More Than Friends: Brad

by Marie Rochelle

  Subconsciously, Alicia was beginning to think some of their qualities started to rub off on her and that was one of the reasons she avoided any deeper emotional attachments. It worked out for her better than the other option. The one thing she hated was to feel vulnerable.

  She was absolutely fearful of being hurt or humiliated by a man who she would give her everything to.

  “Gorgeous, what has you in such deep thought that you haven’t touched the breakfast I bought for you?”

  Glancing over her shoulder, Alicia watched as Brad shoved his cell phone back onto the pocket of his dark gray slacks. She never knew a man could look so good in a suit until Brad. He had the perfect body to fill it out.

  “Oh, I was just thinking,” she answered. “What took you so long on the phone with Tiffany?”

  Damn, why had she said anything? Her comment made her come across as jealous and insecure neither a problem she suffered from.

  “Did you miss me?” Brad asked as he sauntered up to her. Taking the cup out of her hand, he placed it on the countertop behind them and pulled her into his arms.

  “I was only wondering what took you so long on the phone with my boss,” Alicia replied as Brad removed her glasses placing them next to her coffee cup.

  “Sure,” he whispered as he ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “Did you think about our kiss after I left last night? It stayed on my mind all the way home and I replayed it over and over while I was alone in my big, empty bed.”

  Alicia noticed that Brad was watching her intently. She fought down the overwhelming need to push him away like she usually did. She was going to be honest with him. Remembering the steamy kiss is what had kept her up half the night and was the reason she was so out of sorts this morning.

  “Yes, I did. How could I forget it? I stayed up half the night replaying it over in my head.”

  Moving closer to her, Brad pressed her body against the counter and the warmth from his muscular body eased into hers. She could feel the sexual magnetism that made him so self-confident.

  “Did you fantasize about how unbelievable it would have felt if I had gotten to go any further?” he asked as his fingers traced the skin down the side of her neck.

  “Yes.” She watched as Brad’s dark blue eyes darkened to a smoldering intensity at her confession.

  “Confess your thoughts to me.” The words were spoken so low and sensually that it shot a ripple of awareness through her.

  “I’ve nothing to confess. I was just having thoughts.” Alicia placed her hands against Brad’s chest and was shocked to feel how fast his heart was pounding. It was like he had just run a marathon.

  “How about I go first?” he suggested.

  “Hmmm...aren’t we going to be late for our appointment with Lee? I don’t want to get on his bad side worse than I already am.”

  Removing her hands from his chest, Brad took a step back from her. She watched as the teasing light went out of his eyes and the hurt she felt turned her stomach. What in the hell happened?

  “Sorry, I forgot how important your career is to you. So, we better hurry up. I wouldn’t want to be the reason Lee cancelled his interview time with you.” Turning away from her, Brad walked away without even making sure that she was behind him because he automatically assumed she would follow him.

  “Brad, wait!” Alicia yelled running after him.

  Spinning back around, Brad stopped and suddenly yanked her against his powerful body. Alicia gasped as her breasts pressed into his hard chest. “Alicia, I’m going to tell you something and this is the last time I will tell you this. I’m in love with you. I’ve been since I first laid eyes on you in that pink tennis outfit, but I will only take so much of you shoving me away.”

  “Brad...”

  Brad placed his finger over her mouth. “No, I don’t want to hear you say something that you might be able to take back. Whatever has you scared to commit to me, I want to help you work through. However, I can’t keep falling more in love with you if you know there isn’t going to be a future between us. I’ll give you to the end of this project about my family to make your decision.”

  Removing his finger off her mouth, Brad gave her a quick kiss and then left the room leaving her speechless.

  Chapter Eleven

  Sitting inside the empty office, Alicia wanted to be thinking about the questions she wanted to ask Lee, but all she could think about was Brad and what happened this morning in her kitchen.

  He actually told her that he was falling in love with her. It was one way to think she might know something, but, it was totally different situation to hear Brad tell her the words with such a passion that it touched her and made her feel them.

  God. How could she get anything done now with his confession running through her head? There had been so much going on at her house this morning that she thought she wouldn’t ever make it here on time. At least with Brad’s help they had found her car keys wedged between the sofa cushions.

  While they were still at her house, she had tried numerous times to get Brad into a conversation, but he blocked her every attempt by bringing up a different topic. How was she ever going to be able to tell him she wanted to give it a try if he wouldn’t listen?

  He wanted to be with her and she was slowly changing her mind about things. She wanted to see how it was to be with a man who cared about her so deeply that he wasn’t afraid to admit it to her.

  The sound of the door opening and closing behind her made Alicia spin around in her seat and she found her best nemesis behind her. She swallowed hard as she found the most intimidating of the Drace brothers glaring at her. Lee really disliked her and he’d never minced his words about it.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting, but since you were a few minutes late I decided to take care of some other things,” Lee said as he moved away from the door and took a seat across from her.

  Alicia knew that she hadn’t been late, but she wasn’t going to argue with him. It wouldn’t do any good anyway. Lee would still think he was right and she was wrong.

  “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me,” she said, sitting up straighter in the chair as Lee’s gaze never left her face.

  “Why are you leading my brother around in a circle? You have to know that he’s in love with you, but you constantly stomp on his feelings. Care to tell me why?” he asked smoothly, with no expression on his face.

  Alicia’s body froze after Lee’s unexpected attack on her. She wasn’t prepared for the harsh words. As she slowly gathered her thoughts so she wouldn’t tell Lee, the arrogant ass, where to go, she was keenly aware of his scrutiny. It was like she had to pass some sort of a test she wasn’t aware she had to take.

  “Lee, I’m here to get background info on you before I start the angle for my story. I’m not interested in talking about my relationship with Brad. However, if I was, I seriously doubt that it would be with you.”

  “Why, because you know that I’d see through your lies?”

  “I think it would be best if I...”

  “Lee, will you stop attacking Alicia with all of those questions,” Cherise snapped as she came into the room through another door. “I was concerned when you told Brad you wanted to do this at home instead of work.”

  Alicia noticed how Lee’s face went from distrust to love in a flash at the sound of his wife’s voice. Getting out of the chair, Lee rushed over to his very pregnant wife like Alicia wasn’t even still in the room with them.

  “I thought you were going to take a nap. You know that you need all the rest you can get. It was doctor’s orders that you spend a couple of hours in bed every day,” Lee complained, kissing his wife on her cheek.

  Cherise glanced around Lee and looked at her. “I was until I realized that Alicia was here and might need my protection and from the sound of your voice, I can tell that I was right.” Cherise patted Lee on his arm and moved away from him.

  “Hello, Alicia,” Cherise said with a genuine smile on her gorgeous face as she wa
lked towards her wearing a very expensive looking white maternity outfit. “It’s good to see you. Please forgive my husband for his lack of manners. How about we get something to drink and go out of the patio? I think I want to get interviewed first.”

  Alicia glanced back at the Lee who glaring at her, then at Cherise who was grinning from ear to ear. “Are you sure about this?”

  “Don’t let my husband’s mean look scare you. He isn’t going to fight with me. We can stop by the kitchen before heading outside to my flower garden that I started when I found out I was pregnant.”

  “Cherise, I really think you should let me finish talking to Alicia. You need your rest.”

  “Lee, I’m capable of talking to Alicia for a while. Besides aren’t you suppose to be meeting with Richard and Zack in ten minutes?”

  “I won’t leave you here with her,” Lee said, looking in Alicia’s direction. “I don’t want her to upset you this close to your due date.”

  “I’m not a she-devil. I wouldn’t think about hurting a pregnant woman.” Alicia couldn’t believe that Lee truly had such a low opinion of her.

  “How do I know that?” Lee hollered back. “You keep hurting my brother every time you blow him off.”

  What in the hell was wrong with Lee? How dare he keep tossing his unwanted and bias opinion at her? He knew nothing about her, but he voiced his belittling insults like he did. Well, he wasn’t going to get anymore free shots at her today. If he was in a bad mood for some reason, she wasn’t going to let him take it out on her.

  “Cherise, thank you for your kind offer. However, I think I’m going to pass. I’ve better things to do with my day than to get insulted by Lee. I’ll come back another day when your husband is in a better mood.”

  Walking past Cherise, Alicia went back over to her chair and gathered up her belongings. As she turned to leave she found Lee standing directly behind her.

  “Ms. Hart, I’m shocked that you’re leaving in such a hurry. I thought you would be able to handle anything since you’re a reporter.”

  Lord...didn’t this guy know how to give it a rest.

  “Lee, stop being so mean to Alicia. You know that Brad is going to hit the roof when he finds out about this,” Cherise said, jumping into the conversation.

  “If Brad learns about Lee being a jerk, it won’t be from me.” Alicia gave Lee a hard glare before she brushed past him and left the room slamming the door behind her.

  ****

  On the way back home all Alicia could think about was how she’d allowed Lee to push her buttons once again. How was she going to handle interviewing him if he already had his mind made up about her because of Brad? Why should she tell him that she was starting to see Brad in a totally different light now? She looked forward to seeing him and missed him when she didn’t.

  Lee knew zero about her feelings for his baby brother. He didn’t know how she was ready to give Brad a chance and push some of her fears about falling in love with him to the back of her mind. She was going to prove him and everyone else wrong.

  Chapter Twelve

  Standing next to the answering machine, Brad pressed the play button again to make sure he wasn’t hearing things. After the way he had left Alicia at her house before her meeting with Lee, he never thought this would be waiting for him when he got home from a long day at work.

  “Brad, hi! I was wondering if you aren’t working late if you would like to come over for dinner. I usually eat around six o’clock if you decide to come over, bye, Alicia.”

  Pressing his shoulder against the kitchen door frame, Brad couldn’t keep the huge grin off his face. This was the first time Alicia had ever asked him out on a date. Maybe she was starting to see the light when it came to him and that they might be able to have something really good if she only opened up her heart a tiny bit.

  Why couldn’t Alicia look in the mirror and see herself in the same way that he saw her: as a delightful and entertaining hot woman that could be so much more if she only got over some of her insecurities.

  Sure, Alicia possessed the confidence needed to be a brilliant reporter, but she was also incredibly clever and talented outside of her profession. She had found a way of talking him into asking his family into doing this new story about them. Even the media-hating Lee had jumped on board at the very last minute for him.

  Didn’t Alicia understand that she would always be dying to learn new things because her mind was constantly on the lookout to explore new activities or thoughts? She tried to pretend that she was an unappealing woman who lived for her work, but he felt the inner passion Alicia fought so hard to keep a secret from everyone.

  Brad knew deep down in his gut that a married life with Alicia would never be predictable. His woman had an insatiable thirst for learning new things and digging out situations most people wouldn’t even think twice about.

  The more he was around Alicia the more she amazed him. She was changing a little and he wasn’t too proud to take some of the credit for it. Something inside of Alicia was wounded and it called to him to fix it.

  Most of his family was trying to be supportive of his pursuit of Alicia, but he could see some of them even doubted if Alicia truly cared about him. He never thought of Alicia as unfeeling or detached. Rather he saw her as a woman who spent more of her life with tunnel vision towards her career and not on love.

  Now with him confessing his love for her every time he got the chance, Alicia wasn’t sure how to act because none of it fell into her well-laid plans for her life. Challenging would be the word he would use to describe his woman. Alicia fought and pushed him away at every turn because his love was something new and hit her out of the blue.

  A small part of her could be afraid of commitment and that was understandable after the way Max had treated her. Nevertheless, it was time for Alicia to leave Max in the past and for her to see what was right in front of her face...him and his love for her.

  Well, tonight would be another step in that direction, Alicia had invited him over for dinner and he wasn’t about to miss out on this golden opportunity to spend the evening with her. Picking up the cordless phone off the stand, Brad punched in Alicia’s number and waited.

  “Hello,” she answered in her soft voice which he considered the sexiest thing he had ever heard.

  “Hi, baby. I got your message. Of course, I would love to have dinner with you. Do I need to bring anything?”

  “I don’t have anything for dessert.”

  “You mean you aren’t going to be dessert? I already know how sweet you taste. I could make a meal out of you.” Brad’s flirty comment was met by silence. He hoped that he hadn’t ruined his small progress he had made by voicing his inner thoughts.

  “You never know what might happen after you show up, but bring something sweet just in case,” Alicia flirted back shocking the hell out him and then she hung up.

  A second hadn’t passed before Brad hung up the phone and then raced up the stairs to get ready for his date. He would think about what to bring for dessert while he was in the shower.

  Alicia’s dinner invitation was a surprise to him but before the night was over he would make sure that he impressed Alicia with something she wouldn’t forget for a while.

  ****

  Taking the last piece of cubed chicken out of the skillet, Alicia worked on the rest of the ingredients for the Chicken and Coconut meal she was working on for dinner tonight with Brad.

  After her horrible interview experience with Lee, she had actually thought about spending the night alone to think about it, but in the end she changed her mind. Why should she allow Lee to bother her? It wasn’t like his views were going to change any time soon.

  She wasn’t trying to impress him and the only Drace brother’s opinion who mattered was Brad. He knew her. He found ways to get deeper into her mind and she liked that the most about him. He wasn’t scared away by her defenses.

  Picking up the cut bell peppers and scallions, she tossed them into the skil
let and stirred them around. After about a minute, she tossed in the other items and mixed them in as well loving how the smells of Thai Red Curry paste and ground cumin filled the kitchen.

  Alicia left the food cooking on the stove to grab a bag of cauliflower florets along with matchstick carrots out of the refrigerator. She quickly opened them and added everything including the chicken back to the hot pan before pouring in the coconut milk she had measured out earlier. Turning the heat down, Alicia added a lid to the food so it could simmer.

  Chicken with Coconut curry was one of her favorite meals because on one of the rare occasions that her parents would take her and her siblings to her grandmother’s house for a visit, this was the one meal that they would cook together while her siblings would be outside playing.

  Over the years, she had gotten pretty good at whipping up a satisfying meal, but anytime she experienced a bad day, she would always fix this one for dinner and it made everything better in her eyes.

  She only hoped that Brad like it. Inviting Brad to dinner was a huge step out of her comfort zone, but she had dialed his number and left the message. Brad was good for her. He knew how to make her smile without even trying. More and more she was getting used to the idea of him being a part of her life.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The sound of the doorbell ringing made her glance over at the clock on the microwave. Damn, Brad was thirty minutes early. Leave it to him. Taking off her apron, Alicia tossed it on the island and then smoothed her hands over the dress she kept buried in the back of her closet for a special occasion.

  As she made her way to the front door, Alicia blew out a deep breath and shoved the anxiety from her body. How was it possible that being in front of a camera for millions of people never had her heart pounding as fast as it was at this moment? Was opening the door for Brad really this nerve racking?