She bit her bottom lip. “Clay—”
“It’ll be fine,” Clay assured her.
“Are you sure?”
“I am. Now let me work my magic.”
She nodded then went up onto her tiptoes to give him a kiss. When she stepped back she looked at Bradford and said, “Clay only gets involved when he cares.”
Bradford waited until she walked beyond hearing distance before he said, “No, Clay.”
“You don’t even know what I’m about to say.”
“I don’t have to. Whatever it is, I’m not interested.”
“But you are. You can lie to everyone else, possibly even yourself, but a fairy godfather knows all.”
“I can’t kill you, but I want to.”
Clay threw back his head and laughed. “I get that a lot.”
Bradford rubbed a hand over his temple. “There are a hundred other people in this room. Some of them may even want to speak to you. You should seek them out.”
“So, you’re just going to sit back and watch Joanna hook up with Dylan?”
Bradford’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t respond. His hands clenched at his sides.
Clay continued, “I got the impression you were interested in her, but I’ve been wrong before. Wait, no, I haven’t. My track record is solid. You’re totally into her. What’s the problem?”
“This conversation is over.”
“Do you have someone already? Someone you haven’t told us about? A marriage you meant to dissolve but haven’t?”
I’m not fucking doing this. Bradford could have walked away then, but that would have handed a win to Clay. Instead he folded his arms across his chest and stared forward, dismissing him.
It should have worked. Clay was relentless though. “If it’s not that, what is it? She’s sweet, smart, liked by everyone. Sure, her taste in men seems a little shallow, but the Suttons are beefy eye candy. You can’t fault her for not noticing you when they’re around. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you—”
“Get the fuck away from me.”
“You have to admit you’re a little rough around the edges. Women are understanding though. Let her see your softer side. You do have one, don’t you?”
Bradford growled deep in his throat.
Clay nodded. “We can work on that later. For now, follow my lead. I already have a few ideas.”
With his self-control stretched to near the breaking point, Bradford took a deep breath and reminded himself that he had survived much worse. There was the time in South America when he’d been arrested by police who were on a drug cartel’s payroll. He’d maintained his silence even through their brutal methods to get him to say who he was working with. He’d been a bloody mess by the time Ian had rescued him, but he’d given up nothing beyond his first name. Clay is an annoyance, a fly buzzing around my head.
Difficult to ignore, but of no importance.
“Bradford!” an older woman exclaimed as she approached. Sophie Barrington was dressed tastefully as always, understated but classic. She wore wealth well. When she stopped in front of him she took both of his hands in hers, a move that always made him feel cornered. Still, he didn’t pull away from her. He had yet to see her say a bad word about anyone. Violence was a necessary response against evil, but it had no place next to such a gentle soul. “Thank you for coming.”
He ducked his head in acknowledgement of her appreciation.
She released his hands and turned to Clay. “Are you starting trouble with Bradford?”
Clay bent to kiss Sophie on the cheek. “Me? At one of your events? Never.”
She smiled but wagged a finger at him. “Clay Landon look me in the eye and tell me you’re not up to something.”
After shrugging one shoulder, Clay said, “I’m always up to something—but so are you and I love you more for it.”
Sophie arched an eyebrow then returned her attention to Bradford. “Have you seen Joanna tonight? Doesn’t she look darling in that gown?”
“I hadn’t noticed,” Bradford said.
Clay scoffed. “Sure, we’ll go with that.”
“She’s single,” Sophie added with a smile.
Let me clarify this for those who are confused. “I’m not in the market for a relationship.”
Sophie sighed. “I heard she’s sweet on Dylan, but I don’t see them as a good match. She’s too nice for him. She needs someone who would treasure her, protect her. Someone who wouldn’t see her soft heart as a weakness.”
With his chest puffing with pride, Clay said, “Great minds think alike, Sophie. I was just offering to help Bradford win her heart.”
Bradford swore beneath his breath.
Sophie made a tsk sound. “Well, that explains Bradford’s pained expression. Clay, this is a situation that requires more subtlety than that. Let me handle this.”
“There is no situation,” Bradford said.
“Sophie,” Clay said with a smooth smile, “are you doubting my abilities? My success rate is one hundred percent.”
“Excuse me. I have to—” Bradford didn’t finish the sentence because what he had to do was extricate himself from the conversation. He turned on his heel and took a step away.
“Bradford,” Sophie said quickly.
He paused and looked over his shoulder. “Yes?”
“Stay and enjoy the event. Please. It means a lot to me that you’re here.”
He was tempted to tell her he didn’t care how she felt about anything, but Sophie had never been anything but warm and welcoming to him. He nodded once, then turned again and strode away.
Behind him, Clay called out, “See you at the table, Bradford.”
Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen. Out of respect for Sophie, Bradford would stay, but that didn’t mean he needed to obediently take his seat and endure more of Clay Landon’s ramblings.
Idiot.
He scanned the room for Joanna. She was in the process of taking her seat at their table. Aly was on her left. Daphne left of her. Clay and Lexi were next to them as well as Connor and Angelina. There were two open seats at the table—one for Bradford and one for Dylan.
Which seat had Sophie assigned directly next to Joanna? Bradford hadn’t checked and he told himself it didn’t matter since he had no intention of joining them anyway.
It wasn’t difficult to spot Dylan. Even as he walked across the room, several women flanked him. When he reached the table, he bent to say something to Joanna then introduced her to the hovering crowd. A moment later the women dispersed and Dylan took the seat beside Joanna.
She seemed distracted as he spoke to her, looking around the room rather than at him. Bradford stayed in the shadows. He wasn’t what she was seeking, and even if he was, he certainly wasn’t what she needed.
He flexed his hands at his side. It wasn’t easy to watch Dylan lean closer to speak to Joanna, but he refused to validate that feeling. Life was full of difficult decisions and each one a person made came with consequences. There was a time, a long, long time ago, when he might have yearned for the “normal” life Joanna represented. The man he’d become had no such dreams.
There’s too much blood on my hands.
Too many reasons Joanna would be a lot better off with a man like Dylan.
Even though Bradford gave the Suttons shit, they were actually some of the nicest people he’d ever come across. Sean Sutton, a construction company owner from Upstate New York had raised his three children on his own after his wife died. His daughter, Viviana, was the tough little cookie who’d married Grant Barrington. Connor and Dylan were comically simple, but loyal to their core. They were the first to laugh at themselves when they stumbled and easy to like. Clay and Sophie were wrong . . . Joanna didn’t need protecting, she needed someone who was as nice as she was. Grudgingly, Bradford conceded to himself that Dylan wouldn’t be a bad match for her.
Joanna’s gaze locked with Bradford’s. She waved for him to join them. He didn’t budge.
She frowned.
Trust me, sweetheart, I’m doing you a favor.
“Thanks for helping me out, Joanna. I didn’t think I’d be able to shake them. One of them slipped me a hotel key with her name and number on it. I like sex but I can only have so much on one trip.” Dylan sighed. “I’m exhausted.”
Without looking away from Bradford, Joanna said, “Glad I could help.” Why was he standing with the event’s security detail rather than sitting at the table? Was it something I said?
Or something I did?
At almost every Barrington gathering she’d seen him at, Bradford stood apart, looking as if he didn’t feel he belonged there. Her heart went out to him. It wasn’t that no one attempted to draw him in. Sophie and Dale always made a point of personally welcoming Bradford. He was the best friend of their son Ian. He belonged—even if he didn’t believe it.
Dylan continued, “There are times when I welcome the attention, but then at events like this it would be easier to come with someone so I could relax and enjoy myself.”
“Sure. Anytime,” Joanna said absently.
“I may take you up on that.”
A thought occurred to Joanna. “Dylan, go see if you can get Bradford to join us.”
Dylan turned in his seat to look in the direction she was. “Bradford does what Bradford wants. It’s best not to push him.”
Connor chimed in from across the table. “Dylan’s afraid of him.”
“I am not,” Dylan said. “There’s a difference between fearing someone and having a healthy respect for them. I like him, but no one wants to be on his bad side.”
Aly asked, “Why? What happens if you are?”
Connor and Dylan exchanged a look then a laugh. With a wink, Connor said, “Let’s just say we could tell you but then we’d have to kill you.”
Aly’s eyes widened.
Angelina playfully smacked Connor’s arm. “Stop. Bradford is wonderful. He even checks in on Mrs. Tellier because she lives alone and has been having health issues. That’s sweet.”
Dylan chuckled. “Sweet? Bradford? Sure.”
Bradford still checked in on Mrs. Tellier. It had been Bradford who had made sure Mrs. Tellier was okay after Angelina had been fired for coming to her defense against the horrible headmaster of the school where they’d both worked. It had also been Bradford who had encouraged Connor to hire Mrs. Tellier. To hear that he was still checking on her warmed Joanna’s heart. Aly was so wrong about him. “Connor,” Joanna said, “do you think you could encourage him to join us?”
With an easy smile, Connor rose to his feet. “Absolutely. I’ll be right back, Angelina.” He gave her a quick parting kiss before turning to his brother. “You coming, Dylan?”
“Nah, you’ve got this.” Once Connor was out of earshot, Dylan added, “Bradford really likes Connor. Me? Not so much.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” Joanna said.
“It’s true,” Clay interjected.
Lexi laughed. “Clay, that’s not nice to say.”
“The truth often isn’t.” Clay shrugged. “Joanna, what do you think of Bradford?”
Before answering, Joanna exchanged a look with Aly. “I think he’s worth taking the time to get to know.”
Aly’s eyebrows rose and fell, but she nodded in concession. “Tonight’s an opportunity for that to happen, so let’s hope Connor is successful.”
Dylan laid an arm across the back of Joanna’s chair. “That’s probably what it is—Connor has just had more time with him. I’m going to make more of an effort.”
Clay laughed. “You can try, but if you’re looking to be his friend you’re going about it entirely the wrong way.”
Dylan looked over his shoulder in the direction of his departing brother. “You’re right, I should have gone with him. Connor has always been better than I am at liking people until they cave and like him back. I’ve always admired that about him.”
Joanna’s attention shifted back to Dylan and she realized he was sitting much closer than he had been. She took a moment to appreciate the perfection of his features and how the broad expanse of his chest filled her field of vision. She expected her heart to race, but it didn’t. Disappointing. He truly was beautiful and worthy of a fantasy or two, but the zing she’d hoped to feel hadn’t come.
That didn’t mean she couldn’t sympathize with him. Connor had shared his struggle to fit in with the Barrington family and how he still craved the simple life he’d had before his sister had married into money. Dylan likely felt the same. His jokes might well be based in truth. One of the women from earlier walked by the table and attempted to gain his attention. He shifted even closer to Joanna. If he kept it up, he’d soon be in her lap. “Everyone thinks they want to be a celebrity, but it’s not easy, is it?”
Dylan let out an audible breath. “I’m not complaining.” He nodded toward Clay. “I’m grateful for everything. Clay pretty much handed me a movie career.”
Clay leaned forward. “I made an introduction. You did the rest. You have a lot to be proud of.”
Dylan nodded. “Thanks. I just don’t want to fuck it up.”
Joanna put a hand on his forearm. “You won’t. I’ve seen Danger Doubled. You’re a natural.”
His smile was as likeable as Connor’s. Honest. Simple. “Things were a lot easier when no one knew my name. I used to be jealous that Connor got laid more often than I did. Everything came so easy to him. I don’t even think half those women want to fuck me—they just want to say they did.”
Aly sputtered, “Disgusting.”
Dylan looked around Joanna. “Hey, no one was talking to you, peanut gallery.”
“Thank God,” Aly answered, “because I have zero tolerance for bullshit.”
“Bullshit? Why don’t you go read the book you probably have on your phone.”
“What are you mocking? That I read?” Aly sat forward, going nose to nose with Dylan right in front of Joanna.
“If the shoe fits.”
“That doesn’t even make sense. And you can’t mock something that’s good.”
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t memorize the rules of what could and couldn’t be mocked.”
“I should let you two—” Joanna would have moved out from between the two, but they’d blocked her in.
“Are you really that dumb?” Aly asked.
Joanna cringed.
“Are you really that judgmental?”
Aly gasped. “I’m not judgmental.”
Dylan moved his head back and forth in front of hers. “Didn’t like that, did you? I just judged you for judging me. See how I turned that right around?”
“Whatever,” Aly sat back. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No,” Dylan said, still talking around Joanna. “Say whatever you want, but know that this is why I asked Joanna and not you to be my fake date tonight.”
“What?” Joanna sat up straighter. “When did you ask me that?”
“When I came over and introduced you to those women.”
“You asked me if this was where we were sitting.”
“Exactly, we. The rest was implied. And you agreed.”
“I—I—”
“Too late now,” Dylan said. “They all think we’re a couple. Unless you want to break up with me in public.”
Joanna opened her mouth, then closed it when she wasn’t sure how to respond to that.
Angelina piped in, “Fake dating. That’s kind of cute. Who knows, maybe we could fake double date one day.” She winked at Joanna.
Joanna looked at Dylan. There was nothing not to like about him. Half the women in the room would have given a kidney to be sitting where Joanna was. She’d spent a good deal of time fantasizing about what it would be like to be with him—in any capacity. So, what’s wrong with me? Why am I not jumping at this opportunity?
He gave her the charming smile she’d seen him use on the big screen. No flutter. Nothing. Still, there wasn’t a reason she couldn’t help hi
m. “You seriously don’t want to hook up with any of those women?” she asked.
Dylan relaxed. “I seriously don’t. I want to enjoy hanging out with everyone tonight. With them I have to be Dylan Sutton, the movie star. I have to watch everything I say. I just want to be me for a couple of hours.”
“Okay.” Joanna nodded. “Just this once and don’t announce anything we’ll have to deny later. I’m fine with us looking like we’re together, but if Sophie or anyone asks we’re not.”
“Good enough for me. Thanks Joanna.”
“Well, this should be interesting,” Clay said.
“What?” Joanna asked.
“Connor is walking over with Bradford.”
Chapter Four
I should have said no.
There is no sane reason why I belong at that table.
So why the hell didn’t I just lie and say I was working the event?
Bradford wasn’t a kind man, not even to himself. It was time to wake the fuck up from whatever spell Joanna had cast over him. If sitting there while she hung all over Dylan was what it took, then so be it. He came to a stop right behind Dylan.
Arm still around the back of Joanna’s chair, Dylan smiled up at him. “You snooze, you lose, Bradford. I stole your seat.”
Don’t react. Over the years Bradford had become very good at keeping his feelings about anything to himself. “It’s all yours.”
Joanna searched his face then said, “I’m glad you decided to join us.”
Bradford sat in the seat that still had a place card for Dylan. He picked the card up, gathered every last feeling he had about the situation, stuffed it deep in his gut and closed the door to it all while crumpling the card in his fist.
“Me too,” Dylan said. “I’m around for a couple of weeks before I have to return to finish shooting. We should hang out.”
The silence he offered Dylan was better than the first few responses that had come to Bradford. He had to remind himself that he didn’t hate Dylan.
Connor said, “I have some time before my next movie starts, we should definitely plan something together.”
Reluctantly Rescued (The Barrington Billionaires, Book 9) Page 4