by R. Linda
“So, it shouldn’t be a problem if I call Bailey and tell her everyone she loves most is lying to her, then?” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and unlocked it, only to notice I had a text from Bennett which I’d get to later.
I looked at Indie with wide eyes and waited for her to make up her mind as Leanne passed me a mug. Either I was calling Bailey, or Indie would tell me what was going on.
“Okay, okay. But you can’t say anything.” She placed her hand on my phone and pushed it down to the counter.
“I can’t promise that.”
Indie huffed. “We’re planning Bailey a baby shower.”
“That’s it? What the hell is all the secrecy about, then? She knows she’s having a shower. She told me the other day.”
“The secrecy is important because Ryder is planning to marry her that day.”
“What?” I choked on the coffee Leanne had given me.
“We all know Ryder doesn’t do things the conventional way. But he wants Bailey to be his wife before the baby is born. So, a baby shower and a surprise wedding. That’s the secret, nothing else.”
“Good, because I didn’t want to be the one to tell Bailey and Linc that you and Ryder were having an affair. But I would have, you know. Just for future reference.”
Indie laughed. “Oh, my god. What happened to you? We send you to school for a few weeks, and you come home with confidence and attitude. I like it.”
I shrugged.
“We all do.” Leanne smiled and wiped yet another tear from her eyes.
“What if Bailey doesn’t want to marry Ryder?” I frowned. Didn’t weddings usually need two willing participants to be successful?
Indie and Leanne gave me a blank look, and I laughed. “You’re right, that was stupid. Of course, she’d marry him. He’s perfect.”
“Who’s perfect?” Brody asked as he walked through the door with Linc. Where had Linc come from?
“Ryder,” we all answered at the same time with a laugh.
Linc and Brody didn’t look too impressed.
“Ace,” Linc said, his voice filled with warning.
Indie held up her hand for me to high five before jumping off the stool and wrapping her arms around Linc. “But not as perfect as you, stupid ass.” And then she kissed him.
I screwed up my nose at the open display of affection but then glanced at Brody and noticed he was watching me.
Biting my lip to hide my smile, I dumped my coffee down the sink and announced as I walked out of the room, “I’m going to call Bennett.”
“This Bennett dude her boyfriend now, or what?” Linc asked, but I didn’t hang around long enough to hear the response. I smiled all the way to my room and counted to fifteen before Brody walked in the door with a scowl.
“Can I help you?” I asked innocently as I sat in the center of my bed, phone in hand.
“Speak to Bennett?” Brody leaned against the wall.
“Yeah, we had a deep and meaningful conversation in those ten seconds I was here alone.” I rolled my eyes.
“I’m being an idiot, aren’t I?”
“You said it.” I shrugged, watching as he tipped his head back and groaned at the ceiling. I had to hide the smile though, because I liked that he was jealous.
My phone buzzed with a text. Glancing down, I saw it was Bennett again.
“Is it him?” Brody pushed off the wall and walked toward me.
“Who?” I looked up as he stood at the end of the bed. He didn’t sit. He didn’t reach out for me. He just stared down at me with a hard jaw and steely gaze.
“Bennett? Is he messaging you?”
“I don’t have any other friends, do I?”
“Friends? That’s it?”
“Best friends.” I nodded.
Brody frowned. His eyebrows pinched together, forming a crease on his forehead, and he swallowed. “Good.”
He turned and left without another word.
Chapter Fourteen
Brody
I met Audrey at the bottom of the stairs. Waiting for her to shower and get ready was a guessing game. She was either really quick or took hours. This morning had been hours. I hovered around the stairs for a while, had a coffee, hovered a bit more, watched the news, then hovered again until she finally came down.
“Hi,” she yawned as she descended the stairs.
“Good morning. Tired?”
“Was talking to Bennett half the night.”
I clenched my jaw and growled a little. Audrey smiled and patted my cheek. “Aww, jealous?”
“Not at all.” I looked over my shoulder to make sure the coast was clear, and then I wrapped my hand around the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. It was risky. Leanne was somewhere downstairs, probably still in the kitchen, and we could get caught at any moment, but I didn’t care. I hadn’t kissed her since that night in the car. As much as I wanted to all weekend, I’d refrained. I was quite impressed by my self-control.
Audrey sighed and melted into me.
“Happy birthday, cupcake.” I stepped back reluctantly, putting some much-needed distance between us.
“Thank you.” She smiled shyly.
“Come on.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her into the kitchen where Leanne was not drinking coffee but cooking pancakes.
“What’s all this?” Audrey asked, staring at the balloons and streamers that hung from the ceiling and the presents on the table. She’d really gone to a lot of trouble to make Audrey’s birthday special, and I wasn’t sure how Audrey would react. Her body tensed, her back straightened, but she didn’t look pissed. She looked…awed.
“Well, since you wouldn’t let us give you a party or a special dinner for your birthday, I thought I’d make you a special birthday breakfast. How do rainbow pancakes sound?”
“Amazing.” Audrey clapped and bounced on the balls of her feet. I breathed a sigh of relief. I knew how desperately she wanted to avoid today, so I was thrilled she didn’t make a big deal about it.
“Perfect. We’re just waiting on one more person to arrive, then we can eat.”
Audrey frowned. “Is Steve coming back for breakfast?”
“No, sweetie. His day is packed with meetings. But he said he’d see you tonight.”
“Then who are we waiting for?” she asked just as the doorbell sounded.
“You’re about to find out.” Leanne winked at me as Audrey took off to answer the door. I had a feeling who it might be but didn’t want to admit it to myself. A pang of jealousy hit me square in the chest. I kind of wanted the morning with Audrey to myself.
Audrey’s voice echoed through the hall as she greeted whoever was at the door with a squeal of surprise.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“Had to see you for your birthday,” a deep male voice answered.
“You’d see me in an hour anyway.”
“Well, now I get the whole day with the birthday girl,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. The guy was so cheesy. I wondered whether it worked for him. Did he sweep girls off their feet with his smooth words? Apparently, he did, because Audrey adored him. I clenched my jaw and pulled open the fridge in search of the orange juice.
“Guys, this is my friend, Bennett,” Audrey said, returning to the kitchen.
“It’s lovely to meet you, Bennett. Glad you could come,” Leanne greeted, a smile in her voice.
“Thanks for inviting me, Mrs. Kellerman. When Ms. Mitchell told me about it and gave me your address, I couldn’t say no.”
“That’s quite all right. Please call me Leanne.”
The guy was good.
“Brody?” Audrey said, and I realised I was still staring into the fridge. “Find what you’re looking for in there, or just trying to cool off?” The amusement in her voice went unnoticed by everyone but me. I caught the double entendre too. She knew I was jealous and found it hilarious.
“Yeah.” I closed the door, but not before grabbing the juice so I didn’
t look like an idiot. I held it up. “Just wanted some juice.”
“There is some on the counter,” Audrey pointed out with a smirk.
Shit.
I opened the juice in my hand anyway and placed it on the counter.
“Hey, man.” Bennett reached out to shake my hand. “Brody, right? Audrey has told me all about you.”
She had?
I glanced at Audrey, noticing the red tinge to her cheek, and smiled. She had.
“Nice to meet you. You’re all I hear about too.”
“All right, guys, enough. Stop picking on me. Not my fault you’re my only two friends.”
Bennett winked at Audrey. “Yeah, well, you wouldn’t want to be friends with the witches at school, anyway. I’m the only one who’s important there.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I got you something.”
“You did?” Audrey’s eyes lit up. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“A bro only turns eighteen once. Of course, I did.” He pulled a bag out from behind his back and handed it to her.
She took it from him, unable to hide the excitement on her face.
I watched them curiously as Audrey unwrapped her gift. And the more I watched them, the more I relaxed. There was nothing between them. No tension, no chemistry, no attraction. They had a purely platonic friendship. She idolised him, that much was obvious, and he doted on her, but it was entirely out of friendship. I had no reason to be jealous and every reason to be happy she had a true friend, someone to depend on.
“These are beautiful, Bennett, thank you. But…” She screwed up her face as she pulled clothes out of the bag.
“No refunds. Don’t give me that look. You can totally wear those, instead of hiding behind your hoodie every day. They cover nearly everything. Trust me, I wanted to get you a bikini but thought comfort was a better option, since we’re heading into winter and all. Maybe I’ll get you a bikini for Christmas,” he teased, and Audrey stuck her tongue out in response. “Go try them on.”
“Maybe after we eat.” Audrey peered at the tags. “They’re all my size. How did you know?”
“I remembered from the first day in the shop when you came in looking like a lost puppy. Plus, I’ve been fantasising about what’s under all this for weeks now.” He flicked her grey hoodie. My hoodie, I suddenly realised, which helped to ease the anger bubbling just below the surface. He shouldn’t be fantasising about anything.
“You’re an idiot.”
“I’m honest.” He nudged her with his elbow just as Leanne came over with a plate of rainbow pancakes.
“Ahh, they’re…” Bennett scratched his head, his hair falling in his face, “colourful.” Did chicks really like blond guys with long hair?
“Shut up and eat.” Audrey pushed his hair out of his face and handed him the elastic around her wrist.
I frowned and crossed my arms.
“Life saver. Always lose these things,” he said and proceeded to raise his arms and tie his hair in a bun. Dude had a freaking man bun that Ryder would be jealous of.
I stood to the side and continued to watch. “You going to join them?” Leanne whispered.
“Feel like I’m intruding,” I admitted. They had their own thing going on, and I felt out of place.
“I know, isn’t it wonderful? I mean that she has such a good friend.”
I nodded.
“Brody, you want some?” Audrey asked, looking at me expectantly.
“Sure.” I took a seat at the table and grabbed a few pancakes, screwing my nose up in disgust at Audrey’s plate.
Hers were covered in whipped cream, rainbow sprinkles, strawberry topping, and chocolate chips. Diabetes on a platter. She moaned when she took a bite and mumbled through a full mouth, “So good.”
“Bro, that’s gross.” Bennett gagged.
“Try it.” She picked some up on her fork and held it out to him.
“Uh-uh. No. Get that away from me.” He pushed her hand away.
“Fine. More for me.” She shrugged and shovelled the forkful into her mouth. “Broby wasun?”
“Sorry, cupcake, can’t understand you with all that food in your mouth.” She held her fork out to me, and I was going to say no, because the amount of sugar in the spoonful was probably more than my daily or even weekly intake, but the hopeful look on her face had me leaning in closer and taking a bite. Her eyes were round as she watched me eat her pancake. I forced a smile and nodded. “Delicious.”
“Liar, but thank you for trying.” She lifted a finger and wiped the corner of my mouth. “You have some cream,” she said and then licked her finger.
I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut, fighting the urge to kiss her again.
“Interesting.” Bennett cleared his throat. Remembering we weren’t alone, I sat back and looked at him. “It all makes sense now.” He folded his arms behind his head and smirked.
“What?” Audrey asked, picking up more pancakes.
“Nothing.” He tilted his head and watched us. Not unlike I was watching them before. Was he that perceptive? Did he know something no one else did?
We finished eating, and I made sure I kept some space between us so as not to alert anyone else, like Leanne, about whatever may or may not have been going on between us.
“Presents,” Leanne cheered while Bennett helped her clear the table.
“Presents?” Audrey beamed.
“Of course. What did you think those were?” Leanne pointed to the gifts on the end of the table.
Audrey couldn’t contain her excitement as she tore into her presents. Her face glowed, and I didn’t think I’d ever seen her smile so much. Leanne and Steve bought her a laptop, a handbag, and a pair of diamond stud earrings. She jumped out of the chair and threw her arms around Leanne. “Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”
Next up was Indie and Linc’s present. A painting of a rainbow cupcake with the lyrics to a song over the top. Audrey read the lyrics and smiled sadly. “It’s for them,” she said softly, her voice thick with emotion. For her parents. I couldn’t imagine how hard today would be for her. The loss of her parents would inevitably affect her more than ever today. Bennett frowned and looked at the painting then at Audrey. I wondered whether he knew her history, about the fire, her parents, everything she’d been through.
From Bailey and Ryder came a charm bracelet, very similar to the one Bailey wore. The single charm on it was a smiley face. The note attached read “for all your milestones.” Audrey held it out to me, and I clasped it around her wrist.
“Looks great,” I said, running my finger across the gold band and giving her a hand a gentle squeeze. She gave me a watery smile and moved on to the next present.
Harper and Nate had given her a giant unicorn teddy that stood about three feet tall. It was white with silver flecks and had pink, purple, and blue hair. “This is perfect.” She hugged it to her chest.
Kenzie and Jeremy went for a practical approach. A pair of studded leather boots with a note that said “to help you kick ass in everything you do.”
“I’m going to wear them to school.” Audrey admired her new shoes, a glimmer in her eye that wasn’t there before.
“They’ll look great with the jacket I bought you.” Bennett slid his gift over to her and pointed down the hall.
“Okay, okay. I’ll get changed.” And then she disappeared into her room
I had a present for her but didn’t want to give it to her until the weekend. It was something special, and I wanted her to be alone when she opened it.
“Where’s yours, man?” Bennett asked, looking at all the opened gifts on the table.
“Ahh…”
“Oh, Brody is taking Audrey camping for her birthday. She’s never been, and I think it’s an excuse to avoid a party or celebration,” Leanne answered for me. I suppressed a groan. It was going to sound so much worse now that Bennett clearly suspected something was going on. When I’d agreed to take Audrey away,
it had been as friends because I wanted to help. It didn’t mean anything, but now that things had shifted, everything was different. And thanks to that chat with Linc, Ryder, and Jeremy everything had meaning now, a reason known or unknown. It had a reason.
“Really? Sounds like fun. A group of you?”
“No, just the two of them. Audrey still feels a little uncomfortable around too many people, and this will be a good break for her. She’s been amazing these last few weeks settling into school, meeting you, and she needs some time to unwind.”
“Sounds like you have it all figured out, don’t you, man?” His lip twitched.
Audrey took that moment to walk back into the kitchen, and I nearly died. I wanted to throw my shirt over her and wrap her in a blanket.
Tight black jeans that hugged her curves in all the right—and wrong—places.
I wanted to run my hands all over them.
The leather studded boots accentuated her legs, making them look longer, never-ending.
I wanted to feel them wrapped around my waist.
The cropped black jacket that drew attention to her flat stomach.
She wasn’t seventeen anymore.
The tight grey shirt.
Shit.
She was legally an adult. It wasn’t wrong anymore.
And I was totally screwed.
“Well?” She twirled on the spot.
“Oh, sweetheart, you look beautiful.” Leanne hugged her and kissed her cheek.
“Damn.” Bennett whistled, echoing my thoughts. She smiled at him and then looked at me for a response.
“Brody?”
“You look great, cupcake,” I said and stood. “I, uh, have to go get ready. Have a good day.” I leaned down and kissed her cheek before darting upstairs. I didn’t have to get ready. I worked last night. I was off all day.
I needed a shower.
A cold shower.
Chapter Fifteen
Audrey
We helped Leanne with cleaning up, and then I told Bennett to wait for me outside while I grabbed my stuff. Instead of going to my room, I snuck upstairs and went in search of Brody. He ran out of the kitchen so fast, almost as though he couldn’t wait to get away from me, and I wanted to know why. Had I done something wrong?