by Linda Kage
Pointing at her, he winked. “And you...don’t think I’m going to forget about you wanting me to father your children, baby doll. Someday, you just watch, it’s gonna happen.”
Julianna must’ve still been embarrassed; she didn’t have any kind of parting shot to spew at him. As her gaze followed his stroll toward the exit, the strangest expression crossed her face, as if she were trying to figure him out. But then she caught me watching her watch him, and she shook her head before rolling her eyes. “Is he always that irritating?”
I grinned. “Always.”
“Shame,” she murmured before clearing her throat and focusing on my face. “So about Monday night,” she prompted, flashing a grin my way.
With a wince, I shook my head and glanced toward the door, wishing we could get some business right about now. And though some customers had trickled in, none of them were approaching the bar yet.
“I...I’m sorry,” I said, turning back to Juli with a regretful cringe. “I kind of wanted to do something with Sarah so I could help her get over her shitty date last night.”
And...now that those words had left my lips, I realized Juli’s date the night before hadn’t ended any better than Sarah’s had. Damn. She was going to hate me.
Surprisingly, all she did was send me a soft smile. “Aww, that’s sweet of you. Did you ever find out what that guy did to her?”
I froze, gritting my teeth. “Yeah, he, uh...” I couldn’t tell her the truth; Sarah would be humiliated beyond reason. “He just said some inappropriate stuff that made her uncomfortable. No biggie. But it kind of dented her confidence so...” Yeah. I was suffering from my usual urge to step in and make everything all better for her again.
Just as I had last night when I’d thought giving her her first kiss would help.
Help?
I was such a fucking idiot.
I should probably stay clear of Sarah for a while, because that kiss...damn, that kiss had rattled me, made me want and ache, and nearly beg her for more. It never should’ve happened. And seeing her again so soon after it had happened was probably dangerous.
But I was craving more time with her. Plus, I really did want to help with the blow her confidence had taken. So, screw danger. Tomorrow night, Sarah was mine.
~*~
Monday evening, I’d just taken a shower and was changing into some jeans and a comfortable white shirt when a dark-headed two-year-old toddled into my room.
“Bwandt wanna pway with me?” my nephew Beau asked, gazing up at me with big blue, pleading eyes.
He was such a cute kid, I hated to turn him down, but I wanted to get to Sarah’s house while there was still some daylight left. I hadn’t talked to her since the kiss, but I already knew she’d gotten off work at the writing center half an hour ago. So she should be home by now.
“Sorry, little man.” I picked him up so I could plop him onto my bed where he promptly started to jump on the mattress. “I gotta go see Sarah tonight.”
His eyes lit with hope. “Sarah wanna pway?” he asked. I swear he was half in love with her because she let him ride on her lap in her wheelchair. And she always went faster when he begged her to.
But, “No, sorry. Not tonight. Where’s Colton? I bet he’d play with you.”
“Cole gone,” Beau announced, still jumping contentedly.
I rolled my eyes, wondering if Colton had stayed in one night since Aspen had grounded him. Yeah, probably not. The punk. He knew she’d never do anything too severe to him. Aspen was too much of a softie when it came to us. And though Noel might growl more than she did, he was too.
Which was probably why I was still living at home at twenty-two. My life was too cushy here for me to want to move out, even though I knew as soon as I did, Beau could have my room and Noel and Aspen could move his crib out of their room. But this was my home. It was the first place I’d ever lived that had felt like a home. Call me sentimental, but I was a little loath to leave my home. Besides, the university was practically walking distance away. There was really no reason to go anywhere else just yet.
I think Noel and Aspen understood my need to stay; they’d never once suggested it was time for me to leave, though I knew... I should start looking for a place of my own someday. I was going to have to grow up soon.
“Where’s your mom and dad?” I asked Beau.
“Kissing on the couch,” he answered, still jumping.
Jesus. I rolled my eyes. Noel and Aspen had been married eight years now, yet sometimes, they still made out like newlyweds. It was odd. Though I had to admit, if Aspen kissed anything like Sarah, I didn’t blame Noel for jumping her every chance he got.
And why the fuck had I just thought that about Sarah and kissing? God.
“Hey, you two!” I yelled toward the opened door of my room. “Get your lips off each other, already, and pay a little attention to your son, why don’t you?”
My call worked. Seconds later, both Noel and Aspen appeared in the doorway.
“What’s he done now?” Noel asked.
“Nothing.” I shoved my wallet into my back pocket as I slipped my feet into my tennis shoes. “He’s just lonely. So stop trying to make him a new brother or sister and play with the one you have. I’ve got places to be.”
After grabbing my phone and keys, I started from the room, pausing to kiss the side of Aspen’s head in farewell.
As I left, I heard Beau inviting his parents to come jump on my bed with him. The little shit. He had no idea how lucky he had it. Two parents who loved the fuck out of him and provided him with a good, stable home. Noel had been a kickass brother, but he was an even better dad.
So yeah, I was glad Beau had a better childhood than I’d ever had. Didn’t make me any less jealous of him, though. But it did make me wonder what kind of dad I’d be one day. Not that I’d ever get there. I’d kind of have to be able to settle with one woman first, and shit...
I was thinking about that kiss again.
Anywhere around Sarah was the last place I should be right now. Except my blood felt as if it’d been ignited with fireworks as I paused in the kitchen to collect everything I needed for my plans.
The entire way over to her place, I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel and hummed under my breath, trying to expel my nervous energy. I couldn’t wait to see her.
Once I arrived, I was tempted to go around the side to her window but decided I was going to do this right.
She’d wanted a first real date. Well, she was going to get one.
SARAH
I was checking out a couple computer programming job openings in the area on my laptop when someone knocked on my door. Glancing up, I blinked when a grinning Brandt stepped inside, and my heart nearly pounded itself out of my chest.
“Hey. You busy?” he asked.
He looked good, like especially good. Which was weird, because he wasn’t dressed up at all. He wore a plain white, V-necked T-shirt and a regular pair of blue jeans that, okay, looked newer than most of the pairs he owned. But, I don’t know, there was something about him, as if he’d just shaved before coming over or had combed his hair or...what the hell? Was that cologne wafting off him?
It was! That was the scent I’d given him for Christmas.
Why the heck was he wearing cologne?
“Sarah?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow and looking amused by the way I was gawking at him.
I shook my head, getting my head back in the game.
Busy, he’d asked if I was busy.
“Sure,” I said. “I mean, no. Not busy. What do you need? Everything okay?”
I swear his eyes freaking sparkled with glee as he grinned at me. “Everything’s perfect. But I need you to come with me.”
He was being so mysterious, I laughed. “Where?”
“It’s a surprise,” he murmured, holding down a hand to me. “Are you in or out?”
“Oh, I’m in.” He knew what a sucker I was for surprises. Taking his hand as he helped me stand, I
asked, “Is it out in public? Should I change?”
“Don’t change. You look perfect.” He kept grinning as he helped me to my chair, and it made my stomach churn, reminding me of our kiss. He looked like a little boy who couldn’t wait to give his parents the Christmas presents he’d picked out for them. It was freaking adorable.
“You’re being so mysterious,” I couldn’t help but say.
Chuckling, he leaned down to whisper into my ear. “And you love it.”
I shivered, and for once, I was happy I had CP to use as an excuse for my tremors, because holy hell, his breath on my neck was heaven.
Straightening, he crooked his finger for me to follow. “This way.”
He could’ve been leading me straight to the center of Hell, and I would’ve followed him eagerly. Looking the way he did and being so playfully cryptic, Brandt was just too tempting to resist.
As we entered the front room where Reese was braiding Issa’s hair, Brandt snapped his fingers and pointed to her. “Can I borrow something from your kitchen?” he asked. “I swear I’ll give it back when we’re done.”
“Uh...” Reese blinked before grinning slyly. “Well, sure. Go ahead.”
“Thanks.” He darted from the room, and I gazed after him, wondering what the heck he was getting.
Feeling a little drool at the corner of my mouth, I quickly wiped it away and sent my sister-in-law a confused glance. “Do you know what this is about?”
“No clue,” she answered, then whispered, “Maybe he wants to kiss you again.”
My face heated. “Shh!”
Reese snickered. Then she started laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Brandt asked, sweeping back into the room.
“Nothing,” Reese and I yelped together.
He sent us an odd look before murmuring, “Okay,” and held the door open for me.
I glanced at Reese again, curious about his overly nice behavior.
Eyes twinkling with mirth, she blew me a kiss. “Have fun.” The wink that followed told me she definitely thought I’d be getting kissed again before the night was over. God, I hoped she was right.
I flushed and couldn’t meet Brandt’s gaze as I rolled past him out the door.
He said nothing on the way to his truck, but once we reached it, he leaned ahead of me to open my door. Then he helped me stand and climb into my seat before folding my chair. I watched him with a slight frown, wondering why he was being so...attentive. Usually he let me do all that by myself because my independence was so important to me. But this evening, something was different.
As soon as he shut my door, the most heavenly smell hit my nose, drifting up from the rear of the cab. I tried to twist around to see but couldn’t quite manage it.
“What’s that smell?” I demanded as soon as Brandt climbed into the truck.
He laughed as he tossed what looked like Reese’s wine bottle opener into the back. “You and your super sniffer. I should’ve known you’d catch on to that immediately.”
“Brandt Gabriel,” I growled. “You have food in this truck.” He’d better be planning on feeding me because it smelled really, really good. I might do him bodily harm if he made me smell that all the way to our destination and then denied me a taste. “What is it?”
“Garlic herb rotisserie chicken,” he answered as he started the engine. “I picked it up on the way here.”
I nearly whimpered. “Are you going to give me some?” Perking to attention when he turned toward the university, I wrinkled my brow. Where the heck was he taking me? “Where are we going?”
My confusion amused him. He just couldn’t seem to stop laughing. “Patience,” he was finally able to say. “We’re almost there.”
We wound through buildings on campus, past the library, tech center, and football stadium until we reached a small body of water that everyone called the campus lake. The grass around it was mowed short, and it was surrounded by benches and a couple of walking trails. A small bridge led into the center, where there was a tiny island with a monument dedicated to the first president of Ellamore University.
I glanced at Brandt curiously, wondering why he’d brought me here. We passed this lake almost every day on the way to class.
Watching a fountain out in the middle of the water, he told me, “Last week when we passed by here to pick up our graduation gowns together, you saw a couple having a picnic out on the island and you said it looked nice.”
Slowly, he turned to me, and when our gazes met, something warm and liquid flowed through my veins, something that made me feel more alive than I’d ever felt with any other person.
“You’re taking me on a picnic?” I asked, touched to the core.
“I’m taking you,” he murmured, “on a real, live, honest-to-God date.” Reaching into the backseat, he grabbed something and drew it up to the front before handing me a single, long-stemmed pink rose.
“Oh my gosh,” I gasped, reaching out with shaking fingers to collect my rose. Closing my eyes, I pressed it to my nose and inhaled its sweet fragrance. Roses were my favorite. “I think I’m going to cry. Brandt...” I opened my lashes. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“You wanted to experience a date, so you’re going to experience a date.” He leaned in to peck a quick kiss to the end of my nose. “And no crying. Only smiles and laughter are allowed for the rest of the night.”
I sniffed at his command. “But what if they’re happy tears?”
“God.” He shuddered and made a face. “No. Those are worse than the sad ones.”
“What?” I exclaimed, beyond confused. “How are they worse?”
“I don’t know. They just are.”
I threw back my head and laughed. “You are so weird.”
“Laughter. Good.” He pointed at me and winked. “Just keep that up. And stay here while I haul the picnic basket out to the island real quick. I’m carrying you to our spot. No wheelchairs allowed tonight, either.”
I shook my head as he threw open his door and popped from the truck before he opened the back extension and pulled out a wicker-covered basket by the handle.
“You can’t carry me that far,” I called, making him pause.
Glancing across the cab of the pickup at me, he lifted a single challenging eyebrow. “Watch me.”
As he shut the door and took off, I watched him through the window, smilingly giddily. I don’t know why I followed his demand and stayed like a good pet, but I was having fun, and besides, it gave me a moment alone in his truck to squeal out my excitement.
So I guess our kiss hadn’t scarred him too badly. That was good. I had no idea it would prompt him into this, though.
I still wanted to drop a couple happy tears because, wow, this had to be the nicest thing anyone had ever done for me. After the debacle with Seth, I was kind of thinking I was done with the whole dating business. It had been a stupid pipe dream, anyway.
But Brandt giving me my first kiss, and now my first date, all because I told him how much I wanted one...well, it made my mind whirl with how many other things he’d be willing to give me...just because I wanted them.
Damn. No! I shouldn’t go there.
I was beyond honored he was doing all this for me. I wasn’t going to hope for more. God, I was such a greedy bitch.
Yet, even as I watched him out the window, strolling back to the truck after depositing the picnic basket, my body coiled with tension deep in my womb. A part of me craved that more he might possibly be willing to give. I swear I could still taste him on my tongue, feel his teeth on my earlobe, smell his scent as he slid his hand under my shirt.
“Oh, God,” I breathed, slipping down the visor to check out my hair in the mirror.
Hmm, didn’t look too bad. Reese had curled it for me before I’d left for classes this morning, and surprisingly there was still some bounce left. Biting my lips to make them redder, I popped my teeth from the bottom one just as he reached the truck and opened the passenger-side door.
Turning his back to me, he bent slightly, saying, “Climb aboard, my lady, and get ready for the ride of your life.” He grinned over his shoulder at me, wiggling his eyebrows.
I laughed. “You are such a goof,” I said, while actually his words heated me in all the right places. My breasts went heavy, and electricity sparked between my legs.
“Only for you,” he answered, reaching back to pat the back upper part of his shoulder blade, silently inviting me to crawl on.
Oh, God. Stomach knotted with arousal, I gingerly climbed from the truck and directly onto his shoulders. My stomach and breasts flattened against him as I gripped him for dear life, not feeling securely in place at all.
“Here, layer your arms over mine,” he offered, spreading his out wide like airplane wings.
When I did, which moved my cheek almost alongside his, he wound his arms around mine until his hands ended up on top of mine. Then he interlaced our fingers and bent slightly before kicking his truck door shut behind him and whooshing forward to give me a jogging ride.
I screamed out my surprise and gripped his fingers hard. “Brandt!”
“What?” he asked with a laugh, shifting his face toward mine until our cheeks rasped past each other. “Don’t like it?”
When he started to slow down, I realized I did like it. A lot. Instead of telling him to put me down, I cheered, “Faster!”
He chuckled and burst out running again.
I might possibly have screamed all the way to the bridge, where he slowed down and more carefully carried me across the swaying overpass.
Once we reached the blanket he’d already spread open, he lowered me gently to my feet, all the while turning to face me so he could keep me standing steady.
Unable to stop laughing, I brushed windblown hair from my eyes. “Okay, that was fun.”
My cheeks felt flushed, and the rest of me was just...exhilarated.
“Liked it?” he asked, helping me lower myself to the ground until I was seated comfortably.