Page 9
“Brad,” I say breathlessly.
“Winny. What are you doing here?”
“I came to help your mom pack. Is she here?”
His eyes narrow on mine. We’re still close, too close, but neither of us takes a step away from the other. “Did you happen to talk to Todd just now?” he asks.
“Todd?” My mind searches for an answer to his question. I don’t want to admit that I overheard them talking about me.
Brad looks at me silently, and I know he’s trying to figure out if I overheard him and his brother arguing. “Yeah, he was just here. You didn’t see him?” he asks.
“Umm, no, I must’ve just missed him.” I’m unable to look away as I utter the lie. I quickly changed the subject. “Were you leaving just now?”
He focuses his laser-sharp gaze on me. “I was coming to see you, actually. We need to talk.”
I swear my heart stops beating. “Oh. Well, sure. Except, I really need to help your mom. I promised her we’d at least get one room packed up today. So, maybe we can talk later?”
He opens the door wider and steps back to let me in. “Well, Mom isn’t here. So…”
“Oh.”
“Don’t look so disappointed to be here with me,” he says
“No, it’s not that. It’s just… Do you know when she’ll be back?”
He tilts his head, and his brows draw closer together in confusion. “She’s out playing bridge with some friends. Won’t be home for hours. Are you sure she was expecting you?”
“Well, yeah. I’m sure. I even called her this morning to remind her I’d be over. She mentioned you wouldn’t be home, which I thought strange at the time since I didn’t even mention you. Yet, here you are, and she’s not here.”
He thinks for a second, then chuckles. “And she told me she needed me to stay here to sign for an important package that’s supposedly arriving today. It doesn’t take a detective to see the subterfuge that’s afoot.”
“Your mom set us up.” I don’t pose it as a question.
“It would appear so,” Brad readily agrees.
I plop down heavily on the couch. “Fine. You wanted to talk. Your mom wants us to talk. So, let’s talk. If we don’t, I have a feeling your meddling mother will just interfere again. Might as well get it over with.”
“Please, tamper down the excitement. Just a little,” he says wryly.
“Look, you no longer live here, and your mom is moving soon. Once you go back home, we’ll never see each other again.”
As soon as the words leave my lips, I realize how true they are. And how much it hurts to say it, even after all this time apart.
He sighs heavily and sits down next to me. “Yes, I’ll be leaving soon. But I can’t leave things this way. I owe you an explanation for why I left.”
“Brad, it doesn’t matter anymore. Let’s just let it go. We both made mistakes.”
“Please, just listen,” Brad pleads. “I thought I was doing the right thing by leaving and cutting off communication with you. My being there was holding you back from your dreams, and I couldn’t do that to you anymore. I didn’t realize how badly I hurt you.”
“How could you not realize it? I loved you so much. If you had asked me to leave with you, I would’ve gone without a second thought. I would’ve done anything for you.”
Brad runs his hands through his hair, frustration clear in the taut lines of his body. “I loved you, too. But when I saw you hugging and kissing my brother, I thought something was going on between you two.”
I open my mouth to argue. It takes me a second, but realization finally dawns on me. I know what he saw.
“The night of my and Todd’s award ceremony, that’s when you saw us together? The night before you left?” At his nod, I continue. “Todd’s girlfriend had just dumped him. He was heartbroken, and I was consoling him. Yes, I hugged him. And yes, he quickly pecked me on my lips. But I told him not to do that again. He apologized immediately and started to cry. Said he didn’t mean to do it. So, I forgave him and put it out of my mind. I chalked it up to him being upset about the breakup.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about the kiss?” Brad asks.
