Until We Fly (The Beautifully Broken) (7 page)

Quit being such a fucking girl. 

With a sigh, I turn my attention back to the book, scrolling through each page, until a movement outside distracts me an hour or so later. 

Nora is wading out of the lake and onto the beach.  She looks like a sea nymph or a siren as she swings her long wet hair out of her face, and the sun envelops her body, glistening on every wet plane.

Her thighs are long, her tits are full and perky and she’s practically naked now, fully wet as the water streams over her body. 

My dick tightens in reaction and I suck in my breath. 

Through the window, Nora’s eyes meet mine and I’m not sure what I see hidden in hers.  Determination, I think.

But what exactly is she determined to do?

As I watch her bend to get her towel, I’m not sure I want to find out, although my penis seems to disagree. 
He’s
interested in every little thing Nora Greene does. 

He
doesn’t know what he’s getting us into. 

To be honest, I don’t know either. 

Chapter Five

Nora

As I change out of my bathing suit and into a sundress, I ponder the look on Brand’s face. 

Hesitant. 

Reluctant. 

But why?   I saw him watch me. I know that at least part of him wants me. 

Butterflies flutter in my belly at that thought. 
Brand Killien wants me.
 

But he doesn’t
want
to want me.

That’s just as obvious and it quiets the butterflies back down.  I stare glumly in the mirror as I comb my wet hair.  There must be a reason, and it more than likely has to do with a woman.  Brand is loyal as the day is long, I can tell. So there must be a girlfriend. 

With a sigh, I put down my comb and head out to the kitchen. 

Good Lord, the heat.  The hot oven has turned the kitchen into a freaking inferno. Lesson one. 
Don’t use the oven on a hot day.

It’s even hotter as I open the oven and pull out the meat.  Which, incidentally, is charred. 

What the hell?

I poke at it and find that the top and bottom are covered in a blackened crust.  Only the middle is edible and I have no idea why.  I did everything the recipe said to do.   Crap.  Excerpt set the oven timer. I baked it thirty minutes longer than I was supposed to.

I’m blowing the hair out of my face when Brand calls in to me. 

“How’s it coming?”

I don’t want to admit defeat.  But I’m sure the man is hungry. 

I slink out with my tail between my legs. 

“I’ve got many talents,” I announce. “Unfortunately, it seems that cooking isn’t one of them.  Yet.”

Brand bursts out laughing, setting his book on his lap.   I flush as I remember his lap shoved against me earlier. And how happy his
lap
had been to see mine. 

“Take-out?” he suggests.

I nod. “Takeout.  Any ideas?”

“Actually, yes,” he tells me.  “I was actually here last year for dinner. Some friends of mine owned the little Italian place and I came here one evening. They sold it, but I believe it still serves the same menu.  Italian sounds good to me.”

“It does to me too,” I tell him as I grab my purse.  “Especially since I won’t have to cook it.”

Brand tosses me his wallet. “It’s on me.”

I don’t argue, because I know there would be no point.  I can already tell that he’s stubborn. 

I head for The Hill.  I’ve actually eaten there many times throughout the summers. 

Like always, it’s packed tonight with hungry tourists.   I patiently wait my turn to order at the take-out counter, and when it’s finally my turn, an older Italian woman smiles at me. 

“Hello there, welcome to the Hill.  What can I get for you?”

I give her our order, and she rings it up.  “That will be eighteen dollars and twenty-four cents.”

I open Brand’s wallet and pull out the money, but the woman’s eyes are frozen on his driver’s license picture. 

“Do you know Brand?” she asks me, her face lighting up. Surprised, I nod. 

“Yes.  You do too?”

She nods happily.  “That’s a good man, sweetie.  After my husband Tony died, Brand came to the funeral, but then he came back with his friend Gabe to haul my daughter’s stuff to college.  That’s a good family, bella.”

I’m confused. “But he and Gabe aren’t related, right?”

The woman laughs.  “They might as well be. Well, he and Gabe.  He and Jacey on the other hand… aye yi yi.”

That snags my attention, but she’s holding out her hand now.  “I’m Maria, bella. And you?”

I shake her hand.  “Nora.”  I purposely leave off the Greene.  “It’s a pleasure.  What were you saying about Brand and Jacey?”

Maria eyes me knowingly.  “He and that girl.  Jacey means well, but she never could get her head on straight.  Always made bad choices. One of her ex-boyfriends killed my Tony, you know.  Ran him right off the road. Brand tried to get her straightened out, and we all know why.  He was head over heels for that girl.  But she married someone else.  Some famous actor.  I never could understand why, probably another bad choice.  Because Brand’s the cream of the crop, honey.  She’s crazy for not wanting him.  Let me tell you, if Brand’s interested in you, you’d better keep him.”

Maria stares at me pointedly and I realize that I’m holding Brand’s wallet, paying for a dinner for two with it.  Of course she thinks there might be something to that.  But I can’t focus on that, mainly because I know Brand doesn’t want me.  Or he doesn’t
want
to want me, anyway.

“Which actor did Jacey marry, Maria?” I ask curiously.

She wrinkles her nose in disdain.  “Dominic Kinkaide.”

I recognize the name immediately, and picture him in my head.  Hollywood’s most famous bad-boy.

I’ve seen his face a thousand times in the movies. Tall, dark and dangerous.   But at the same time, I do remember seeing photos of he and his new bride plastered on the tabloids. 

Jacey Vincent-Kinkaide.  Blonde, brown-eyed.  Gorgeous. 

Brand was in love with someone who is the polar opposite of me. 

And he might very well still be, for all I know. Maybe
that’s
why he doesn’t want to want me.  He doesn’t have a girlfriend, but he’s still in love with someone else. 

 I swallow hard.

“It’s been nice meeting you, Maria,” I tell her as she hands me the dinner bags.  “I’m sure I’ll be in a lot this summer.”

She smiles. “Tell Brand hello for me, dear. I hope to see him, too.”

I shake my head as I head out to the car.  Maria is very genuine.  She truly wants to see Brand.  Apparently, Brand has the same effect on everyone.  They want to be near him, to soak him up.  At least it isn’t just me. 

Brand is waiting at the table when I get back to the cottage, and the table is set for two.  I shake my head as I carry in the bags.

“You’re so stubborn.  You’re supposed to rest.  It isn’t that hard for most people, Brand.”

He shrugs.  “I guess I’m not most people.”

Hell no, you’re not. 

I dish our food onto real plates, and push one across the table to him. 

“So, Maria was really nice.”

Brand looks up and grins.  “You met Maria?  She’s a sweet lady.  Don’t let her fool you, though.  Her husband died last year. She’s hard as nails.”

I take a bite of lasagna, trying to act casual.

“Yeah, she mentioned that Tony died.  She mentioned a lot….about you, and Gabe and Jacey.”

Brand looks up at me, but he doesn’t show any reaction.  “She did, huh?”

I nod.  “Yeah.  She said that Jacey’s ex ran Tony off the road.”

Brand sighs and takes a bite of his food.  “Yeah.  It was a hard time.  Jacey didn’t always make good decisions.  But she’s doing better now.”

“Yeah, Maria mentioned that, too.  And that’s she’s married to Dominic Kinkaide.”

Again, Brand shows no reaction.

“Yep.  In fact, I think they’re in Europe right now. You probably won’t see her this summer.”

This causes my head to snap up. “Why would I see her?”

Brand looks at me in surprise.  “This is her cabin.  Well, she shares it with Gabe.  Like I mentioned, they inherited it from their grandparents.”

He’d mentioned his friends had inherited it.  He hadn’t said that one of the friend’s was Jacey Vincent-Kinkaide.

“Oh.”  I feel a bit deflated.  I don’t know why.  He might be in love with Jacey, but she’s married.  To one of the world’s most famous actors.  And she’s thousands of miles away right now.  She’s not a threat to me. 
Brand can’t have her.
 

We eat in comfortable silence and after I clear away our leftovers, I turn to Brand. 

“There’s no cable here.” 

He smiles. “I know.  It used to drive us crazy in the summers.”

“I can imagine.  But I saw a checkers board in one of the bookcases.  Do you want to sit outside and play?”

Brand stares at me in surprise.  “Sure.  I just never figured you for a board games girl.”

I roll my eyes. “You don’t know me yet.”

Yet. 

I set the game up and Brand hobbles out on his crutches.  Even injured, his biceps bulge and flex with each movement.  I could watch his arms all day.  But I can’t.  I’ve got a game to play…in more ways than one. 

Instead, I look up.  “Black or red?”

Brand sits down. “Black.”

“Then you go first,” I suggest.  “But I’ve got a caveat…something that will make the game more interesting.”

Brand raises a blond eyebrow.  “Oh, yeah?  And what’s that?  Strip checkers?”

I smirk.  “You wish.  But no.  If one of us gets jumped, the other one gets to ask a question.  And we have to answer.”

Brand cocks his head. “Clever.  What if we don’t really want to know the answers?  Sometimes mystery is better than reality.”

I shake my head. “I disagree.  There are things I’m dying to know about you.”

Brand rolls his eyes.  “I’m not that interesting.”

“Let me decide that,” I suggest.  “Your move….if you’re not afraid.”

He snorts, and I push the board toward him.  He moves a black checker forward. 

Then I move a red one. 

We go back and forth a few times, until he manages to jump one of mine. 

“Bingo,” he says with a grin. 

“Wrong game,” I tell him.  “What’s your question?”

He thinks on that, his large hand drumming on his thigh.  “Hmm.  Let’s see.  Okay, why are you spending the summer here in Angel Bay?”

I answer immediately.  “My father wanted me to take the summer off and recharge my batteries.  I just finished law school.”

“So your brain is tired?” Brand grins and I swear, it could light up the entire lake.  I nod. 

“I guess you could say that.”

“Your move,” he tells me. 

I move. Then he moves. We parry back and forth, until I finally manage to jump him. 

“Do you love Jacey?”

I’m not one to beat around the bush.  Brand’s head snaps back and he stares at me in disbelief.

“Wow.  You don’t mess around, do you?”

“No.  Maria talked so much about her that I’m curious.  What’s your answer?”  I stare into his eyes and he stares back.  Finally he nods and for a minute, my heart stops beating.  But then he clarifies.

“Yes. But not in the romantic way.  I thought I did for a while, but maybe I never did.  She and Gabe have been like my family.  I was close to her, and maybe I got confused. Emotions aren’t my forte.”

“So you don’t love her romantically?”

Brand shakes his head.  “That’s two questions, sweetheart.”

I suck in my breath at the endearment, and Brand smirks.  “What?  No one’s ever called you that?”

He’s kidding, but I shake my head.  “No.”

“You’re joking.”

Brand is dumbfounded now and I have to laugh.  “No, I’m not kidding.  Believe it or not, I haven’t had that many relationships. My father never approves of anyone.”

Brand stares at me drolly. “But you were away at college.  What your father didn’t know wouldn’t have hurt him.”

I almost shudder.  “My father knows everything. Trust me.  It’s your turn.”

Brand drops it, and goes, much to my relief.  I don’t want to get into how my father kept tabs on me at school.  Before long, Brand jumps me again.  He levels a blue, blue gaze at me. 

“Are you happy?” he asks thoughtfully, rocking back in his seat with his good leg.  I suck in a breath. 

“Blunt, aren’t you?”

He chuckles.  “No more than you.”

Touché. 

“No, not really,” I answer honestly.  “I hope to be someday.”

Brand stares at me hard.  “Why aren’t you happy now?”

“That’s two questions,” I throw his words back at him.  “It’s my turn to go.”

Brand rolls his eyes, but I ignore him as I move. 

I jump him two moves later. 

“What happened in Afghanistan?”

He doesn’t even flinch.  “My HUMVEE was bombed.  My leg was shattered.”

“You earned a purple heart,” I tell him.  “So I know there’s more to the story.”

He shrugs.  “I don’t think it serves any purpose to talk about it.  Some memories are best left alone. I’ve dealt with it and moved on, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy thinking about it.”

There’s a look on his face, a
don’t fuck with me
look, that I decide to heed.  “Your turn,” I tell him softly instead.  He nods.

He moves a checker, only to open himself up to a double-jump. I crow and jump him. Twice.  He glares at me mockingly.

“I don’t like this game.”

I giggle.  “I get two questions.”

He doesn’t argue, he just crosses his arms and waits. 

“There’s something bothering you, I see it on your face.  I have a feeling that it’s not your dad’s death, and you say you’ve dealt with Afghanistan, so what is it?”

Brand looks away.  “I really don’t like this game.”

I smile, but I don’t back off.  “What’s your answer?”

He stares out the window for a minute, at the lake, before he sighs.  “Sometimes bad things happen in life.  Sometimes they happen when you’re really young.  Those are the memories that won’t fade with time.”