She couldn’t believe how many celebrity break ups there were lately. Maybe her mother was right when she told her that money couldn’t buy anyone happiness or was it that money was the root of all evil.
Hell, it didn’t matter. Dolores Hart was constantly throwing quotes at her when she was living at home before she decided to take the leap and move for her career. So, it was hard for her to remember all of them. Finishing off the last of her wine, Alicia placed the glass on the table next to her and then pulled off her dark purple suit jacket. She was too tired to even think about making her way upstairs to her bedroom.
She had fallen asleep on the couch before, so it wasn’t like this would be the first time. Alicia slid down on the cushions and closed her eyes hoping that sleep came to her quicker than it usually did.
****
“Thanks for coming over at such short notice,” Brad said, staring at the two couples standing on his front porch.
“We know that you wouldn’t have called us unless it’s really important,” Zack replied, walking past him with Traci carrying a sleeping Carter in her arms.
“Yeah, little brother, you sounded very upset on the phone,” Richard chimed in as he followed the first couple inside with a car seat in his hand.
Brad smiled at Dawn before closing the door behind everyone. He hated to bring out his nephews this late, but he had to talk to them about Alicia, Lee and his thoughts about leaving the marketing business to start his own business.
“Let me apologize again. I didn’t mean for any of you to bring out the boys this late. I just needed to see everyone.” He waited for everyone to take a seat before he sat down in his favorite recliner. It was the one piece of furniture in the living room that he wouldn’t be able to live without.
“Where’s Lee and Cherise?” Traci asked as she handed a still sleeping Carter over to Zack. “I’m surprised that they aren’t already here.”
“I’ve already talked to Lee about this, so I’m sure he has filled in Cherise about everything. That’s why I only invited all of you here.”
What if Richard and Zack reacted the same way as Lee? Was he assuming too much? He knew how much Richard and Zack adored their families and they might not want them in the public eye either. If they told him no then he would respect their wishes.
Yes, he was in love with Alicia and wanted to help her with this, but he wasn’t going to alienate his entire family for her. No matter what his feelings might be for the sexy reporter. He would always protect his family no matter the cost.
“Are you going to keep us in suspense or should we guess what is going on?” There was a faint glint of humor in Zack’s eyes. “If you didn’t want Lee to be here with us, it must be something that would set him off on one of his lectures.”
“Alicia wants to do a special about our family,” Brad said, watching how everyone looked at each other and then back at him. “She thinks the community and other people would love to know how three of the most eligible bachelors in Houston, Texas ended up getting married.”
“Don’t try to cover up for her. We all know the real topic of the story,” Richard snapped. “I can see why Lee wouldn’t want to be here tonight.”
“Richard, calm down,” Dawn told her husband touching him on the leg. “Let Brad finish. Honestly, I’m not upset about this. I love any kind of couple specials. It’s always so interesting learning how couples fell in love with each other; I would like to be a part of it.”
“I would too,” Traci jumped in. “I’ll be able to brag to all the women out there how my sexy husband wanted to know my name from first sight and I was wearing no make-up and sweaty gym clothes at the time.”
Brad liked how Traci’s beautiful face became more animated as she talked about the first time she saw Zack. His brother had dated a lot of women over the years, but he was very pleased that Traci was the woman he married in the end. Her sweet and outgoing personality was a perfect blend to Zack’s usually laid back image unless someone bothered him or his family and then his protective side came out in full force.
“What about you Zack?” Brad asked, knowing that he would get an honest answer. “Do you want to get interviewed by Alicia? I told her that I had to get everyone’s approval first.”
A shadow of annoyance crossed Zack’s face as he laid Carter down on the couch next to him. Brad was surprised that neither child had woken up with all of the talking going on around them.
“Brad, I’ve turned down about eight interviews over the years because they wanted to know more about my personal life than my business life. The only reason I did the most eligible bachelor thing was because the money from the sales went to charity.”
Great, Brad thought as he dropped his head. This was going worst than he thought it would. He loved the idea; however, all of his brothers hated it and their wives didn’t.
“But since I’ve fallen in love with the most brilliant woman in the world, I’ll be more than delighted to tell my story. Count me in,” Zack answered, shocking the hell out of him.
Brad’s head snapped up quickly and his shocked eyes locked with Zack’s amused ones. “Are you serious about this? I was sure you would hate it as much as Lee.”
One corner of Zack’s mouth pulled up into a slight smile. “No, I’m not against it and I’m pretty sure that Lee will come around after Cherise has a talk with him. You know he tries to act tough with her, but she has him wrapped around her little finger.”
“Stop making fun of Lee,” Richard cut in laughing. “I think both of us suffer from the same thing. Well, I guess that I should agree too. I don’t want to be left out in the cold and I need to show Hamilton and other men that Dawn is off limits forever.”
“Haven’t I told you that Hamilton is just a big flirt and you should ignore him,” Dawn said, shaking her head. “He loves getting under your skin.”
Jealously intermingled with hurt touched Brad’s heart as he sat back and watched his older siblings talk to their wives. He’d always thought he would be the first brother to get married because it had been a dream of his for as long as he could remember. Now, he was the single brother playing with his nephews instead of his own kids.
Alicia was the woman he wanted to build a family with but either she was too scared to be with him for some reason or Lee was right and he had been wasting his time and energy longing for a woman he had no chance of winning over.
Could he love a woman who might not have any real interest in him, but only wanted what she could get out of him?
Finally...you’re beginning to see that Lee was right. Alicia isn’t any good for you. Stay away from her. You can do so much better.
Brad shoved the wayward thought from his mind. No! He wasn’t ready to give up on Alicia yet. He was going to try one more time to break down the stubborn wall she held so close to her heart.
“Hey Brad! Are you listening?” Richard asked.
“I heard every word. Thanks so much for doing this. I’m pretty sure Lee won’t give me the green light for him. It’s hard for him to believe and understand that I’m not that little boy who used to be scared of the dark or wanted to follow behind my three big brothers. I’m a grown man and he should treat me accordingly.”
“Lee is just an overbearing big brother. He fits into the mold perfectly,” Traci said. “I grew up with a sister cut from the same cloth. That’s why both of them are so perfectly matched for each other. Don’t worry about him because after the twins are born Lee will forget all about you and Alicia.”
“Listen to my beautiful wife here,” Zack said. “She knows what she’s talking about. I know that Richard even got a life when his son was born, so there is help for Lee.”
Dawn’s soft laughter drew Brad’s attention over to her. Out of all of his sisters-in-law, he liked Dawn the best. She had been in love with Richard so long and had been through so much.
He almost thought that Richard was going to lose the love of his life when Dawn found out he was asked by Richard to
follow her and he unearthed the huge secret she was keeping from him.
“I think our son really changed Richard. He was loving and understanding before, but it grew more after the baby. So, I would love to be a part of the interview.”
“Wonderful,” Brad smiled. “I can’t thank all of you enough. I’ll go ahead and tell Alicia whose all in and then I’ll leave Lee’s decision up to him.”
“Well, we better go,” Zack said, picking up Carter. “Our little man here wore himself out at his play date. We need to get him back home and into bed.”
“Yeah, we should get going too. We have a little bit of a longer drive back home than these two,” Richard pointed at Traci and Zack before picking up the car seat. “Let me know if Lee gives you any problems and I’ll have a long talk with him.”
Following behind his guests, Brad fought down a smile. Richard was always the one who stood up to Lee for him when he was a kid. Not that Zack was a good brother or they weren’t close, but it just seemed like he was closer to Richard.
“Have a safe drive home,” he told everyone as they secured their kids and then got into the car. Brad waved at his brothers as they pulled out of his driveway and drove off.
Instead of going back inside, Brad went over and took a seat on the swing set on his porch. He had so many good memories sitting out here with his parents as a little kid. It seemed like his mother always had a snack for him and his brothers to share on this porch every day after school.
After their parents had died, Lee had been old enough to be his and his brothers’ legal guardian which helped them stay in their childhood home. Over the years, his brothers moved out leaving the house to him.
Just last year, Zack had asked him if he wanted to sell the huge house for him so he could get a smaller one or a condo closer to town, but he turned down the offer. Instead, he hired a contractor to update certain parts of the house because he wanted to stay here and raise his family.
A family he thought he would be having with Alicia, but now he might be wrong thinking she was the woman for him or would be the mother of his children.
Brad knew that Alicia loved her career, but she needed more than that in her life. Hell, he wanted her to have more than that and he wanted to be the man who gave it to her. All of his siblings took the woman he loved at face value, but he saw the deeper part of herself that she was trying to hide from him and everyone else...the loneliness, the need to have something or anything to grasp on to so she wouldn’t get pulled under by the everyday routine of life.
If she would only open up to him more and let him in. He could show her that there was more to life than those sixteen hour days she couldn’t get away from.
This interview special Alicia wanted to do with his brothers was going to be his last chance at winning that piece of her heart that she was terrified to let go of.
Alicia had been pushing him away for so many years, but if she did it this time after the story was over, his interest in her would be over too. The love he had for her might be a little harder to get rid of, but he would do it over time.
Alicia, this is it. Either you realize what you have in me or it will be gone forever.
Chapter Five
“Have you heard anything from Brad Drace yet?” her boss asked, stopping her by the water fountain near the elevators. “Today is the deadline. If you don’t hear from him, I’ll have to find another way to give the public what they want.”
Alicia hated the way Tiffany locked onto things like a hungry dog with a bone. If the Drace brothers didn’t want to give any interviews than that was their right and if she could understand it why couldn’t Tiffany?
“Brad will get back in touch with me. He’s a man of his word. So, please just give him a chance to do it.”
Tiffany crossed her arms under her breasts and tapped the toe of her four inch black high heel against the tile. “Are you sure you and that cute Brad aren’t more than just friends? You’re jumping to his defense pretty quickly. I’ve heard whispers around the office that he’s in love with you. Will that prevent you from doing this story?”
Alicia had felt a strange surge of affection toward Brad when Tiffany was talking about him and it frightened her. It was almost like the need to protect him.
“Brad and I’ve been friends for a while, so I just feel the need to protect him from stupid gossip.”
“So, you’re saying that Brad doesn’t want to make you the newest and latest addition to the Drace family,” Tiffany taunted. “I know a lot of women here who wouldn’t turn down a simple dinner invitation from him.”
The thought of Brad going out with another woman didn’t set well with her at all. Not that she was jealous, but he needed to date someone who saw him for the unbelievable man that he was and would appreciate everything he had to offer her.
“Well, that’s nice but I don’t have anything to do with it. Brad is only my friend. I’ve no say or opinion about his love life. Now, please excuse me, I need to get ready for tonight’s news.” Spinning away, Alicia headed for the small room she had at the very end of the hall.
She had to get herself under control before she went on the air. Tiffany had a way of pushing her buttons and her boss knew it; however, she wasn’t going to let her dragon of a boss get under her skin. Sometimes, she wished that Harvey had never gotten transferred to a better paying job in New York. Work had been so much more fun with him that Tiffany.
Walking into her office, Alicia kicked off her shoes and then closed the door behind her. She had arrived at work a little earlier, so she could relax for a minute or two before she was called to get ready to go on television.
Taking a seat in a chair by the window, Alicia stretched her tired legs out in front of her. Her feet were so worn out from having high heels so many hours during the week. She longed for the days she’d be able to toss on a pair of tennis shoes and flip flops.
Closing her eyes, Alicia rested her head against the back of the chair and hoped to get a quick catnap in before anyone came looking for her. She didn’t know how long she had been in that position before she felt warm fingers sliding up the back of her leg and lifting her foot.
“What in the...” Alicia’s eyes flew open at the same time she tried to jerk her foot back but the grip tightened.
“Whoa! Watch out,” Brad laughed. “You almost made my voice go up another octave.”
“What are you doing?” she asked, looking at Brad sitting on the small table in front of her with her left foot in his hand.
“I was going to give you a foot massage,” he answered, rubbing his thumb over her heel. “I know the only time you take off those shoes is when your feet are bothering you.”
Awareness shot through her body at the touch of Brad’s calloused fingers and pooled right between her thighs. She wanted to squeeze her legs together to ease the ache, but she shoved it back down.
Instead, she struggled to focus on something else which was nearly impossible to do with Brad looking so tasty in a red polo shirt and a dark pair of slacks. He was beyond model perfect in her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” She made another move to get Brad’s hand off her leg, but he only brushed it away.
“Baby, I came to see you,” he replied as he pushed her skirt further up her thighs shocking her.
“Stop, you can’t do that here. What if Tiffany unexpectedly walks through the door and sees you with your hand up my skirt? I don’t need her complaining that I was making out with you at work. I know she lives to make my life hell.”
“How about we give her something to really get pissed off about?” Suddenly, Brad lifted her out of the chair and placed her body over his hard thighs, so her drenched panties were directly touching his throbbing erection.
The new sensation felt so good that her eyes almost rolled in the back of her head. Alicia tried not to squirm. She really did, but it felt so good and she had fantasized about it for such a long time.
Sliding his hands under her skir
t, Brad cupped her ass in the palm of his hands. “Are you glad to see me?” he whispered against her neck as his teeth nibbled at the sensitive skin there.
All Alicia could do was nod because she was totally lost in the craziness that Brad’s cock was creating inside her sex-starved body. She should stop him. Yeah...she really should push him away...but he was making her feel so amazing.
“I asked are you glad to see me,” Brad asked again in a low voice. “How can you continue to deny this connection between us? I know that I haven’t experienced it with another woman before. Let me in. Show me what’s broken inside of you so I can fit it.”
Alicia was so startled by Brad’s suggestion to offer any kind of comment. This wasn’t happening to her. She hadn’t finally found the man she had been waiting for all of her adult life.
No! She couldn’t fall in love with him. Not with the baggage from her past, Brad was too nice of a guy to have that kind of pressure on him. She was positive none of this was happening. It was a dream. She had to get out of it before it got any deeper.
Slowly, Alicia calmed herself down and closed her eyes. She was going to wake up and Brad wouldn’t be in the room. Closing her eyes, Alicia focused on relaxing her mind and body then she reopened her eyes and found the room empty. Brad wasn’t anywhere in sight.
I knew it was a dream, she thought to herself. Sadly, she wished that the dream had been real.
Standing up, Alicia stepped back into her shoes and fixed her clothes. It was almost time for her to sit in her co-anchor chair and she was being paid to be at the top of her game. Which meant she wasn’t about to let herself or her fans down.
Chapter Six
“Can I come in or are we still mad at each other?” Brad peeked into the study and found Lee grabbing several books off his bookshelf and tossing them into a large box by his left leg.
“Brad, you’re my brother. I’m not going to stay mad at you,” Lee said glancing at him. “Come on in. I know you’re here to talk about Alicia.”
More Than Friends: Brad Page 4
