Love Rekindled (Love Surfaced) (17 page)

“Hold on, baby. I’ll be right back.” I kiss the top of her head and she sits down contently.

“Mommy should sit on the bed with us,” Brad chimes in, and I narrow my eyes.

“Sit.” Em pats the spot next to her.

“In a second, baby. I have to get dressed.”

“Sit!” Her voice raises and I shake my head.

I step away toward the serenity of the bathroom.

“You’re going to disappoint our daughter,” he adds, that grin still plastered on his face.

“Brad,” I warn with as stern of a voice as I can muster.

“Did you think about tonight?” I hear him moving off the bed and my heart beats out of my chest. Unable to not allow him to kill me with his affection, I wait, and two seconds later, those strong hands land on my shoulders. The scent of his cologne wafts around me. “I dreamed about you last night.”

“I don’t know, Brad,” I answer his first question, but he seems to be over that one already.

“I would love to do the things I was doing to you last night, tonight.” His breath tickles my damp skin and my center heats with a burning passion.

“Brad.” This time, any authority in my voice wanes with my weakness for Brad, leaving that ‘breathless take me now’ tone. The one Brad can always pull out of me because my body will never stop craving his.

His arms round my shoulders and travel painfully slow down the length of my exposed arms. “Please, one night.” My skin pricks from his breath hitting the most sensitive spot of my neck.

I twist around and his hands find my hips. Glancing over at Em, whose eyes are pinned on the cartoon, I allow myself to sink into all of him. His crisp cologne and the pouty bottom lip I used to nibble on. The contours of his muscles that I’d memorized are still present. Lastly, his eyes that continually tell me what he’s feeling. Right now, love is shining from them. Honest love. There’s no way I can refuse him this date, and since Maggie seems so nice, I trust her as much as I can.

“Okay,” I softly agree, and a wide smile spreads across his face.

“You just made my day.” He leans forward, but I catch Em looking at us from the corner of my eye. I draw back, and then my bedroom door opens.

We have no time to prepare before Maggie steps in the room. “Girls?” she asks. Em jumps off the bed and runs over to her. Maggie picks her up and automatically covers Em’s eyes when she finds Brad and me so close.

“I’ll just take her downstairs, if that’s okay?” Maggie backpedals toward the door while my face blazes with heat.

“Thanks, Mom,” Brad says, his eyes locked with mine the entire time.

My breathing hesitates, trying to catch up to everything going on around me. Brad’s always been so consuming to me, but I need to remember that little girl is my number-one priority now.

The door shuts and my tense shoulders relax slightly once it’s only the two of us. “How embarrassing.” I sigh, breaking away from him and sitting on the edge of the bed.

Brad searches out the remote and clicks off the “Olivia” cartoon. “My mom doesn’t care.” The bed dips with his weight and my skin prickles with goose bumps when his hand lands on my knee.

“I was standing in a towel with our daughter on the bed. I look like a horrible mother.” My face lands in my hands and I shake my head at who I’m becoming.

A bellowing laugh rises out of his throat. “No, you don’t. It’s not like I had you pinned to the bed naked and was grinding into you.”

That thought only heats my cheeks more.

“You just don’t get it. Here I am in your parents’ house with my daughter, who I’ve kept secret for two years. I’m already being judged, and you sneaking into my room this morning only makes me look like some dime-store whore.”

Unable to sit any longer, I stand and pace the floor.

“Dime-store whore? Is there such a thing?” Brad laughs again, leaning back on the bed. His Henley rises up, showing his abs, which haven’t diminished over the years.

“Cover yourself up,” I mumble, ignoring his question to me about the whore.

He glances down and shakes his head. “Why? Is it turning you on?” Of course, he doesn’t move even a millimeter.

“No.” Not getting anywhere in the same room, I disappear into the bathroom, but a second later, he’s standing in the doorway, arms stretched over his head, holding on to the doorframe, that bare piece of skin on display once again.

“Well, does it?” he asks. Refusing to look, I concentrate on my make-up bag. “It’s okay. I mean, you’re standing in a towel in front of me. Do you want to see more of my skin? Better yet, how about a touch?” His arms fall and he steps into the room, making the steamy bathroom confining.

“I have to get ready, so bye.” My hands land on his shoulders, twisting him around and pushing him out the bathroom. I shut the door and flick the lock.

He knocks softly. “We’re still on for tonight, right?” he asks through the door.

Say no, say no, say no.

“Yes. Now leave me alone to get ready.”

“Taylor?”

“What?” I sigh.

“You look more edible than a King Ice Cream Cone.”

I cover my mouth to hide the laugh ready to squeak out.

“Thank you,” I say, using every ounce of self-control I have not to let him know how much that absurdity warms my heart.

We’d been on a few dates already, and it was the first real warm day after a long winter. He was sitting on the edge of the wall at the Student Center with Tanner and a few guys on the swim team. I walked by, not wanting to interrupt his guy time. He was chomping down on a huge ice cream cone, laughing and carrying on. Brad was a guy’s guy. Never alone and usually throwing a Frisbee or football around campus with his friends.

I tried to act as though I hadn’t heard his laugh fifty feet away, and I definitely didn’t want him to know how much my body wanted to veer his way. So, I acted like the details of my friend Vivian’s Art History class were the most enthralling thing I’d ever heard.

“Hey, it’s Taylor,” Tanner said to him. Disappointment washed over me that it was his best friend who noticed me first.

To make matters worse, Vivian stopped and looked over at the group. What the hell was she doing? Having no choice, I glanced over, giving Brad a little wave and big smile. Then I tugged on Vivian’s shirt to keep her going.

Vivian seemed almost frozen in her tracks. “That’s Greg Mendes.” Her mouth was practically hanging open. Vivian was a quiet girl in my sorority, and I think that’s why we had become friends. She usually calms me down.

I waved my hand in front of her face. “Do you want me to introduce you?” I wasn’t best buds with the guy, but I’d met him a few times at a party. He was kind of timid too.

“Taylor.” Brad’s voice had come from right behind me and my heartbeat sped up. Then her eyes were glued to Brad. “Hey, I’m Brad.” His hand bypassed me to reach Vivian.

She shook it without saying anything, so I turned around and practically choked on my saliva. Brad’s tongue snaked out to lick some ice cream about to drip down the waffle cone.

“This is Vivian.” I pointed toward my mute friend, wishing I could pry my eyes off his mouth, but the way he ate an ice cream cone was heating me up fast.

“Hi,” Vivian squeaked out.

Brad nodded. “Do you mind if I steal Taylor away for a second?”

“No, go ahead. I should get going.” Vivian began to walk away, but Brad grabbed her arm.

“Stay. I only have a few minutes before practice, and I don’t want Taylor walking by herself.” Vivian stopped and nodded. “Here.” He turned to his friends. “Jackasses, come over and keep this girl company.” He pointed down to Vivian, whose poor cheeks were bright red.

“It’s really okay.” She tried to fight it, but when Greg was the first one to saunter over, she quickly stopped arguing.

Brad looked back and forth between them, puzzled, but grabbed my hand and led me to a secluded area on the side of the building. He pinned me to the brick wall and tossed his ice cream cone in the trashcan.

“That’s a waste,” I said, using any kind of distraction I could find away from my racing heart and sweaty palms.

“Nah, it was a sad replacement for you.” Without warning, his lips crashed down on mine, kidnapping every one of my senses with his light cologne, his clean face, and his calloused palms along my cheeks.

His tongue didn’t wait patiently to slide in, but was determined, seeking mine out. My whole body ignited with want from that one kiss. I rose to my tiptoes, just as urgent as he was for more, as our mouths collided together unable to fully quench what we wanted.

Finally, after a blissful few minutes, Brad’s hands loosened on my head and my heels rocked back down. He laid is forehead to mine and stared into my eyes while we both caught our breath.

“You’re so much more edible than a King Cone,” he whispered.

He won me over in that moment on the side of the Student Center building. I knew then he had the ability to break my heart, which he succeeded in doing.

Brad

I’M SLOWLY WINNING HER OVER
,
I think as I click her bedroom door shut. She’s remembering how good we were together. There’s no way she’ll be able to deny our chemistry any longer after we talk tonight over dinner and I take her dancing. Taylor’s always loved to dance, and it was the first thing that popped into my head when she agreed to our date.

I round the corner of the staircase and enter the kitchen, finding my little girl’s grubby hands picking up a pancake. My mom’s at the stove, while my dad sits a few seats away from his granddaughter reading the paper.

“Dada!” Em holds up a hand full of pancake, and I watch the syrup drip down her arm to the sleeve of her sweater.

“Hey, baby girl.” I grab a napkin on my way over and quickly wipe the sticky crap off her.

My mom glances over her shoulder. “Are you hungry?” she asks, and I crinkle my eyebrows, making her laugh. “Yeah, dumb question.”

The rustling of the newspaper reminds me that my dad is still sitting there, keeping his distance from Emerson. My anger is about to hit the limit on that topic. This isn’t the dad I grew up with. Not the one who coached my t-ball and played Barbies with Piper.

Emerson is completely content with her spoon, trying to pick up the pancake and make it to her mouth. She’s entertaining herself.

“You still up for watching Emerson tonight?” I ask, and my dad peers over the rim of his reading glasses at me, but doesn’t answer.

“Of course. We can’t wait to have some time with her,” my mom says over her shoulder, but my dad’s judgmental eyes continue to bore into mine.

“Great. I have to make a few phone calls.” I stand, but my dad’s hand grabs my wrist on the table.

I look down and back to him. “Rick is coming by this afternoon.” He lowers his voice so my mom doesn’t hear him. He’s lost his marbles if he thinks I’ll even entertain this idea.

“Have a nice meeting. I’m taking my daughter out for the day.” I pull back my wrist from his hold and leave the room.

“Dada!” Em yells, and I turn around, holding my finger up. “I’ll be right back, baby girl.” Her bottom lips quivers and she drops her spoon.

My mom rushes over, dropping a plate full of pancakes on the table before sitting down to distract her. She waves me on, letting me know she’s got it covered, and I watch my dad turn the page of his newspaper.
What a jackass.

I pick up my phone, praying I can get this favor in on such short notice.

Two rings, she answers and I release a breath. “What would Brad Ashby want with me?” That high-pitched voice hijacks me back to the days of high school.

“Hey, Audrey, how have you been?”

“Let’s see. I’m eight months pregnant, and can barely fit behind my desk. My husband knows jack shit and disappoints me every day. So, all in all, I’m tired.”

“Eight months, that’s great. When are you due?”

“Cut the bullshit, Ashby. What do you want?”

Audrey swam with Piper in high school, and she’s one of the only ones who returned home after college. Lucky for me tonight, she now runs Washington Court Athletic Club.

“I was just checking in with you.” I’m thankful we’re not in person, because she’d see me nibbling on my bottom lip.

“Did I mention, I’m temperamental?
What do you want
?”

I laugh, but when the line remains silent, I figure I better start talking.

“I need to use the pool tonight.”

“Nuh-uh. Last time, you had some sort of an orgy and I almost got fired.”

“It wasn’t an orgy. It was a party, and I’ve apologized for my friend’s poor judgment how many times? Not to mention, that was like four years ago.” The Thanksgiving weekend back together party got a little out of control. “Plus, if I remember, you snuck off to the locker room.”

“You have me mistaken with someone else. Are you training again?”

If only.

“No, and I don’t want to go into specifics, but it’s just me and another person coming in, but I want it after hours. Only us.”

“You sure come with a lot of demands. Hold on.” I hear the shuffling of paper as I pace back and forth in my parents’ foyer.