Alicia could tell that Brad’s answer pleased her sister by the way she leaned back in the kitchen chair and tilted her head to the side. Chloe could be a ball buster when she wanted to, but she sensed that for some reason Chloe liked Brad.
“Alicia, why don’t you walk your boyfriend to the door,” she suggested. “I’ll stay here and we can talk some more when you get back.”
She quickly grabbed Brad’s hand and tugged him from the room before Chloe said another word to embarrass her. Anyway, she did want some more alone time with Brad before he had to leave because she wasn’t sure when they would meet up later today.
At the front door, Alicia smiled up at Brad and she couldn’t help the wonderful memories that came rushing back from last night. “I really loved last night. It was wonderful.”
Brad glanced back at the kitchen before yanking her against him with his free hand. “I would rather be upstairs making love to you instead of heading back to my house, but thank you for this morning. I think I might actually be able to make it through my day without going crazy for you.”
Why did Brad have to seduce her with his words and her sister was right in the other room?
“I’m going to miss you too, but we can meet up later after I finish with the interviews.” Alicia kissed Brad and tried to move back, but he pulled her closer and reclaimed her mouth for a deeper kiss.
“I really don’t want to leave you,” Brad complained against her mouth.
“I know, I feel the same way, but think about the fun we’ll have when we meet up later today,” Alicia pointed out.
Stepping back, Brad stared down at her with his gorgeous blue eyes. “You’re right. I need to stop at home and change out of this suit anyway before I head to work. In addition, I need to talk to Lee about a few things too.”
Alicia heard the concern in Brad’s voice. What was going on that she didn’t know about? “Do you want to talk? I can ask my sister to leave.”
Brad shook his head. “No, let me talk to Lee first and then I’ll fill you in.” Brad gave her another quick kiss and walked around her then opened the front door. Looking over his shoulder, Brad winked at her before closing the door behind him. “Goodbye, gorgeous. I’ll see you later on.”
“Are you still trying to deny that you’re in love with that handsome man?” Chloe questioned behind her.
Rolling her eyes, Alicia faced her big sister who she loved dearly but wished she would stay out of her personal life. She knew what she was doing and didn’t need any help from anyone else.
“I’m not going to discuss Brad with you. So, are you ready to tell me why you’re here? I know that it isn’t just to catch up with each other.”
“Mom and Dad have been asking about you. Aren’t you ever going home for a visit? They really do miss seeing you.”
Alicia didn’t forget how her parents acted the last time she went to see them. She had enough of the complaining about her career choice and their indifference towards her.
“Sorry, I can’t. I’ve a big story I’m working on. I don’t have any extra time to take off to visit them.” Alicia left the living room and brushed past her sister to go back into the kitchen.
Walking around the kitchen, Alicia cleaned up the remainder of breakfast on the table tossing it into the trashcan. She wasn’t getting into this with her sister. Her mind was made up and she wasn’t about to change it.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Thanks so much for seeing me,” Alicia said as she took a seat on the couch across from Traci.
“You’re welcome. It’s my day off from the hospital so it’s a perfect chance. Plus, Zack has taken Carter out to buy Halloween candy and a costume. He’s about to turn three soon so he’s really getting into the holiday.”
Alicia thought about the first time she saw Traci and it had been at a Halloween party. She was out on the dance floor with Brad. She remembered the jealousy that consumed her and how surprised she had been by it. Because back then she was positive that she was heads over heels in love with Max. How could she have been so dumb and blind?
If she had seen the light way back then she could have been happily married to Brad with a couple of kids and another one of the way. Well, it wasn’t too late to start making her dream come true now. They were moving in the right direction.
“Are you thinking about the first time we met?” Traci asked, shocking her.
“Yeah, I was. How did you know? I never knew you ever saw me that night.”
“Oh, I remember the hard look you gave me,” Traci laughed. “I thought you were dating Brad until Zack told me the two of you were only friends.”
Idiot wasn’t the word she would use to describe herself. Alicia realized her mistake now and was going to do everything to fix it.
“I wish I had been with Brad back at the party because the guy I was trying to make jealous turned out to be an asshole.”
Traci nodded her head in agreement. “I know how that is. I dated a lot of them before I found Zack. I couldn’t be happier.”
Alicia couldn’t have gotten a better opening for her interview…
“What did you think about Zack when you first met him? Was it love at first sight?”
“No, I would say that I was attracted to Zack but I had so much going on. So, I wasn’t looking for a relationship at the time he was trying to ask me out on a date.”
Alicia wrote down a few notes on the pad that she had pulled out of her purse. She wanted to get a lot of the back story before she set up a day to record the complete interview. This was the family of the man she was in love with and she wanted to do a good job for him.
“However, Zack was looking for a relationship and he didn’t give up until he got you,” Alicia said.
Traci smiled at her and it lit up her pretty face. “My husband was very persistent back then and I was turned on by how he never took no for an answer.”
Alicia had heard a little about Traci and Zack’s relationship from the other people, but was enjoying hearing Traci tell her about it.
“Was it hard to fall in love with Zack? Or did it just seem to happen? When did you know that he was the one for you?”
A dreamy look came over Traci’s face as she thought about Zack, and Alicia wondered if she got that look when someone brought up Brad. She felt so much love for him inside, but could everyone else around her see it?
“Falling in love with Zack was the best thing that I ever did in my life. We went through a lot of ups and downs yet in the end everything worked out. I can’t tell you precise time I fell in love with Zack because I think he did so many little things to make it happen.”
Alicia quickly wrote down more information. All of this was going to be a wonderful addition.
Hearing the loving way that Traci spoke about Zack made her see what was in store for her with Brad, Alicia was beginning to see being in love with a Drace brother was a fantastic thing.
“How do you think Zack has changed with getting married and becoming a father?”
“Zack is a superb father with Carter. I mean he used to be such a horrible workaholic when we first got married. Sure, he was home around eight or nine at night, but he brought work home with him. Now, since Carter is getting older he comes home earlier and spends the weekends doing father and son stuff.
“I think having a family has made him see that working long hours isn’t the most important thing in his life anymore. I’ve the most perfect family and I won’t change it for anything in the world.”
Alicia’s hand flew across the paper as she wrote down the important parts of the story. She couldn’t believe the excellent info she was getting. She only hoped that everyone else would be as open as Traci had been with her.