Pressing his shoulder against the kitchen door frame, Brad couldn’t keep the huge grin off his face. This was the first time Alicia had ever asked him out on a date. Maybe she was starting to see the light when it came to him and that they might be able to have something really good if she only opened up her heart a tiny bit.
Why couldn’t Alicia look in the mirror and see herself in the same way that he saw her: as a delightful and entertaining hot woman that could be so much more if she only got over some of her insecurities.
Sure, Alicia possessed the confidence needed to be a brilliant reporter, but she was also incredibly clever and talented outside of her profession. She had found a way of talking him into asking his family into doing this new story about them. Even the media-hating Lee had jumped on board at the very last minute for him.
Didn’t Alicia understand that she would always be dying to learn new things because her mind was constantly on the lookout to explore new activities or thoughts? She tried to pretend that she was an unappealing woman who lived for her work, but he felt the inner passion Alicia fought so hard to keep a secret from everyone.
Brad knew deep down in his gut that a married life with Alicia would never be predictable. His woman had an insatiable thirst for learning new things and digging out situations most people wouldn’t even think twice about.
The more he was around Alicia the more she amazed him. She was changing a little and he wasn’t too proud to take some of the credit for it. Something inside of Alicia was wounded and it called to him to fix it.
Most of his family was trying to be supportive of his pursuit of Alicia, but he could see some of them even doubted if Alicia truly cared about him. He never thought of Alicia as unfeeling or detached. Rather he saw her as a woman who spent more of her life with tunnel vision towards her career and not on love.
Now with him confessing his love for her every time he got the chance, Alicia wasn’t sure how to act because none of it fell into her well-laid plans for her life. Challenging would be the word he would use to describe his woman. Alicia fought and pushed him away at every turn because his love was something new and hit her out of the blue.
A small part of her could be afraid of commitment and that was understandable after the way Max had treated her. Nevertheless, it was time for Alicia to leave Max in the past and for her to see what was right in front of her face…him and his love for her.
Well, tonight would be another step in that direction, Alicia had invited him over for dinner and he wasn’t about to miss out on this golden opportunity to spend the evening with her. Picking up the cordless phone off the stand, Brad punched in Alicia’s number and waited.
“Hello,” she answered in her soft voice which he considered the sexiest thing he had ever heard.
“Hi, baby. I got your message. Of course, I would love to have dinner with you. Do I need to bring anything?”
“I don’t have anything for dessert.”
“You mean you aren’t going to be dessert? I already know how sweet you taste. I could make a meal out of you.” Brad’s flirty comment was met by silence. He hoped that he hadn’t ruined his small progress he had made by voicing his inner thoughts.
“You never know what might happen after you show up, but bring something sweet just in case,” Alicia flirted back shocking the hell out him and then she hung up.
A second hadn’t passed before Brad hung up the phone and then raced up the stairs to get ready for his date. He would think about what to bring for dessert while he was in the shower.
Alicia’s dinner invitation was a surprise to him but before the night was over he would make sure that he impressed Alicia with something she wouldn’t forget for a while.
Taking the last piece of cubed chicken out of the skillet, Alicia worked on the rest of the ingredients for the Chicken and Coconut meal she was working on for dinner tonight with Brad.
After her horrible interview experience with Lee, she had actually thought about spending the night alone to think about it, but in the end she changed her mind. Why should she allow Lee to bother her? It wasn’t like his views were going to change any time soon.
She wasn’t trying to impress him and the only Drace brother’s opinion who mattered was Brad. He knew her. He found ways to get deeper into her mind and she liked that the most about him. He wasn’t scared away by her defenses.
Picking up the cut bell peppers and scallions, she tossed them into the skillet and stirred them around. After about a minute, she tossed in the other items and mixed them in as well loving how the smells of Thai Red Curry paste and ground cumin filled the kitchen.
Alicia left the food cooking on the stove to grab a bag of cauliflower florets along with matchstick carrots out of the refrigerator. She quickly opened them and added everything including the chicken back to the hot pan before pouring in the coconut milk she had measured out earlier. Turning the heat down, Alicia added a lid to the food so it could simmer.
Chicken with Coconut curry was one of her favorite meals because on one of the rare occasions that her parents would take her and her siblings to her grandmother’s house for a visit, this was the one meal that they would cook together while her siblings would be outside playing.
Over the years, she had gotten pretty good at whipping up a satisfying meal, but anytime she experienced a bad day, she would always fix this one for dinner and it made everything better in her eyes.
She only hoped that Brad like it. Inviting Brad to dinner was a huge step out of her comfort zone, but she had dialed his number and left the message. Brad was good for her. He knew how to make her smile without even trying. More and more she was getting used to the idea of him being a part of her life.
Chapter Thirteen
The sound of the doorbell ringing made her glance over at the clock on the microwave. Damn, Brad was thirty minutes early. Leave it to him. Taking off her apron, Alicia tossed it on the island and then smoothed her hands over the dress she kept buried in the back of her closet for a special occasion.
As she made her way to the front door, Alicia blew out a deep breath and shoved the anxiety from her body. How was it possible that being in front of a camera for millions of people never had her heart pounding as fast as it was at this moment? Was opening the door for Brad really this nerve racking?
“Stop it. You can do this,” Alicia mumbled to herself before she opened the door.
A soft gasp escaped her as her eyes landed on Brad. He stood there, stunningly handsome in a dark blue shirt that could almost be mistaken for black. The rich outlines of his shoulders strained against the fabric making her wish she could see him without it. The top two buttons were open revealing a tantalizing glimpse of a muscular chest covered with crisp light brown hair.
She even liked how his usually clean shaven face had a shadow of a beard that gave him an even manlier aura. “Wow, you look nice,” Alicia complimented when she finally stopped staring long enough to speak.
“Baby, you look damn hot!” Brad eyed the strapless black dress she was wearing especially for him, not that he knew that. “I’m glad you invited me over for dinner because I wouldn’t let you leave the house wearing that killer dress.”
“Oh, really.” Alicia moved to the side, waving Brad inside and closing the door behind them. “What’s in the box?” she asked, pointing to the medium sized box in his hands.
“I’ll tell you in a minute.” Brad set the box on the table and came back to her. “But I want to do something with you first.”
“What do you want?” Like she had to ask because she already knew the answer, but she did anyway just in case she was wrong.
Yanking her into his arms, Brad covered her mouth with his slipping his tongue inside. He moved his mouth over hers devouring its softness. His tongue sent shivers of aching desire racing through her. Alicia wrapped her arms around Brad’s shoulders allowing herself to really get lost in the moment. She was shocked at her own eager response to Brad’s firm lips.