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“Brady just pulled up,” she told me.
“Finally,” I said, relieved that he could get the balloons blown up now.
“You boys need some nourishment?” Mom asked, and both guys dropped their lanterns and went to get what my mother had brought out as if they were starving. We had only been at this for two hours. I rolled my eyes and startedworking on decorating the table that would be for drinks. The fountain I had bought off Amazon was going to have edible glitter in the purple-colored apple juice coming down out of it. I couldn’t wait for Bryony to see it.
“Sorry I’m late,” Brady said behind me, then placed a kiss on my cheek.
“What did Bryony convince you to do?” I asked him, turning around to face him.
He frowned. “Nothing. Well, except to stay at Mom’s and come with her… and my dad.”
The way his tone dropped when he said “my dad” had me searching his face. He was upset. Worried and stressed. It was clearly etched all over his handsome features. I reached up and touched his arm.
“Your dad is coming with your mom?” I asked him to clarify I was understanding his mood.
He nodded. “He was at her house. I saw his SUV and stopped. That’s why I’m late.”
I wrapped my arms around him. There wasn’t much I could say to make this any better. I knew all too well how badly his father’s affair had affected him. He had come a long way since then, forgiving his dad and moving on from what he’d done. But I knew he’d never expected this. Not after all his mom had gone through.
“I’m good,” he said and kissed the top of my head.“Today isn’t about that shit. It’s about Bryony, and I have balloons to get blown up.” He stopped and looked up at the ceiling. “You need me to hang the lanterns first?” he asked.
“No, Gunner and Nash are doing that,” I assured him.
He glanced over at them eating the snacks Mom had brought out. “Yeah, they look hard at work,” he drawled.
“They’ll get it done,” I told him, then stood on my tiptoes to kiss his stubbled jawline. “I like this on you,” I whispered. “It’s rugged.”
His eyes swung back to me. “Rugged, huh?” he asked, his gaze no longer troubled.
I nodded.
“Does ‘rugged’ lead to me getting you naked?”
I laughed then. “Always.”
He growled as he leaned down and captured my lips with his. My hands slid into his hair as he stepped closer to me. The mint taste of his gum was all the refreshment I needed.
“Jesus! We got a party to decorate for. Stop eating each other alive,” Gunner called out, and Brady slowly moved back, breaking the kiss.
“He’s a jackass. Tell me again why he’s here,” he said.
“Because he’s your friend and Bryony’s uncle,” I reminded him.
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Damn luck.”
Laughing, I slapped his arm. “He’s right. We need to get this finished up.”
Brady nodded, then kissed me one more time quickly before turning to unbox the helium tank. I watched him for a moment, enjoying the view of his butt in those jeans. His T-shirt was just snug enough so I could see his muscles underneath. Smiling, I finally turned my attention back to the table and continued decorating. I could ogle my man later.
CHAPTER THREE
BRADY
The last of the twinkling lights had been secured to the tent, and the lanterns’ battery-operated lights had been turned on. Riley had managed to create a fucking fairy tale in her parents’ backyard. She was inside now getting changed for the party, and Nash had gone to help himself to the adult drink table. Gunner had left to go pick up Willa already, and I was the only one left out here. With their help, we had pulled this together in enough time to take a moment before the guests showed up.
“OH MY GOSH!!!” Bryony’s squeal filled the backyard, and I turned to see her running through the back gate with her eyes wide in disbelief. She ran past me and lookedup at the lanterns and twinkling lights, then her gaze fell to the sparkly drink fountain thing that Riley had set up. “Daddy! Do you see this! It’s, it’s magical!”
Smiling, I understood why Riley went to all this trouble. Getting to experience Bryony so excited and amazed was worth every damn minute put into preparing for this two-hour party.
