“I’ll teach you anything you want to know,” he said. “We’ll have to plan better next time. It’s not easy for me to get out of the office at a moment’s notice, but Sydney had begged me to come.”
“Did you know I’d be here?” Chelsea titled her head to the side, staring at him intently.
Brad shook his head. “No, but I’m glad you are.”
For some reason, his answer seemed to please her. She smiled, and her body relaxed slightly from her usual straight-backed, perfect posture. “Here.” She slipped her hand into her pocket, bringing out a small bottle of hand sanitizer. “I figured we could use this before digging into the sandwiches.”
Bemused, and trying not to laugh, Brad could tell that Chelsea was a city girl. Out here, they’d never worried about a little dirt or the smell of horse being on them before eating, but he would do whatever she wanted. He held out his hands, and she squirted a small blob into them. While he rubbed the alcohol into his skin, Chelsea forced Sydney and Matt to wash their hands too.
Sydney caught Brad’s eye from across the blanket and winked. His sister hadn’t missed anything that happened when he helped Chelsea dismount from Brownie. Sydney was clearly satisfied with herself.
Willing to give in, Brad gave her a stiff nod and winked back. She’d been right. Chelsea was as wonderful as he’d pictured, and he should have asked her out last year.
As they ate their lunch, Brad couldn’t help being distracted by Chelsea next to him. She shifted around so much while they all munched in silence that he was sure she felt uncomfortable. She sat in her office chair all day, not on the ground out in the dirt where people had to use hand sanitizer.
Trying not to chuckle again, he brushed his hand against her bare upper arm to get her attention.
“What?” she asked.
“You can lean on me if you need to. Why don’t you stretch your legs out and use my arm for support?”
“Or,” Sydney said, turning half in Matt’s arms to look up at her fiancé, “You both could lie down and stop sitting there looming over Matt and me.”
Chelsea’s eyes darted around the blanket for a moment before she shook her head. “There isn’t room for us both to lie down.”
Not unless they spooned like Sydney and Matt. While Brad wasn’t against that plan, he could tell from Chelsea’s reaction that it wasn’t her idea of appropriate first date activity.
“You lie down,” he said. “Use my leg for a pillow. This is your first time out on the island, right?”
She nodded, her cheeks somewhat rosier than normal. “Other than the beach, I haven’t done much of anything.”
“Lie down, then, and enjoy.” He patted his outer thigh, making sure she knew he wasn’t proposing she went anywhere near his crotch. “Hand me your sandwich.”
Hesitating, Chelsea finally did as he asked when Brad stuck his hand out. She slipped her sandwich into its plastic baggie before passing it to him, then stretched her legs out before leaning back to rest her head against his thigh.
The hair of her ponytail brushed against Brad’s inner leg. He tried to ignore it, firmly telling himself he couldn’t feel her silky tresses, so there was no reason to get excited.
He smiled and handed back the sandwich. “Better?”
“Yeah, except my legs are asleep.”
His were asleep too, but he’d never tell her that. Having her that close, touching him while the smell of her sweet perfume danced in the breeze, was worth any amount of pain from tingling legs.
Sydney tossed an uneaten portion of her second sandwich back to the center of the blanket. “We’re all being so quiet,” she complained. “Let’s play a game.”
Matt’s smile about split his face in half as he leaned to whisper something in Sydney’s ear.
She giggled. “We’ll play that later.”
Brad shook his head and looked at Chelsea. “Sorry. They used to be so reserved around people. I’m not sure what you did to my sister, but she really doesn’t care who she embarrasses anymore.”
“I think that’s a good thing,” Chelsea said. “She trusts us. That’s why she doesn’t care what we hear.”
“That’s right,” Sydney said. “You think we act this way everywhere? We just like embarrassing you, Brad, and reminding each other how in love we are in the process.”
It was just as he’d suspected, but somehow he didn’t mind. It was a good thing that he and his sister were close enough to tease and harass each other. Growing up, it had never been that way. Brad liked the new relationship they had. He wasn’t going to hold his breath, but maybe someday he could be that way with Quinn as well.
“What did you want to play?” he asked. “I mean, something Chelsea and I can be here for without getting embarrassed.”
“Let’s each say something we’ve always wanted to do but haven’t been brave enough for,” Sydney said. “Then the others in the group have to say whether they’ve done it.”
Brad glanced at Chelsea, and she nodded her consent.
“Sounds good,” he told Sydney. “You go first.”
She tossed her head back and laughed. “You asked for it. Never have I had sex on the beach.”
Matt’s eyes went wide. “You want to do that?”
“Sure,” she said. “But if we got caught, it would be awkward for the family so I’ve never been brave enough.”
“I’ve never done that,” Matt said.
“Neither have I,” Chelsea agreed.
Brad hesitated, glaring at his sister. If he answered the question truthfully, it would bring up a girl he’d been with in the past. That was the last thing he wanted to do with Chelsea leaning against him.
“Oops,” Sydney said. “I forgot. Wasn’t your first time on the beach with one of the girls who worked in the stables, Brad?”
“How do you know about that?” he asked, genuinely shocked. It wasn’t like he and Sydney had been close enough to confide that stuff back then.
Chelsea grabbed his hand, drawing his attention to her. “That’s daring,” she said. “Were you displaying that middle child desire to get caught doing something bad so you’d get in trouble?”
“Huh?” While he was glad to be holding her hand since she hadn’t released his, Brad didn’t know what she meant. “I didn’t want to get caught, but having my first time on the beach is not as exciting as it might sound. We both had sand everywhere. Plus, we had to hurry back to work before someone missed us. Not being able to shower right after, the sand chaffed away a good portion of skin in my most sensitive areas and uh...”
The other three burst out in laughter, and Chelsea squeezed his hand. “Oh, you poor thing!”
“That’s how I knew about it,” Sydney said. “You could hardly walk that night when you came home, and I overheard Dad tell Mom what you did.”
“Was he laughing the whole time?” Matt asked, laughing so hard it was a struggle to understand his words.
Brad twined his fingers through Chelsea’s, leaning over to rest their hands on her side. “Let’s move on to something else. That was the worst experience of my life. How about skydiving? I’ve always wanted to do that.”
“We’re not done laughing at you,” Matt said, holding up a hand to forestall a change in subject. “How long before you got up the courage to do it again? I bet that poor girl was terrified to let you touch her.”
“She was,” Brad admitted. “I guess it was worse for her than it was for me. We didn’t get together again.”
“Oh, you poor guy.” Chelsea’s laughter faded as she looked up at him, mouth in a sexy pout. “That had to be tough, but I’m sure it went better with the next girl.”
Did she really want to talk about that? As heat flooded his face, Brad forced himself to smile. Talk about an embarrassing first date—if a date was even what this was.
“I suppose your first experience was great?” he asked, raising an eyebrow in challenge.
“Oh, heavens no!” She shook her head, her pout transfo
rming back to a smile. “Worst night of my life. I was sure it had to be some big joke the guy played on me. I mean, why would people want to do that?”
Feeling daring, Brad used his pinky to gently stroke Chelsea’s side, smiling when he felt her shudder. “Because it can be so much fun if you find the right person.”
She gulped loudly and looked away. “I wouldn’t really know.”
“You’ve never enjoyed having sex?” He continued lightly stroking her side. He would make sure she experienced pleasure if things ever got that far between them. “That’s something you need to have taken care of, preferably with a man who knows your needs are just as important as his.”
It was Chelsea’s turn to blush. Scarlet was a good shade on her. She looked sexy no matter what.
Letting go of his hand, she then sat up. Brad was about to feel disappointed, but then she actually scooted closer, leaning against his shoulder.
“Why don’t we talk about skydiving now?” she asked. “I think Brad and I have both been embarrassed enough for one day.”
Sydney shrugged. “You know all my secrets, Chels, no matter how embarrassing. Have you truly never had an orgasm? That’s so sad.”
As though Sydney hadn’t spoken, Chelsea continued her chatter. “I’ve never gone skydiving and I’m not sure I want to try. Seems pretty scary.”
“Fine, we’ll stop talking about sex,” Sydney said. “What about that survival thing you have planned? None of us have done anything like that. Tell us about it.”
“Survival thing?” Brad put his arm around Chelsea’s shoulder, holding her loosely to him. He couldn’t believe this was going so well. She seemed happy to have his arm there, as happy as he was to put it there. “What survival thing? I’d like to hear about it.”
Chapter 6
Chelsea knew she shouldn’t let herself get cozy with Brad, but the man he showed himself to be here in the meadow was a different person altogether. Every time she’d seen him in the past he was broody and angry looking. Now he was sweet, considerate, and so cute when he blushed. She wasn’t sure if she should lead him on by leaning against him and flirting, but the situation was more relaxing than she’d expected it to be.
Brad stared at her, an expectant look on his face. He seemed genuinely interested in her plans for a survival trip.
She sat upright, not sure she wanted to stop touching Brad but also knowing she needed to put some distance between them before she did something stupid. Besides being grumpy and having problems from being a middle child, Brad was her boss. She’d do best not to forget that.
“I want to do a survival challenge,” she explained. “Just me in the wilderness with minimal supplies to see if I can live off the land.”
Brad’s thick eyebrows furrowed and he stroked his square jaw line. “Wandering around in a forest with no food sounds like fun to you?”
She shrugged. “Not fun, per se, but something I’d like to do. This island would make the perfect challenge spot since there is nothing on the far side. I could go there with whatever I could carry in my pack, explore the island, scrounge around for food and water. I love watching people do those challenges on TV. I’d really like to see if I could handle it.”
“On TV?” Matt asked from his spot behind Sydney. “You mean like on that show where they are trying to win the million dollars or whatever? What if you had to eat something gross?”
“Not quite like that show. I wouldn’t do it for money,” Chelsea clarified. “I just want to see if I could make it.”
Sydney’s blue eyes met Chelsea’s and a sneaky-appearing grin flitted across her face for a fleeting moment. “But you’d probably need a guy to go with you, right? I mean, it’d be better to have a partner.”
“Well, that’s true. Even though there aren’t a lot of dangerous animals on your island, I couldn’t go alone,” Chelsea agreed. “What if I fell and hurt myself or something? I’d definitely need someone to watch my back.”
“What about Brad?” Sydney asked. “He’d make a good partner, and he knows what he’s doing as far as starting fires and stuff.”
“Me?” Brad’s hazel eyes looked troubled. “I have no clue how to start a fire without a lighter, and I’m not sure that even sounds like fun. I don’t get why you’d want to.”
And already the dream came crashing down. Brad might like to ride his horse and be in nature, but Chelsea shouldn’t let that fool her into thinking he was at all compatible with her in terms of interests or personality.
Scooting a bit further from him so that it forced Brad to drop his arm from around her shoulder, Chelsea plastered her smile into place. “It isn’t for everyone,” she agreed. “Some people can’t handle that sort of thing. The reason I want to do it is to prove to myself I’m tough enough, mentally and physically, to handle it.”
Sydney’s eyes narrowed as she glared at her brother. “Wouldn’t it be fun to do something that Chelsea really liked?” she asked. “Who knows, if you did the survival thing with her, maybe she’d go skydiving later with you.”
“It’s okay,” Chelsea said. “He doesn’t need to—”
“When would I even have time?” Brad cut in. “Even if it was something I wanted to do, I don’t have time for that. How long would you be gone?” He turned toward her and gone was the happy, carefree man who’d been there moments before. His siblings could certainly flip Brad’s switch and make him moody, even Sydney, who he seemed close to.
Chelsea put up a hand in an involuntary gesture to fend him off. “It doesn’t matter, Brad. If it isn’t something you’re interested in, I wouldn’t want you coming along.”
“How long do you go?” he persisted.
“Most people that I have talked to on-line go for two to three weeks. Longer really proves something, but I’d be happy if I could survive for two weeks, at least my first time out.”
Brad scrubbed a hand across the top of his head, clearly expressing his irritation. “Two weeks away from the office? Yeah, even if I wanted to go, I couldn’t do that. Sorry, Chelsea. Guess you’ll have to find another partner.”
From the corner of her vision, Chelsea saw Sydney roll her eyes, and Matt placed a calming hand against her shoulder.
Yep, this had definitely been a setup on Sydney’s part, trying to get Chelsea together with her brother. Luckily, Brad didn’t seem all that interested, so Chelsea wouldn’t even have to tell Sydney to butt out and mind her own business. It seemed Brad did a great job of that on his own.
Looking around the meadow and the slanting light from the lowering sun, Chelsea shook out her tingling legs and rose to a standing position. “It’s getting late, Sydney. I think we should head back. I have some client files to work on that I put off when you invited me on the picnic.”
Sydney’s gaze flicked between Chelsea and Brad, and no one else made a move to get to their feet.
After a few seconds of silence, Brad heaved a sigh and hopped to his feet, turning to face her. “Look, I didn’t mean to be an ass about your survival challenge or whatever it is. It sounds difficult, but I’m sure you could accomplish it. You’re a very capable-seeming woman.”
“I am capable.” Chelsea folded her arms together. “Don’t worry about it. I understand. You’re a big shot on the island and don’t want to take time off for something like that. It wasn’t as though I invited you to go with me anyway. I thought we were playing a game, not making plans.”
Maybe she should go a bit easier on the poor man, considering his sister had set him up just as much as she’d set Chelsea up, but it stung her pride to know Brad wouldn’t even consider doing something like that to spend more time with her. She thought things had been going well, and he certainly hadn’t been shy about flirting with her before. Apparently, someone like him only had time to flirt, not commit. That wasn’t what Chelsea needed in her life. She dealt with enough people who had issues. Any man who caught her interest would have to be mentally stable and able to stand on his own, not need her for all thei
r support. Besides, she’d made the decision long ago not to fall in love. She didn’t need Brad or his approval.
“Look, I know Syd tricked us both into this semi-date,” he said, taking a step closer to her and turning his body away from Sydney and Matt. “It’s because she knows I’m attracted to you.”
Chelsea’s eyebrows rose upward. Since when was he into her? He never talked to her before, never made an effort to get to know her. Attraction could mean any number of things. Was Brad hoping for a booty call?
“Don’t worry about it,” she murmured. “I’ve never had to have a guy tricked into dating me before. I assure you I can find a date on my own. I didn’t even know this was a date.”
Brad’s thin lips dipped into a frown. “It felt like a date to me, and I thought you were into it.”
“Because I leaned against you to stop my legs from falling asleep?” Chelsea forced herself to laugh though it rang untrue in her own ears. She wondered if she were fooling him because she couldn’t fool herself. It had felt like a date for a few minutes there, right before Brad opened his mouth and ruined it all. “Don’t worry. I’m not expecting anything from you. Well, except I hope you’ll help me get Brownie saddled up again because I can’t remember what Matt told me to do.”
* * *
He was screwing this all up. Why did he say he wouldn’t do something like that? Chelsea’s withdrawal had been immediate. She could pretend all she wanted that this wasn’t a date, but he didn’t believe her. She felt the attraction between them. If only Brad could stop himself from acting like an asshole for just one afternoon.
Sydney was right. The only person making his life hard was himself. That point was proven with Chelsea right now.
He turned toward his sister and Matt. “You guys want to pack things up or are you staying here?”
Sydney’s blue eyes were mere slits. She balled her hand into a fist and mouthed, “Do something.” Out loud she said, “I think Matt and I will stay for awhile. I don’t want to go back to those grant proposals just yet. Now that I’m the only one reading through them all, I realize how much my old staff in New York used to do. I’m taking the rest of the day off and spending it with my man.”
Love's Ride (McCallister's Paradise Book 4) Page 4