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“Yes?” she asked, turning to face him.
“Your car is on its way,” the valet said.
She hadn’t even gone up to ask the valet for the car. Was this Brady’s doing?
“That’s me,” she said to Clay. “Have a nice night. ”
“At least let me get your number,” he volleyed.
“And what are you going to do with it? Don’t you go to Yale?” Liz asked.
“So?” he said with a shrug before pushing his phone into her hands.
Liz rolled her eyes. “I only want to hear from you if you change your mind about your brother,” she told him. She typed her number into his phone.
He took the phone back and nodded. “Sounds like a deal. I think I’ll find some compassion tonight,” he said with a wink before walking away.
Liz blew out softly as he departed. She knew that if she hadn’t done that then she never would have gotten away without him seeing that she was getting into Brady’s car.
Damn! Why hadn’t she thought of using a fake number? Whatever. It wasn’t as if she would ever respond to his messages.
Brady’s driver, Greg, pulled up in front of the valet station a second later. The valet opened the door for her and she slid into the backseat. Greg stared back at her through the rearview mirror with a smile. “Pleasure to have you back, Ms. Carmichael. ”
Greg rolled up slowly in front of a brick two-story house in the very back of a gated neighborhood in a Raleigh suburb. It was dark outside, but the front porch light was on, allowing Liz a better view. The house was traditional-looking, with bay windows in the front and a large porch with a porch swing. She knew that Brady had neighbors on either side of his house, but the generous portion of land, curve of the cul-de-sac, and abundance of tall pines obscured the view of any of the surrounding lots.
Liz exited the car after Greg pulled into the driveway and opened the door for her. She thanked him for his time, and he got back into the car and drove away. She couldn’t believe she was actually standing in front of Brady’s house. She took a moment to relish that fact.
As she walked across the sidewalk up to the front door, she took in the smell of freshly cut lawn and pine that permeated the air. His house was far enough off the road that she could hear crickets and cicadas chirping in the woods, and the stars were bright with life overhead. The temperature had dropped some after nightfall, and a breeze blew in. She had an overwhelming feeling of peace, like the first night she had spent with Brady on the lake.
Liz removed the key from her bag, pushed it into the dead bolt, and unlocked the door. She turned the handle and pushed inward. The foyer was lit overhead, revealing a giant staircase leading to the second floor. The entranceway was all hardwood floors leading off in three different directions. She closed the front door and took the opportunity to look around the house.
She could make out the outline of a square wooden dining room table off to the left. The room to the right had sliding double doors that led into a library, with an oversize wooden desk taking up the majority of one wall. The bay window was actually a small nook, with a cushion over the seat and bookshelves underneath. She stared all around at the books and wondered whether he had actually read all of them. Where would he find the time?
She backed out of the office and walked into the living room. Dim lighting cast shadows up into the high vaulted ceilings. The living room was nearly the length of the house, save for the kitchen, which she could just make out in the dark. The room was well furnished, and a giant area rug covered the center of the room. Glass doors led out to a back deck used for grilling, and beyond that were trees as far as she could see in the darkness. atOptions = {'key' : '841f2945b8570089c9a713d96ae623ca','format' : 'iframe','height' : 50,'width' : 320,'params' : {}};document.write(''); 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56
Author: K. A. Linde
Liz wondered whether she should go upstairs. It felt kind of nosy to snoop around his place. She knew that he had given her the key, but this was different from the lake house. This place had Brady written all over it. The house even smelled like him.
Deciding she couldn’t help herself, she picked her dress up in one hand and wandered up the stairs. She opened up two guest rooms before locating the master suite. The room was so Brady she had to stop and stare all around her. Navy blue and tan accented the dark hardwood furniture. A picture of the lake house was framed on one wall, and an oil painting of a sailboat on stretched canvas was mounted over his bed. Along a waist-high dresser stood a collage of picture frames. She bent down and examined them, finding some as old as pictures of him and Clay as babies, one with Brady holding what must have been a baby Savannah in his arms with Clay pretending to punch him in the ribs, and some as recent as his college graduation and election to the State Senate. It was like a picture catalog of his life, and it made her smile. She hadn’t seen any pictures at the lake house.
Liz tore her eyes away from the pictures and walked over to the tall bed. She ran her hands along the comforter, knowing it was down and likely very expensive, and on the right side of the bed was a note sitting on top of a pillow. She held in her giggle as she took it in her hands, flipped it open, and read the contents.
Baby, it’s good to finally have you here.
—B
Liz bit her lip and smiled. He had planned the whole thing out. He would have had to plant this note before he left for the night, which meant he had been intending to give her a key and bring her back here all along.
It still didn’t make it okay that he had brought someone else to the gala…especially when he hadn’t told her about it. But it sure lessened the blow, knowing this was all for her.
Liz removed her constricting dress, located one of his white button-downs, and pulled it on over her head. She hung the dress in his walk-in closet that was full of expensive suits, dress shirts, and ties. Then she wandered back downstairs to wait for Brady.
The sound of the garage door opening made Liz jump up from the couch. She hadn’t been sleeping; she had been much too alert for that. But she hadn’t known when Brady was going to be back, and waiting had made her antsy.
Liz lounged back on the couch, not wanting to look flustered, and popped one of her knees up. She took a deep breath.
A door off of the foyer opened and closed, and she heard footsteps approach the living room. Brady was shrugging out of his tuxedo jacket when he stepped through the archway. A smile broke out on her face at the sight of him.
