by Autumn Marks
She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent. The sandalwood in his cologne could be easily distinguished, but there was something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Citrus? Vanilla? Whatever it was, it smelled divine and she wouldn’t mind staying here for hours.
The deejay stopped the music and announced the cake cutting ceremony. Outside where they were standing, it had been muffled, but she’d definitely heard it. She didn’t want to leave, but her allegiance to her friend was weighing heavily on her mind.
Emily pulled away from Brandon. “I should go.”
He kept his grip on her and leaned his head down. “Are you sure you don’t want to stay?”
“I’d rather stay out here, but—”
Her words were cut off by his mouth on hers. As shock gave way to desire, Emily closed her eyes and the world around them faded away. Nothing else mattered in this moment except Brandon’s lips on hers. His grip was solid, strong, never wavering and she found herself leaning into his body for support because her legs didn’t feel like her own. As he worked his hands down her back, she pressed her lips firmly against his, wishing to keep them there forever.
And then just as quickly as it had started, he pulled away.
She wanted more. She wanted to forget this wedding and keep kissing Brandon out here in the darkness.
“I’ve been wanting to do that all evening,” he said.
She let that sink in for a minute. How long had he been thinking about kissing her? Since they met the first time? When he had asked her over for dinner? The trip to get flowers?
She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about kissing him too.
Emily was at war with herself over what to do next. She knew she should be there for her friend, the same friend who had been there for her throughout most of her childhood. But also the same friend who, a few hours earlier, had bitched her out over wedding pictures.
Her body wanted to run off with Brandon and forget the whole rest of the evening. But her mind won out. “Let’s go to the cake cutting and then we can get out of here. Deal?” she asked.
Brandon took her hand in his and kissed the top of it. “Deal.”
Chapter 15
There was silence in the car. With one simple kiss, Brandon had changed the nature of his and Emily’s relationship. All the friendly banter they’d shared before was gone.
But that kiss had been anything but simple. And he had admitted to Emily he’d been wanting to kiss her all evening—which wasn’t a lie.
From the moment he’d seen her in that form-fitting dress he’d wanted more of her. Even here, sitting in his car, he wanted to reach out and touch her. He wanted to run his hands through her hair. He wanted to lie with her in bed and hold her close to him.
Where should they go from here?
He looked over at Emily who was staring out the window, probably wondering what his next move was going to be.
Spoiler alert: He had no idea.
After watching the bride and groom shove cake in each other’s faces, they had hightailed it out of there, slinking away before anyone would notice their absence. They’d chatted on the walk to Brandon’s car and had held hands the whole way. But now? Nothing.
He should say something.
“Did you have a nice time tonight?” What a lame thing to say. She’d been stressed out all day over her friend’s wedding and then she’d had to see her ex-boyfriend with his hands on another girl. He doubted she’d had a nice time.
“I’m glad it’s over. I’m really happy for Stephanie and Chris, but helping her out was exhausting.” She turned to look at him, the shadow of her face the only thing able to be seen. “Thanks for coming. I’m glad you were there. It gave me something to look forward to.”
So she was happy he attended. That was good. “Was it really that bad of a time?” he asked.
“There were times when things got a bit heated between us. By the end of the evening, I was tired of being her grunt.”
“I hope this evening didn’t damage your friendship.”
“I don’t think so. I know she was really stressed out. I think once the dust settles, things will go back to normal.”
Brandon nodded, even though she couldn’t see him. “I’m sorry you missed out on a slice of cake,” he said with a grin, hoping it would come through in his tone of voice.
“I’m not. She picked a gross flavor anyway. Honestly, who picks red velvet cake with lemon filling? Gross.”
“That sounds awful.”
“It is awful. But Stephanie and Chris both loved it.”
By now they were pulling into his driveway and he noted the silence that had overtaken the car once more. They both knew the evening could end in various ways, but neither of them were giving any hints as to how things would go.
Brandon turned off the car and sat facing his house, not ready to look at Emily yet. He didn’t want to see the expectant look on her face. Or maybe it would be nervousness he’d see and he wasn’t sure how to handle that.
If he had his way, he’d strip that dress off of her and lay her out on his bed. He’d enjoy every inch of her body and show her what it felt like to be savored.
But not tonight.
Tonight wasn’t right for that. After seeing her ex, she’d be feeling hurt and looking for anything to soothe her wounded heart. Brandon didn’t want their first time to be on the heels of something like that.
He’d wait. But after kissing her as fiercely as he had earlier at the wedding, what would be going through her mind? Did she want him the same way he wanted her? Now that he had fulfilled his end of the bargain, would she even want to see him again?
Brandon opened the car door and walked around to the other side to open hers. He walked her up her porch steps and they stood on her front porch for what felt like forever before she spoke.
“Do you want to come in?” she asked, the words lingering on her tongue.
Oh, god, he wanted to. It took every ounce of restraint he had to stop himself from hauling her through this door and taking her right on the other side of it. But she deserved better than that.
Brandon looked at Emily’s eyes and saw the desire in them. She looked at him with bedroom eyes, eyes that said please don’t deny me. He had no doubt it had taken a lot of courage to ask him to come inside and it was his job to let her down easy. But he was out of practice and Emily wasn’t like other girls he’d met.
Brandon let the side of his hand slide down her cheek to her neck, all the way down her chest, stopping right before the tops of her breasts. She stood there, her breath coming out in short pants, as she waited for him to make his move. He felt her soft skin against his fingers as he worked his hand up into the hair at the nape of her neck and settled his mouth on hers. His kiss started with a tender brush of his lips, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted more. He pressed his lips harder to hers, teasing her bottom lip with his tongue. She smiled against his mouth and parted her lips, ready for what was to come next.
But nothing could come next. Brandon knew that. If he didn’t stop now, he’d never be able to pull himself away.
He eased up on his kisses, kissing her once, then again, before pulling away altogether.
There. He had shown her that he clearly wanted her, but would it be enough? Would she feel hurt with his next words?
“I want to come in. Believe me, I do. I just don’t think tonight is the right time.”
Emily’s gaze dropped down to the porch and his heart sank. She was upset. She had to be.
She looked back up at him with a grin on her face. She was smiling? He had no idea what that meant.
“Some other time then,” Emily said. She unlocked her door and stepped over the threshold and turned back toward him. “Thanks again for coming tonight.”
She closed the door behind her and after a few beats, her porch light turned off. Brandon stood on the front porch with more questions than answers. One thing was true. Emily was unlike any girl he’d ever met.
He’d said tonight wasn’t the right time. It didn’t take a genius to know what he’d been referring to.
On one hand, Emily was relieved. The first time with Brandon would surely be memorable…but she wanted it to be memorable for the right reasons. Jason was on both of their minds and he was the last person she wanted to think about now. But Jason had opened up some fresh wounds tonight and she would need some time to sort them out.
And Brandon had her acting in ways that were unfamiliar. Her home was her sanctuary and yet, in a knee-jerk reaction, she had asked him to come in. She might as well have held the door open for him with all her talk about boundaries not applying to humans when they’d been dancing earlier.
When she had first bought her home, it had taken her three months before she even let Jason through the door, let alone spend the night, even though they had been dating for two years. After knowing Brandon for only a few weeks, she was ready to let him in.
So what did that mean?
On the other hand, Emily couldn’t deny that part of her body needed more of Brandon. Those few kisses weren’t enough. She wanted his hands on her body, his lips on hers, and to see how Brandon’s unpredictable personality translated into the bedroom.
She ran her thumb across her bottom lip where Brandon’s lips had been only a few minutes ago. She smiled when she thought of the way he had kissed her. Standing with her eyes closed, she imagined his lips there once more.
Jason had never kissed her like that. His kisses were always so tentative and safe. Passionate wasn’t a word she’d use to describe Jason.
But Brandon? She wanted to see what kind of lover he was. Brandon had made her feel sexy tonight, like she was worthy of another man’s attention. And why shouldn’t someone like Brandon be crazy for her? She’d looked gorgeous tonight and felt good knowing he had appreciated it.
Emily chuckled at herself. Normally so quiet and reserved, every bit the good girl, one man had turned her into a wanton woman.
Seeing Jason tonight was a good thing. She’d felt no attraction toward him, which was good. What she did feel was anger, hurt, and betrayal for starters. Jason had shown his true colors. He had thrown himself all over his new girlfriend in front of her, knowing full well that at some point she would see the two of them. He’d shown that he was the type of person who could so easily dispose of her and not even take her feelings into account.
Her ex-boyfriend was a total asshole.
She was lucky to be rid of him.
Emily suspected Brandon wasn’t anything like that. Brandon seemed to care about her feelings. He had cared enough to show up tonight. He had cared enough to make things right when his dog had destroyed her flowers.
And even though she knew she shouldn’t be falling for him so soon, even though she knew she should give herself a waiting period before starting another relationship, she didn’t want to wait.
A knock at her door jarred her out of her reverie.
It was pitch black outside when she opened the door except for the subtle glow of the streetlights that lined the street. But she didn’t need the help of the streetlights to make out the male figure still standing on her front porch. She’d known it was Brandon the second she’d opened the door. Her pulse quickened and she licked her bottom lip in anticipation of what was to come.
His hands were in his pockets and he shifted his feet a few times.
“Did you change your mind?” she asked.
His lip quirked up in a grin and Emily wished she could see those bright blue eyes because she was sure they were full of mischief.
“It’s taking all I have to say no to you.”
“So don’t say no,” Emily said, her body clearly doing all the talking for her because her mind was still trying to make sense of things.
“I just came to give you this.”
Brandon placed one of his hands at the small of her back and pulled her closer to him. His other hand found the nape of her neck and he pressed his mouth to hers in a searing kiss. Her insides heated up and she wanted more, matching his kisses with her own. His tongue grazed her bottom lip and this time she opened wider to allow him access to hers.
They stood entwined, her hands touching him everywhere she could, before his mouth left hers. Her breath hitched in her throat as he planted kisses along her neck and the hollow of her shoulder. Goose bumps ran down Emily’s spine and she stifled the moan that tried to escape her lips. The scruff of Brandon’s face scraped against her skin and she’d surely have red marks down her neck where his lips had been. But she’d hold on to every single one of those marks for as long as she could.
Brandon began to pull away, easing up on his kisses before righting himself altogether. He planted one final kiss on her lips and after a few seconds passed, it was clear that no more were going to come. Emily opened her eyes and caught her breath. If that was a preview of what might go down between the two of them, she couldn’t wait.
“There,” he said with a smile on his face.
Emily tried to come up with something clever to say but she was struggling to form words. “Good night for real this time?”
“Good night for real.”
This time, before closing the door, she watched as he walked across the yard back to his house. She listened for the sound of his door closing before she felt it was okay to close hers. He wouldn’t be coming back this time. She closed her door and then leaned against it, touching parts of her body where his lips had been. Standing there, reliving those kisses in her mind, she felt like she was a freshman in high school again and had just experienced her first kiss.
But tonight had been what she hoped was the first of many kisses with Brandon. She had to see more of him.
Yeah, she was falling for him all right.
Chapter 16
The sound of knocking on Brandon’s front door the next morning had interrupted his sleep. The only reason he had answered it was because he was hoping it would be a certain someone on the other side—a certain someone whom he’d dreamed about all night.
But thoughts like that weren’t appropriate when facing the person at his door. Brandon squinted into the sunlight at the face of his mother.
“I came to see if you wanted to go out for breakfast,” Linda said.
Did he have a choice in this matter? She hadn’t called or texted, which was unusual for her. “Yeah, give me a few minutes to throw some clothes on and let Ollie out,” he replied, his eyes struggling to adjust to the blinding sunlight.
“I’ll wait in the car. I thought I’d drive if that’s okay with you. My car is already running.”
“Is something wrong? You’re acting weird.”
“Can’t I ask my son out to breakfast? Is that a crime?” she said with a chuckle.
He hesitated a moment. There was something odd about this whole scenario that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. But he’d go with her to breakfast because he’d never hear the end of it if he didn’t. “I’ll only be a few minutes.”
Linda stepped away and Brandon closed the door. This wasn’t how he hoped his morning would go. He’d been planning to pay a visit to his neighbor and maybe continue what they had started last night. He’d exhibited a tremendous amount of restraint last night and there was only so long that could last.
Being with Emily was all he’d thought of while trying to sleep. She was incredibly distracting, but it wasn’t just those kinds of thoughts that had invaded his brain. He’d also thought of the little things: like the way she’d lit up when she found him at the wedding, the way his hand had fit perfectly at the small of her back, and the way she toyed with her hair when she was nervous.
But now he had to push all that aside so he could concentrate on breakfast with his mother.
Brandon let Ollie out the back door, then went and changed into a T-shirt and athletic shorts. When he let Ollie back inside, he gave him his breakfast and a few good scratches behind the ear before leaving to meet his mother at her car. O
nce outside, he stole a look at Emily’s house and wondered what she was up to this morning. Was she even awake yet?
As soon as he got in his mother’s car, she gave him an apologetic look. “I know how much you like The Neighborhood, but I’m taking you somewhere else this morning.”
“Are you going to tell me where?”
She kept her eyes focused on the road. “It’s in Canal Winchester. You’ll recognize it when we get there.”
There was only one place in Canal Winchester that they used to go for breakfast…as a family. That was back when their family had consisted of four people: Brandon, his mom, his dad, and Julie. As far as Brandon was concerned, his dad wasn’t part of the picture anymore. He’d lost that privilege years ago.
He slid down in his seat and a sense of dread settled in the pit of his stomach. He had a feeling what this breakfast involved and he wasn’t ready for it.
When Brandon and his mom walked into TJ’s Diner, it still looked like something out of the nineteen fifties—which was exactly how he remembered it. And the sinking feeling in his stomach wasn’t unfounded. There, in the booth, all the way at the back of the diner sat his father along with Julie and Lilly.
In his mind, the pieces were clicking into place. His mother had chosen somewhere that would be too far for him to walk away from. She had driven him here so he couldn’t leave. Choosing this place had been no accident. She’d done it to stir up memories of the past and that was exactly what it was doing.
“I can’t believe you,” Brandon spat out.
“I’m sorry. Your father is really trying here. He wants a chance to make things right with you. He wants for us to be a family again.”
“Why? He’s the one who kicked me out. I can’t believe you would agree to this.” He glanced over at the booth again and Lilly looked at him and Linda with interest.
