by JL Paul
“Mmm, I thought we were,” she said. She was quite comfortable tucked under his chin with her head on his chest listening to the rhythm his heart was beating out.
He chuckled. “Come on, love. Let’s get dressed and I’ll take you the aquarium.”
She peeked at him. “I only said that to get out of shopping.”
He grabbed her face and kissed her quickly. “I know but I think we should do something besides each other on your birthday.”
Blushing, she buried her head in his chest. He hugged her to his body and kissed the top of her head. “Go shower and get ready then meet me back here.”
“Fine,” she grumbled as she grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it over her head. She got up, raking her fingers through her messy hair and paused in the doorway. “Um, Brady?”
After pulling on his shorts, he turned to look at her. “Yeah, love?”
With a shy smile, she ducked her head. “Do you think it’ll be okay if I check out of my room and just share yours?”
He grinned. “Most definitely. I do love how your mind works.”
***
They returned to the hotel after the Homer Contest but instead of going straight upstairs, Brady steered Taylor to one of the small hotel conference rooms.
“What are we doing?” she asked.
Stepping up, Tabby grabbed Taylor's upper arm. “Just come on and stop asking questions.”
Tabby opened the door and Taylor’s jaw dropped. Navy blue balloons and white streamers hung from the ceiling. Six tables littered the room draped in matching navy tablecloths. Another table, pushed against the wall, held drinks and a beautiful round cake. An actual DJ was set up in the corner, waiting to get started.
She turned to Brady with a glare. “I’m so going kill you later, you know that right?”
He held his hands up in mock surrender. “Hey, I had nothing to do with it. I just mentioned to Tabby that it was your birthday.”
Zoey suddenly appeared and grabbed Taylor's other arm. “C’mon! It’s your birthday. Did you actually think we were going to let you get away with not telling us?”
“I was sort of hoping,” Taylor mumbled as she allowed Zoey and Tabby to drag her inside.
An hour later, she finally sat down at a table and sipped from an icy cold bottle of water. Her muscles were already slightly achy from the activities she’d engaged in the previous night and now they screamed in protest each time Zoey and Tabby forced her to the dance floor.
She spotted Brady near the drink table talking to Kyle and Ian while Alex and Mark had Scott Kinsey, a Racers relief pitcher, engaged in what looked like a serious discussion, judging by their emphatic hand gestures. Tabby and Zoey dropped into chairs on both sides of her, grinning like children who had successfully raided the cookie jar. Taylor glanced at them and cringed.
“So, Taylor,” Tabby said, grin threatening to overtake her entire face. “Where were you exactly last night?”
“In bed,” she stated.
“Alone?” Zoey asked.
Taylor opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Blood rushed to her cheeks as she looked between them.
“I…um…I don’t have to answer that.”
Both women burst out laughing.
“I knew it,” Tabby exclaimed. “And I interrupted something when I called earlier, didn’t I?”
Taylor’s bright red cheeks were answer enough. She nervously took a slug of her water and caught Brady’s eye. She desperately sent him telepathic messages to come rescue her but he merely smiled and gave her a wink before returning to his discussion.
“It’s okay, hon,” Tabby said, patting her arm. “You don’t have to say a word.”
“Yeah,” Zoey agreed. “They way you two kept looking at each other all day gave you away.”
“Oh geez,” Taylor exclaimed, covering her face with her hands. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yeah,” Tabby confirmed gleefully. “But Brady is so smitten. All he talks about is you.”
“She’s right,” Zoey added. “That boy is head over heels in love with you, girl.”
Taylor jerked her head at Zoey. “What?”
“He hasn’t told you yet?” Zoey asked. “I can’t believe that.”
“He probably doesn’t want to scare her,” Tabby said, tapping her chin with her index finger. “You know how overprotective he is of her.”
“Hang on,” Taylor interrupted. “I’m right here, remember?” She swallowed and licked her lips nervously. “Did he actually tell you two all this?”
Tabby shook her head. “Nope. But he doesn’t have to. It’s quite obvious.”
“Do you love him?” Zoey asked.
Taylor watched as Brady laughed at something Ian said. His eyes lit up in amusement and she recalled how loving and tender he had been the night before. She smiled. “Yeah, I do.”
Zoey squealed and clapped her hands. “You just have to tell him!”
Taylor shook her head. “No, not yet.”
Tabby rested her hand on Taylor’s arm. “Listen, honey. I know he hurt you in the past and I know you’ve had to rebuild your trust in him but I’ve really gotten to know him this season. He won’t hurt you again.”
“I know,” Taylor agreed, bowing her head. She plucked at the bottom of the paper table cloth.
“If you would have been there when he told us what he did to you in high school, you would know what I mean. He nearly cried. I thought Alex was going punch him and do you know what? Brady would have let him. I think it actually kills him to think about what he did.”
Taylor looked at Tabby. “I’ve forgiven him for that. And I have to agree with him when he told me that he was glad he made that bet. I am too, now. I wouldn’t have him today if he wouldn't have made it.”
Tabby smiled gently at her. “Then don’t let him go this time.”
“Excuse me, ladies,” Brady said, cutting into the conversation. He reached for Taylor’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “You’ve monopolized my woman long enough. The DJ’s playing our song and I’d like to dance with her.”
Taylor rolled her eyes as she fought a smile. “We don’t have a song.”
He guided her to the dance floor and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pulled her close to his body and grinned. “Every song is ours, love.”
"Cheesy, Brady," she said as she rolled her eyes. "Very cheesy."
She rested her head on his chest as Tabby and Alex joined them on the dance floor followed by Zoey and Mark.
He kissed the top of her head. “What were you girls talking about before I interrupted?”
Closing her eyes, she moved slowly with him. “You.”
“Ahh, great topic, huh?”
She snorted. “We were talking about how arrogant and egotistical you are.”
Chuckling, he leaned back to look in her eyes. “Really, now?”
She nodded. “Yep. And I wouldn’t have you any other way.”
He kissed her slowly, lips lingering on hers, and brushed his hands up her sides. “I’m really lucky you’ll have me at all.”
Her heart thumped as heat raced throughout her body. She narrowed her eyes seductively at him. “Well I intend on having you all night, tonight.”
He groaned, drew her closer, and kissed her. “It is your birthday, after all. Far be it from me to deny you anything today.”
When the music ended, Tabby pointed to the cake. With an irritated sigh, Taylor gave Brady a quick hug. “Let’s go cut the cake and then get the hell out of here.”
He held her hand and followed her to the cake table. He bent low and whispered in her ear. “Have I told you lately that I love how your mind works?”
“If you like that idea that much, just wait until you see what we do with the leftover cake."
He groaned again as he hurried everyone over to get their cake and wrap things up.
Chapter Fifteen
Taylor floated to her desk Wednesday afternoon, goofy grin plastered to her face. J
osh raised a brow as he approached her.
“How was the game?” he asked.
She smiled. “Wonderful.”
He rolled his eyes. “Well spare me the gruesome details.”
Sitting on the edge of her desk, his eyes scanned her face. "Well, you look better, anyway. Tia’s back in town and we want to take you out tonight for your birthday.”
Biting her lip, she gave him an easy glance. “Umm, tonight is Brady’s last night off. We kind of had plans.”
Standing up, he heaved a disgruntled breath, throwing his hands in the air. “Fine. I’ll call Tia and tell her.”
“Josh,” she called after him. He waved her away as he headed toward the break room. She dialed Tia’s number and relief washed over her when she picked up right away.
“Hey, girlie! How was your little romantic getaway?” Tia teased.
“Fantastic,” she replied. “Shall I spare you the gruesome details also?”
Tia snorted. “Hell no! I want to hear it all. Where shall go tonight?”
She sighed in frustration. “That’s just it. Tonight’s the last night of the break and I made plans with Brady. Do you think we can get together tomorrow night instead?”
“Oh, sure. That’s not a problem.”
Taylor smiled. “Good. Only you’ll have to talk to Josh because apparently I ticked him off when I told him I wanted to spend time with Brady tonight.”
“Oh,” Tia responded in a desolate tone. “Yeah. He’s not too happy that you’re seeing Brady.”
“I sort of got that feeling when he stormed away from me just now.”
Tia snorted. “I got back in town last night and had dinner with him and Lacy. All he did was complain. I think Lacy got a little upset with him.”
“Good. He deserves it. I mean, he was the one who pushed me to talk to Brady after all.”
“I know,” Tia said. “He’s an idiot. Don’t let him get you down. You and Brady deserve to be happy and if Josh won’t join us tomorrow, then you can tell me all the nitty gritty details.”
Taylor smiled. “I will.”
“Oh! I nearly forgot. I wanted to tell you I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the little birthday party they planned for you. Brady tried to get me there but I was wrapped up in this deal for work.”
Taylor furrowed her brow. “I didn’t know they tried to get you there.”
“Yep. Brady called me and told me about the party Tabby and Zoey planned. I thought it was sweet.”
“It was. Kind of embarrassing, though. Wish you would have been there. I missed you.”
“Aw, honey! How sweet. Now tell me, have you jumped on that boy yet?”
Fire raced to her cheeks as she swiveled her chair away from the bustle of the busy office. “Umm, yeah.”
Tia shrieked so loudly that Taylor winced and pulled the phone from her ear. “How was it? How did it happen? Was it good?”
As she turned her head, she caught Henry Lake glaring at her from across the room. “I’ll tell you all about it later. I really should go get some work done now.”
“Okay,” Tia pouted in the phone. “Call me later.”
Taylor hung up the phone and turned her computer on, ignoring Henry’s accusatory glances.
She left once to pick up a sandwich, which she ate at her desk. She’d found a very informative legal web site in which she scanned thoroughly. She jotted down notes that she thought would help with her story and became so immersed; she was surprised when Luther tapped her shoulder and told her to go home.
“Just because you took a few days off doesn’t mean you have to sleep here all night,” he said.
She looked at the clock and was surprised to see it was past five. She grimaced as she shut down her computer and picked up her cell phone. She figured Brady would have called her by now asking where she was.
When she got to her car, she threw her stuff in the passenger seat before dialing Brady's number.
“Hey, love,” he answered, making her heart somersault. She could hear what sounded like lots of people in the background. “Where are you?”
“I could ask you the same,” she responded.
“I’m at the Line Drive Club. I ran into some old friends.”
“Really,” she asked, her curiosity perked. “Who?”
“Jason Smith and Jordan Brock.”
Her heart stopped somersaulting abruptly, falling flat on its face. “Oh.”
“Hang on, love. I can barely hear you. Let me go outside.”
“No, Brady, it’s okay,” she said. “Go hang out with them. Give me a call later.”
“Taylor, wait a second,” he ordered. She could hear the noise die down as he apparently walked outside. “Okay, now I can hear you better. Where are you?”
“Just leaving the office. Why don’t you hang out with your friends and just call me later?”
“Hey, love,” he said, his voice soft. “Come down here. They want to see you. I told them we’re back together.
Cringing, she closed her eyes, keeping the dreaded sigh inside her tightly wound body. She had no desire whatsoever to see either of them again. “I don’t think so, Brady. Why don’t you have a boy’s night or something? Besides, Tia and Josh wanted me to have dinner with them for my birthday.”
He exhaled a heavy breath into the phone. “Okay. But how about when you’re done, you meet me at my place? If I’m not there yet, just go to Kyle’s and get a key from him. I gave him an extra.”
***
“So the Terrible Threesome is back together,” Tia asked as she speared a tomato with her fork.
“Yep. Isn’t it grand,” Taylor retorted.
“Cheer up, Taylor. I’m sure Jason will crawl back under whatever rock he came from soon.”
She snorted and took a long drink from her ice tea glass. “Do you mind if I indulge in a little self pity for a moment?”
Looking up from her salad, Tia gestured for her to continue.
“Okay, here goes. One of my best friends isn’t speaking to me because I’m dating the guy he pushed me to talk to and that guy, who I just spent the most amazing three days with, is out with his high school buddies with whom he made that stupid bet.”
Tia grinned. “It’s about to get better. Henry Lake and his stuck up daughter just walked through the door.”
Taylor rolled her eyes as she turned to meet Henry’s sarcastic smirk. They followed the hostess to the back section of the restaurant.
“If that man says one word to me I swear I’m going to punch him first and then his daughter.”
***
Sitting on the trunk of her car, she waited for Tabby. She'd left the restaurant without a word from Henry and then headed to Brady’s house. She knew he wouldn’t be there - it was still fairly early - so she'd parked her car in his drive and walked a block down to Kyle’s. She'd been a little surprised to find him not at home so she called Tabby on her cell to see if she could get Kyle’s number.
“He’s at the Club with the rest of the guys. I’m on my way there now. Sit tight and I’ll swing by to pick you up,” Tabby had said.
Taylor hadn't had a chance to protest as Tabby had hung up quickly. She wanted to see Brady; be with him, especially after their Chicago trip. She just didn’t know if she could handle being face to face with Jason and Jordan again.
Tabby pulled her SUV in front of Brady’s driveway and leaned over to open the passenger door.
“Hop in,” she called.
Taylor reluctantly jumped down from her car and climbed into Tabby’s. Tabby smiled as she pulled away.
“Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” she asked.
Taylor shrugged. “Brady’s down there with two of his high school buddies who I don’t care a whole lot for and have no desire to ever see again.”
“Oh, I see,” Tabby told her. “Jocks? Preps? That kind of thing?”
“Sort of.” Taylor yanked on her pony tail in an effort to tighten it. “Jason and Jordan are the guys that ma
de the bet with Brady.”
Tabby snapped her head toward Taylor in surprise. “Are you serious?”
Taylor nodded. “Yeah. I haven’t seen them since Prom.”
“No wonder you don't want to go down there.”
“Yeah, well, it’s a little humiliating, you know?” She propped her head on the cool glass of the passenger side window.
Tabby glanced at her again. “Taylor, you know one of the reasons why I like you so much?”
Taylor shook her head.
“Because you’ve got a backbone. You stood up to everything Brady gave you and threw it back in his face. You’re tough, Taylor. You and Brady fought hard to overcome all the things you’ve been through. Don’t let these idiots stand in the way or keep you from him.”
Reaching over, she took Taylor’s hand and squeezed it as she pulled into the parking lot.
“Come on, girl. Show them you’re not scared.”
As soon as they walked inside, Taylor spotted Jason. Where Brady was tall and dark, Jason was shorter and fair. He had blond, messy hair, and piercing blue eyes. The pair of them had left a trail of broken hearts behind them all throughout their high school days.
Jordan Brock stood against the bar with some curvy blonde in a short, denim skirt whose back was to Taylor. Jordan’s sandy brown hair was cut short and neat and his brown eyes were hidden behind stylish glasses.
Taylor’s heart nearly stopped when the woman turned and Taylor recognized her. Brady hadn’t mentioned that she was here.
Gretchen Steel was blonde, shapely, and just plain gorgeous. She remembered Josh telling her once that Brady and Gretchen had dated on and off their entire junior year and for a few months the beginning of senior year. She was the one he would go back to after each of his ‘relationships’ had ended.
“There’s Brady,” Tabby whispered in Taylor's ear as she tugged on her arm. “Come on.”
Taylor trudged behind her as they made their way over to the table.
“Look what I found,” Tabby announced, calling attention to them both.
When Brady spun around, his pleasure lit up his handsome features. “Hey, love! You made it.”
