Two hours later, Brenda and I pull up to Hazel’s Diner. She’s visibly shaking in anticipation of what’s about to happen when she tells Ricky about the baby. I can’t say I blame her. I just hope by my being here, she’ll feel a little stronger.
“Thank you for coming with me, Chris. It means a lot after everything I’ve done to you.”
God, I don’t want her worried about that now. She needs to focus on telling the father of her baby. “Hey, we both made mistakes. Let’s just move on from here, all right?”
She nods her affirmation, but I can tell her mind is already on who’s inside the diner.
Getting out of the car, I move to her side and open the door. I reach my hand out for her to take. Once her hand is in mine, I feel invincible. Hoping she feels it too, I lead her into Hazel’s and right over to Ricky.
Brenda
The minute we are through the door to meet Ricky, Chris gives my hand a squeeze.
“I’ll give you two some privacy. I’ll be at the counter,” he says with a kiss on my cheek.
I can’t help but notice the possessive glare Chris gives Ricky as he walks away.
“I don’t have a lot of time, Brenda. Let’s hurry and order lunch.”
I couldn’t eat if I wanted to, but I agree and we sit in a booth. The seat I choose faces Chris. As I glance at the counter, he gives me a smile and a slight nod.
He’s got my back.
“Thanks for meeting me on short notice.”
The waitress interrupts, bringing our waters. “Do you need to see a menu?”
“No, thank you. I’ll just have a cup of tea and your soup of the day.”
Ricky doesn’t need to see the menu either. We’ve been here a dozen times, at least. He orders the BLT…typical.
“Are you and Leo’s friend an item now? Is that why you brought me here? To tell me?”
“No.” I clear my throat. “Chris and I are friends.”
Admitting that punches me in the gut.
“Then what the hell…?” He trails off before he can finish the question.
I can see the moment it hits him. Ricky’s face grows dark. It’s an expression I’ve never seen on him before. Our conversations have always been comfortable. This is anything but.
Ricky leans in. “If you’re here to tell me you’re pregnant, I call bullshit, Brenda. God knows who you were fucking when you were fucking me.”
Shaken, I try to steady my response. “Ricky, you were the only person I had sex with after the last time I had my period. The timing is right.”
Ricky throws his head back and laughs. “You expect me to believe you when you say I was the only one you were sleeping with?”
I swallow the sudden lump in my throat. “I haven’t been with anyone else in the last three months, Ricky. The doctor told me I’m six weeks along. You do the math.”
Ricky is visibly angry but I remain as calm as I can.
I see Chris start to get up, but I shake my head. I need to do this on my own.
Ricky stands and throws money on the table. “You’re not going to screw up my chances with Ronda. For all I know, it’s his kid,” Ricky says as he jerks his thumb Chris’s way.
I wish that were true.
“Don’t call me again, Brenda. You can’t pin this baby on me.”
And with that, Ricky walks out of the door.
Before I can stop him, Chris rushes past me and out after Ricky.
Shit.
By the time I make it outside, Chris has Ricky up against the wall of the diner.
“Chris!” I yell as I jog to where they are.
“Let me tell you something, you son of a bitch. If you ever treat Brenda that way again, I’ll break your fucking face. You don’t deserve the gift you’ve been given. Now, get the fuck out of here.”
My hands go to my mouth as I watch Chris toss Ricky to the ground like he was nothing.
As Ricky struggles to get up, he lunges at Chris. He misses, but I gasp at the thought of Chris being injured.
“You’ll be hearing from my lawyer. Both of you,” Ricky says as he runs his hands through his hair.
As he storms off, Chris watches him. I’m not sure if he can’t look at me or if he wants to make sure Ricky is gone for good. Either way, I can’t take my eyes off him.
I don’t know what I did right to have Chris as my friend. It’s the first time anyone has ever fought for me. Sure, Sophia’s always had my back, but this feels different.
Somehow, I find my voice. “Are you okay?”
He moves to me quickly. “Shit. I’m sorry you had to see that, but I’m not sorry I did it. I know you wanted to handle him yourself, but I couldn’t let him treat you that way.”
I throw myself into his arms. I’m not sure why I do it. Perhaps it’s out of gratitude. And when I’m there, I’ve never felt safer.
“Hey,” he says as he rubs my back. “Everything’s all right. I promise he won’t be a dick to you again.”
Shaking my head, I meet his eyes with mine. “You don’t understand what that meant to me. No one has ever stuck up for me like that before.”
With his hands, Chris takes cradles my face. “Come on, let’s go home. You and I need to talk.”
I know he deserves the truth from me—the truth about why I don’t like attachments.
Attachments lead to heartbreak.
The ride back to my place is quiet. Chris is gripping the wheel with such force, I’m waiting for it to break off the column.
The silence is broken when Chris asks me the inevitable question.
“What happened to you, Brenda? Who hurt you so bad?”
Leaning my head back against the car seat, I cringe at the thought of explaining my shitty life to him.
“It’s a long story,” I tell him as we pull into my driveway. “I’m sure you have better things to do than listen to the ugly truth of my childhood.”
As I start to get out of my side of the car, Chris grabs my hand.
“Hey, you’re my friend, Brenda. There isn’t anywhere else I’d rather be. Wait…that’s not true.”
His admission makes me want to get sick.
“I’d rather have you naked in my bed but given the circumstance, I guess that’s out of the question.”
I shake my head at his persistence, though deep down, I’m grateful for it.
“Are you crazy or something? You could be with any woman you want. Jesus, you’re a freaking professional athlete. Women throw themselves at you. Why are you wasting your time with someone who’s pregnant with another man’s baby? Not only that but someone with so much baggage, she’s incapable of having a normal relationship with a man.”
Chris comes to my side of the car and pulls me in close. With a kiss to the top of my head, he lets me cry on his shoulder. I guess this is what I needed. A strong shoulder to cry on.
Chris
What am I thinking? I just admitted I still want the woman who’s crying in my arms. I probably should run away, and I suppose if Ricky wanted to have a relationship with Brenda, I’d back off. But he doesn’t, and I’m not.
I pull back a little so I can see her face. “Come on, let’s go in and get some lunch since you never got yours. The baby needs to eat.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?” Brenda asks between hiccups.
“Why do you think, Brenda?” I ask as I open her front door.
“Because you feel sorry for me. I don’t want you to feel sorry for me.”
Brenda brushes passed me and heads straight to her bedroom.
Throwing my car keys on the small two-seat kitchen table, I head in after her. I find her sitting on the edge of her bed, her face in her hands.
The bed dips as I sit behind her, not next to her.
“What are you doing?” she asks, turning partially around.
“Lean back, Brenda,” I tell her as I move back to the headboard.
My legs are stretched out and Brenda finds her way between them. I feel her relax as
her back presses against my chest.
I take a chance and wrap my arms around her with my hands resting on her belly. Brenda gasps but doesn’t ask me to take them away.
“Now, you and I need to get a few things straight,” I say with a kiss to the side of her head.
She relaxes even more, her full weight on me now.
“I don’t know what happened to you before I met you, but I do know the person you are now. You’re a fierce woman, Brenda. You’re passionate about what you want. You love your friends with everything you have. This baby is lucky to have you as his or her mother.”
Brenda leans forward, then turns completely around to face me. “No, the baby isn’t lucky, Chris. I didn’t have a mother growing up so I have no idea what to do.”
There it is.
“Wanna tell me about it?” I ask as I brush a strand of her hair behind her ear.
Blowing out a sigh, Brenda closes her eyes. When she opens them, I see her fear and hesitation.
Cupping her face in my hands, I silently reassure her she’s safe with me.
With a quick nod, Brenda tells me about her childhood. Her mother abandoning her only to be raised by a father who, the first chance he got, left her too.
My heart breaks for the little girl and teen who never felt the love of her parents. I don’t know what it feels like to have parents who didn’t love or want you, but I’m not immune from loss.
“I’m sorry your parents made you feel as if you weren’t enough for them. My sister and I were lucky to have two parents who loved us and each other so much. But I do know pain, Brenda. The pain of losing my parents nearly killed me. The only thing that kept me going was my sister.”
“I didn’t have that,” Brenda whispers. “I did have Sophia and her family though. They took me in, off and on. I couch surfed with other families until I went to college.”
“Don’t you see what I see when I look at you? You’re a fighter, a survivor. You made yourself successful all on your own. Not a lot of people can do that, Brenda. Those are the lessons you’ll teach this baby. Rely on yourself and you can do anything.”
“You really think I can do this?”
I kiss her on her forehead. “You bet I do.”
“I don’t know what to do next. I can’t really ask Sophia. She’s not a mother yet. Oh God, the wedding. I forgot all about it.”
“Hey, first things first. I think you need a few days to digest the news of the baby. And I know just what we can do to help you.”
Brenda
“What do you mean, you’re going out of town with Chris?” Sophia shakes her head in disbelief.
I shrug. “He asked me to go to Jacksonville with him. We’re going to stay at his sister’s place. He thinks it’ll be good for me to get away for a few days. Can you believe it? He wants me to meet his family.”
I’ve missed this. Sophia and I haven’t spent a lot of time together since she and Leo got engaged. But today is a lunch date in the pavilion of the hospital where she works. I stopped by her parents’ deli and picked up some pizza and salad.
“He’s got it so bad for you, Brenda. Leo says he’s never seen Chris like this.”
I won’t lie. My heart flutters when Sophia mentions what Leo told her. But things are so complicated right now. I can’t even entertain any type of relationship other than the one I need to develop with this life growing inside me.
“It doesn’t matter how we may feel about each other. I’m having another man’s baby, Sophia. If it doesn’t bother him now, it will soon. I don’t want to lose him as a friend.”
I pick at my salad. My morning sickness is still going strong, and sometimes it still lingers into the afternoon.
Sophia points her fork at me. “You need to eat. When do you go for your first OB appointment?”
“Next week. Thanks for the recommendation on the doctor.”
“You’ll love Dr. Givens. She’s great.”
I nod because I trust Sophia. She’s never let me down. Even when she was in the convent, she always was there for me.
“So, when do you leave for Jacksonville?”
“Friday, after we go check out two potential venues for the wedding,” I say nonchalantly, waiting for Sophia’s reaction.
Throwing her hands up, Sophia lets out a squeal of delight. “I can’t wait to see what you and Chris pick out for us.”
With my lunch in my lap, I sit back on a bench. “You know this is weird, right? Who lets their friends plan their wedding?”
Sophia snickers. “Me! Look, I trust you with my life so why not my wedding? You know I love surprises. But when it comes to Chris, just make sure he doesn’t plan anything too wild, okay?”
The thought makes me laugh. Chris likes to have a good time, but lately, he’s become serious. I guess this is a serious situation.
“Hey, where’d you go, Brenda?”
“Sorry. Chris has been quite the partier in the past, hasn’t he?”
Sophia snorts as if to say that’s an understatement.
I turn to my best friend. “I don’t want him to give up having a good time because of me.”
I’m starting to feel guilty about relying on Chris. He should be out with his friends, having a good time, not worrying about me.
My thoughts go to him dating other women, and just the idea of it makes me lose my appetite.
“Brenda, Chris would never do anything he didn’t want to do. He’s a great friend to Leo. I think he can be a great friend to you too. Where is he anyway?”
“He had to work at the club. Yuck!”
Sophia throws her head back, letting out a loud laugh. “You never had a problem with strip clubs before, Brenda. As a matter of fact, I remember for your college graduation, you celebrated by entering and winning an amateur contest.”
“Yeah, well, those days are long over.”
Sophia checks her phone. “My break is almost over. I guess I won’t see you until after you come back from Jacksonville.”
Just the mere mention of my trip has my insides all gooey.
“I’ll call you after we go to visit the venues. Are you sure you don’t want me to send you pictures so you can tell me what you like?”
Sophia shakes her head. “No way. I don’t want to know until the day of. Okay, maybe the night before.”
“You’re crazy but I still love you,” I say with a hug goodbye.
Chris
Brenda and I are going to Jacksonville to visit Carol and Rosie today. But before we get on the interstate, we’re headed to the first potential wedding venue for Leo and Sophia.
I told Leo he was nuts letting me choose where he gets married. He just laughed and told me that he’ll do anything Sophia wants. Of course, my first instinct was to tease him about how whipped he was, but then I thought about Brenda and how I’d do anything to make her happy too.
“There it is,” Brenda says as she points to the first venue. It’s a popular tea room in Tampa. I’ve never been to a tea room before so this should be interesting.
“Sophia always loved the idea of an English tea party when we were growing up,” Brenda says as we enter.
I place my hand on her lower back to slowly guide her and I swear, I feel a shiver go through her body.
“Wow, this is gorgeous.”
I know she’s talking about the room, but it pales in comparison to her.
Shit! I need to get a grip.
“The colors are perfect. Sophia loves blue.”
We meet with the event planner and get all the specifics. I let Brenda take the lead and she’s a natural. She gets right into it.
“What do you think, Chris?”
“What?”
“Can you excuse us for a few minutes so we can discuss everything?” Brenda asks the event planner. I think her name is Cindy but I’m not sure.
The second the woman is out of earshot, Brenda lays into me.
“Have you listened to anything Sandy has said?”
Ah, S
andy. That’s her name.
“Do you want me to lie?” I say with a grin I can’t help.
This makes her smile through her frustration.
“No, I don’t want you to lie. Did you hear anything she said?”
“Well, there was something about the garden out back and finger sandwiches. That’s all I got before I tuned her out.”
It was easy to do too. I just watched the joy on Brenda’s face when they discussed whatever it was they talked about.
“Are you going to help me or leave me to plan this wedding alone?”
I laugh at the question.
“What’s so funny?”
“The way you asked the question sounded like it was our wedding. It just hit me funny.”
And it hit me in the heart.
“Oh, I, uh, didn’t mean it that way,” Brenda says as she looks down at the table.
“Hey, don’t you look down. Don’t ever be ashamed with me.” My voice sounds commanding.
I see a flicker of the old Brenda when she lifts her chin with a challenge. “Then why don’t you start taking this seriously and help me.”
“Sorry, I was daydreaming. Now, what were the options again?
With a raised eyebrow, Brenda repeats the conversation with the event planner.
“I think Leo won’t care one way or the other. But if you know Sophia would be excited to have her wedding and reception here, then we should plan it. It’s best to make the bride happy, right?”
Brenda thinks for a second. “Well, it’s not just her wedding. It’s Leo’s too. He should want this.”
I lean in as close as I can to Brenda. So close I could kiss her, but I hold back even as she licks her lips.
“Sweetheart, the details don’t much matter to us guys. The most important thing is we get to spend the rest of our lives with the woman we love. I guess, for me, it wouldn’t matter where my wedding was, as long as my queen was happy.”
Brenda
Oh, God. I can feel the tears start to well in my eyes. These damn hormones. His queen. What a lucky woman she’ll be.
His Runaway Goal: Book Two in the Game Winner Series Page 5
