She sighed, feeling even more ridiculous. How the hell could Brady bring someone else to this event? Why even invite Liz if he was going to flaunt someone else around in front of her the whole time? After blowing up on her about Justin and not wanting anyone else to get their hands on her, he had the audacity to show up with someone else. As if she wanted anyone to get her hands on him!
Just the thought was getting her even more riled up. And she didn’t want to calm down.
The door handle rattled as someone wrestled with the stuck knob. It popped open a second later and Brady stood silhouetted in the doorway. Alone.
Liz smiled at the sight of him. Then she remembered she was angry and wiped it away. He moved inside quickly, shut and locked the door. He took one look at her before crossing the small space, taking her face in his hands, and kissing the breath right out of her. Her eyes closed for a second as he took what was his. He was the most intoxicating substance on the planet. Their kisses were like fire scorching through a burning building—hot and destructive.
She didn’t want him to stop. She couldn’t possibly want that. She wanted to do this for the rest of eternity. Who cared if he burned a hole right through her heart?
Then she came to her senses, and she pushed him back with every ounce of force. She probably didn’t move him back more than an inch, but the shock of her stopping him made him stumble a few feet backward.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Brady asked.
“Stopping you.”
“What have you been doing since you got here?”
“What have I been doing?” she asked, her eyes going wide.
“Yes. What have you been doing? Flirting with my brother, making a scene when I come to see you—what is wrong with you?” he demanded.
“I’m not sure I can even justify that with an answer!” she said, shaking her head.
“Is this because of Amber? Because if it is, then you need to get your shit together. Did you forget that I’m on the campaign? That I have an election to win?” he asked gruffly.
“How could I possibly forget?” she demanded.
“I don’t know, but you’re f**king acting like you have. I thought you knew what we were doing.” He clenched his hands into fists.
“That’s right. What we were doing,” she said, trying to brush past him to get to the door.
“What the f**k does that mean?” he asked. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into him.
“We aren’t doing what we started out doing anymore. If you want the girl who you met in May, then sorry…she’s long gone,” she told him, staring up into his dark, intense eyes.
“You’re not leaving, Liz,” he told her. She arched an eyebrow, wondering whether he was daring her. “I don’t want that girl. I want you. Do you hear me? I want you.”
Chapter 22
APPEARANCES
Liz felt her anger deflate at his words. She knew it wasn’t enough for them to move forward. It wasn’t enough to change the course of their relationship. But it was something; it was a start.
“I want you too,” she whispered in the silence.
Brady’s lips found hers again, soft and warm. He wasn’t trying to kiss the life out of her; he was just kissing her. The woman he wanted.
He wrapped his arms around her waist, and she tangled her fingers in his hair. Her chest rose and fell in time with his, and she felt all the remaining fire in her body dissolve.
Brady wanted her.
When they broke apart this time, she was wobbly on her feet and had to rest her hand on his chest to hold herself steady.
“Are you all right now?” he asked, tilting her chin up to gaze into her blue eyes.
“Doing better,” she whispered.
“Good. That’s what I wanted to hear.”
“Brady, why did you bring her? Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked softly. She still wasn’t comfortable with the idea, but she wasn’t angry. Not in the same way, at least.
“I had to bring her.”
Liz looked up at him incredulously. “Really?”
“Some things are for appearances. It’s complicated. Heather really insisted on this one. My bachelor appearance only accommodates me so far, but in social situations it doesn’t look good to show up alone. And it’s useful to have someone else there to entertain the people I’m not speaking with directly. As much as I’d prefer to go alone, Amber is the least troublesome of the choices I was given.”
“You didn’t even ask her yourself?” she asked, surprised. How did all of this work?
“No. I’m too busy to date, or at least that’s what I tell my press secretary.”
“Does she want you to date?” Liz asked, concerned.
Brady shook his head solemnly. “She doesn’t want me to date. She wants me to get married.”
Liz let out a peep at that word. Married! He couldn’t get married!
“Don’t worry,” he said, planting a kiss on her lips. “That’s not on my horizon for a long time. She can’t badger me into something that extreme. That’s not like a date at a gala.”
Thank God! Liz thought.
“So…why were you flirting with my brother?” he asked, a storm cloud forming over his features. So that was what he had been holding back when he’d had his campaign face on while talking to Clay.
“I didn’t know he was your brother. Nor did I know I was flirting with him. I was trying to defend you,” she said, pointing her finger into his chest.
“Defend me? Why would you need to?”
Liz bit her lip. Whoops! Maybe she shouldn’t have said that. It was clear that there was something wrong between him and Clay. But she had already put one foot forward; she might as well take the step.
“He was talking about you and the campaign and politics in general. I didn’t know who he was, but they weren’t exactly uplifting words,” she said as tactfully as she could.
“Fucking Clay,” Brady said, shaking his head. “He needs to learn to keep his mouth shut. I promise he was trying to charm you.”
Liz swallowed and didn’t say anything. Charm ran in their family.
“I would stay away from him.”
“I probably won’t see him again anyway, will I?” she asked. “He’s at Yale. He should be going back soon.”
“Not soon enough, unfortunately,” Brady said.
Liz wanted to ask what the problem was between them, but it didn’t really seem like the time. There were other more pressing concerns…like where they were going from here.