrate your independence.”
Natalie sighed heavily and replied, “That would be great.”
She walked me to the door and I promised to be in touch soon.
“Thanks so much for helping me out.”
“I’m happy to do it,” I replied truthfully. “I’ll be in touch.”
Chapter Twenty-One ~ Brady
“Man, I went to the bar the other night, and this chick was all over me,” Doobie was saying as I drove through town. He’d been talking nonstop since we’d gotten in the car, and it was starting to drive me nuts.
“Maybe we should go back to not sharing,” I suggested, not kidding in the least.
Doobie laughed and proceeded to tell me what color thong the woman from the bar had been wearing before he tore it off of her.
I sighed, then tried to tune him out and let my mind wander.
I was thinking about Ming and the dinner date we had planned for that evening, when the radio signaled and Marsha’s voice came over the line.
“10-31 on Elm and Pike, suspect is armed and dangerous.”
/> My adrenaline spiked at her words, and I steered the car toward the location as Doobie responded that we were en route.
“The bank,” Doobie said.
Right as we were pulling up in front of the bank, I heard Smitty over the radio saying he was on his way. Doobie and I approached the building cautiously, prepared to wait for Smitty, when we heard a woman scream from inside the building.
My eyes caught Doobie’s and he nodded, indicating that we should go ahead and proceed. We needed to get inside the building and get a handle on the situation. When we were in position we went in through the front entrance of the bank. The lobby was empty, no tellers standing behind the counter, so I motioned that we should go toward the back.
“They must have everyone in a separate room somewhere,” I whispered as Doobie and I made our way down the back hallway.
We stopped before turning the corner, and I heard voices coming from our right.
Using hand gestures, we communicated what our next move was, then we burst into action.
I heard a man shout in warning, then ducked when a second man fired a weapon in our direction. Heart pumping, I kept low as I ran to another hall and turned to get cover behind the wall.
I turned to put eyes on Doobie, and saw him across the hall in a position similar to my own. It looked like there had just been the two men, but they were coming out of the back vault area, and I had to assume at a minimum, there was a bank employee in there as well.
“Police!” Doobie shouted. “Drop your weapons and come out with your hands in the air.”
“Fuck you,” was the response, and I thought my heart might burst, it was beating so fast.
Communicating that we should wait for backup, since the situation was escalating, Doobie and I were standing down, waiting in our places until Smitty and the other officers arrived.
The choice was taken out of our hands, however, when the sound of footsteps running toward us made me fear for our safety. Gun at the ready, I peered around the corner to see a large man with a gun in his hand, running toward me. I called for him to stop, thinking the sight of my weapon would cause him to listen, but he kept right on charging.
7 Months (Time for Love #7) Page 8
