Like the Back of My Halo

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Like the Back of My Halo Page 6

by Hutchinson, Heidi


  Lo flopped back down onto the bed. “You are the definition of hopeless romantic.”

  “I am not,” Tessa protested quietly. “It's hopeful romantic. And you could stand to have a good guy in your life after the debacle that was Miller.”

  Lo's face reacted instantly, scrunching up unpleasantly. “Can we please not say his name?” She grabbed a pillow from behind her and held it over her face while shouting into it.

  Tessa sat down on the bed, took away the pillow, and looked at Lo seriously. “LoLo, he was one bad experience. But he does not set the bar for your love life. You're a catch. Someday you're going to realize it. You're funny, sweet, and loyal. You're brave, important, and beautiful. You deserve someone who appreciates you for all that you are. There's nothing wrong with holding onto that dream.”

  Lo's eyes got wet and she blinked it away. “I love you, you know.”

  It was the only way she knew how to say it. She had been blessed with friendships she wouldn't trade for anything. People who saw to the heart of her and gave her joy and encouragement in the midst of her ridiculous insecurities.

  Tessa smiled and tucked a lock of unruly hair behind Lo's ear. “And I you. How about we have Spencer bring us some food and three of us split a bottle of wine while we finish the packing for your next grand adventure?”

  “I think that's a great idea.” Lo rolled to the side and lunged for her phone.

  As intoxicating as it was to be around Brady, and as much he ignited an impossible hope deep inside, she was smart enough to know it was a bad idea. For many, many reasons. Moonlight strolls and earth tilting kisses aside, she wasn't the kind of girl Brady would be satisfied with. She had baggage. And if her father had taught her anything it was “Don't pack it if you can't carry it yourself.”

  It wouldn't do to expect someone else to heft the weight of all she chose to keep.

  5

  Brady

  Brady rubbed his chin and jaw with one hand as he clicked through Lo's previously mentioned abandoned blog. He had yet to read any of the entries. He was simply scrolling through the dates and titles, trying to decide where to start. Or if he even should.

  At which point did this turn from curiosity into obsessive stalker?

  Probably around the time he had locked his bedroom door, sat in the far corner behind his bed and huddled over his laptop in the semi-dark.

  And what had he discovered so far?

  Lo did indeed used to blog sometimes. Though her last post seemed to have been almost a year ago.

  He scrolled to the newest entry, clicked on the title: Broken Up, But Not Broken Up.

  His choice in this particular post had nothing to do with her dating history. None whatsoever. This was about knowing who he was going to be working with and trusting and competing against. It would be idiocy to not try to gain some more insight into his colleague.

  Right?

  Dear Readers,

  This is my official resignation from dating.

  Trust me when I say it's not you, it's me.

  Dating is just... the worst.

  I know some of you may have noticed the sudden disappearance of Miller in all of my photos. It's because we broke up a couple of weeks ago. I didn't say anything when it happened, because I didn't think it was anyone's business but ours. I still think that. But people keep asking and so I thought this would be easier.

  I'm not going to tell you what happened or how it happened.

  I'm also not going to dissect the dissolution of that relationship for all the word to opinionate on.

  It was good. Then it wasn't.

  We had a moment that was all ours. I'm going to do my best attempt at remembering the good and learning from the not so good.

  I'm not here to throw shade on Miller.

  I know a lot of you are big fans, and I have no desire to change any of that for you. Miller is a talented and popular athlete. I wish him the best.

  As for me?

  I'm done with dating. At least for a little while. I think I need to learn more about what I want and how that's going to play out in my life before I can start adding other people to it.

  So, yes, we're broken up. But I'm not broken... up. Get it?

  That was it.

  Brady scrolled further down to the comments section and his eyebrows lifted into his hairline as he read some of the responses. A lot of girls sniping about how Miller was too good for Lo anyway, dudes making aggressive sexual remarks, a couple of comments to show support.

  Brady opened a new tab and typed in “Miller and surfing.”

  “Miller Boden?” he asked out loud as the results showed up on screen.

  “What about Miller Boden? Dude, why are you sitting in the dark?” Steve slapped the light switch and turned on the blazing overhead light. “Are you looking at naked pictures of Miller Boden? Because that's messed up.”

  “What? No!” Brady blinked hard against the harsh light. “Don't you knock? Wasn't my door locked?”

  Steve flopped down on his stomach on the bed and peered at the laptop screen. “I broke the lock on that door the week we moved in. And besides, I thought you were gone. I was coming in to use your Playstation. Why are you looking up Miller Boden?”

  Brady looked back to his Google results. “The girl Shane partnered me with used to date him I think.” Maybe not. Maybe it was a different Miller.

  No, wait.

  His eyes narrowed on a photo of Miller and a killer brunette laughing on the beach.

  Clinking the picture took him to Miller's Instagram page and Brady was inundated with photos of Miller and Lo together.

  “Is that the chick?” Steve asked. “She's hot.”

  That went without saying. Brady scrolled through the dozens of photos of Lo and realized even though she had broken up with Miller a year ago, he hadn't deleted any of her pictures. To be fair, his newer pictures included new chicks. Multiple ones. But Brady couldn't help wondering why he would keep those pics and Lo would delete her own.

  “What do you know about him?” Brady asked his friend.

  “He's a decent athlete. Not great, but he has a following who thinks he's a god.”

  Brady thought of the comments section.

  “I've only hung with him a few times,” Steve continued, surprising Brady. “He's kind of a dick. I mean, if I was a broad, I wouldn't date him.”

  “Why's that?” Brady asked around a smile, deciding not point out for the thousandth time women didn't really like to be referred to as “broads.”

  “He's an entitled brat-hole.”

  Brady chuckled. “More so than you?”

  Steve snorted. “More than Adam even. Miller talks a good game, but that's all it is; talk and game. He messes around on his girls all the time and everyone knows it.” Steve shook his head. “I'm all for getting some when the getting is good, but you gotta know when you already have the best you're gonna get.”

  Brady frowned, anger churning in his gut. Did Miller cheat on Lo? Was that why they broke up? Why wouldn't she just put him on blast then? Why the amicable breakup?

  “When are you leaving?” Steve asked.

  “In a couple days.”

  “Can I house sit your room while you're gone,” he asked boldly.

  Brady rolled his eyes. “You can have the damn Playstation.”

  ***

  Shane rubbed his palms together excitedly. “First team meeting,” he said with a grin. “How are we feeling?”

  Brady pressed his lips together and looked sideways at Lo.

  Again, he had been taken off-guard by just the sight of her. She'd walked into the room in all her mismatched and feminine glory and taken a seat beside him in the conference room. His chest tightened, his breathing deepened, and he felt hot all over.

  It had to have something to do with her eyes. Those translucent green eyes paired with her halo of dark hair—she was luminescent at all times. The way her clothes floated around her as she moved, bracelets and rings and sun kis
sed shoulders. Everything about her resonated how much of a woman she was. Not a girl, not simply female. Her energy was wild and independent. Like a flower blooming for no other reason than it could. Or a wave breaking along a reef at the exact moment it was meant to, all power and beauty and... intimidation.

  He wasn't used to it—the self-possession and freedom she exemplified. But he was drawn to it. Like the big waves on Wiamea when he was younger. It's how he felt when he was around her. Young and stupid and eager to prove himself. He would have to be careful because he could see himself getting incredibly foolish with her if he ever let his guard down.

  Exempli gratia, his cousin's wedding reception.

  So very foolish.

  “I'm feeling nervous,” Lo said, laughing softly under her breath.

  “Nervous?” Shane asked, grabbing a chair and turning it backwards before sitting down. “Why are you nervous?”

  A light blush crept up her neck and she looked at Brady and then back to Shane. “I really don't want to screw this up.”

  “I don't see how that's possible,” Brady blurted out before thinking.

  Shane arched an eyebrow at him.

  “What I mean to say is,” Brady began to explain himself, sitting up in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest, thinking quickly. “You don't strike me as the type of person to screw anything up.”

  Oh, yeah, that was better.

  Shane narrowed his eyes on Brady. “Right.” He drew the word out slowly, adding to Brady's discomfort. His lips twitched as he let his friend hang there in the silence before clearing his throat and moving on. “Let's talk a little bit about the fine print that you may not have thought about yet.”

  “Yeah,” Lo spoke up, leaning forward. “I wanted to ask about the non-compete clause.”

  Shane nodded. “It might seem obvious, but you can't work for or endorse any other company that would be considered competition to Soaring Bird. Which includes wearing other brand logos. Pictures posted to your social media pages like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram will need to be double checked to be sure you're not violating the clause. For example,” he dipped his head towards Brady. “Your Nike hat would be in violation.”

  “That's good to know,” Brady said dryly.

  “Don't worry, we're providing you with all of the things you might need. Like hats, jackets, sandals, things like that.”

  “Yeah, but what if they're ugly?” Brady asked.

  Shane shook his head. “Why do you gotta hurt me like that?” He glanced at Lo. “This is what I get for hiring a friend.”

  “You guys are friends?” she asked, her voice dropping to the hollow sound she'd made once before. When Brady had stopped by her place to tell her where they were headed, she'd asked why he'd been told first and not her.

  Shane, not noticing the change in her voice and posture, answered her question. “Oh yeah, Brady and I go back a long way. He's the first person I thought of for this project.”

  Lo's lips pressed into a flat line even as she tried to nod politely.

  Shit.

  Brady shifted his weight to the side, bumping his knee against hers. She jumped a little, her eyes snapping over to his. “Trust me when I say it does not give me any kind of advantage.”

  “Right,” she said quietly, forcing a smile, her eyes dropping to the floor, thoughts piling one on top of another.

  “No, really,” Brady persisted. “Shane barely likes me.”

  “Well,” Shane broke in. “Things just haven't been the same since I took his girl.”

  That brought her eyes up.

  Shane was trying to be funny. Giant bastard, thought he was quite the comedian.

  Brady addressed him through clenched teeth. “It wasn't exactly like that.”

  Shane grinned. “That's true. Greta has always said she saw you like a brother.”

  Brady's face went hot and he swallowed. Shane never missed an opportunity to give him crap about his former interest in the woman that was now Shane's wife. Normally, it didn't bother Brady for the simple fact nothing about it was bothersome. Greta was attractive in all the ways a woman should be. But she had never seen Brady like that, and his view of her had switched when he'd seen how happy she was with Shane.

  But there was absolutely no way to explain all of the nuances involved so Lo would understand.

  “I like to give him a hard time,” Shane said, trying to read Brady's energy and getting it wrong. “He's a really good guy. Which is why I was comfortable pairing him with a female on this. He's not the kind of guy to mix business and pleasure. He'll be completely professional with you.”

  Blood roared through Brady's ears as an image of Lo's face, highlighted by starlight, looked up at him with expectation and desire. He curled his hands into fists, trying to will away the memory of his palm touching the soft bare skin of her back.

  Yep, completely professional.

  Lo cleared her throat, the sound jarring him out his memory. “Is that why you didn't include a non-fraternization policy?”

  Brady frowned. He needed to read his contract again.

  “It's just, this is really the first job I've had where there wasn't one,” she further explained.

  Shane studied her silently. His eyes flicked over to Brady and he lifted his chin slightly. Whether he had just developed mind reading capabilities, Brady couldn't know. But he definitely didn't expect what Shane said next.

  “I discussed it with Clarke. I also talked about with my partner, Lenny. While it does seem to be the norm for most companies, and it offers a form of protection for the business as well as the employee, we decided against it; choosing instead to let it be covered under the sexual harassment policy.” Shane tilted his head slightly, moving his eyes back and forth between Brady and Lo, before settling on Lo.

  “I want you two to be friends. I think you'll have more fun, and therefore, enjoy the project more, if you also enjoy one another's company. This doesn't mean I expect you to spend every waking moment together either. But I don't think friendships need to be outlined by a contract.”

  This changed things. Or did it?

  Brady glanced over to Lo. Shane was giving them a green light to pursue something. Not in so many words, but he wasn't saying they couldn't. What did that really mean though? Lo had already made it clear their kiss had simply been a kiss. Just a kiss and nothing as earth tilting as he remembered.

  Maybe she thought of him as a brother as well, the same as Greta had.

  That would suck great big ugly balls.

  “That sounds nice,” Lo said, her voice light and airy. “And then when I beat you...” She turned her green eyes on Brady, a less than innocent expression curling her lips up on the ends. “You'll never see it coming.”

  The challenge she laid down kicked his pulse up. Shane's belly laugh did little to break the spell Brady was under. He held her eyes, definitively knowing he was going to get his heart handed to him by the end of this.

  And he was going to enjoy every second of it.

  ***

  Lo

  Lo hugged Tessa again. The poor girl had cried off all her mascara. Not off off. It had been transferred to her cheeks and hands as she'd tried to wipe it away.

  “Please don't die,” Tessa said, her voice wobbling with emotion.

  Lo chuckled and hugged her tighter. “I promise.”

  They still had an hour until her flight left. Spencer and Tessa had insisted on driving her to the airport and then sitting with her for as long as possible before she had to head through security.

  Tessa was openly emotional, like Lo had expected. Spencer much more reserved.

  Actually, Spencer seemed very distracted.

  “Hey,” Lo said, getting the blonde's attention. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, why?” Spencer answered too quickly.

  “I'm leaving the country in a few minutes. If you have something to share, now is the time,” Lo said, watching her friend closely.

 
Spencer attempted a reassuring smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

  “She's been talking to Garrett again,” Tessa blurted out. She rolled her eyes at Spencer's pointed glare. “C'mon, you know I'm not the secret keeper. Secrets make me nervous.”

  “Everything makes you nervous,” Spencer responded dryly.

  Lo frowned. “What do you mean you're talking to Garrett?” This was concerning for a lot of reasons, but the main one being that Lo was just now finding out right as she was leaving.

  “This is why I didn't want to tell you,” Spencer said. “I know that look. You're already trying to figure out how to fix it before you leave. But there's nothing to fix, because nothing is happening.”

  Tessa squeaked and looked at her hands in her lap. Lo cocked her head, challenging Spencer's lie. Spencer met her gaze full-on.

  “Tessa?” Lo asked.

  “She went out with him the other night and didn't come home until noon the next day,” Tessa blurted out rapidly.

  Spencer closed her eyes.

  Lo's stomach turned over. “What? Why? Garrett made you cry. Repeatedly.”

  “Nothing happened,” Spencer lied again. “We talked about some stuff and it got late, so I stayed the night. Really, it's nobody's business,” she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, trying to shut out her friend's concerns. “Garrett doesn't want me back anyway, so it's not like anything has changed.”

  Lo wasn't a violent person by nature. She was a lover, not a fighter. Which was funny, since Spencer seemed to be the opposite. Spencer was the feisty one. She was the yin to Lo's yang, while Tessa was the squiggle line in the middle holding the whole thing together.

  But when Lo thought about Garrett, she had very violent fantasies. And she'd only met the guy once. The day she'd helped get the rest of Spencer's possessions out of the house they'd shared. He'd been polite and even appropriately remorseful as Spencer sniffled her way through removing the bits of her life she'd threaded with his.

 

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