Brayden (Wild Men Book 6)

by Melissa Belle

  She nods at him approvingly. “I have a surprise, something I know Lei will like.”

  Somehow I doubt that. “We have dance class tonight,” I say with relief. “And I have Save the Soil after that.”

  “So we’ll go hear you speak and then all go out. Right, Slam?”

  The bulky guy with the blond crew cut and brown eyes nods amiably. “Sure thing.”

  Sophia turns to Brayden. “Leleila’s speeches are pretty boring, but she looks hot giving them.”

  “Thank you for the support, Soph,” I say sarcastically.

  Sophia slings an arm around me. “You’re a hot nerd. Nothing wrong with that.”

  “Where do you speak?” Brayden asks me, his gaze running over my face in a way that makes me sweat.

  I tilt my head toward the building behind us. “In the suite right next to Big Sky Grocer. It’s got a small auditorium, and people pile in there.”

  Sophia eyes Mindy. “Who’s that?” she whispers too loudly.

  “This is Phillip’s colleague, Mindy Cox,” I say politely.

  As Sophia chats up Mindy, I feel like I’m going to throw up. Brayden glances over at me as he stands next to the refreshments table.

  “Uncomfortable?” The corner of his mouth quirks up. “You seem tenser than usual.”

  I can’t help smiling. Brayden’s dirty blond hair is messily styled, and his dark shirt fits him perfectly. I’ve seen his jeans before, but even they look brand-new today, like they popped out of the washing machine full of answers, such as how to make all the uncertainty in my life fade away instantaneously.

  Then my parents call out to me from the other corner. I wave at Mom and Dad as they hastily cross the street. Mom’s got her sun hat on, the same one she wore in the Amazon.

  “It’s fall, Mom,” I tease as soon as she and Dad reach us.

  “What do you mean?” she asks me as she gives me a long hug.

  “Fall.” I touch her hat. “This is for hot jungles, not autumn days.”

  “She wanted to keep the sun out of her eyes,” Dad explains. “Very practical.”

  This smile I’ve perfected in the last five minutes is a lifesaver. I can be as uncomfortable as I want, and nobody’s actually certain what’s going on because I just keep smiling. Brayden seems pretty certain, however. He’s looking at me like I’ve gone a little loopy, and he seems like he wants to be anywhere but here right now. That would make two of us.

  Sophia says hello to my parents and introduces them to Slammer. “And this is Brayden Wild,” she says with a glance at me. “Brayden lives at Big River Ranch, but he does some work for Big Sky Grocer. Bet you didn’t know that, did you?”

  “No, we didn’t.” Mom shakes Brayden’s outstretched hand and smiles at him. She’s always been a sucker for men; June and I used to joke that if it had a penis, it worked for Mom.

  Dad asks Brayden how long he’s been working at the store just as Mindy clears her throat loudly.

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” I gesture to Mindy. “This is Dr. Mindy Cox, a friend of Phillip’s.”

  “Oh, yes.” Mom shakes her hand. “Phillip mentioned you would be joining us here. Welcome to Montana.”

  He mentioned her to them? Why?

  “Yes, welcome,” Dad says. “And you’re also a scientist, I hear. What field?”

  “Ecology, same focus as Phillip,” Mindy says. “Although he’s far more brilliant than I am in the subject. But we’ve already had the most wonderful time talking about the biochemistry of the alpine tundra and the forest ecosystems.”

  From my right, Brayden touches my shoulder ever so briefly, and as Mindy keeps trying to impress Dad, Mom glances at me with a pointed look. Her message is clear—she wants to know who this Mindy is and why she’s at his race.

  I shrug at her and try to divert her interest by focusing on their trip to New Zealand. “You both look good. Not too jetlagged.”

  “No.” Dad runs his hand through his graying hair. “We’re doing all right. We’re a little on the reverse schedule, but that will clear up quickly.”

  “Right. Because you were over a half day ahead out there.”

  “Do you know hurricanes rotate in the opposite direction there?”

  Dad always comes back from every trip with an assortment of fun facts. Sometimes, I say I don’t need to go anywhere because there’d be nothing left to discover.

  “Really?” I say. “That’s neat.”

  Then Mom shows us all the mini hair wrap she had done in southern New Zealand. “Just one section of my hair, like a tiny braid,” she explains.

  “That’s cool, Mom,” I say. “It looks very trendy.”

  Brayden asks my parents how they enjoyed New Zealand.

  “Oh, it was just gorgeous there. And our boat ride was wonderful.” Just as Mom begins to gush about the boat and the calm seas they experienced, Mindy starts screaming.

  “Here they come!” she shouts. “The racers are coming!”

  Holy crap. You’d think this was the Tour de France. Even Dad gives me a quizzical look, but I just keep smiling. Mindy is Phillip’s new friend, not mine.

  Phillip’s not in the first group of riders, but he comes screeching around the bend right behind them.

  “Phillip!” Mindy waves wildly at him. “Over here!”

  My father’s “do I need to look out for my daughter” radar is on track as Dad tosses another concerned look in my direction. This time, I pretend not to notice, and I step forward to Phillip. He veers over to us and hops off the seat of his bike, remaining straddled over the middle bar. Sweat is everywhere—on his face, his shirt, I can even see it glistening on his handlebars.

  “Lei!” Phillip shouts. “Do you have that second stopwatch? This one broke about ten miles back.”

  I rustle through my purse and give him what he’s asking for. Mindy’s eyes narrow, and she looks so jealous I think she’s going to explode.

  Sophia appears at my side. “How’s it going, Phillip? You seem worked up.”

  “This is only a fifty miler,” he says to her. “I don’t have time to stop. I should be biking right now.”

  Mom and Dad say hello to him, and he turns politely to thank them for coming. Then he asks me for the petroleum jelly, which I hand to him wordlessly. He puts a little in his hand and returns the tube to me.

  “Keep on spinning those wheels,” Sophia advises him.

  I take the new stopwatch out of Phillip’s hand and snap it onto the front of his bike the way he taught me, and he hands me his broken one. Mindy leans in between us to tell him she’ll meet him at the next station.

  Phillip’s already got one foot in a pedal. “You don’t need to,” he tells her as he smiles widely at her. “Ask Lei. It’s quite difficult to make it through the crowds on time even if you did park close by.” He forces his eyes away from Mindy’s and back to mine. “I’ll see you at home tonight? You have dance class, right?”

  I nod and wish him luck and a safe ride. His wheels spin around and around as he cycles off. Soon they’re spinning so fast it’s all a blur, and then he’s gone.

  As soon as his bike disappears from view, Mindy throws her bag over her shoulder and hurries down the sidewalk, pushing people aside as fast as she can. She insists she’s mapped out a shortcut where she can get to the next rest area on foot faster than he can bike past it. I don’t have a clue what she’s talking about, so I just nod and wave her on.

  Mom and Dad have been watching this whole drama unfold with great interest. They heard my conversation with Phillip. They observed Mindy observe me with Phillip. And they listened to Mindy and Phillip’s exchange. But it’s when Brayden touches my back and carefully hands me the pink ruffled tie that fell out of my hair while I was clipping Phillip’s stopwatch onto his bike that my parents really perk up.

  Mom’s eyes widen, and she turns fully so she can check Brayden out. Head to foot, my mother scans him. Apparently, she likes what she sees. “Leleila, since you and Brayden know each other,”
Mom says. “How would you both like to come over for tea?”

  “Thanks, but we can’t,” I say quickly. “We have dance class.”

  “Dance class?” Mom says.

  “I started learning for—” I don’t know how to explain. “Phillip told me I had to get a new partner,” I end up saying. “He couldn’t dance with me. He was too busy.”

  Mom’s jaw drops open, and Dad shifts so he can look more closely at Brayden.

  “Phillip and Leleila asked if I could be her stand-in partner for the class,” Brayden says hurriedly. “And I said sure.” He smiles over at me. “We really enjoyed the first class. I didn’t realize I liked dancing before this.”

  Mom and Dad turn their heads to me in unison.

  “I actually really liked it,” I say. “It was a lot more fun than I thought.”

  “For me, too,” Brayden says. “It felt very natural.”

  “But you know. We’re just beginners.”

  “The foundation is the key,” Dad says. “If you’ve got that, the rest will be smooth sailing. Sure, you’ll hit some gusts of winds, some squalls, but if you’re rock solid on the foundation”—he raps his knuckles firmly on the telephone pole conveniently placed next to him—“then you’ve got it. You can write that ticket now.”

  My gaze shifts to Brayden, and I smile.

  Mom and Dad say goodbye after that and head for home, and Sophia starts giggling as soon as they’re out of earshot. “Look who’s on her way back and at lightning speed.”

  Mindy’s running toward us. I sigh.

  “Wonder what the hurry’s about,” Brayden says.

  Turns out we don’t have too long to find out because Mindy reaches us within seconds and heads straight for me. She’s so out of breath she can hardly get her words out, and as soon as she does, I wish she hadn’t.

  “Leleila,” Mindy says. “Phillip had to stop again. He needs petroleum jelly, and he says you always carry it in your purse for him. He’s chafed,” she adds in a low voice.

  I glance at Brayden. Sophia and Slammer are grinning.

  Without a word, I hand Mindy the petroleum jelly from my purse. “I just gave him some, and he doesn’t usually need more this fast,” I say. “But here you go.”

  “Thanks.” She runs off to get the petroleum jelly to Phillip to help prevent any further chafing of his crotch.

  Sophia collapses in laughter as soon as she’s gone. “Phillip’s identical twin with long hair,” she whispers to me. “Does it look like there’s something between them?”

  “I don’t know,” I say, feeling sad. “Mindy looked like she was loving being here.”

  Sophia turns to face me. “And you looked the opposite— like you wanted to be anywhere but here.”

  I study her sharply. She’s right, of course. I didn’t want to be at the race, but I’ve never enjoyed being at those races. Being Phillip’s cheerleader is clearly something Mindy enjoys more than I do, and there’s never been room in his life for any other role.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Phillip comes home for dinner, and we spend most of the time talking about his upcoming conference. I remind him I have dance class and then Save the Soil, and he nods distractedly. He says he has to go back to the university for the evening, so after he leaves, I take my time getting ready for tonight. I take the advice I gave Brayden and dress casually in blue jeans and a long-sleeved green top that has a cute decorative tie in the back. The shirt matches my eyes, and when I look in the mirror, I’m surprised how alive my expression is. I normally look almost bored when I see myself in the mirror, but tonight something’s different in my face, and it’s a good thing.

  Brayden insisted he would pick me up when he was done with practice so we could go to dance class together.

  I’m already standing outside on our front steps when he pulls up in his truck and honks. I jump from the noise and then walk down the driveway, self-consciously pulling my hair down around my neck.

  “Hi, Leleila,” he says. “I didn’t see you standing there; sorry to honk and scare you like that.”

  “That’s okay,” I say, smiling at him. “I was ready, so I just figured I’d wait for you outside.”

  We chat during the drive to the store, and when we step out and walk into the store, I inhale.

  Because the way those black jeans hug his ass should be criminal.

  I follow him up the stairs to class, and within ten minutes, we’re standing across from one another. As usual for Brayden and me, it’s awkward as hell. Because the tension…I swear I can see the air thickening around us.

  “You ready?” Brayden locks eyes with me as Elroy shouts for us to start the waltz.

  “Yep.” I stand before him awkwardly before placing my hand in his.

  As we begin to dance, Brayden asks me about my upcoming speech.

  “There are always empty seats—Save the Soil isn’t some big event, believe me. I met Sophia at one of the meetings.”

  “Really?” Brayden says. “She doesn’t seem like she’s that big on being in an audience.”

  “She’s not. She was there trying to pick up a guy.”

  “Well, that makes more sense,” he says as we both laugh.

  The class goes quickly, too quickly. Before I know it, I’m stepping out of Brayden’s arms and have restored the requisite distance between us for two people who aren’t together.

  Fantasy hour is over.

  And I don’t want to analyze the pang I have in my chest as I wave goodbye to him and head next door to get ready for my talk.

  As soon as I reach the conference room, I hurry backstage. Sophia pops behind the curtain a few minutes later to tell me it’s a full house tonight.

  “Really?” I say to her. “Why so crowded?”

  “Don’t know. Slammer said he’d tell some buddies, but…” She trails off as she peeks out the curtain. “Oh my God, he’s here!”

  She jumps up and down.

  Does she mean Brayden?

  “Who’s here?” I say, trying to sound casual.

  “Slammer.” Sophia leans through the curtain and waves wildly.

  I exhale. I need to calm down.

  But by the time I step onto the stage, my palms are sweaty. I smile at the audience and pick up the pointer while I wait for Cliff to give me my cue through the earpiece.

  But I can’t hear him. The earpiece must have gone dead. I look back but I don’t see him anywhere.

  “Should I speak now?” I mouth to Dolores at the side door.

  She shrugs her shoulders and cranes her neck to look for Cliff.

  The audience is starting to shift around, and I can feel their eyes on me as I continue to stand silently on stage.

  “Speak now?” I mouth again to Dolores as we make eye contact.

  She puts her hand to her ear like she can’t understand what I’m saying.

  Well, if the earpiece isn’t working, then my microphone probably isn’t, either. I take a few steps toward Dolores and say loudly, “Should I speak now?”

  My question comes clearly through the microphone attached to my shirt collar, and the audience laughs loudly. At that exact moment, Cliff’s voice crackles into my earpiece. “Sorry, Lei, just got everything up and running. We’re all set. You can speak now.”

  My face is on fire as I turn back to the podium and say hello to the audience. Then I begin. “Here’s our first slide, which is a wonderful portrayal of toxic soil…”

  The audience gives a small, polite laugh, and I turn to look at the screen. A cow is staring me in the face. I flush with heat and look down at my notes, which are apparently out of order.

  I flip through the iPad anxiously, praying for a page that says Slide One on it. After one painfully silent minute with the only sound me tapping keys, I find the correct slide. Cow, it says at the top. No shit.

  I pick up the pointer and start again. “Starting over, if you take a look at the cow on slide one, you will see an animal that relies heavily on soil being tur
ned over and pesticides being used at a minimum. Soil is the mainstay of our environment, the foundation for the growth of vegetables, fruits and grains, as well as a necessary ingredient for many animals to remain healthy.”

  By the time I hit the fifteenth slide, I’m in a groove. I even crack a small joke, and it’s as the audience is chuckling that I glance out and see Brayden. He’s sitting near the back on the outside aisle. His eyes zero in on mine like lasers, and I lose my breath temporarily. How silly I must look standing up here talking about dirt. I will myself to keep it together and move on to slide sixteen.

  Brayden

  Leleila’s voice always sounds sexy, but it takes on an authoritative tone as she delivers her speech, and it’s driving me fucking wild. The way her jeans hug her curves—those hips that look like they were made for my hands to hold, those breasts that are trying to peek through the thin fabric of her blouse, and that sweet ass I can’t stop staring at whenever she turns to point at a slide.

  I like Leleila as a friend and as a person. But the more time we spend together, the less I can deny the truth: like my cousins said, I also want her.

  Once everyone cleared out of my house and I was alone, she was even harder for me to stop thinking about. I got off to her in the shower this morning, and after watching her like this on stage, no doubt I’ll be doing the same thing tonight. I’m addicted to her curves that I can never touch, to her lips that I can never taste, and to every other part of her that’s forbidden to me.

  So what the hell am I going to do about a crush that makes me feel like a teenager? I have no fucking clue.

  Even if I were to quit working at her sister’s store and try the walk-away route, I know I wouldn’t be able to stay away. Because she’s my friend now. I care for her more than I’ve ever cared for a woman. And she needs me right now. I wish she’d always need me, but I’m not naïve. Once she marries, our friendship will essentially end.

  So I’m going to be everything she needs for as long as she wants me in her life.