Down To You (The Love On Edge Series) (4 page)

“Why so surprised?”

“Well… uh… you just don’t look the type” explained Holly as her face began to blush.

“Type?” asked Brant with a non-plussed look on his face.

Marv butted in, “I think what she means is, you’re much too pretty to be an engineering nerd.”

Marv could no longer keep a straight face and broke out into laughter.

“You know, I could say the same for your daughter!” said Brant. Holly smiled in approval but Marv simply concurred with Brant, “Her mother and I really broke the mold when we made her.”

Brant laughed. She was beautiful, intelligent, and really easy to talk to. He felt like he had entered the
Twilight Zone
. Girls like this just don’t exist.

Holly broke the comfortable silence, “So you mean to tell me that serving coffee isn’t the only talent you possess?” said Holly with a devilish grin.

Brant’s eyes lingered over to Holly’s father who was staring out of the café window. As Marv was caught in a momentary daydream, Brant answered Holly’s question with just a wink and a smile.

“Well kids,” said Marv as he woke from his daydream, “I promised old Artie Markowitz a game of chess in the park. So I must get going…”

Both Holly and Brant eyed Marv with a look of disbelief and amusement. He had the subtlety of an ox. They stared as he casually walked away from their table whistling and trotting with a pep in his step. Edith, the cashier, waved goodbye, but Marv abruptly cut her off, “Can’t talk right now, hun… I have to go beat your husband in chess again!”

Holly’s eyes went wide at her father’s rude behavior, meanwhile Brant had rested his head in his hands and was laughing hysterically. He was a crazy old man, extremely likable but crazy.

Suddenly, Brant realized his break was nearly over thanks to Trevor’s not so subtle arm waving.

“I hate to do this, but I have to get back to work…” explained Brant to Holly. She smiled at him politely.

“Thanks for the coffee… and sorry about my Dad.”

Brant smiled and said, “Are you serious? He’s cool as hell.”

Suddenly, the pair realized how close their hands were sitting on the table. The air between the two got thinner by the second. Holly smiled just slightly and let out a breath as their eyes met. Brant thought he could fall into her eyes which were blue like a tranquil lagoon. Holly was surprised by the depth and the sadness she saw in Brant’s eyes. That was not something she expected.

Brant grabbed her hand ever so gently. His voice was as soft as velvet as he asked what she knew he would, “When can I see you again?”

Holly allowed a smile to cross her face, causing her eyes to light up as she looked at him. Without a beat, she replied, “Rogue at 8. Don’t be late.”

*****

Brant couldn’t remember ever being so nervous for a first date. Then again, he hadn’t been on a real date since he entered Drexel’s engineering program. It’s not that he didn’t have offers. He had plenty of them. It was more so the fact that he would fall head over heels for a pretty girl, but the second she opened her mouth she revealed a vapid personality or even worse, a subpar intellectual capacity. Holly was nothing of the sort. She was beautiful, brilliant, funny, and bold. He could remember vividly how Holly had asked him out to dinner. No. Not asked. Told. It was almost a demand. That girl had guts, and he liked it. He had a great feeling about tonight and we was determined to get to know Holly better.

*****

“Shit…” said Brant as he checke
d his watch as he reached the corner of 6
th
and Market. Brant was running late for his date, the very thing Holly had warned against. He was nervous… He almost felt as if he was going to a job interview. Brant brushed the sweat that was forming on his brow as his tie blew in the brisk fall wind. Spotting a yellow taxi, Brant whistled and flagged it down with one arm in the air.

The cab driver whipped through the crowded streets at a frenzied speed as Brant held on to the handle over his door. He looked at his watch again, nervously. He might not be late after all. He passed a twenty dollar bill to the driver for the ten dollar cab ride and told him to keep the change.

The crowd had gathered early at Rogue and all the curbside tables were already occupied. He hoped that Holly had a reservation, because Rogue was pretty swanky, and notoriously hard to get into. Slowly, he approached the entrance as he adjusted his tie in his reflection in the window. Suddenly the front door of Rogue swung open and Holly was standing in the doorway looking nothing short of perfect.

Brant was stunned by how amazing she looked. She was wearing a black lace dress that was classy but undeniably sexy. Her golden hair cascaded around her shoulders in wild tendrils, and a subtle bittersweet perfume wafted through the air between them. He didn’t know what to say, he just knew that he had to have her. The thought of her in another man’s arms was just too much for him to bear. Brant’s eyes slowly crept from her golden hair to her angelic face, then lower to the simple locket that hung from her neck. He felt as if he was staring at her for a long time. He sat there, drinking her in like a fine wine reserved for a special occasion. In reality, only a few seconds had passed. Holly gave him a smirk as her red lips curled up in a sly smile. He didn’t look so bad himself. Brant was ruggedly handsome with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. He carried himself with confidence and pride, with his broad shoulders towering high above Holly’s head. Holly was just able to compose herself with a little more grace than Brant could muster. With one quick motion she approached him, twisting her ruby red finger nails around his tie. She tugged hard on his tie, and turned quick on her heel. Holly entered the double doors of Rogue, pulling Brant behind her. Brant Edgemont had finally met his match.

*****

Holly and Brant were married on the first day of spring just a year after meeting. Money was tight, so they opted for a low-budget, intimate affair held at their very favorite camping spot, Wallford Forest. Wallford Forest is located in Northeastern Pennsylvania in the Pocono Mountains. Holly had asked Sloane to be her maid of honor, and she knew she could count on her mother and two of her cousins, Lily and Samantha to be her bridesmaids. Meanwhile, Brant asked his buddy Chris to be his best man. Holly’s Dad Marv, along with Brant’s two friends Luke Casile and Greg Belz were his groomsmen. The men wore grey morning suits, while the maids wore periwinkle tea length dresses. Holly’s gown was an adorable tea length white dress with a beaded bodice and tulle skirt. It looked fit for a ballerina. They were not rich in money, but they were wealthy with love. Nobody would have guessed that they would go their separate ways.

*****

December 2
3, 2013

Philadelphia International Airport

Brant sat the kids down in the few empty seats that were open in Terminal 22A at Philadelphia International Airport as he grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket. He knew who he had to call.

Brant punched the numbers onto his smart phone and let the phone ring. Three rings, four rings, five rings… Finally on the sixth ring, just when Brant was about to give up, he heard someone pick up.

“It’s about goddamn time you called me… Here is what you gotta do…” said Marv spunkily.

Brant laughed. You could always count on the matchmaker.

Chapter Five

Day of Reckoning

Brant and Holly had such a magnetic connection. In
many ways, they still do. No matter how many times Brant tried to move on and get Holly out of his head, regardless of how many dates he went on, he just went home feeling like shit. He felt guilty for going out with another woman, because he still loved Holly, and he knew that deep down, some part of her still loved him. If she would only listen, he knew he could get her to come around. The problem was getting her to listen.

Holly claimed that she hadn’t dated anyone seriously since the divorce. Brant’s friends all have a hard time believing that for the simple fact that Holly is a gorgeous woman. They knew that there were plenty of guys that would kill to go out with her. Brant, however, knew better. Holly was shell shocked from their failed marriage. He knew she wouldn’t wait forever, though. His time was running out. He needed to find the words to make all this right again.

It wasn’t an easy thing to explain. He had failed them all. There is nothing that Brant Edgemont took more pride in than being an excellent provider for his wife and children. It wasn’t about money. It was about providing them with a safe and comfortable place to live, and keeping them guarded from the dangers of the world. Brant could deal with almost anything that the world could throw at him. Life was pretty good in the Edgemont house. Holly was able to cut back her hours at work to spend more time with the kids. Brant was just accorded a promotion at the Bio-tech firm he worked at. The kids were doing well in school, and everyone was happy. Then February 21, 2011 came, and everything came crumbling down around them.

*****

“Hey Brant, could we see you in the conference room for a moment?” said the voice that had just called Brant’s business phone.

Brant, who had just returned from lunch, was surprised that Paula DiDiminico was requesting his presence in Conference Room 37A. Paula is the Executive Assistant to Maxwell Lohmann, the VP of Senticore.

What on earth could they possibly need from me? I was only promoted two days ago.
Brant thought.

Brant tried to compose himself as he took the elevator up to the thirty-seventh floor. He winded around the long corridors, knocked on the door at 37A and walked through the door feeling as if he was on his death march.

“There he is!” said Max boisterously as he stood from the conference table. It was a full house.

He must have been in a board meeting. This crowd certainly cannot be for me.

But then the other professionals in the room all smiled at Brant, shook his hand and patted him on a back for his promotion. Max fixed his tie as he addressed the board room.

“We wanted to get together and welcome you to senior management. So welcome to the upper echelon of Senticore!”

The people at the table clapped politely as Brant went up to Max to shake his hand.

“Now have a seat, because we have a favor to ask,” said Max slyly.

Oh God, here we go.

Brant sat down as instructed and gulped. He hoped he didn’t look too nervous.

“There is a Biotech firm in Hong Kong that is interested in selling us an injectable that they are calling Gochiman. Your job is to go and determine if the product is all its cracked up to be, and if it is worth the risk of investment.”

Brant was blown away.

Hong Kong. Wow. But what about Holly and the kids? After all she was two months pregnant with their fourth child.

“Well, I need to talk it over with the wife…” said Brant honestly.

Brant’s remark earned him a few snarky laughs from some of the men in the room, but Maxwell was gracious about Brant’s request.

“Of course. Let us know by Friday, or we’ll send James,” said Maxwell pointing to one of the men that had laughed at Brant. The smirk was wiped clean from his face.

That night when Brant arrived home from work, Holly was just putting dinner on the table. Randy and Tressa were sitting at the counter doing their homework and Belle was sitting at her highchair trying to sing her A-B-C’s. Holly spotted Brant right away, walked over to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek as she held a hot plate with a pot holder.

“Hey honey, how was your day?” asked Holly happily.