Something Borrowed (Lone Star Match Book 2)
Page 22
She paused, willing him to make some motion, some indication that he was wavering at all, but he remained closed, silent, and still. She pursed her lips. Time to go all in. She nodded to the DJ who was ready for her signal. She stepped off the stage and walked across the dance floor towards the bar, his gaze following her, no expression. Silence followed her until she got to him then the music started playing. John Legend, “All of Me”.
She held out her hand. “Grady Coughlin, if you’ll still have me, I’m all in.”
He studied her hand for a long moment while her heart pounded so loudly she thought everyone in the area could hear it. The room spun as the moment lengthened to two, then three and four.
“Brigid…”
“It’s just a dance. Please.” Tears gathered in her eyes, and her voice broke, but she stayed firm, hand outstretched.
Finally, he accepted it and she led him to the floor where he took her in his arms. She let her breath out in a shuddering sigh. Step one accomplished. Now to get control of her emotions to try to talk.
She opened her mouth but he put a finger on her lips. “Not now. Not here.”
He pulled her close and rested his cheek on the top of her head while everyone looked on. No one dared join in. Brigid laid her head on his shoulder and enjoyed the moment, but the tension remained as she wondered what would happen next.
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Grady swayed gently to the music, wondering what the fuck he was doing getting sucked back in to the black hole that was Brigid’s life. She had made her choices clear and he didn’t want that life or have a place there. Yet she had put herself out there, publicly, in front of half of the law firm who were attending the wedding, as an apology. When she had stood in front of him, heart in her eyes and unshed tears about to spill over, he was lost. He would have given her anything in that moment to spare her that pain. But he wasn’t sure he could risk his heart again.
All too soon the song ended. She lifted her head and looked up at him, mascara smeared around her eyes from the tears that had fallen. She opened her mouth but he shook his head. “Outside.”
He took her hand and dragged her outside, where the sun was setting, giving them the illusion of privacy in the dusk of the evening. A few couples had wandered outside and were strolling the grounds but he dragged her toward the gazebo where the ceremony had taken place. The chairs and decorations had been put away, and the area was shrouded in shadows, the perfect trysting spot or place for a private discussion.
Brigid stumbled on her way and he paused. “Why do women wear those ridiculous shoes?”
She slipped them off. “It’s not by choice. You men like the way we look in them.”
He eyed her ass while she was bent over. “They are pretty hot. But hell on walking.”
She glared at him. “A little help would be nice.”
He quirked a grin and scooped her up, one arm under her knees and the other under back. She shrieked and flung her arms around his neck. “What are you doing?”
“We have a conversation to have and I don’t want you to hurt your feet in the grass.” He strode the last several feet to the gazebo and set her down on the wood floor.
Brigid rested her hands on his shoulders, blinking owlishly at him. “I don’t understand.”
He shrugged. “My version of the romantic gesture. I was feeling a little unmanned by your song dedication earlier.”
She flushed and turned away. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you.”
“Hell no. I wasn’t embarrassed. It was kind of sexy but don’t chicken out now. What was that all about?” He stepped into the interior of the gazebo and stood close behind her, just shy of touching her.
For some reason, despite her earlier declarations, he was hesitant to touch her, to take that step. She wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing her hands up and down her arms in the nighttime chill. He shrugged out of his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. She turned and smiled gratefully at him.
“I quit my job yesterday.” She said it softly, but the words impacted him like a physical blow.
The words fell like a ton of bricks between them and he stared at her, trying to process the words. “I don’t understand. You loved your job.”
She smiled. “Apparently not as much as I love you. And, if you recall, you got me to admit that I don’t love my job at all.”
“You quit your job for me? I never asked you to do that. Don’t put this on me.”
As he was gaining steam, she raised her hand and placed it on his lips. “I didn’t quit for you. Although, to be fair, you hated my job and the demands it placed on me. Admit it.”
He snorted but couldn’t deny it. “I hated that it forced you to abandon your friends and was killing you physically. But I never made quitting your job a condition of being with me.”
She arched her eyebrow. “I wasn’t finished. I didn’t quit for you. I quit for me. You were right. It was killing me and I wasn’t happy there. Grady, no matter what, my life wasn’t going to change if I stayed. My job is ruled by billable hours and how many clients I bring in. I don’t work forty hours.”
“Neither do I.”
“But you own your own business and can make adjustments. You’re ready to move into the next phase of your life, a family, a home. If I stayed where I was, I’m not sure when I’d have that and I’m not sure I like the family life I would have there. I liked your vision of a family. Dinners together. Vacations. Not worrying about work or clients or hours. I don’t know how to have balance and I’m not sure it’s even possible. You made me see that I want something different.”
He cupped her cheek in his hand and rubbed his thumb over the soft skin. “No, I was wrong too, Brigid. Your job scared me. I was afraid that you wanted something out of life that I could never give you. That you would leave me when you saw that I didn’t fit in there.”
She nodded. “Like your mom.”
He grimaced. “I spoke to her today.”
Brigid’s eyes widened. “How did that go? That must have been difficult.”
“I couldn’t let it go. I’m still too angry with her and couldn’t make my peace with her. Too much has happened to sweep it under the table. Either way, I’m wrong to demand that you change your whole life just because I’m afraid you’ll leave.”
She was shaking her head at his words, bringing up one of her hands to cup his. “No, I was keeping you at arm’s length, giving you that impression. I was so wrapped up in what I thought I wanted, that I didn’t see that you’re the one I want. Do you think we can get past all of this and figure out our next steps together?”
A slow grin crossed his face. “I think we can do that.”
She rose on her toes. “I love you, Grady Coughlin. More than I can tell you.”
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “I love you too, Brigid Anderson.”
She pressed her lips to his, twining her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair. He had cut his hair for the wedding, but there was enough for her to grab, to tug him down to her lips. She had missed this, the connection they shared. Her body relaxed, muscles unclenching for the first time since she had left two days prior. She had finally come home, in his arms.
He pulled back and gazed down at her. “So where do we go from here?”
“Do you happen to know a place where I can stay? I might be homeless in a few months unless I can find work.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “I think we can figure something out. I know this great Victorian that might even have space for an office if a lawyer wants to hang out their own shingle.”
She cocked her head. “Hmmm, I hadn’t thought about that. I guess I have a lot of options.”
He pulled her close and rested his chin on her head. “You can do anything you want.”
“As long as we’re together.”
“Forever,” he murmured against her hair, arms holding her tight so she could barely breathe. But she didn’t mind. She was wher
e she belonged, home and loved.
The End
If you enjoyed Something Borrowed, don’t miss the next book in…
The Lone Star Match series
Three Bridesmaids. Three lost loves. One match-making bride. Can a matchmaking bride reunite her bridesmaids with the ones who got away in the week before her wedding?
Book 1: Something Old
Buy now!
Book 2: Something Borrowed
View the series here!
Book 3: Something New
Coming soon!
More by Megan Ryder
The Knights of Passion series
The Knights of Passion. A team of team of sexy, dedicated men and women who love baseball and are filled with the competitive fire to win on the field and off the field. These are men and women who have been tested by life. They have found a place that they can call home and people they can call family.
Book 1: Going All the Way
Buy now!
Book 2: Love From Left Field
Buy now!
Book 3: The Game Changer
Buy now!
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About the Author
Ever since Megan Ryder discovered Jude Deveraux and Judith McNaught while sneaking around the “forbidden” romance section of the library one day after school, she has been voraciously devouring romance novels of all types. Now a romance author in her own right, Megan pens sexy contemporary novels all about family and hot lovin’ with the boy next door. She lives in Connecticut, spending her days as a technical writer and her spare time divided between her addiction to knitting and reading.
Visit her website at MeganRyder.com
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