Her Anchor (135 page)

Still thrusting, Mark kissed her mouth, softly. He clamped his hands onto her hips and with the utmost precision, drove into to her again and again until his body jerked and he let out a stifled groan. She watched the twisted look of ecstasy cover his face as he shuddered a final time. She smiled and pulled his head against her, satiated.

Mark sagged against her and she welcomed his weight on her. From where his head rested, he pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

“You smell so good. I won’t be able to keep my hands off you today.”

“And now I’ll smell like you too. How am I supposed to get any work done?” Brandy could feel him smile against her shoulder.

“Maybe we both need a little motivation to keep us focused today.”

Mark straightened and brushed back the errant hair from her face. Brandy smiled up and him and straightened the front of his shirt, tucking it back into his pants.

“What kind of motivation did you have in mind?” She asked, adjusting his tie and he zipped his pants.

“I happen to know that a certain lunch meeting I have scheduled for today will be cancelled. If we’re good all morning I think I can swing it that we both have alternate plans for lunch.”

“I think that is just the incentive I need.” She said. Mark bent down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, sweet again.

He moved to the door and opened it. Without turning back he called to her in his best stern voice. “I expect to see you upstairs in twenty minutes Miss Merrill.”

“Yes, Mr. Hudson.” She said, smiling, to his retreating figure.

******

She sighed and tried to ignore the thrum of her body as she relived the passion they had shared. She should feel only remorse for what they had done. All those years ago she thought she loved him. She was foolish to think that what they had was special, and as it turned out that was one of the last times she and Mark were together. It was only days later when his wife had stormed into his office and started throwing out accusations about him cheating on her. She knew he was, Brandy could see it in her face.

The guilt that shrouded her was paralyzing. At the time it seemed like all they were doing was having a little fun. She got off knowing that she could bring a man like Mark Hudson to his knees and she never gave much thought to the damage they were doing to his wife. Not until that moment, anyhow.

After that the press caught wind of a scandal. Mark’s people did their best to hush it up and keep it under the lid politically speaking, but it wasn’t enough to keep it out of everyone’s personal lives. Brandy hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone, but it was her own ignorance that did just that. It made her sick to think she undermined a woman’s marriage. When she was with Mark she imagined herself as a sophisticated woman sleeping with an experienced man, but after it all panned out she saw herself for the naïve girl she was. She was playing a game out of her league and she no longer wanted any part of it.

She only had a few weeks left of her internship before she was to move for university. Brandy knew she wouldn’t be welcome back at Mark’s office even if she felt up to facing everyone there again. She wasn’t. Her family was furious with her, disappointed, disgusted. So she packed her things and moved out early. It was only after she left that she found out she was carrying a reminder of her transgression.

Learning she was pregnant with Mark’s child was an unwelcome surprise. Looking back she wished that hadn’t been the case, but it was. The guilt of what she had done still clung to her, but now with a baby on the way it seemed like she would never get out from under the offence. Moving wasn’t going to solve the problem this time. She would forever be marked as a tramp, a homewrecker.

Over time fences had been mended with her family and they became her greatest source of strength. She had made a mistake but they were still her family. They had rallied around her and coached her through the pregnancy, and they showed her that a baby is a blessing not a punishment. And they were right.

Even though her family had put the past behind them Brandy had still never felt comfortable enough to spend much time back home. She had come back the odd time in the beginning, but not for years now. Until this weekend, that is. She groaned at having to endure four days of bad memories.

Brandy sat up on the bed and rubbed at her eyes. She stood and tied her long hair back into a ponytail. From her purse Brandy heard the chirp of her phone. She pulled it out and answered the call from her sister.

“Hey Brandy, we’ve just been talking and Dad’s decided to take us all out for supper tonight. I’ll text you the address and you can meet us after we’re finished here, okay?”

“Sure. That sounds great.” She said, hoping her disappointment didn’t come through over the phone.

She hadn’t been home in years and the last thing she felt like doing was spending it in a restaurant with a bunch of strangers. But this weekend was about her sister, not her, and she only had a couple hours to get her emotions under control.

******

A few hours later Brandy stood under the flashing neon sign of the restaurant Natalie instructed her to go to and laughed. Wild Bill’s Steakhouse was exactly the kind of place her sister would pick. Brandy glanced down at her fitted navy blue dress and nude heels and shook her head. She should have known better.

Inside the restaurant Brandy easily spotted her party. They were loud, boisterous and taking up a dozen tables pushed together in the centre of the dining room. Brandy waved off the hostess and made her way towards the table. From across the room Natalie spotted her and stood.

“Brandy!” She called to her, garnering the attention of the table and all the other patrons in the restaurant.

Brandy’s step faltered slightly and she returned her sister’s spirited welcome with a small smile. She rushed to an empty chair at the table beside Luca and sat down before she drew any further attention. Her mom was sitting in the chair to her other side and she wrapped her arm around Brandy and pulled her in for a squeeze.

“I’m so happy you’re here, Brandy.” She whispered, and Brandy was grateful for the quiet welcome. Her mother was the calm and steady anchor for their mostly rowdy family.

Brandy ordered a drink and sat back and tried to relax. It wasn’t long before she found herself wrapped up in the merriment of the occasion. Her little sister was beaming and it was contagious. Even Luca was laughing along with the group, soaking up a rare glimpse of his extended family.

After their meal was finished most lingered, enjoying themselves, Brandy included. After a while her mom and dad offered to take Luca home with them while Brandy stayed, relaxing into the first night out she’d had in a while.

Finally, the waitress came to announce that her shift was ending and that we would need to settle our tab before placing any more orders. While the others paid for their drinks and decided to stay at the restaurant lounge, Brandy took it as a sign that it was time to go home.

The evening air was still warm as she exited out into the dim parking lot. Her head swam a little and she knew that she would have to call her mom to come pick her up. Once at her car, she put her purse on the trunk, rifling through it to find her phone.

From across the parking lot she heard a shuffling of footsteps. As they headed in her direction Brandy turned her head to see who it was. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Mark Hudson approaching her car. He was dressed in a suit, tie loose around his neck as if he had been in it all day. He was still as handsome as ever, his dark hair was the perfect length to run her fingers through, chocolate eyes with just the slightest creasing when he smiled. Brandy hated that he still made her heart pound.

As he took his time approaching, her mind was whirling with the implications of meeting Mark again. She knew it was a possibility every time she was home, but the chances were low in a town this size. Except the odds were wrong, because here he was.

“Brandy.” He said. His approach was slow, his voice soft, as if she were a feral animal that could flee at any moment. “I’ve been waiting all night to talk to you.”

She drew her brows together. “How did you know I was home?”

“I didn’t. I saw you come into the restaurant. I was just finishing up my meal when you came in, but I stuck around until I could talk to you alone. I didn’t think it would be a good idea to approach you while you were with your family.”

“I’m not sure what you were hoping to talk to me about. It seems like we said everything that needed to be said.” She said, indignant.

“Are you kidding me? You ran off before I had a chance to talk to you at all. You wouldn’t answer your phone and my public relations officer restricted me from seeing you in person. After things finally blew over I went by your folks place and they said you moved.”

She shrugged, trying not to let herself be affected by his concern. “You knew I was moving.”

“Not that soon.” His eyes bore into hers. “You got scared and ran.”

She crossed her arms across her chest. “What else was I supposed to do? Me leaving was in everyone’s best interest.”

“You don’t know that.”

Brandy turned away from him. She didn’t want to hear excuses from him then and she didn’t now. What happened was shitty enough without dragging it all back up.

“Listen, Brandy, I don’t want to make you upset. And I don’t want to argue. It’s just that things ended so abruptly between us that there were a lot of things I never got the chance to say.” Brandy didn’t answer him, instead she resumed her efforts to find her phone.

“Listen, it looks like you could use a ride home. Let me take you and I’ll say my piece and it will be over.”

Brandy turned back towards him. “How would Rachel feel about that?”

“Rachel and I haven’t been together since the last time I saw you.” His dark eyes pleaded with her. “I just want to talk to you, Brandy.”

Finally she nodded her consent and he led them across the parking lot to his dark town car. He opened the door for her and she let the plush seats envelop her. Once they were pulling out of the parking lot, Brandy turned to him.

“Judging by the car I assume you’re still doing well?”

“I guess so. I’m in my second term as mayor.”

“That’s impressive considering what happened. I guess Rachel wasn’t as forgiving as your voters.” Brandy didn’t bother trying to hide the disdain in her voice.

“After you left I was able to save my career, but not my marriage. If we’re being truthful here I don’t know if I gave it much of a shot. Everything Rachel had said- that I was distant, selfish, cold- was true. I didn’t love her. It seemed backwards to try and patch up something that had been broken for a long time. It’s no excuse for cheating on her and I’m sorry for what I did to her, but we wouldn’t have lasted in the end no matter what.”

“So that’s it then? You cheated, but you weren’t happy anyways so somehow that’s okay?”

“You’re still mad at me.” His voice was still irritatingly calm, but she could see the hurt in his eyes. As much as she wanted to be mad, she wasn’t. And she wouldn’t treat him like she was, either. Her days of lying and being deceitful were long behind her.

“No.” She said. She hated herself for feeling that way, but it was the truth. “I’m mad at myself for getting involved with you in the first place.”

“I’m not.” He said, the confidence she felt ringing through.

She shook her head. “How can you say that?”

“Because it wasn’t until I met you that I realized I could be happy. Before our short time together I felt trapped in the life I had made. Rachel and I married because it was convenient, not because we loved each other. When she found out I was cheating on her she was mad because I made her look bad, not because she was hurt. I didn’t see a way out of my marriage without ruining my political reputation.

When my hand was forced and Rachel called me out it was an opportunity to do things differently. I started making decisions that made me happy, instead of making choices that I thought were expected for a man in my position. I’ve never felt better in my life and I have you to thank for that.”