Falling for the Unexpected (Life Unexpected Book 1)

by Rachel Lyn Adams

  “Daddy play?” Stella interrupted, not sensing the thick tension between her father and uncle.

  “Not now, Stella. I’m going inside,” Brad said and then turned around without another look at his daughter or brother.

  I clapped Trent on the shoulder. “Not much has changed with your brother, has it?” I asked quietly, so Stella, who was staring at the sliding door her father just passed through, wouldn’t hear me.

  “Nope,” he said grabbing a beer from the cooler set up on the deck.

  I knew Trent was upset. We all tolerated Brad’s behavior because we didn’t want to upset his parents. Jim and Marla had a hard time acknowledging that Brad wasn’t the sweet son they wanted him to be. They had always tried to see the good in him and had probably babied him too much when he was younger. But, Brad’s downward spiral over the last few months was making it difficult for even his parents to ignore.

  “Hey, baby girl, let’s go find your mama,” Trent suggested, leading Stella by the hand into the house.

  When we entered, it was obvious Brad’s sudden appearance had put everyone on edge. Brad was sitting at the island completely engrossed in something on his phone. Addie was helping Marla grab plates of food and Simone was helping Jim and Erik set the table. No one was speaking to anybody.

  I noticed the occasional glances Simone shot toward her husband. A couple times it appeared as though she wanted to say something but then she would slightly shake her head and not say a word.

  “Time to eat,” Marla called out from the dining room.

  Everyone made their way to the table and took a seat. Addie and I had shared many meals at the Thompson household, but it had been years since all of us were here together and we had never shared a meal with Simone and Stella.

  Jim took his spot at the head of the table with Brad and Trent on each side of him. There was a highchair next to the seat Brad occupied and Simone took the seat on the other side of it. I sat next to Trent with Addie on the other side of me and Erik next to her. Marla took the seat at the other end of the table.

  There continued to be a lack of conversation as the dishes were passed around. I noticed that Brad served himself but made no attempt to fill Stella’s plate while Simone silently took care of their daughter.

  “I just want to say how happy I am to have all of you here today,” Jim said, again breaking the silence that had started to feel overwhelming.

  “It’s wonderful having all our kids under one roof. We just wish Ian was here,” Marla added.

  Brad muttered something rude under his breath at his mother’s statement about “her kids” but we all chose to ignore him.

  “Mama, water please,” Stella asked, making the word ‘please’ sound like ‘peas’. She was too cute.

  “Brad, can you please pass the pitcher?” Simone asked meekly.

  I watched Brad grab the pitcher and pass it over without even looking at his wife.

  “Thank you,” Simone said, while being ignored by Brad.

  Trent dropped his fork on his plate, the clanging drawing everyone’s attention. “Seriously? You can’t even acknowledge your wife?” he asked, fuming.

  “Stay out of it, dick!” Brad yelled back.

  “Boys! We are not doing this. It’s your father’s birthday, let’s just enjoy the day, okay?” Marla pleaded, hoping to put a stop to the fight that was brewing.

  A soft whimper across the table caught my attention. Stella’s eyes were watery, fat tears threatening to spill over, and her lip was quivering. It was a heartbreaking sight.

  “Uncle Trent’s sorry for yelling, baby girl.” Trent tried his best to comfort his niece. “Everything’s fine.” He smiled at her and everyone went back to eating quietly.

  After lunch, everyone except Brad helped clear the table. Trent suggested going out to the pool, so most of us changed into our swimsuits so we could continue the party outside.

  Addie, Trent, Erik, and I were already in the pool when the sliding glass door opened up and Stella came running out to the edge of the water, with her floaties on her arms, asking her uncle to catch her. I, however, couldn’t tear my eyes away from the beautiful woman still in the doorway. Simone wasn’t very tall, maybe a couple inches over five feet, but somehow her legs managed to look long in the light pink bikini she had chosen to wear. The color of the suit contrasted perfectly with her olive skin and dark hair. She had gorgeous curves most likely enhanced from carrying a child not too long ago.

  I realized I was staring so I quickly averted my gaze and turned my attention to Stella. I couldn’t believe I had been checking out Simone. Forget that she was married. And not just married, but married to my best friend’s brother and had a baby with him. She was also five years younger than me. That might not seem like a huge difference, but she was only twenty-one. College-aged and I was done with that scene. Looking at her with lust in my eyes was something I should not be doing. But… damn.

  The last time I’d seen her was at her work. It’d been Courtney’s idea to go there even though I’d wavered about it. Simone was always so tense around me and I didn’t want to add to her discomfort. But, as luck would have it, we’d been seated in her section. Then I was distracted the whole time, trying to focus on Courtney and not constantly trying to catch a glimpse of Simone. I knew Courtney had caught me noticing another woman, which meant I’d had to lay on the charm real thick to compensate. Even in her all-black work uniform and fully covered, she was a stunner. But now, seeing her scantily clad, it was starting to turn me on at the most inappropriate time. I felt a little guilty at my physical reaction to someone completely off limits.

  And even though I tried to stop myself from looking back at her once she started walking toward us, I was mesmerized once again. I watched as she walked over to the steps to make her way into the pool. I swear it was like she was walking in slow motion, all the while torturing me with her smoking hot body.

  I felt someone staring at me and caught Erik watching me with an unreadable expression from the far side of the pool. I looked away, but in the next moment, something else caught our attention.

  “Simone, couldn’t you find anything to cover your ass better than that? Maybe you need to buy something that actually fits,” Brad said from where he was lying on one of the lounge chairs on the deck.

  A fiery blush crept up her neck and cheeks, showing just how much Brad’s words embarrassed her. Her shoulders slumped and I could see her cringing. Instead of stepping into the pool she changed direction, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her body before sitting on one of the chairs. I couldn’t believe he was making such a beautiful woman feel ashamed of her body.

  “Hey! Stop being a dick,” Trent yelled back at his brother.

  “Fuck off!” Brad returned, seething.

  “Boys! Let’s not do this in front of Stella again,” Marla scolded, reprimanding both of her sons once more. Jim had been inside, getting some water toys for Stella, and came back out just as Marla had finished her scolding. He raised his brows when he noticed all our unhappy faces. Marla got up to deflect, grabbing some toys from his arms, and leading him to their chairs.

  Brad opened his can of beer and had his phone in his face. It was like the guy was glued to it, as if whatever he was doing on it was more important than anything else. I hoped he didn’t plan on drinking much. I didn’t think any of us could stomach a drunk Brad. I continued to think Addie had dodged a bullet; but, regrettably, Simone had taken a direct hit. I’d always hoped Simone would have been the female version of Brad—in which case, they’d have been perfect for each other. But Simone wasn’t. And that made me feel for her situation, and for her daughter even more. I believed there was nothing but bad things to come if Simone stayed with him. I could guess she was staying with him for some concept of stability. My assessment wasn’t just based on personal experience of having absent and uncaring parents, but also from my work as a lawyer. But fate didn’t care about good intentions or decent people getting saddled
with shitty luck, and I was afraid fate was going to hit her hard in the near future.

  Erik had brought a portable speaker and started playing some music from his phone. Everyone pretty much broke into groups at that point. Trent and I spent the next hour swimming and playing with Stella, while Erik and Addie talked at the other end of the pool. Jim and Marla were on the other side, talking quietly to each other. Brad didn’t move other than to use his thumb to swipe at his touchscreen or sip from his beer can. Simone sat on her chair, towel still wrapped around her protectively, and merely waved at Stella whenever her daughter called out to her. She at least seemed to enjoy watching us play with Stella even though she didn’t join us. In hindsight, that was probably for the best because seeing a wet Simone might have had my brain going to places it had no right to.

  It didn’t take long before we exhausted the little one so Simone came to the edge of the pool to grab her. I watched as she dried her off and told her it was time to go lay down for a nap.

  “I want Daddy,” Stella cried.

  I looked over at Brad, who didn’t look up from his phone at his daughter’s request.

  “Brad,” Simone called over to him while cradling her daughter. Her tone was weary as she addressed her husband, who didn’t look up at all. “Stella wants you to put her down for her nap.”

  I could hear his sigh even though I was a good twenty feet away from him. He threw his phone down on the lounge chair and got up.

  “Fine, let’s go,” he huffed as he led his wife and daughter into the house.

  I looked at Trent, who appeared just as flabbergasted as I felt. Erik seemed slightly uncomfortable, eyeing everyone else while Addie had turned around and was hanging off the side of the pool. She faced the fence so I couldn’t see her reaction.

  “Mom, you have to see that he’s getting worse with Simone and he barely speaks to Stella. What the hell is going on with him?” Trent asked, hoping his mother would have the answer. “I’m trying to understand how you and Dad can accept this because I can’t!”

  Marla hung her head. “I honestly don’t know,” she said with tears in her eyes.

  Trent and I exchanged another quick look. His was one of complete shock. For the first time, Marla wasn’t going to put on a happy face and try to explain Brad’s awful behavior away. Jim sat next to her, holding her hand and his expression was also one of sad disappointment.

  I knew Jim and Marla loved their daughter-in-law and granddaughter just as much as they loved their boys. It had to hurt them to see Brad as a poor excuse of a husband and father. I knew he hadn’t been raised that way. On the other hand, it wasn’t like Brad was any different today than any other time. But I think, Brad not even trying to be tolerable on his own dad’s birthday was the final straw.

  My mood had soured a bit and I decided to get out of the pool. I dried off and headed to the bathroom to just get a few minutes to myself. Making my way down the hall, I could hear muted arguing.

  As I got closer, I could hear Brad questioning his wife. “What the fuck did you say to my parents? My mom called me in tears, upset that I wasn’t coming over.”

  “I told them you were sick, but no one believed me. I’m sorry,” Simone said, apologizing. Again. She was so quiet I could barely make out what she was saying.

  “Whatever. At least coming here gave me the opportunity to check Addie out. Damn, she’s looking good. I can’t believe I left that for you. I doubt she would have let herself go after having a baby,” he mocked.

  For a second time, Brad had me seeing red. That was it. I’d heard enough. First of all, he’d lost all right to look at my sister that way when he broke her heart. Second, he was a complete dick to treat his wife that way. Simone was gorgeous, and there was nothing wrong with her body. The guy was blind on top of being the biggest asshole in San Diego.

  I rounded the corner and cleared my throat. Seeing Brad’s tight grip on Simone’s arm pissed me off even more. Brad turned around and his eyes widened at the pure rage I knew was showing on my face.

  “Is there a problem in here?” I growled. My fists clenched at my sides just waiting for him to say something stupid.

  “Nothing that concerns you, O’Neill,” Brad said as he walked out of the hallway, giving a wide berth as he passed me.

  It was mildly satisfying that he still feared me. I wasn’t a violent or aggressive person, but Brad brought out my protective side. I turned toward Simone, who now had a stream of tears running down her face. As soon as she met my gaze she turned away from me and walked toward the bathroom. I reached out and touched her shoulder. She flinched away from my touch, which raised my suspicion immediately.

  “Simone,” I said, trying to temper my tone but it came out in a pained whisper instead. I could see her shoulders shaking, crying softly. How often had she cried over something her asshole husband said? Because I knew she had. Probably too many times to count.

  “I’m sorry you saw that,” she said, her back still to me.

  “Don’t apologize,” I told her gently, using my hand on her shoulder to spin her around and pull her into a hug. Sometimes, something as simple as a hug could do wonders. For a brief second she tensed and I thought she would pull away. Instead, she wrapped her arms tightly around my waist, melding her front into mine, and started sobbing, her face buried in my chest.

  I wrapped my arms around her back trying to provide her comfort. It touched something inside of me to see her so broken. In that moment I wanted to do anything I could to help her. I felt her shiver as my hand caressed her bare skin. I used one hand to massage the back of her neck and up into her hair, which seemed to help calm her.

  “That feels good,” she murmured so quietly that I don’t think she meant for me to hear her. She rested her cheek over my heart, breathing slowly, breathing with me.

  “Oh, shit… sorry…” a familiar voice interrupted from the other end of the hallway. I immediately felt Simone tense up again. Looking over Simone’s shoulder I met Erik’s ice-blue eyes that were looking at me questioningly. “I was just heading to the bathroom. Everything good here?” he asked gesturing between Simone and me.

  I reluctantly pulled away from Simone. She stepped back but kept her eyes on the ground, still sniffling. I immediately felt the loss of her warmth and wished our—whatever this was—hadn’t been broken. “Yeah, Brad was just being Brad.” I hoped that explanation would be enough to keep Erik from asking any further questions, at least for now.

  Erik nodded and entered the bathroom but not without a long, pointed look directed at me before he closed the door.

  I ran my hands through my damp hair as Simone moved away. I knew Erik would ask me about this later, but privately. Thankfully, he wasn’t one to make a scene. Not that I had anything to hide or had any reason to feel guilty. I was just comforting a… friend? While Simone and I hadn’t really established a friendship before this, I couldn’t leave a woman, who was that upset, all alone. I was just being a nice guy.

  Who liked the way her body fit into yours. That thought had me hyperaware of her body, and how I still felt the imprint of her on my skin.

  Simone was now looking at her reflection in the mirror on the wall in the hallway, swiping under her eyes in an attempt to remove the evidence of her small breakdown. And probably forgetting all about our little moment a few seconds ago, which was for the best.

  “Are you going to be okay?” I asked. It was a stupid question. I knew she wasn’t going to be okay. How many times had I seen my own mother in tears over the hurtful things her latest boyfriend had said? I also knew Simone was the only one who could decide when she would have enough of Brad’s behavior.

  “Please don’t worry about me,” she said, her mask firmly back in place.

  “Well, if you need a friend, I’m here.” I was surprised by my words, but I knew I wanted to help her. Just as a friend.

  But if that was the case, I thought as we headed back toward the pool, why couldn’t I forget how wonderful it�
��d felt to hold her in my arms?

  Chapter 5

  Simone

  It had been a week since Jim’s birthday party and I was still confused and embarrassed by what had transpired between Kyle and me. I hadn’t meant to break down in his arms and I was surprised that I’d let him hold me for those few minutes. Even more surprising was how good his embrace had felt. Normally, I would have pulled back right away, but I’d felt safe in his arms. And I believed him when he said if I needed a friend he’d be there because that’s who Kyle was—a great guy who was there for those he cared about. But I knew he didn’t care about me in that way or in any way, really. He was a guy who saw someone in pain and wanted to do something about it.

  Brad had left shortly after we’d returned to the backyard, and I think everyone was relieved. Even Marla and Jim hadn’t seen him off like they usually did, and had ignored him when he said he was leaving. I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t say goodbye to me or ask about Stella, who’d still been napping in her room upstairs.

  As the evening continued, Kyle kept looking at me. He must have thought I was pathetic. He didn’t reveal anything on his face or in his attitude toward me, but I could see something in his eyes—pity. That was a worse feeling than being ignored your whole life. I could handle neglect but I wasn’t some wounded animal licking her wounds. I could own up to my mistakes, like my marriage, and while I’d been blind about a lot of things, I was starting to see things with Brad as they were. I didn’t need anyone feeling sorry for me.

  Other than Brad’s drama, it’d turned out to be a great day. Addie and I talked a little more, and I’d felt the most relaxed I’d ever felt around the Thompsons and their friends. Stella had fun and that’d brought me more joy than anything.

  But since that day, things between Brad and I had become even more strained. We only talked when it came to things dealing with Stella. Even then he wasn’t all that interested. He would leave for work just as Stella and I were waking up. I would then take Stella to his parents’ house before he got off work. Often when I got home from a long shift, he would already be asleep, or we would just ignore each other and go about our own activities. On my days off, he almost always had plans with friends in an attempt to stay away from home.