Decoy Date

by Mira Lyn Kelly

  He could hear the rustling of her shifting around. Lying back in her bed maybe. Across from that Jonas Brothers poster. Her hair a spill of silk over her pillows.

  “Where are you, Brody?” she asked quietly. His eyes popped open.

  “Why?” Jesus, had his voice cracked, it had gone so low?

  Another soft sigh and more quiet rustling. “Because I’m into you. And I want to be able to imagine where you are while I’m talking to you, what you’re doing right now.”

  There was no way this was what he thought it was. There was no way it was going there.

  “How about this,” she purred again. “You tell me…and I’ll tell you.”

  It was totally going there. Oh, Gwen.

  “Office,” he croaked, and then reminding himself he wasn’t fifteen fucking years old, he tried again. “I’m in my office, with my back against the door.” Because it was the only thing holding him up.

  “Mmm…I love your office. I love that door.”

  It had seen some good times between them, that was for sure.

  “Are you dressed up or down tonight?”

  “Down. Jeans and the black pullover you like. What’s in the picture, baby?”

  “My fingers,” she whispered. “And…”

  He groaned. He knew it was part of the game. That little And trailing possibilities in its wake.

  “Will you touch it, Brody?” The sultry whimper nearly cost him his manhood. “Right there against the door, will you wrap your big hand around yourself and tell me how it feels?”

  His palm was already flattened over his fly, pushing against the need straining beneath.

  “One condition, baby.”

  “What?”

  “The picture.”

  Ping.

  Twenty minutes later, Brody was panting, sweat dotting his brow. His back was still against the door, but he was sitting on the floor, legs wide, shirt half open.

  “Send it, baby.”

  “I can’t.” After what they’d just done, he never thought he’d hear Gwen sound shy again, but then he’d gotten her to take that one last picture for him. And fuck, he wanted it.

  “Send it, or I’m getting in my car and driving down there tonight.”

  “Are you okay to drive?”

  “After what you just put me through, not even close.”

  Another quiet laugh, this one sweeter, softer. Like maybe she was close to falling asleep with him in her ear. And it hit him.

  Jesus, he loved her.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow, Brody.”

  “See you tomorrow, gorgeous.”

  Ping.

  Chapter 21

  Brody pulled into Gwen’s parents’ drive Friday afternoon, and like the last time, they were on the phone when he cut the engine. Skipping down the steps to meet him, she threw her arms around his neck, giggling as he caught her with an arm around the waist and swung her in a dizzying circle.

  “Missed you, gorgeous,” he said, setting her back on her feet and pressing a quick kiss to her lips.

  “You too,” she answered a little breathlessly, taking his hand as they walked up to the house.

  Her mom was waiting by the door, a warm smile on her face, a hug at the ready.

  “Brody, how was the drive down?” she asked, fussing over him as she led him back to the kitchen. Gwen followed along, laughing at her mother’s interest in the traffic on the way down there, whether he’d had anything to eat, if he’d like some water, and about thirty other questions all in the span of about five minutes.

  It was as if her mom realized she’d missed something significant the last time he was there and was looking at him, really looking for the first time. And liking what she was seeing too, because her smile just kept getting wider and wider. And like all the girls, Mom couldn’t stop touching him.

  Gwen and Brody sat at the table, her chair pulled closer to his and their hands together in his lap as her mom buzzed around the kitchen, chattering away.

  “The coffee will take a few minutes. And I know you said you weren’t hungry, but Gwennie tells me you have a sweet tooth, and this is my favorite brownie recipe.” Pulling the plate from the counter, she set it in front of Brody before patting his arm and then sitting down opposite.

  “Thank you, Wendy. These look delicious.”

  “Dennis is resting, but I’m sure he’ll be up soon. He was sorry he didn’t get to spend more time with you last week.”

  “I’m looking forward to getting to know him better.” Then taking a bite of one of her brownies, he paused, looked back and forth between Gwen and her mom, and then pressing his free hand against his heart, he rocked back in his chair.

  Gwen laughed. “I know, right? She bakes like whoa.”

  “Wendy,” he half groaned, shaking his head as if he’d never tasted a brownie before. And then he was praising the richness, the consistency, the quality of chocolate, and so on. It was over the top and pure Brody, but Gwen had seen him be polite, and that’s not what this was. One bite, and the guy was legit in love with her mother’s baking.

  And her mom was eating it up as she hushed him, blushing and then patting his arm again and then his cheek. A minute later, she managed to touch his chest, and a minute after that, his hair.

  Gwen shook her head, enjoying the Mom-feeling-up-Brody show immensely.

  It was a perfect moment where everything seemed to fit.

  The back door opened behind them. For an instant, she forgot her dad was upstairs and turned, expecting him to be walking in after a day at the store.

  “Ted!” her mom exclaimed, standing up in a rush. “I didn’t think you’d be home again so soon.”

  Neither had she.

  “With all my best girls in Dobson, I couldn’t stay away.” Pulling her mom into a hug, he met Gwen’s eyes over her shoulder before stepping back and giving Brody a nod. “O’Donnel.”

  “Ted.”

  There was nothing hostile about their exchange, but the temperature in the room felt as though it had dropped twenty degrees.

  Then holding up his phone, Ted started down the hall. “Dennis texted he’s awake. I’m gonna pop in and say hi.”

  Gwen frowned. “He knew you were back?”

  Ted shrugged, disappearing around the corner.

  She looked to her mother, but it was clear she’d had no idea.

  Brody smiled like maybe he should have seen this coming. Or maybe he had.

  She should have.

  Her mom was waving them out of their seats. “Let’s all go.”

  * * *

  Brody had had a feeling that guy would show up. Hell, it was the weekend, and while it normally wouldn’t have been the most opportune time for Brody to get down there, it was the soonest he’d been able to get the management team coordinated so they’d have backup in case anything came up. For Ted, if he didn’t want to take any more vacation, the weekend was the obvious choice.

  Damn, Brody had been hoping to have at least a little time with Gwen’s parents before Ted blew in. At least the chance to shake her dad’s hand before the other man started making moves. But it didn’t take more than one look from her father when they walked in the room to see the first move had already been played. Probably days ago.

  Ted was sitting in the chair pulled up beside the bed where Gwen’s dad was propped against the headboard, their heads bowed together as if whatever they’d been saying wasn’t for public consumption. And then Dennis turned, his expression cool as he looked Brody over.

  Definitely a new experience, because with the exception of his own, parents freaking loved him.

  But not this guy.

  Not when it finally mattered.

  “Nice to see you again, sir,” Brody offered, stepping past Gwen and her mother, who were both wearing matching looks of
surprise. Dennis shook his hand.

  There were a few minutes of strained small talk, and then Gwen’s dad asked, “Brody, you checked in at the hotel yet?”

  “No, sir. I came straight here.” No sense in explaining that he hadn’t been able to wait another minute to see Gwen. “They’ve got me down for a late check-in.”

  He sat a little straighter. Ted looked down at his hands, a smirk playing on his lips.

  What the hell was this?

  “How about you go get yourself situated? Take a shower and clean up after the drive. Gwen, maybe you and your mother could help me get cleaned up some before dinner?”

  Brody wiped a hand over his mouth and took a step back. It was obvious how uncomfortable Gwen was, and he knew from talking to her earlier that she’d had every intention of going with him to the hotel when he checked in. But her dad was making it clear: If he had a thing to say about it, that wasn’t how it would go down.

  This was his house. No way would Brody disrespect him in it.

  Especially not with the conversation he was hoping to have with the man.

  “Absolutely. Good idea.”

  It was more of the same that night. Subtle snubs. Gwen’s dad asking what time Brody had to be heading back to Chicago the next day and then looking none too pleased to hear he was staying until Sunday. Wendy would ask about the bar, and then Dennis would ask Ted if he’d thought any more about the offer from the company one town over, elbowing the guy as he added that he’d have to talk Gwennie into moving back too.

  So much for his big plans to impress her father. From the look of it, the only thing he could do to impress her father would be to get the hell out of Ted’s way.

  Not happening.

  When the night wrapped up, Gwen walked him out to his car. Stepping into his arms, she shook her head.

  “Brody, I’m so sorry.”

  He brushed a thumb across her cheek. “Don’t be. He’s feeling protective of you, and he’s not really sure about me yet.”

  She was embarrassed, but she didn’t need to be. Brody got the protective thing; he felt the same way about her. Unfortunately, her dad couldn’t be more off base. If he had the first clue about the shit Ted had pulled with his daughter, the years of games? Well, Brody had a feeling things would have gone very differently.

  “I tried to talk to him. But”—she glanced away—“it must be the medication. He’s still taking some painkillers. Or maybe it’s being so cooped up like this. He’s not used to being the one who needs help. Still, I’m sorry.”

  Tilting her face back to his, Brody pressed a kiss to her lips.

  They were sweet and soft and already opening beneath his when he pulled back. Damn, he wanted more, but if he got it, even a little bit, he’d never be able to make himself leave, and he needed to go. “I’ll see you tomorrow, baby.”

  He waited until Gwen was back in her house before leaving. And when he got to the stop sign at the first corner, he pulled out his phone and dialed. After the second ring, she picked up.

  “Hi, Mom, it’s me.”

  * * *

  If Brody had hoped the situation with Gwen’s dad would improve, he was wrong. Saturday brought more of the same. And then some once Ted’s parents joined the fun.

  The Normandys seemed to love Gwen even more than her parents loved Ted, if that was possible. And under different circumstances, Brody might have liked them a hell of a lot. But as it was…

  “You’ve been dating our Gwennie for less than a month,” Mr. Normandy said, handing Wendy a glass of wine as he returned from the kitchen. “And you’ve broken up for a week already. What’s that about?”

  Gwen choked on her wine, hacking on the couch beside him. Not cool. But not enough to get under his skin either. Nothing could. Not today.

  He smoothed his hand over her back until her airway was clear and then met the other man’s questioning stare. “A misunderstanding. My fault more than hers. And not exactly a breakup, as we weren’t really together in an official capacity yet.”

  This time, it was Gwen’s mom choking on her wine and her dad planting his hands on the arms of his chair as if he were about to launch out of it, cast and surgical pins be damned. “So you were just casual at that point.”

  Brody met her father’s death glare with a smile that came from the depths of his heart. “I haven’t been casual about your daughter since the first time I saw her. We were undefined. I wasn’t sure she felt the way I did, and if she didn’t, I wasn’t willing to risk losing her as my friend. So I wasn’t as clear about how I felt or what I wanted as I should have been. It wasn’t fair, and it almost cost me my chance with her.”

  Gwen took his hand. “But we figured it out.”

  Brody looked around the room, waiting for the next go at him, but it didn’t come. And when his eyes landed on Ted, that smug look had been wiped clean off his face. Christ, the guy almost looked pained. Like maybe he felt guilty, except that Ted was too selfish, too self-absorbed for that.

  After years of taking Gwen for granted, of taking advantage, the only thing a guy like Ted would be able to process was that he’d lost something, and he’d sink to any low to get it back.

  Wendy asked Ted’s mom if she was going to try out for the next community theater production, and everyone followed the change in topic.

  Ted wiped a hand over his face and stood, a defeated slant to his posture that might have stirred some sympathy from Brody if he’d believed for one second the guy was sincere. That he’d ever actually been serious about Gwen.

  “I’m going to head home,” he said, his eyes on Gwen with an almost pleading look in them before he turned to everyone else. “See you guys tomorrow.”

  Ted took off, and the conversation continued until Gwen’s dad announced he was going to call it a night as well. Using the crutches, he headed toward the guest room and told everyone else to stay as long as they liked. But then Ted’s dad was stretching his arms wide.

  Maybe this was it. His chance to get a few minutes alone with Gwen. He wanted to pull her into his lap and hold her for a while, bury his nose in her hair, and twine their fingers together. Talk without an audience and feel her relax in his arms instead of sitting there like she was bracing every time someone opened their mouths.

  But then Ted’s dad clapped Brody on the shoulder.

  “Okay, folks, think it’s time we cleared out of here so Gwen and her mom can get some shut-eye. Brody, you need a lift back to the hotel?”

  Subtle.

  “Thank you, Bob, but I’ve got my car. And I think I’ll hang back.” He wasn’t going to put any qualifier on the end, not if you don’t mind or something along those lines, because he wasn’t asking. Not Ted’s dad anyway. Gwen’s mom, however, was another story. Turning to her, he said, “It’ll only be a few minutes. I promise not to keep Gwen up, but since I’ll be leaving tomorrow, I’d like to talk to her for a while.”

  Gwen didn’t wait for her mother to answer, though the smile on her face suggested she wasn’t about to protest. Instead, Gwen took his hand and started leading him back to the kitchen.

  “Absolutely, Brody. I’ll see the rest of you guys tomorrow,” Wendy called from over her shoulder as she started up the stairs to her room.

  When they were alone in the kitchen, Gwen stepped into his arms, pressing her head against his chest. “I’m sorry. That was…nothing I could imagine happening.”

  “They aren’t used to me.” Running his hand over her hair, he breathed her in.

  Damn, that was what he needed.

  What he’d been waiting for. Just this. The feel of her in his arms, the smell of her hair, and the soft sigh she made when she relaxed against him. He could put up with Ted and the rest of them all day every day, so long as he got a few minutes of this each night.

  He could do it forever.

  They spent a f
ew more minutes like that, locked in each other’s arms, enjoying the quiet and alone between them.

  He kissed her at her door, one long, sweet press of his lips to hers before he let her go and told her to lock up behind him.

  The temperature had dropped during the evening, and he pushed his hands deep in his pockets. He was halfway to his car when he noticed Ted waiting there.

  Chapter 22

  “Ted. Why am I not surprised to see you out here?”

  Ted pushed off from where he’d been leaning against the car. “Figured you should know I wasn’t going anywhere.”

  Yeah, he was getting that sense. “Sounds like you’re trying to tell me something.”

  Ted nodded. “Let’s call it fair warning.”

  So, they were laying it all out there.

  “You want Gwen.”

  A nod.

  It wasn’t like Ted had been making any secret of it, but damn.

  Brody blew out a frustrated breath, shaking out the fist that was begging to land in this guy’s face.

  That was the last straw. He’d had a long day of keeping his mouth shut while getting the shaft from the people Gwen loved best, and he’d willingly done it for her.

  But this, with Ted? No way. He was done.

  “Ted, you need to back off, man. You had your chance, and you blew it. Gwen’s with me, but even if she wasn’t, you’re the dead-last guy she ought to be with.”

  “The dead last?” Ted’s brows shot high, and he took a step back with an incredulous laugh. “How do you figure? Because the way I see it, I’m her oldest friend, the guy who knows her better than anyone on the planet. Especially you. I’m the one who’s been there for her through everything that’s mattered. For our whole lives.”

  Did he really have to spell it out?

  “You guys go way back, sure, and I know when the chips are down, you’ve been there for each other in ways most people can’t even imagine. But her friend?” Brody stepped closer, letting Ted feel the months of pent-up aggression he’d been keeping at bay. “You’re lucky I haven’t dragged you out into the street and beat the hell out of you for the shit you’ve pulled with Gwen.”