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36
Igasped. My throatran dry. Words failed me. The emotional trauma an almost repeat situation must have done to him...if only I’d let him speak.
“I’m so sorry, Brady. If I’d known—”
“It’s ok,” he said. He looked back at me and smiled. “You weren’t to know, were you? I just...it didn’t even enter my head that it could happen again. My luck’s bad but even I didn’t think it could be that bad. I can’t believe I let you go out.” He removed his hand from mine, leaving a cold space. He balled his hands into fists at his sides. “It hurt so much when I lost Kelsa. If I’d lost another person that I love because ofher...”
He walked towards the window, his back to me. Silence filled the room. The clock on the wall ticked time by with an agonising series of clicks. My heart ached for him. I wanted to envelope him in the same hugs he had me craving for. I wanted him to open his heart, tell me his woes, and let me heal him. Like he had done me.
“Anna and I met in Vegas. I was there with a group of mates, celebrating my twenty first birthday.” He turned and sighed. Tension seemed to leave him as he managed a smile. “Yes, it was a cliché drunken wedding in ‘The Little Chapel of Love’. Two of my friends also got hitched that night. Strangely, they’re still happily married.” A light chuckle left him. “My father is an oil tycoon. He and my mother hate each other with a passion, but they both believe in marriage is for life. As such, when they set up mine and Kelsa’s trust funds, it was written in that if we ever divorced, we would lose it. When Kelsa died, her trust fund was merged with mine.”
A dawning horror began to slowly piece things together in my head. “Lose it? Where?”
“The partner. Anna.” He shook his head and scrubbed his hands over his face. “I couldn’t care less about my part, I don’t need it. But I refused to let her have her grubby hands on Kelsa’s. She’s been serving me with divorce papers since we split, knowing damn well I won’t sign them. She enjoyed rubbing it in my face that we were either connected for life, or I could choose her over my sister. That’s how she saw it anyway. She hated how close we were.”
I was dumbfounded. I let the situation soak in for a few seconds. “And now you’ve signed the papers?”
He nodded and shrugged his shoulders. “No use having all the money in the world if you can’t be with someone because of a stupid technicality. Money doesn’t bring happiness. I know Kelsa would want me to be happy.” He came back to my side and took my hand in his. “But I’ve had no reason to give in until now. Until I met you.”
My heart burst. A comforting warmth seeped through my chest, slowly spreading to every part of my body. Happy tears threatened to spill, and I couldn’t hold back my emotions any longer.
“I love you,” I whispered, squeezing his hand.
His eyes widened, and he burst into a beaming smile. “Do you have any idea how happy you just made me?” He stood up and wrapped his arms around my neck. “I’m the happiest man in the world right now.” He pressed repetitive kisses against my hair. “I love you so much, Sophie. So damn much.”
I closed my eyes and returned his hug. This was all I needed. Sod the responsibilities I still had at home. I knew with this man by my side, anything was possible. How could I have ever doubted otherwise?
“Promise me something,” he said, pulling back just enough so our noses were touching. He cupped my cheek and stroked me with his thumb. “Don’t you ever put that horse before you again. Do you hear me?”
I nodded. The breathless plea in his tone of voice cracked my soul in two. “I promise.”
“Good.” He kissed the end of my nose. “You have no idea how scared I was that night. I can’t believe you did that to save him. Regardless of the sentimental ties I have with him, I could live without him.” He brushed a gentle kiss over my lips. “But you, I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.”
Nodding, I titled my lips up to his, returning his previous gentle kiss with my own tender one. I ran my hands through his silky dark hair, remembering the last time I’d done this—in my bed.
The sound of someone clearing their throat jolted us both from our intimate moment.
Dr Tate stood grinning at us with a wheelchair in front of him. “Right, your bed is all set up. Shall we?”
Brady lifted me into the wheelchair and followed Dr Tate down the dozens of winding corridors. How anyone found their way around here amazed me.
Twenty minutes later, I was cushioned in a soft bed with a drip in my arm. The TV blared away in the background with some cheesy daytime show. Brady took a seat next to me. Even though he was only a matter of a few feet away, it felt like a million miles.
I shuffled over in my bed, pressing my back up against the metal railings. The coldness of them was more than welcomed at the moment. Patting the small space next to me, I motioned for him to join me.
“How skinny do you think I am?” he said, chuckling.
He kicked his boots off and climbed in next to me. Curling me against his side, I nuzzled into his chest, inhaling his scent like a drug. I kissed him, just over his heart, and settled against him.
“Brady,” I said, trailing my fingers just under the hem of his shirt, across his taut abs. “I want to know what real love is. And I want you to show me.”
He tightened his arm around me. With his index finger, he tilted my head back until I was looking into those captivating chocolate eyes of his. He brought his mouth down on mine with such a tender sweep, it stole all the breath from my body.
“Gladly,” he said.
