by Paris Hansen
It also felt weird living back in West Seattle. She’d moved away as soon as she and Declan had graduated from high school. They took Erin and moved to Issaquah and barely looked back. Of course, most of their friends lived in West Seattle, so they spent time there every once in a while, but until their parents moved to Florida, they did their best to avoid them and anywhere they might go.
“It’s weird living on my own.”
“I bet. You’ve always lived with Declan, right?”
“Since the day we were born. Although, thankfully we stopped sharing a room once we were five.”
“Lucky,” Kerrigan said, the word drawn out dramatically. “I had to share a room with my older sister Trisha until I was eleven and she left for college.”
“Thankfully, it was only ever just the two of us. My father got more than he bargained for the first time around, so he ended up getting fixed, so there were no other surprises.”
“Your father sounds like a real peach.”
Andi rolled her eyes. “He’s something alright.”
“Enough about that depressing topic. Are you sure you won’t let me set you up with the same plan I had Savannah on?”
Andi laughed. “You know I’m not ready for that kind of commitment. Speed dating gives me enough anxiety. Jumping right into the deep end would probably kill me. Hell, I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready for your regular experience.”
“I have a feeling you’d surprise yourself, but I won’t push about this or that other thing I promised not to bring up. You’ll come around eventually.”
“I wouldn’t hold your breath if I were you.”
It was Kerrigan’s turn to laugh this time and Andi couldn’t blame her. Things were changing fast, and there was no way Andi could deny the fact that the changes were going to keep coming. Without acknowledging that her friend was right, she took a sip of her wine and thought about topics she could switch their conversation to. She knew it would only take one to make Kerrigan forget all about Andi’s dating life.
“So, how’s that gorgeous husband of yours?” Andi asked then watched as Kerrigan’s gaze softened, a blush rushing to her cheeks as she thought about the man in question.
Mission accomplished, Andi thought as Kerrigan started talking about Ben. Someday she’d be able to lose herself in a conversation about the man she loved. The journey might not be easy, but Andi knew it would be worth it when she got to be the one with the dreamy look on her face and the swoonworthy stories to share with her friends.
She remembered what it was like to be in love; to want to shout about it from the rooftops. Back then she couldn’t share her feelings with anyone. Now she had girlfriends she could talk to. She had women in her life who would understand how she felt instead of a bunch of guys who didn’t know what love was. Guys who would’ve been pissed if they ever found out who she was in love with.
It might be slow going, but Andi could feel things falling into place. A new outlook on life...check. New home...check. New man...hopefully, maybe coming soon. Only time would tell, but for now, Andi felt pretty good about her odds.
Chapter 2
Braeden - 5 Years Old
He hated school so much. It was the worst of the worst. He hated it even more than he hated eating his vegetables and he really, really hated vegetables.
Almost everything about school sucked. The kids were mean and picked on him every day. His teacher never listened to him and never wanted to give him any help. The only good thing about school was that he got to color and he didn’t really mind that they made him take a nap. He’d only started school two days ago, but it already felt like forever. He didn’t understand why he couldn’t stay home like he used to.
School was stupid, and the kids were stupid, and it all made him feel stupid. But no one would listen. Even his dad ignored his complaints and instead told him he’d eventually like school before he went back to watching TV.
“Hey look. It’s B...B...B...Baby B...B...B...Braeden.”
Braeden’s shoulders slumped as the voice of the school bully reached his ears. He turned his tiny body around to face the group of boys that had ruined school for him. He knew he should have kept walking, but he learned on the first day it only made things worse.
“L...L...leave me alone,” he said, the stutter he’d yet to master making the kids around him laugh.
“I don’t think so.”
Braeden looked at the bully and his friends, then looked around at the other kids that were standing around watching. It was the exact same scene as the last two days.
He really hated school.
It sucked that he was too little to do anything. The other kids were bigger. The meanest ones were in third grade, three whole grades ahead of him. One day he’d grow taller. One day he’d make them wish they’d never picked on him when he couldn’t defend himself. Until then he’d just have to deal.
“Let’s see what your mommy packed for you,” Curtis said as he reached for Braeden’s bag.
Braeden fought not to show how much Curtis’s use of the word mommy hurt. She was the reason he was in school instead of at home. His heart ached just thinking about her, but he brushed it off and tried to focus on not getting beat up. He wasn’t going to just hand over the lunch his father packed for him, so he tightened his grip on the bag. He might not have much of a choice when it came to getting bullied, but he didn’t want to give up his lunch so easily.
“Hey Curtis, leave him alone.”
A murmur of voices filled the playground as heads turned to see who was crazy enough to interrupt Curtis when he was in the middle of bullying someone. Braeden turned so he could see who the owner of the slightly high-pitched voice was. His jaw fell open when he discovered the owner of the voice was a girl. She had dark hair and was just as short as he was and a heck of a lot skinnier.
“Andi...don’t do it,” someone called out from behind her, but she didn’t stop walking toward Curtis and his friends.
When the little girl stepped in between him and Curtis, Braeden couldn’t believe what he was seeing. She was tiny and Curtis was huge. There was no way the older boy was going to listen to her. She was just going to end up getting picked on too.
“Oh look...Baby Braeden needs a girl to fight his battles for him.”
“Leave him alone. Leave all of us alone. Stop picking on the kids smaller than you. I mean it.”
“And who’s gonna stop me?”
“Me.”
Braeden had no idea where this girl got her guts from, but he needed to find out. He watched in awe as she stood up to the meanest kid in school. Curtis didn’t back down, but neither did she. Despite the urging of the two boys that had followed her when she came to Braeden’s rescue, she kept right on standing up to Curtis. And when Curtis put his hands against her shoulders and pushed her into Braeden, she did the last thing Braeden ever expected anyone to do, especially a girl.
“Holy crap. She punched Curtis in the nose.”
The sound of her tiny fist making contact with Curtis’s nose echoed through the playground. Followed by his outcry of pain. As he stared down at her stunned by her actions, he held his hands around his nose, tears streaming from his eyes. Curtis looked around at the crowd and then back down at the girl before he turned and ran away.
The kids around her cheered as she was joined by her two friends. Braeden watched them wondering if maybe they would be mad at him because she stood up for him. One of the boys had the same dark hair as her and when she turned to face Braeden, he realized she and the boy looked a lot alike. Braeden assumed the kid was her brother and was instantly jealous. He’d always wanted a brother. The other boy had brown hair and was just as tall as he was. None of them looked mad; in fact, they looked like they were happy to meet him.
“Hi, I’m Andi. That’s Oliver and that’s my brother Declan,” she said as she pointed to her two friends.
“Andi...that’s a boy’s name,” Braeden stupidly pointed out instead of saying than
k you or introducing himself. The boys snickered behind her while she scowled at him.
“Do you want some of what I just gave Curtis?” she asked her fists clenched at her sides.
“I’m sorry. I…I...I don’t...I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry. I’m just kidding. Andi is a boy’s name, but it’s a lot better than Andrea,” she said with a giggle that seemed so different from the girl he just watched punch a bully in the nose.
“I’m Braeden,” he said finally.
He was rewarded by the brightest smile he’d ever seen; her green eyes sparkled with happiness. For the first time in days, he forgot about his mom, how much he hated school and the kids there. For the first time since his dad forced him out of the house, Braeden was happy and it was all because of the girl smiling at him.
“Oh Braeden, I have a feeling we’re going to be such great friends.”
✽✽✽
Braeden - Present Day
“Remind me how I ended up getting roped into helping you with all of the party preparations again. I would think one of the girls would be a hell of a lot better at tying a ribbon around bubbles than I am.”
Although he loved spending time with one of his best friend’s, Braeden could think of a thousand things he would’ve rather been doing with her than dealing with ribbons and bows. When she’d first asked him to come over, Meghan hadn’t said a thing about helping her out with favors for her party. He couldn’t remember her exact words, but he knew they included hanging out and having pizza and beer. So far, he’d only gotten the hanging out part of her promise. The pizza and beer apparently couldn’t join the party until after they finished the tasks on her to-do list.
Meghan laughed as she shook her head. “Come on now, don’t get down on yourself. You’re doing a great job.”
“My fingers are too big for this crap. Isn’t there some other menial task you can have me do?” Braeden asked before jutting his bottom lip out and giving her his best puppy dog eyes.
Of course, the look didn’t work on her. It never did. Meghan was immune to his charms, and she had no problem making him work for everything.
“Braeden, you’re my only hope. Savannah’s home with a sick baby, Brooklyn’s incubating two tiny humans, Andi’s out at speed dating with Kerrigan, and Sylvia had to work. We’ve only got a week until the party, and there’s still so much to do. Have you finished writing your parts for the ceremony yet? I’d like to see that before Saturday.”
Braeden tried to ignore the bomb Meghan dropped like it was absolutely nothing, but he couldn’t. Just the mere mention of Andi’s name had him perking up. Hearing the words that came after her name had his stomach sinking into his feet.
“Can we back up real quick? Andi went where with Kerrigan?” he asked gruffly.
Meghan’s smile dropped as she realized she’d said something she wasn’t supposed to. “Oh fuck.”
“Yeah, oh fuck. Give it up, Crosby, or Brooks, whatever the hell your name is now. Where the hell did Andi go?”
Sighing, Meghan put another expertly ribboned bottle of bubbles in her box. He could tell she was hesitating, trying to figure out what she should tell him. All he wanted was the truth, and she was damn well going to give it to him now that she let the cat out of the bag.
“Look, it’s not like anyone specifically said ‘don’t tell Braeden’. We just didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“What the hell are you talking about? What’s this we bullshit? Are you telling me that you and Oliver knew, and you both decided you didn’t want to tell me that Andi was finally dating again?”
Meghan chewed on her bottom lip as her gaze met his. “Yep. That sounds about right.”
Braeden’s blood boiled in his veins. His friends, hell his family, made a decision for him that could have cost him his shot and they didn’t think anything of it. He’d been planning on talking to her, but he needed to speak to her brother first. He kept thinking of going over to Declan’s place then thought better of it or made up an excuse not to go. Now here he was learning that his window might have closed and it pissed him off.
“The odds of her meeting someone she wants to see again are pretty slim, Braeden. I mean the first time around was a total shit show. Let’s hope that’s how things go this time too.”
Running a hand through his hair, he gripped the back of his neck, massaging his suddenly tense muscles. His worst nightmare was on the verge of coming true and no one seemed to care.
“What if she meets someone, Meg? You guys should have told me.”
“Okay, we should have told you, but you shouldn’t have needed this to motivate your ass. It’s been months since we first talked about you getting Andi back. What the fuck is taking you so long?”
Fighting against the urge to yell at his friend, Braeden grabbed the frilly throw pillow that sat next to him on the couch and held it in front of his face. He screamed into it, letting out every ounce of anger he had. At least all the anger he had toward his friends for not telling him about Andi’s latest foray into dating. His anger for himself still burned bright in his chest. He’d probably never be rid of it, especially not if Andi met someone.
Meghan was right. It wasn’t their fault he hadn’t gone through with his plans. He was a coward, plain and simple. He had no one to blame but himself.
“Fuck Meghan, what do I do? I can’t lose my shot with her. I’ve waited too damn long for us to get here. For her not to come straight to me hurts, but it’s also my fault for not letting her know my intentions.”
“You need to go talk to Declan. Then you need to make things right with Andi. You guys are meant to be together. Everyone can see it, even Declan, in case you’re worried about how that’s going to go. Stop being a pussy and get it done.”
Running a hand over his face, Braeden laughed at the way his friend laid it out for him. He loved that she wasn’t worried about sparing his feelings.
“Damn girl. Have you ever thought about being a motivational speaker cause I think you could really do wonders for people.”
“It’s called years of experience at being a coward. It does you no good to sit back and watch the life you want pass you by. Fear can kick your ass, or you can let it give you a kick in the ass. I hope you choose the latter because I want you to be happy. You deserve to be happy.”
Before he knew it, Meghan was sitting next to him on the couch, wrapping her arms around his waist so she could give him an awkward side hug. He should’ve expected the gesture given how touchy-feely Meghan tended to be. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her in tight. Meghan was like the sister he never had and never knew he wanted. Since she’d come into his life, she’d nearly changed it as much as she’d changed the life of his best friend. Even though she flipped him a lot of shit, he wouldn’t trade their relationship for anything, except maybe a chance with Andi.
“Now stop crying and get to tying buddy. There’s a whole ‘nother box of bubbles to tie and then we’ve got to focus on centerpieces.”
“Son of a bitch,” Braeden muttered. “You’re lucky I love you and Oliver, little girl.”
They both laughed knowing he was all talk. Spending time with Meghan was the highlight of his week even if his thumbs kept getting in the way of the knots he was trying to make. For now, he’d forget about what Andi was up to while he helped out their friend. He’d make it through the next week dealing with preparations for the vow renewal, but the minute it was all over, he was going to talk to Declan.
It was about time everyone was very clear on how he felt about Andi, especially the woman in question. He’d been a coward long enough. It was finally time to get his girl.
✽✽✽
Andi
“That’s when I went from a junior analyst to a senior analyst. The promotion didn’t happen as soon as I thought it should have, but…”
Looking around for Kerrigan, Andi wondered if she could get her friend to end the current session sooner than she was supposed to. She
felt like she was fifteen minutes into her five-minute date with Brad. When he’d first sat down, Andi thought he had some potential. He wasn’t bad looking, and he was dressed nicely, which wasn’t something she could say for some of the other men. When he said he worked in accounting, she thought they might have a love of numbers in common. It turned out he didn’t really like accounting, he just sort of fell into it.
She had no idea how much longer she was going to have to listen to her current date, but it once again seemed to be par for the course. It turned out even when speed dating was open for Kerrigan’s hand-picked clients, the potential options for Andi were still slim. Of the eleven men she’d spent time with, including Brad, not a single one of them caught her interest.
Most were decent looking enough, but they either had no personality or too much personality. Some, like Brad, talked non-stop, others barely said a word, which made getting them to answer a single question feel like pulling teeth. One guy, whose name she couldn’t remember, talked loudly and with his hands. While Brad continued to babble, she could hear everything the other man had to say to his current date five tables away.
A dull ache started to form behind her eyes. Andi had one guy left to meet and then she could run for the hills. A hot bath and a glass of wine were calling her name. Or maybe two glasses of wine. Whatever it took to erase the memory of the evening from her brain. No matter how much sweet talking Kerrigan did, Andi knew this was her last attempt at speed dating. Hell, this was probably going to be her last attempt at dating period. It was too much work for little to no reward. She’d been on her own for years, as she sat there listening to Brad drone on Andi couldn’t think of a reason why she shouldn’t keep that streak alive.
The buzzer announcing their time was up sounded throughout the banquet room of Arrow. Andi felt a weight lift from her shoulders knowing she was nearly free. She just had to make it through five more minutes. That seemed like nothing after everything she’d dealt with over the last hour. Of course, it was easy to say at the moment, but if the last guy was anything like Brad, Andi might lose her mind.