“Fuck no!” Richard snapped. “Dawn might have been upset with me, even a little disappointed, but never enough to ever consider Hamilton as a love interest. I would have kidnapped her and locked her away at our family’s cabin until she got over it. Dawn is my wife now and forever. I truly would be lost without her and our son.”
Finally, someone who understood what he was going through. “See, Alicia is that for me, but she’s having a hard time opening up. How much longer should I wait before I move on to someone else that I might be able to have a future with?” Brad hated the thought of spending the rest of his life without Alicia.
“You will never be happy with another woman if Alicia is the love of your life. Fight for her with everything that you have in you and from what you just told me about last night. Alicia isn’t fighting you the way she used to in the past.”
The memory of making out with Alicia had kept him up most of the night and well into the morning. “No, she isn’t putting up blocks against me anymore. I think I’m moving towards something good with her.”
“Great…now enough about Alicia,” Richard said. “I want to discuss your life. Are you still thinking about leaving Lee’s business and starting up your own?”
He hadn’t let go of the idea of being his own boss, but starting up a new venture was hard especially since he still wasn’t too sure what he wanted do. “I haven’t decided yet,” Brad admitted, honestly. “Sometimes, I get a little envious that you, Zack and even Lee have jobs that the three of you love.”
“Don’t be jealous. We always knew what we wanted to do since college. You, on the other hand, loved being outside more than you ever cared about being inside a building,” Richard told him. “Just make sure this time you decide on a career that you love to do every day.”
Stretching his legs out underneath the table, Brad ran the palm of his hand along the back of his neck trying to relieve some of the knots. Richard made it sound so easy, but it wasn’t. He just couldn’t do anything with his life. He had to pick a good career, so he could be on an equal playing field with Alicia. She was younger than him and was already working at a job she loved and moving in the right direction with her life.
“It’s not as easy as you’re making it out to be. I’m thirty-two years old. I should already have a well-established career and I don’t. How can I ask Alicia to spend the rest of her life with me when I won’t be able to take care of her?”
“Alicia doesn’t seem like the type of woman who will want you to take care of her. All you need to do is love her and that will always be enough.”
“Are you sure?” Brad asked more than a little worried.
“Well, it’s enough for my stunning wife,” Richard laughed, trying to ease some of the tension in the room. “How about you take a peek at your nephew before you leave?”
His brother got up from the table and pushed the chair back in then headed for the door. “I think Dawn should be done bathing him by now. I told her I would stay home from work today, so she could spend the day with Traci and Cherise.”
“Do you love being a father?” Brad asked.
Turning back around, Richard gave him a smile so huge that it spread from ear to ear. “Sterling is the most beautiful gift that Dawn could ever give me. The love I have for my little boy knows no bounds. You’ll see when you have your own.” Richard spun back around and went out the door towards the nursery at the end of the hall.
Brad stood alone in the kitchen for a few minutes wondering would he ever be a husband and a father. He knew one thing. He wasn’t going to let Alicia leave him without a damn good fight on her hands. She was his perfect woman and he wanted her in his life forever.
Whistling to himself, he walked out of the kitchen and followed behind his brother thinking of another way that he could win over another piece of Alicia’s heart.
Chapter Sixteen
Standing in front of the window in her small office, Alicia glanced down at the crowd of people walking below but she really didn’t see them. Her mind was on something else, the same thing that had been keeping her up most of the night…Brad.
After the way the two of them had made out on the couch, she was positive he would ask to spend the night in her bed, but he surprised her. Instead of picking her up and carrying her the short distance to the bedroom Brad gave her a long, slow kiss and then left leaving her in a state of arousal that she had never experienced before.
Brad’s attention to her last night made her feel so cherished and understood. She might had been upset when he first left, but Brad was trying to prove to her that he wanted to create a meaningful and intense connection with her that wasn’t spent getting sweaty between the sheets.
Now, the idea of spending the night in Brad’s bed wasn’t horrible at all. Truly, the more she gave it thought the more she dreamt about it happening every night she was home alone in her empty bed.
Alicia hadn’t been the same since Brad started showering her with his unwavering attention. Somehow, he had gotten into her psyche and she was having a very hard time pushing him out this time.
Leaving the window, Alicia walked over to her desk and touched the flowers sitting there. When she had arrived here this morning a dozen red roses had been waiting for her at the security desk with the guard. How Brad found someone to deliver flowers that early in the morning she would never know. Reaching for the card, she flipped it open and read the note again.
Last night was wonderful; I hope that we have many more in our future,
Love,
Brad
Alicia wasn’t about to ignore the little skip of her heart. She placed the card back and took a sniff of the roses again. Oh yeah! Brad was paying her the right amount of attention with the way he was trying to get to know her.
“I didn’t know that you got paid to stand around and smell the roses. Wait until I tell our brother. You will never hear the last of it,” a female voice teased behind her.
Spinning around, Alicia screamed before running over and giving her big sister a hug. “Chloe, what are you doing here? I thought you were going overseas to give a lecture,” Alicia said as she took a step back from her sister who could have been a stand-in for Venus Williams.
“The seminar got cancelled,” Chloe said. “So, instead of going back home I decided to come and see my favorite little sister.”
“I’m your only sister.”
“That is true,” Chloe agreed as she moved around her and headed over to the roses and read the card. “Is this the tennis instructor you used to tell me about? Are you finally giving this guy a chance?”
Going across the room, Alicia took the card from her sister and shoved it back into the flowers. “I don’t need any advice from you and the last time I checked there wasn’t a ring on your finger.”
Chloe laughed at her outburst like she constantly did when they were children. “I’m single by choice,” her sister defended crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re single out of fear. You need to let the past go and move on. What happened back when you were younger wasn’t your fault. How many times do I need to tell you that before you believe me?”
Alicia wasn’t going to do this with her sister. Chloe should leave the past dead and buried. “I’m done talking about this.”
“You shouldn’t let what happened with Brian and Nick keep you from falling in love with Brad. Alicia, they didn’t die because of you. How can you believe that they did?”
Enough already…she was done discussing this subject. She had just got through being on television for nine hours straight. She was ready to go home and take a couple of hours break before she was due back tonight for a late broadcast.