by Candace Shaw
Megan bit into a cupcake. “Mmm...I don’t know. They’ve been together for the majority of the evening. Then again, Steven invited her when he confirmed that Bryce was coming, so it’s not like he invited her. She just received a big promotion at the Fortune 500 company she works for, so I doubt she’s trying to move to Atlanta to be with Bryce. She was only in Atlanta helping her parents with some medical concerns.”
“I’ve decided not to worry about it. It was fun while it lasted, and at least I learned that Bryce isn’t such a bad guy after all.” Sydney stood, grabbing a stuffed tomato from her sister’s plate and popping it into her mouth. “Just please keep this between us and please stop setting me up on blind dates. Now I know what you felt like a few years ago. And then you went out and found your own man.”
Megan shrugged with a smirk. “Something like that.And maybe you have, as well.”
Sydney laughed sarcastically. “Good night. See you at brunch.”
She made her way up the stairs finally after bidding a few of the guests who were leaving good-night and going to the kitchen to make a big plate of leftovers before the caterers packed everything up. She still hadn’t seen Bryce, but she figured he was off somewhere with his ex. She threw off her clothes and slipped into her pajamas and grabbed some of the photo albums that were in the room on a bookshelf. They were filled with Monroe family vacations throughout the years in their Winnebago or on a yacht. Bryce had indeed grown into a handsome, charismatic man from the scrawny little boy she saw in the pictures. By high school he began to fill out with a few whiskers under his nose, and by senior year, he was the star basketball player and senior class president.
She closed the book when a light tap on the bathroom door startled her. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, she saw it was just a little after midnight. Reluctantly, she strolled toward the door and opened it to find Bryce wearing jeans and a leather jacket over a sweater. He held a pink motorcycle helmet in one hand and a black one in the other. His eyes glanced over her pajamas.
“Change clothes,” he demanded in a deep voice, handing her the pink helmet. “We’re going for a ride.”
“It’s midnight,” she said, handing the helmet back to him, but he didn’t take it.
“I’m driving,” he answered, walking toward the door of her room.
“That’s not—”
“Get dressed and meet me out front in five minutes.”
After he left, she tossed off her pajamas, threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater. Grabbing the helmet and her jacket, she peeked out the door first, then closed it gently. The house was quiet, and she made it out the front door without being noticed.
Bryce was already on the motorcycle waiting for her. She hopped on and barely had her arms wrapped around him before he took off.
Leaving the residential area, he turned on a back country road and sped up, much to her dismay. Not a car in sight but that didn’t mean he had to speed like he owned the street. She wasn’t sure how long they’d driven, but she guessed about an hour, especially when she saw a sign that read Welcome to South Carolina. He finally stopped in front of a gate and pulled a remote from his pocket and pushed a button on it. The gate opened, and he zoomed in and drove for what seemed another mile as beach sand appeared on both sides of the road. He pulled up in front of a house and continued on until he reached the edge of the driveway. He stopped abruptly, and she jumped off.
She walked away from him, then turned back around and raised the visor of her helmet. “Why the heck were you driving so fast?” she yelled at the top of her lungs.
“Because I needed to,” he said calmly, getting off the motorcycle but not following her.
She continued walking until her boots were in the pillowy beach sand.
“Where are we, and what are we doing here?” she shouted. She was still furious about how fast he was driving. He knew she hated that.
“Monroe Beach Villa, right outside of Hilton Head, and we’re here to talk.”
“We couldn’t do that in Savannah at your other house?”
“Follow me.”
Moments later, they entered the vast foyer with a tiled floor that continued on to the kitchen. She followed him through to the living room that contained oversize white couches with teal toss pillows. High wood-beamed ceilings and walnut hardwood floors made it the perfect beach getaway. But she wasn’t there to admire the decor.
She sat down in one of the chairs and placed her helmet on the carved-wood table in front of her.
“So what are we talking about?” She crossed her legs and looked up at him, since he was still standing with a smug look on his face.
“The fact that you just wanted to all of a sudden stop seeing each other without any valid explanation.”
Taken aback, she stood directly in front of him. “No! I gave you a very valid explanation. If one of us started seeing someone else and it got serious, then we would have to end what we’re doing. I just thought it would be best to end it now before one of us...” Her voice trailed off as her mind took her back to seeing him with Stephanie.
“What?” he yelled. “One of us what, Syd?”
She sighed and stepped back. “Fell for the other person and then wound up hurt when there was someone else in the picture.”
“But I told you on the phone that night I only wanted to be with you. That’s it, Syd. I want to explore a relationship with you and only you.”
She laughed sarcastically and stared up at him with a raised eyebrow. “What about Stephanie?”
“Your sister set that up. Trust me—I don’t like Stephanie.”
“Really? Megan set up the date at The Iberian Pig?”
He frowned with confusion and shook his head. “How did you know about The Iberian Pig?”
“Because I saw you and her getting out of the car laughing and what not,” she said, pointing her finger at his chest. “You know if you’re going to date, fine. But must you do it in my neighborhood? Hell, I’m the one who told you about the restaurant in the first place.” Sydney stormed to the other side of the room, turning away from him.
“So you’re spying on me? Got some type of tracking device on my phone or my car, Agent Chase?”
She turned to face him with anger rising from here. “No, idiot! Not spying on you. I went to grab some dinner and I saw you, and then you had the audacity to want to come over afterward? What? Stuck-up tease Stephanie wouldn’t give you any, so you called me?”
“Are you through fussing or are you going to continue until you pop a blood vessel on the side of your beautiful neck?” he asked calmly, sitting on the couch and crossing his foot up on his opposite knee. “I mean, you are sexy when you’re mad, so go ahead and get it all out. Just let me know when it’s my turn.”
“Oh, I’m done,” she said, standing over him. “So done.” She sat back in the chair and stared him down. “Say what you gotta say, and then I’m leaving.”
He tried to muffle a laugh. “How do you plan on leaving?”
“All the Monroe vacation homes have a car or two in the garage.”
“Oh...so you’re going to steal my Lexus?”
She groaned. “Please say what you need to say,” she said through clenched teeth.
“Fine.” He stood, pacing back and forth as if he were in the courtroom ready to give closing arguments. “Make sure to put on your profiler thinking cap.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “This is not the courthouse.”
“First of all, your sister introduced me to Stephanie with the hopes of some type of love connection. However, that wasn’t going to happen. For two reasons. One of which, she isn’t my type, but she’s an attorney looking for a job, so I offered her a chance for an interview. However, she wasn’t able to make it at the time I suggested during lunch hours because she had a few more i
nterviews that day. Since she’s a friend of yours and Megan’s—”
“Just Megan,” she reminded him. “We were never friends.”
He cleared his throat. “Anyway, I offered a dinner interview instead and told her The Iberian Pig was supposed to be a great place. On my way, she called and said her car broke down a few blocks away and she was running late. I went to where she was with the tow truck, and, instead of canceling, we went ahead and had the interview over dinner, where apparently you saw us getting out of the car.”
“Really? Interview? You opened her door. Sounds like a date to me.”
“My mother raised me to be a gentleman.”
“Did you offer her a job?”
“Nope. Never got the chance to. In fact, wasn’t going to. She wouldn’t represent my firm well. Plus...” He hesitated and twisted his lip. “She asked me out when I dropped her off.”
“Oh, I’m not surprised at all. She hasn’t changed since college. She loves latching on to men with loads of money.”
He nodded with a knowing smirk. “Yes, I sensed that, but I told her no because I was seeing someone. At least I thought I was, until you told me otherwise, despite me telling you that I only want to be with you.”
She exhaled at his words. She wanted so badly to believe him and so far she did, but she still needed to resolve one more issue.
“What about Linda?”
He wrinkled his entire face, and Sydney took note of that expression.
“Linda is my ex from undergrad. We dated about one semester, but trust me, she isn’t interested in me. Not at all.”
“She was all over you tonight.”
“Like you were all over her ex Scott Banks?” he asked matter-of-factly, rubbing his goatee.
“Ex?” she asked, barely above a whisper.
“Yes, she was trying to make him jealous. She told me beforehand when she found out he would be there after Steven invited her. For some reason, my big brother thought I was talking about her a few weeks ago when I told him I’d fallen in love with someone. She’d been in town helping her parents with some things and I referred her mom to Megan for some kitchen renovations. Linda and I have always been cool because we didn’t have that serious of a relationship in college.”
“Oh...”
“Of course, I didn’t expect to see you there with Scott trying to make me jealous. I almost wanted to punch old boy out. Except he’s a cool dude. Apparently, they’d had some type of argument and broke up a month or so ago. However, I think they’ll get back together. Neither of them enjoyed seeing the other with someone else. You know what I mean, Syd?”
“Oh.” Sydney didn’t know what else to say as she listened to Bryce. She knew in her heart he was telling the truth, and now she risked the chance of losing him forever if she didn’t say something.
“Bryce...I...”
“Look, let me make this clear to you, Sydney Michelle Chase.” He pulled her up and held her by the waist, wearing a stern expression. “I never go into this much detail explaining myself to a woman, but I love you and I only want to be with you.”
Tears welled in her eyes, and she shook her head in disbelief. “Wait...” She paused, placing her hand on his chest and staring up at him as a tear fell down her cheek. He wiped it away. “Say that again.”
He bent down to her height and set his hands on either side of her face. “I said I love you.” He kissed her forehead, her cheeks and her lips gently.
“I love you, too, Bryce. Very, very much.”
He picked her up and twirled her around before lifting her totally up and carrying her upstairs to the bedroom.
* * *
A few hours later, they lay naked on top of the sheets, their legs and arms intertwined together after a few lovemaking sessions.
“Our families are going to be so surprised when we tell them we’re together,” she said, resting her chin on his chest and looking up at him. “Well...I told Megan tonight that I was in love with you. Of course, she was ecstatic.”
“I’m sure she was, and I told Steven tonight, as well, after the cocktail party. He told me don’t be stupid and let you get away.”
She laughed and sat up to straddle him. He wrapped his hands around her waist. “I’m not going anywhere, Counselor.” She leaned down and kissed him softly. But then he pulled her down farther and kissed her profoundly, causing the tingles only he could create to rush through her. She so loved the feeling and him even more.
“So I have you for life, Agent Chase?”
“Are you proposing?” she asked with a wide smile.
“Yes. Will you marry me and spend the rest of your life being the little spitfire I fell for five years ago?”
She laughed as joyous tears rolled down her cheeks. “Yes. I can do that.”
He flipped her over and they made love again with Sydney laughing and crying the entire time. She was so happy to finally be with the man she hadn’t even realized she’d loved for a very long time.
* * *
The next morning, Bryce brought her coffee to the bed before they were to head back to Savannah for the farewell brunch and announce their news to everyone. He sat on the edge of the bed while she sipped her coffee, the sunshine beaming through the blinds. For some reason, now that she was with Bryce, she loved the early-morning sun with her coffee, especially if he made it.
He kissed her cheek and pulled her onto his lap. “Tomorrow, we’re going to fly to New York City and I’m taking you to Tiffany and Co. so you can pick out your engagement ring. And if you want, you can stand outside the store and eat pastries and sip coffee like Audrey Hepburn did in your favorite movie.”
“Aww...that’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me. I’d love to.” She kissed him tenderly. “I love you, Bryce.”
“And I love you, Sydney and I look forward to the new journey we’ve embarked on.”
* * * * *
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ISBN-13: 9781460375709
Journey to Seduction
Copyright © 2015 by Carmen S. Jones
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