Falling For His Badass

by Jessika Klide

  I check the time. I’m two minutes ahead of the original estimated time of arrival.

  I can’t wait to see Lizzy’s face when I tell her my real name. I teased her by making it sound like it was because of my top-secret military clearance, but I couldn’t confess the truth this weekend. Jeff was right. Timing is everything.

  My mind scans the weekend with Lizzy and my smile plasters itself on my face. The entire weekend played out better than I could have planned. If she hadn’t tried to turn me away, it would have been hard to accomplish so much in so little time. But her insecurities played into my hands. She is everything I’ve been looking for. The perfect woman for me.

  I dial her number.

  She answers. “Hey you!”

  “Hey babe, I forgot to tell you to text me when you arrive. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

  “Okay. Perfect.” She says, and the word stabs my heart.

  “Lizard, is there anything else you want to know about me, other than my real name, that you didn’t get to ask?”

  “Hmm. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  I laugh. “I have an older brother, and he’s as big a pain in my ass now as he was growing up.”

  She laughs. “I don’t have any siblings, so I can’t relate. However, I claim my best friend Tara as my sister from another mister.”

  “I’m looking forward to meeting her.” I tell her. Then I say, “Lizard, I have a question for you.”

  “What?” She asks.

  “Why did you try to turn me away?”

  “At the room?”

  “Yes.”

  “Honestly, because you’re such a badass, you push my panic button.”

  “Panic button?” I chuckle. “Man, did I miss the mark. I was trying to push your perfect button.”

  I can see her smiling when she says, “Oh, don’t worry, you did push that button. Every time I screamed, ‘Yes, Yes, OH. MY. GOD! Yes!’”

  When I arrive at John’s house, I park next to the red corvette. Great. I sigh. John’s brother is still here. Before I get out, I text B. A. *I’m here. I’m safe. I’m missing you bad!*

  He answers immediately. *Good. Call you in a few.*

  *K.*

  I take a deep breath and prepare to meet Tara’s eyes. She knows me better than anyone, and she’ll know as soon as she lays eyes on me that I’ve found someone. I open the car door, step out, and text Tara as I walk up to the house. *I’m here.*

  As soon as I step onto the front porch, the door swings open. Tara stands in the doorway, so excited she is literally twitching. As I walk up, I try to look natural as I lean in for a hug. She ignores my embrace, grabs my hand, and pulls me inside. Then she shuts the door quietly. She puts her finger over her mouth, telling me to shush. She steers me to the bathroom down the hall, pushes me inside, then shuts the door just as quietly as she did the front door. When she turns around, she whispers, as she inspects my clothes, then examines my face for makeup smears. “Holy fuck, Lizzy.” Her eyes twinkle. “John’s little brother is a fucking stud! I mean, like seriously. The man is hotter than John, if you can believe that. Like woozier hot!”

  I whisper back to her as she fluffs my curls. “I don’t care.”

  “Well, you should care!” She blows my comment off. “He’s tall, built like a brick wall, has beautiful eyes, a handsome face, a great smile.” She shakes her head. “He’s the whole damn package!”

  I gently take her hands to stop her primping actions and hold them in front of me. I have to let her know I’m off the market before we walk out of the bathroom. But I’m not sure how to break the news to her. She’s not going to want to hear me. She’s got her mind made up that this dude and I will be great together. If I follow her out of here before she knows, she’ll prance my big ass around, showing me off like an auctioneer. No doubt she’s primed the poor dude by singing my praises all weekend. “Tara. Look at me.” I squeeze her fidgety hands. “See how happy I am?” I put my face in front of hers. She stops and looks hard at my expression, then she narrows her eyes. I tell her. “I met someone this weekend and I’ve fallen head over heels in love with him!” I smile at her. “And I know it’s love because my heart was all over the place.”

  She presses her lips together and looks at me. “Lizzy, you know I love you, right? And you know you can trust me, right?”

  I nod.

  “Then believe me when I tell you, whoever that dude is, can’t hold a candle to who this dude is! I’m telling you flat out, girlfriend. He fucking rocked my world, and I’m in love with his brother!” She pulls the bathroom door open. “Now, come on. You promised you would meet him before you left on Friday night. He’s been waiting for you to come back.”

  I shake my head. “I didn’t say, I wouldn’t meet him. I’m saying don’t try to hook me up with him. I’ll be polite, but there is no way anything is going to happen.”

  She whispers as she drags me out by my arm. “Lizzy, this dude is so fucking hot! You’re going to change your mind."

  I shake my head harder, following her into the hall. “No. I’m. not.”

  When we reach the kitchen, she whispers out of the corner of her mouth, nodding toward the patio. "I’m telling you the truth, Lizzy! Prepare yourself. He’s a fucking stud. I nearly fainted when he walked in.“ She turns her confident eyes on me.

  I grab her by the shoulders and shake her gently. My voice rises above a whisper, demanding her attention. "Tara, you aren’t hearing me. I met a man! He’s a fucking badass. I spent the entire weekend with his badass. I’ve fallen in love with his badass.”

  John yells from the back. “Tara, is that Lizzy?”

  I give her a look that says, ‘Zip it!’

  She grins wickedly at me. “Yes, John, she’s made it back.”

  “Excellent,” He yells. “We’re on the patio.”

  When we round the counter, I can see John talking to a man in a baseball cap. He looks up, gives me a head nod, then stands and says to the dude. “There she is.” Then he looks back at me and adds, “Come on out here, Lizzy. There is someone I want you to meet.”

  Reluctantly, I follow Tara onto the patio. The man in the baseball cap stands up as we approach. He and John smile at me, and he holds his hand out. After all Tara said, I expected more. The dude is handsome, but he’s not a fucking stud. I smile politely and shake his hand as John introduces us. “Lizzy, I’d like you to meet Riley Register. Riley, this is Lizzy Mayer, Tara’s best friend.”

  Riley Register? I shake his hand and say at the same time he does, “It’s nice to meet you.”

  He sits back down, and I look at John. He smiles at me. “Did you have a good weekend?”

  “Yes, I did.” I grin.

  “Better than you expected?”

  “Much better than I expected!” I grin at him.

  I glance over at Tara, and she explains, “Riley is going to be joining John’s pharmaceutical sales team.”

  “Oh, well, that’s great news. Congratulations.”

  Riley nods, “Thanks. I’m excited to start.”

  Just then my phone rings. It’s B. A. I smile at it and excuse myself as I lift it to my ear. "Hey, B.A.”

  “Hey Lizard, I heard you fell in love with a badass this weekend, is that true?”

  I grin, “It is.” Then I frown. “Who told you?”

  “I heard it straight from your beautiful pouty lips and just so you know, I fell in love with you the first I spied your beauty right over there in John’s kitchen.”

  I drop my phone and whirl. My badass is leaning against the patio door wearing his cute boyish grin. My heart stops beating, and my breath vanishes. He pushes off and walks straight to me. When he arrives, my heart races in my chest, but my breath is gone. He stands tall and proud, towering over me. “Allow me to formally introduce myself, Lizard. My name is Brody Andrews. I’m John’s little brother. My friends call me B.A., but my military bros call me, Badass. But you,” He pulls me in his arms, and whispers in my ear
, “I prefer you call me, “Yes, Yes. OH. MY. GOD. YES!”

  Then his lips are on mine and he is pushing all my buttons perfectly.

  The End… for now!

  Acknowledgments

  To Karolina Alvarez and Debbie Lee, a special shout out to you inside the story. To Mindy Selder much love and appreciation always! To Liz-Cate Cicchini, aka Lizard, a special shout-out! <3

  To Tina Taylor, my #1 Diva, and the rest of my street team, I see you working it! MWAH!

  To my Diva Den, you gals always have my back. I know on good days and hard days, I can pop in and be real with you. THANK YOU!

  To my PA, Lainey Da Silva, my twin from across the pond, I am forever grateful to you for all you do on my behalf! You are more to me than a fan, or friend. You are family.

  To Maria Clark, End Solutions Inc., my editor, you save me from myself. You’re amazing!

  To Romance Devoured, you’ve added so much to my career! I have no words. And that’s really saying something!

  To Ardent Prose for their professionalism and promotion, thank you so much!

  To all the bloggers, reviewers, and readers - THANK YOU for choosing my love story. There are so many wonderful romance books available. It’s easy to get lost in the noise. Without you, the world doesn’t turn. I’m grateful beyond words for your time.

  To my fans, I want you to know I love and appreciate each and everyone of you! I am humbled by your love, loyalty, and support! You complete me!

  And last, but certainly not least, to YOU! Thank you for reading my book. It’s the most amazing feeling, giving others ‘happy faces’ from a story that comes from the depth of my soul. My goal with every book is to make you sure you laugh out loud at least one, and give you more than one happy ending. ;) I cherish each of you and our time spent together inside my fictional fantasy world. I hope this is the beginning of a long and loving relationship.

  Before you go, may I ask you to do me a big favor?

  If you’ve enjoyed Falling For His Badass, please consider leaving a review. Reviews are the lifeblood of authors. They really help others find my books. Thank you!

  Ciao!

  Jessika

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