by J. Woods
Brie had always been independent, always fighting against the idea that she needed her parent’s money to get by in life. A fact that her mother never quite understood. She wanted Brie to fall into line with afternoon shopping trips and luncheons at the country club, winter weekends away in Aspen while a full staff of servants tended to her every need. It was a life that surrounded her, the only life she knew. But as she grew up, she found herself suffocating with the extravagance of it all. She wanted to make a life of her own. Her own footprints in her own path of life that she realized now, she had maybe let that rebellious independence define her. She had become so obsessed with making it on her own that she always took what other people thought with a grain of salt. She wondered now, with this baby, if maybe she didn’t need to do go through this on her own. Maybe she didn’t want to.
“Hello, Mother.” She leaned in and lightly pressed her lips to her mother’s cheek in greeting.
“You’re late.” Brie fought the roll of her eyes as she sat down in the large lavish booth, thanking the waiter as he handed her a menu.
“I’m well, thank you. How are you?” she asked with a falsely sweet smile.
“Sarcasm is not an attractive trait for young women to possess, Brie.”
Long moments of awkward silence stretched between them as they pretended to decide what to have for lunch.
“So,” Brie started, needing her mother to say something, anything. “Are you getting excited?”
“About what?”
“About your grandchild.” She was starting to deflate. She no longer had the fight in her to try and prove - something - to the woman sitting across from her. A part of her always knew her mother had a mean streak in her and Brie had known it was born out of jealousy. Brie’s father had worshipped the ground his daughter walked on, something that had left a bad taste in her mother’s mouth. And when he had passed, they had found out about the inheritance left to her. An inheritance her mother thought she would be receiving. The clause was that Brie had to be 35 years old or married to gain access to the funds and Brie and her mother both knew it was enough to maintain a small country for a life time with her father’s family jewels, cash and gold. It also meant that Brie would be gaining controlling power over Murphy Holdings, her father’s company. The same company her mother was currently running. If Brie never achieved either the age clause or the marriage, a portion of the inheritance would be received by her mother and the rest to a handful of charities her father had worked closely with over the years. The money had never driven Brie but it was a cushion she wanted for her one day family. Something for her children and their children after. The thought that it had driven a deeper wedge between her and the woman sitting across from her was saddening. All she had wanted was a mother who told her she loved her, a mother who would braid her hair as she listened to Brie tell her stories about the cute boy at school or hold her when her tears fell from a broken heart. She wanted a mother to be excited that she was having her first grandchild. And all her mother wanted was a puppet she could control and manipulate. Deep down Brie knew her mother had never wanted children, she was too selfish, too greedy. But she knew it was the only way to keep her father because a child was something he wanted more than life itself. He didn’t want an heir like most of the families she had known, he wanted a child, someone who would climb on his back when their legs got tired, someone to build sandcastles with, someone who would curl up next to him as they sipped hot chocolate and he told her stories which she later learned were well worded lessons. She had realized as an adult he had been quietly grooming her into someone who would eventually run his company, but it wasn’t something he had ever pushed. And when her mother realized her spotlight had dimmed, almost immediately after Brie was born, her resentment had grown into something Brie had never understood. She clenched her jaw against the painful, empty ache that washed over her as she overwhelmingly missed the man who loved her unconditionally and looked at the woman across the table who never did.
“Well, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be excited about, Brie. You’re going to be a single mother, you have no man to support you...” her mother continued, pulling Brie out of her wayward thoughts.
“I don’t need a man to support me Mother,” Brie interrupted.
“Regardless, do you know how this makes me look? My rebellious daughter has gone out and gotten herself pregnant, I have no idea who the father is, his family, where he comes from... I mean, I don’t know what I am supposed to tell my friends about this - about you?” While her mother continued to belittle and berate, it faded into the background as her attention was caught by the familiar man walking through the restaurant, his eyes glued to hers. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes widened in surprise.
He looked so handsome, so sexy in his dark washed jeans and black leather jacket. He was the fantasy bad boy who turned the heads of every woman in the restaurant as he made his way toward her.
Why was he here?
If he was here to yell at her some more, she wouldn’t be able to handle it. She was too raw, too vulnerable today. All she wanted in this moment, all she needed was for him to pull her into his arms. She wanted the safety she knew she would feel as his warmth seeped into her and erased everything.
“Hi baby, sorry I’m late.” He grinned at her shocked expression as he leaned in and pressed a lingering kiss to her cheek. She couldn’t help but lean into him. “I thought you could use some backup today,” he whispered, only for her to hear. Distantly she realized her mother had stopped talking and was watching on with confused interest. Brie didn’t care. He wasn’t here to yell at her again, he was here in her corner. She pulled back and framed his face before pressing her lips to his. The sense of relief that filled her when he returned the kiss was overwhelming. She wanted to pour her regret, her apology into this one gesture but pulled back just enough to murmur, “I’m sorry,” against his lips. His ice blue eyes stared into hers.
“Me too. We’ll figure it out.” She nodded her head as she swallowed the emotion building in her chest as he gave her one more chaste kiss. Turning to her mother he held out his hand and with a charming grin that Brie couldn’t help but smile at as he introduced himself.
“Hello, Mrs. Murphy. Max Savage, I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Have you?” she returned, raising an eyebrow and placing her limp fingers in his large palm. “I’m sorry I can’t say the same.” Brie had to give it to him, he never once let his smile falter as he picked up her hand and entwined their fingers together; a sign of unity that didn’t go unnoticed.
“Mother,” Brie warned.
“What do you do Max?”
“I own a security company with my brother’s, Mrs. Murphy.”
“Security?”
“Yes - government and law enforcement mainly.”
“Max is a former police officer,” Brie added in with pride.
“Really? That’s respectable,” her mother finally answered surprisingly.
“Thank you.”
“And what are your plans?” Brie wanted to roll her eyes and pinch herself all at the same time. Could Max Savage’s charm really have worked even on the coldest of hearts?
“Well, after lunch we have plans to go look at houses.” Brie snapped her head up to stare at Max.
What?
His lifted their entwined hands and kissed her fingers as she narrowed her eyes at the playfulness in his. She knew he was playing a game, making them more than they actually were to appease her mother but a part of her wished he wouldn’t. Because she was going to be the one left to clean it up.
“Really? Well I’m glad to hear it, but I meant in general. What are your plans?” God, her mother was relentless. She knew the reasoning behind the question, the well thought out plans that were forming in her greedy mind, she wanted to know how serious they were and what she needed to do to stop it. There was no such thing as a fun, relaxing meal with her; everything she did adhered to some agend
a she had construed in her head.
“Well,” Max turned to face Brie who sat waiting with interest to hear his answer. “I guess we’re going to have a baby.” Brie couldn’t look away if she tried. She felt the butterflies flutter deep in her belly as he held her gaze. She was too caught up in the magnetism he had always been able to weave around her to worry about her mother.
“Yeah, we’re going to have a baby,” she repeated softly with a smile as she nodded her head.
For the next hour conversation flowed and ebbed while Brie picked at the salad in front of her. She ordered what was expected of her but hell, she was pregnant - she wanted that burger and fries Max was inhaling. She felt him squeeze her thigh under the table.
“Okay?” he mouthed. She nodded her head with a tight smile. She was going to break out in a sweat soon she was so damn hungry. Almost as if he could read her mind, he pulled her tight into his side with a warm chuckle. Pressing his lips to her hair he presented her with a forkful of French fries smothered in ketchup. “Eat,” he commanded. Doing as she was told she closed her eyes and moaned around the taste. “I think that may be the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.” She couldn’t help but laugh at the seriousness in his tone as she ignored the disgusted look from across the table.
After helping Max effectively clean his plate, her mother stood and with brief, frigid farewell’s she left the two of them alone.
“So...”
“Thank you for coming, Max. I don’t know how you knew about this lunch but, you being here made it bearable. So thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” He stood up, lending a hand to help her out of the booth and into her jacket. Stepping out into the chilled afternoon sun, she turned to face him, knowing they needed to talk.
“Max...”
“Come on,” he urged, his fingers settling comfortably on her lower back as he guided her down the street.
“But my car is that way,” she told him, bemused.
“We’ll get it later.”
“Okay... where are we going?”
“To look at houses, I told you that.”
“What? I thought you were just... I’m so confused right now.” She stopped him before he could open the door to his truck.
“You’re spending the day with me. And you and I are going to figure things out. I have plans to see a house this afternoon so that is where we are going first.” She stared into his eyes, searching for something that gave away what he was thinking.
“You’re moving?”
“I am,” he confirmed with a nod. She didn’t know why that made her nervous. Taking a deep breath she moved aside, allowing him to open the door for her.
“Okay,” she conceded.
Chapter Twelve
Brie noticed how the busy downtown city life started to slowly disappear, the tall skyscrapers of the concrete jungle morphing into warm greens of an evergreen forest before Max pulled down a long snow covered driveway. Brie felt like they had entered a winter wonderland. Fifteen minutes out of the city and it felt like another world. The house they pulled up to was gorgeous. A mix of stone and wood, the home looked like something cut from a magazine. Brie was used to nice houses. She grew up in a life where a home was more like a hotel with nothing out of place and a staff to clean up after you. She always had a feeling it was the life her mother wanted but one her father could care less about. He never scolded her for being a kid and getting dirty, hell, half the time he would be the first to jump in the mud. But this house, the one she now stood in front of, looked like it could be filled with the warmth of a family.
“Come on, let’s get out of this cold,” he said placing his hand on the small of her back and guiding her up the steps to the front door.
“Max, it’s absolutely beautiful!”
“I think so too,” he told her with a grin that dispersed any cold from the winter air.
Max’s real estate agent had given him the code to the lock box that barred the door, giving them full, uninhibited access to the house. The interior was more beautiful than the exterior. The entire space was open concept, a mix of rustic woods and modern simplicity. It was flawless. The large windows looked out onto the snow covered branches that secured the home in privacy yet still allowing the warm rays of sunshine to filter through. And as beautiful as it was, Brie couldn’t enjoy it with her nerves eating at her insides. Her and Max needed to talk. She knew he needed to look around, to check out the house but even as she tried to force that thought before anything else she still heard herself saying, “Max, we need to talk.” He turned to face her from the window and she watched his chest rise and fall with a sigh before he nodded his head and moved toward her. He gestured for her to sit on the couch as he sat facing her, waiting for her to start.
“I don’t... I’m not sure what to say,” she admitted.
“Why don’t you start with why you didn’t tell me,” he urged softly.
“Well at first, I didn’t know who you were. I didn’t have your last name or really anything about you so I just adapted to the fact that I was going to be a single mom. And that was fine, I was fine with that. But then I found out I was moving back here and saw you at the doctor’s office and I don’t know. I got scared. Really scared. And then I found out you were Roxy’s brother and it all just spiralled out of control from there.” She stopped to take a deep breath before she continued; she had been so dishonest it was time for her to tell the truth. “You terrify me, Max. You are this carefree, fun, playful, too damn charming guy with the ability to melt panties with one smile.” She watched his eyebrows raise at her last statement, but she plowed on knowing she would falter if he so much as flashed his perfect pearly whites. “What we had... It was a one night stand, a hot, passionate urge that we both gave in to for one night. And that’s okay. Because I know you have probably had many hot, passionate nights with...”
“Is that all you think it was?” Max asked, cutting her off. Brie blinked at his question. “Is that all you think it was?” he repeated. “A night of fulfilling a hot urge with a beautiful woman? Be honest with me Brie, you owe me honesty right now.” She swallowed against the nerves that were building in her chest.
“No. It wasn’t. Not for me,” she admitted quietly, staring down at her entwined fingers.
“Then what would make you think that it was for me?” She looked up into his imploring eyes and waited, too surprised to remember what she was going to say. “Yes, maybe it started out that way, but that’s certainly not what it turned in to. Brie, I think you’re amazing. I think you’re beautiful and fiery and independent and I have no doubt that you could raise this baby by yourself. But I don’t want you to.”
“I don’t want to either.”
“Good. So, after we look at this house and finish our afternoon, will you let me make you dinner?”
She paused for a moment, letting his charm pull her under further. “Like a date?” she asked with a flirty smile in return to his.
“Something like that.”
“Okay,” she agreed, ignoring the flutter of excitement low in her belly. They stared at each other in silence for long moments before she covered her face with her hands trying to hide her giggle. Since when had her hormones been replaced by her adolescent self?
God, she was pathetic.
“Come on.” She heard his chuckle as he reached out and grabbed her wrist before taking her hand and pulling her off the couch.
“You know I’m going to ruin your reputation.”
He looked at her over his shoulder before turning back to lead them down the hallway to the bedrooms. “You already did that seven months ago.” She had to force her feet to continue moving. He said it with such a casual air, as if it was an already well known fact.
The last door down the long hallway lead to a large master bedroom but before she could fully take it all in he stood right in front of her, causing her to look up into his mischievous blue eyes. He was too damn sexy, she thought with a smile. He leaned down a
nd pressed a soft but urgent kiss to her lips and on her sigh of pleasure his tongue slipped in and played with confidence against hers. Her hands moved to the hem of his shirt and as the kiss became more insistent her fingers slipped underneath to play against rock hard abs as his tightened in her hair, angling her head as he took control with a dominance she was growing to crave. Pulling back he rested his forehead against hers as they struggled to control their breathing.
“That’s not what I meant to do.” He grinned.
“Well I’m not going to say I’m upset over it.” He leaned in once more with a soft quick kiss before commanding her to close her eyes. She felt him guide her around the room until he stood behind her and rested his hands gently on her hips. She tilted her head when he pressed his lips to the soft spot behind her ear.
“Open your eyes,” he whispered. As she did she felt every breath leave her body as she stared out the window in awe. The view that she looked out onto was one of the most beautiful she had ever seen. An angry cold ocean crashed against tall grey bluffs and as she looked closer, she could see a staircase that led down to the water and a small beach below.
“My brother’s house is behind that forest there and the Barn, our offices, is in between,” he told her.
“Max,” she breathed. She didn’t have any words to describe what she was seeing. Instantly she felt a surge of want, with visions of lying in bed and waking up to this. She wasn’t sure where the conversation they just had would lead to, but she knew she didn’t want another woman waking up to this view. The thought alone sent envy and jealousy surging through her.
“My brothers have been urging me to move out of my apartment and when I found out this place was going on the market, I had to make her mine before someone else did.” Something in the tone of his voice made Brie question if they were still talking about the house.
“You already bought it?” she asked, turning her head to look at him in surprise.
“I did. Do you like it?”
“I love it,” she breathed, turned to look back out on the light falling snow. He rested his chin on the top of her head as they stood in comfortable silence, staring out at the ocean when suddenly Brie’s breathing hitched. She grabbed Max’s fingers, moving his hands from her hips to cup her belly. His gasp of surprise and amazement as the baby kicked against his palm ignited a smile as she cursed herself for being so stupid. She should have told him from the beginning. She should have come and found him so they could go through all of this together. “I think Blue likes it too.”
