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“You guys look great.” I moved to give them both hugs and kisses on their cheeks.
“So do you, Ming, very lovely,” Geo said, smooth as always. I’d always liked Cass’s husband. He was one of the best men I’d ever met.
“You blew me off again this week,” Cass scolded.
“I know, I know, I’m so sorry. I just have a lot going on at work right now.”
“Are you sure that’s all?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as if she’d be able to see inside my soul with a look.
“Yes, of course. I know we need to get moving on the baby shower. We’ll meet Monday, I promise.”
“All right, but if you blow me off again, I’m going to have to plan it without you. We want to have the shower before the baby gets here, you know.”
“Scout’s honor,” I said, holding up my fingers, even though I’d obviously never been a Boy Scout.
“Hey, Brady,” Victoria called out behind us.
I knew I should continue my conversation and not turn, I didn’t need to torture myself, but I just couldn’t help it.
He looked so good.
There was dark stubble across his face, like he hadn’t shaved in a couple days, and his hair was a little long on top and styled a bit messy. He was wearing a black button up, which looked great against his tanned skin.
I realized I was looking at him like I was dying of thirst and he was a tall drink of water, so I cleared my throat and turned my attention back to my friends. Cass’s eyes were narrowed again as she tried to see into my soul, and I worried that after all this time, and when the non-relationship was over, I’d given myself away.
I smiled nervously at her, then bit my lip when Victoria said, “Oh, hey, Ming, if you still want to help out, you could help Brady pour the champagne.”
“Uh, sure,” I replied, then told Cass and Geo I’d catch up with them later and turned to go help Brady. I kept my eyes to the ground as I moved, trying to give myself a moment to compose myself, so I was surprised when I looked up and around and realized we were now alone in the kitchen.
“Hi,” Brady said with a small smile when my eyes met his.
“Hey,” I replied, picking up a champagne bottle.
I was filling glasses like I’d been born to work an assembly line, eager to get the task accomplished and get back out to the crowd, when Brady said, “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled, keeping my attention on the champagne rather than catching his eye again.
We worked in silence for a few moments before I heard Brady sigh, then ask, “Is everything okay … with us?”
“Us?” I asked, finally looking back up. “There is no us.”
Brady lips thinned at my declaration.
“So, you’re ending it?”
Exasperated, I put the bottle down and threw my hands up in the air.
“Ending what exactly, Brady? Our late-night booty calls? Yes … I’m ending those. It was enough for a while … a long while, but now it’s not. I want more, and you don’t, so, it’s over.”
“What if I don’t want it to be over?”
Trying to keep my calm so as not to alert everyone in the other room to our drama, I took a deep breath and said, “Brady, you’ve made it obvious that you aren’t looking for any sort of relationship. Over the last seven months we haven’t been anywhere together outside of my apartment. You don’t know anything about me, and the only reason I know anything about you, is because I’ve made an effort.”
“I know stuff about you,” he argued.
“Really? You know about my parents, my family? Do you know how I met Bronagh, or how long she, Cass, and I have been friends? Do you know what I do at work every day? What my last case was? What about my favorite place to go for dinner?” I put my hands on my lips and tried to keep my voice to a whisper as I seethed, “No, you don’t, because you haven’t cared to learn the first thing about me, outside of the bedroom. And don’t get me wrong, it’s been great. Fantastic. The best I’ve ever had by a long shot, but, Brady, now I want the rest of it, and I deserve to be with someone who wants the rest of it with me.”
“Your parents have been together since their parents introduced them when your father was twenty and your mother eighteen. Your mother is Chinese, but was raised in Japan. They are strict, traditional parents. You’re an only child. You and Bronagh met in high school and became friends with Cass a few years later, I’m not exactly sure when. You’re a lawyer, working toward becoming partner. You love sushi and a good burger.”
