by Kimi Flores
Good thing I loved him.
“Well I’m getting tired of her coming over just so she can screw him with her eyes. He thinks it’s funny but it pisses me off.” She breathed out her irritation when we heard the door that led from the kitchen to the garage open then shut. Male voices vibrated down the hall before an unsuspecting Stefen appeared.
I looked at my sister-in-law’s fiery glare, then at my brother’s bright smile. Run, man. While you have a chance.
He either didn’t notice Leah’s expression or was putting on a show for everyone else as he approached his bride, his hazel eyes met my matching ones as he smiled lovingly along the way. “Hey girls, did you enjoy your lunch? We brought some dessert." He motioned toward Caleb walking behind him, carrying a bag from one of our favorite local bakeries.
Caleb went straight to his wife and baby, embracing them before swiping Abby’s auburn hair to the side and sweetly kissing her full lips. I swallowed hard. The only time I ever yearned for my own husband was when I saw how my cousin and brother interacted with their wives.
I need to stop thinking about it, though. It’s dumb to want something I’ll never let happen.
Leah tightened her eyes as Stefen moved closer to give her a kiss. He paused before following through with a peck on her lips. "Did I miss something?"
"Your girlfriend next door was looking for you again," she answered bitterly.
The dumbass had the nerve to break out in a huge grin.
Dude, even I know Leah better than that.
Bending forward, he held onto the arms of her chair and chuckled. "Did she ask for sugar or coffee this time?"
This was getting uncomfortable with the daggers Leah was shooting at him. He moved in closer, but I unfortunately heard what he whispered in Leah’s ear. “You know what your jealousy does to me. Wanna go upstairs?”
Dammit Stefen. Keep it in your pants while you have guests. I turned my head, pretending like I didn’t hear anything but felt the heat rising up my neck. Those were not visions I wanted.
“Ow,” Stefen grunted.
I turned back throwing Stefen a satisfied grin, as he rubbed his chest.
Ha. Serves him right.
He shrugged and said easily, “Worth a shot.”
I just shook my head. That’s my brother. He has no shame.
As much as that had irritated me, I was also over the moon happy that those two finally got together. Now if they would just get to the baby making part, my auntie heart would be complete.
Caleb kissed Abby again before grabbing his sleeping son, holding him over his wide shoulder with one arm.
Lightly clapping her hands together, Abby’s mouth broke out into a huge grin as the green rings around her blue eyes danced with excitement. “So my husband here kept this from me because he knows what a fangirl I can be.” She gazed lovingly at Caleb before looking around the table. “Come to find out, the one and only Bradley James is the actor starring in Caleb’s movie.” She squealed.
Fantastic, I thought scornfully. Bradley James was Josh’s younger brother. Abby must not have made the connection since that was Bradley’s stage last name.
My shoulders slouched as my bad mood returned. I was happy Caleb’s Unlawful Encounters book series was finally going to be on the big screen, but I didn’t like the fact that my life continued to intertwine with Josh’s.
Man, I’m all kinds of pissy today. I need to go home and take a nap.
Leah got up, heading toward the kitchen, and eyeballed Stefen so he’d follow her.
Digging his nose into Max’s side, Caleb breathed in his baby smell, then turned and smiled down at Dani and me. “The movie’s wrap party is next Friday, and I’d love it if you guys could come.”
“Sounds like fun,” Dani said, shooting me a knowing glance.
She was also aware of the fact that Bradley was Josh’s brother. She didn’t know the whole story though. After we’d seen Josh at Zachary’s vineyard last fall, then the handful of times since, she’d asked me why I acted so bitchy when it came to him. All I disclosed was that we’d known each other when I was in college, but he seemed to have forgotten that fact. I was too embarrassed to expose the whole ugly truth.
What the hell was I thinking anyway? Sleeping with a celebrity? Really, Bri? I mentally slapped myself. My mother would probably just love to hold this little tidbit over my head. She already gave me a hard time about ‘losing’ him once she saw that stupid paparazzi picture of us in the paper.
And this achy feeling in my heart never seemed to go away. Every time I thought about that night, or more specifically, what happened early that next morning, that ache was there. No matter how far I ran from it.
“I’ll let you know if I can make it or not.” I faked a smile. Although I saw in his coffee brown eyes that he’d caught my brooding tone.
Leah and Stefen reappeared with plates and forks for the dessert. I looked at my sister-in-law, who was suddenly interested in everything except making eye contact with me.
“Hey Bri, mind coming into my office?” Stefen started to walk away from our group, eyeing Caleb as he passed.
Oh shit, what did Leah tell him?
The bottom hem of my long skirt fell to my ankles as I got up, strolling nonchalantly toward Stefen’s office.
“Be right back.” Caleb kissed Abby again before he followed.
A cool breeze enveloped the office when Stefen opened the sliding doors that led to the spectacular ocean view. Glancing outside, he leaned against the doorframe and peered back at Caleb and me. “Close the door please.”
As we all sat, Stefen began the Spanish Inquisition. “What’s going on with you, Bri, and don’t try to feed us some bullcrap about being tired.”
Caleb sat beside me, one leg crossed over the other, Max still cradled in his arms. “We know you better than that, sweetheart.”
Defeated, I lowered my head, exhaling a breath. “I don’t know. I’ve just felt kinda off lately. I love living so close to you guys, but I’m starting to feel restless.”
Stefen positioned his elbows on the arms of the chair and touched his lips with the tips of his index fingers. “That’s understandable. You’ve been traveling all over for the years now. I figured it would take you some time to adjust and figure out what you wanted to do.”
Playing with a loose string on my summer tank top, I blurted out, “Mom called me this morning.” I armed myself for their responses. Even Caleb couldn’t stand our mother and he normally liked everyone.
“What the hell did she want?” The emotionless stare on my brother’s face broke my heart. I hated that Stefen felt that way about our mother. But I guessed it was understandable, after the way she’d treated his wife.
“She asked me for money.”
Caleb jerked his head back. “What? Why would she need money from you?”
Cleary annoyed, Stefen groaned.
I shrugged, still not understanding why she’d asked me for it. “I don’t know. She said something about Dad putting her on a budget.”
Max was cradled in one arm as Caleb leaned to the side, patting my shoulder with his free hand. “I’m sorry you’ve had to put up with her, but I still don’t get why she needs money from you.”
Stefen lifted his eyebrow. “Dad told me he was tracking her spending. Said she was acting even more erratic than usual and started blowing money like crazy. Plus some things are changing at the firm,” he gave Caleb an intentional stare, “and Dad is watching finances carefully. What did she say it was for?”
“Some charity dinner, but she couldn’t even tell me what organization it was for, just that she needed ten thousand dollars for it.” I shrugged, but the two men looked at each other perceptively.
What’s going on?
“What’d you tell her?” Caleb asked, patting his milk-drunk son on the bottom.
“That I’d make the deposit on Monday morning.”
Shaking his head vigorously, Stefen barked, “The fuck you are. Bri, y
ou are not giving that woman anything.”
I quickly looked at Caleb, who was also shaking his head.
“What was I supposed to do? She’ll keep calling if I don’t just give it to her.” I was desperate for them to understand why I agreed to give the money. Then again, I’d made sure they never really knew how strong my mother’s hold was on me.
“Uh-uh, Bri. This is not your problem. I’m calling dad to let him know what’s going on. He may have changed a lot since I left the firm last year, but our parents have always thought about themselves. They can figure all this shit out on their own and stop trying to drag us into it.” He rested his elbows on the desk and pointed to me. “Don’t you dare make that deposit. I’ll deal with this.”
I exhaled, relieved. I knew there was a time to fight for my independence and there was a time to let Stefen or Caleb handle things. Now that he knew what was going on, this was going to have to be one of those situations I let my brother take care of.
“Thank you,” I whispered, then I frowned. “Wait. What’s going on at the firm?”
Both men looked at each other before Caleb blew out a breath. “After over thirty years of marriage, my dad decided to leave my mom for some twenty-five-year-old intern at work. He’s having a midlife crisis or some shit like that. It’s like he’s trying to start over, filling a void in his life. He left the firm and is now traveling with a girl younger than me.” Caleb shook his head in disapproval.
I held my hand over my mouth. “Caleb, I’m so sorry.”
He shrugged. “Our parents have the most dysfunctional lives, I’m surprised this hasn’t happened to both sets sooner.”
Snickering sarcastically, I pointed out, “Are you kidding, our mother would never let Dad go. A divorce would make her look bad.”
Caleb rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that’s how my mom feels too. Apparently she’s trying to take everything they own, and my dad is on a cradle robbing high, so he doesn’t care.”
I glanced at Stefen. “What does this mean for Dad? What about the firm?”
He leaned back in his chair. “It means he’s working his ass off to keep everything afloat. I’m trying to convince him to downsize their caseload, but dad’s a workaholic and refuses. I’ve been helping out with cases that can be worked remotely. He’s asked me to come back for a bit, but that’s not my life anymore. It’s not where I want or need to be.”
My eyes widened as I listened, with pride in my heart. Stefen was a workaholic at one time as well. When he saw the opportunity to win over Leah, he’d jumped over hurdles to prove himself to her. It was nice to see that he didn’t fall back into old habits just because our father asked for help.
Even though I never got my license to practice law, I was confident in my ability to work on minor cases. “Let me know if I can help.”
“I’m trying to get Dad to downsize, not offer more help.” He winked and I knew this conversation was over.
“Thanks for always looking out for me, guys. I know I can’t hide my moods from you. I don’t know why I even try.” I gave them both a silly grin.
Caleb stood up, bending forward to kiss me on the temple. “Listen, just because we’re married now doesn’t mean we aren’t here for you. Abby and Leah love you just as much as we do, and one of the advantages to living in the same town is that we’re all close enough to support each other. You know that.”
My eyes closed as I gave a tight nod. “Yeah, I know.”
Dropping his chin, Stefen gave me a brotherly look. “Don’t answer Mom’s calls, okay? All she does is stress you out, and I’m done with her shit.”
He nudged me out of my chair. “Come on, let’s go back to the table. I wanna show you all the sugary goodness we got you guys.”
I rolled my eyes, “Please, Stefen. Don’t insult my intelligence. I know those desserts are for your wives so you can earn some sugary goodness for yourselves.”
Caleb barked out a laugh, as Stefen said in a cocky manner, “Baby sister, I don’t need to do anything to earn that.”
I elbowed him in the rib. “How in the hell that girl ever puts up with you, I’ll never know.”
Chapter Three
Will I Ever Get Over Him?
Josh
Strolling with my cousin between the long rows of grapevines, I was filled with nostalgia. “Hey remember that summer I stayed with you guys when we stole a few of your dad’s cigars and snuck out there?” I pointed toward the four Tuscan inspired villas off in the distance that my uncle and Zachary rented out to guests.
He nodded. “How could I forget? Dad busted us and made us smoke the whole things. I think I puked for a week after.” He howled a laugh before bending down to pat his tan-colored wheaten terrier, Buddy.
“Yeah, I never picked up another one.” I smiled at the memory. My uncle was old school and taught life lessons the hard way, but I respected that. “Still can’t stomach the smell of ’em.”
“I guess there was a method to Dad’s madness.” He smiled fondly anytime he talked about his father.
As the shaggy dog panted, we began to make our way through the field. Although it was still early, the summer sun beat down on the vineyard. The smell of soil and sap from the grapevines surrounded us. I reached over picking one of the red grapes, wiped it off on my shirt then popped the tart fruit into my mouth.
“We got into a lot of trouble that summer.” Zachary smirked. “Best time ever.”
I kicked a shriveled grape in my path. “Got my first hickey over there.” I lifted my chin in the direction of the side fence that surrounded the property.
The sound of Zachary’s chuckle filled the area. “Yeah, I remember. We picked those girls up at the bowling alley right after I got my driver’s license.”
I nodded at the memory then rotated my baseball cap so the bill shaded my eyes. “Well, you’ve got the best line ever now.” I cocked my eyebrow before acting out the pick-up scene. “Your place or mine? Oh, and by the way,” I raised my index finger, pulling up the corners of my mouth, “my place is a vineyard.”
He shoved me in the shoulder, causing me to stumble as I laughed. Buddy darted to me, barking his disapproval.
Lifting my hands in the air, I said, “Hey, he pushed me, I didn’t do anything.” I rustled the fur on top of Buddy’s head, seeming to calm him down. We continued to wander along the extensive line of grapevines about ready to be harvested in a few months.
“I’m sure being a celebrity isn’t a bad way of getting women either,” Zachary pointed out, a light summer breeze blowing his dark blonde hair.
“Nah.” I met up with the withered grape, kicking it even further away this time. “I’m not a celebrity anymore.” I regretted all the mistakes I’d made. If only I had just stayed on the right path, I’d still be acting and probably even enjoying it. That thought left me feeling kinda empty but I’d learned my lesson a long time ago. Some things are not healthy to fill that void with. One being alcohol, the other being women who wanted to use me.
There’s only one woman I can’t stop thinking about. But she hates me. I sighed at that depressing thought before I raised my head and saw her. The girl who had been on my mind for nearly seven months now. Damn, how in the hell?
Bri was standing in the vineyard parking lot, caressing my American Quarter Horse, Smokey. Light filtered through the tree leaves above her, showcasing her beautiful face, long dark hair, and insanely gorgeous body as she laughed with the two other women Zachary talked about quite often, Leah and Dani. Bri was more stunning each time I saw her. And yet I didn’t have the balls to talk to her.
For some reason, she blatantly ignored me whenever I was near. One thing was for sure, Brianna Hunter definitely held a grudge against me. When I’d first met her last Thanksgiving, she’d accidentally given me a sideways glance and smirked when I snickered nervously under my breath next to her. Once she realized it was me, a scowl quickly replaced her smile, and she turned to stalk away.
I’ve got to figure out
what the hell I did to her.
The worst part was that something about her felt so familiar. There was no way she was who I thought she might be. No way.
She looked like a totally different person, but a nagging feeling deep down told me that she might just be the girl I knew as Bea. I didn’t remember most of the girls I’d slept with but the gorgeous, model thin beauty with short auburn hair made an impression no one else ever had. Unlike most of the other girls I’d had sex with, I’d felt so comfortable with Bea. I’d even opened up and shared my feelings about Kai with her.
After being given wrong information, I was pissed the night I took her to bed though. Despite my anger, we’d had the most amazing drunk sex that night. That was until I moved off her and saw the blood on the sheet. It was obvious that she wasn’t experienced but I didn’t realize it was her first time until it was too late.
Man I was such a prick to that girl afterward.
No way. It’s not her, and I have to stop thinking it might be, even though the names are too close to ignore.
Resolving not to focus on this until I was alone and could think clearly, I caught up to Zachary, deciding to call him out on the flirting he seemed to be doing from a distance. “Hey, what’s that little look you’re giving Leah’s sister?” I hadn’t seen my cousin eye any woman since his ex-wife left him, years ago. And good riddance to that bitch. Who knew what the hell he ever saw in her anyway. Nobody else liked her, especially Uncle Joel.
The bright sun hit Zachary’s face as we walked out from under a trellis covering, causing him to close one eye and narrow the other. “You mean Dani?”
I chuckled, well aware of her name. Egging him on, I moved my eyebrows up and down. “Yeah, Dani.”
“Oh, you know. Just appreciating the sight of a beautiful woman.” His smile widened when he said the last two words.
I stopped, placing my hand on his chest. “What are you gonna do about it?”