As Tears Go By (15 page)

“I
know, right? You must have really done something good to deserve these.”

Becca’s
face heated. “I see you took the liberty of opening them for me. Thank you.”

“You’re
quite welcome. He also sent a note.” The tiny envelope dropped to her desk as
she pulled a plump brownie from the box. Dear God, the flaky crispiness to
fudgy goo ratio was perfect. Licking away a bit of still warm batter, she
scooped up the card—also opened.

Ditto.

She
couldn’t help it. Her heart went into a round of summersaults.

“What’s
he dittoing?” Nikki asked as she swiped her own brownie from the box.

“Nothing.
I let him know I had a nice weekend and that he made me happy.”

“Imagine
that,” Nikki said over a mouth full of chocolate. “Becca Stevens is happy
again.”

Her
lips pursed, but she couldn’t hide her cheerfulness. Holding up a fudge smudged
finger and thumb, she confessed, “A little.”

Nikki
laughed. “Oh, please! You’re using every bit of composure you have right now
not to scream like a fourth grade girl.”

The
door crashed opened. “Who’s a fourth grade girl?”

Becca’s
smile bloomed at the sight of Nikki’s sister, Carla. “Carla, what are you doing
here?”

Carla,
who managed the bookkeeping for the firm and mostly worked from home, tromped
into the office and plopped in the chair next to her sister. “Turning in the
quarterly reports. Why else would I drag my ass outside the house and put on a
bra. You know I hate people.”

Becca
giggled. Carla was her own unique person. She came off grumpy and a bit
abrasive, but there was a huge loving heart in there somewhere. “Have a
brownie. They’re from Fritz’s.” She slid the box across the desk and Carla lit
up.

“Oooh,
see, Nikki, this is how one shows proper appreciation for my pleasant
services.”

“I’ll
remember that next time Alice does payroll. Sweets are cheaper than currency.”

“Shut
up,” Carla mumbled, as she shoveled a brownie in her mouth and hummed in
ecstasy. “Who sent these?”

“Becca’s
boyfriend.”

“Nikki!”
She turned to Carla. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“You
got
something
if he’s sending you treats from Fritz’s. Wait…did you have
the sex?”

Becca’s
chest filled with a warm, buttery goodness—not from the brownies. Oh yeah,
she’d had the sex. “Maybe.”

Carla
clapped like an excited chimp. “When? Ohmygod! I can totally see it now. You’re
all glowie and you have that stupid haze in your eyes girls get after having
orgasms. Oh, you had
good
sex. Clearly it wasn’t with Kevin—”

“Ew,”
Nikki chimed in.

“—so
spill. I want all the filthy details.”

It was
impossible to keep all the emotions inside, so Becca spent the next twenty minutes
ignoring her work load and gorging herself on the most delicious brownies in
Pittsburgh while informing Carla and Nikki all about her weekend.

“…and
then we just napped. Napped! Can you believe I found a guy who likes sleep as
much as I do?”

“So all
the things you’ve been deprived of—sex, orgasms, sleep, fun—are now coming back
into your life. This is outstanding news!” Carla declared.

“I made
her talk to him.” Nikki grinned smugly, demanding her due.

Becca
smiled. “Yes, and I finally forgive you.”

“So are
you going to introduce him to Hunter?” Carla asked, sobering the mood of the
room.

All the
warmth in her chest solidified as tension set in. “I don’t know. I want them to
meet. I think Braydon would be really patient with him. I mean, he’s the most
patient person I’ve ever met. I didn’t know men like that existed in real life.
But I’m…”

“Afraid?”
Nikki and Carla asked at the same time.

“Yeah.”
Becca slid the empty box off her desk and into the trash, hiding all evidence
before her sugar coma set in. “I always had these imagined rules for situations
like this that I never thought I’d actually have to use.”

“Rules
are meant to be broken,” Nikki sang happily.

“Not
where Hunter’s concerned,” Becca reminded seriously. “I don’t want to introduce
him to someone who may not be around in a few weeks.”

“Did
you tell GQ that?”

“Well,
no. I don’t want to sound presumptuous.”

“Yeah,
but you have extenuating circumstances. Hunter’s a great kid. He deserves to be
surrounded by great people—like Nikki and myself. This guy should know
greatness is expected of him.”

“Carla,
I can’t tell him he can only meet my son if he promises to stick around. No one
can make a commitment like that.”

“Well,
then he doesn’t get to meet Hunter. It depends on what you want more, Becs, him
to meet your son or him not to get that involved.”

“I
don’t know what I want yet.” That was the truth. It had only been a couple of
weeks since she met Braydon, and only one weekend since changing her opinion of
him.

“Well,
you’ll figure it out. Eventually, it’ll start getting annoying only being able
to see him when Kevin has Hunter—”

“Blah.
Kevin. I hate that little testicle,” Carla interrupted.

Nikki
continued, “—I mean, think how much it’ll suck only being able to see him every
two weeks and maybe every Wednesday.”

“I
know. It’s so weird, but I already started missing him before I even said
goodbye last night. We were supposed to have lunch today.”

“Why
didn’t you?”

“I had
to finish up the paperwork from last month’s deal.”

“Well,
at least you get to see him at work,” Carla said. “Oh, you guys could have all
kinds of secret rendezvous! It’ll be like a naughty liaison! Promise you’ll fax
me a copy of his ass cheeks when you do it on the copier.”

“Just
wipe down the conference table when you’re done,” Nikki grumbled.

“I am
not having sex at work!” Becca hissed.

“Why
the hell not? I do all the time,” Carla said.

“You
work from home,” Becca said dryly.

Carla
shrugged.

Nikki
turned and gaped at her sister. “Clearly I’m paying you for nothing. And who
the hell are you having sex with?”

Blinking
with innocence, Carla said, “People.”

Nikki
frowned. “What people?”

“Electrical
people and the men of my fantasies.”

Becca
snorted and Nikki rolled her eyes. “You need help.”

Carla
perked up. “Help would be great. Why don’t you hire some decent looking men and
send them to my office?”

Shaking
her head, Nikki stood. “Your office should be in the building with everyone
else’s.”

“No,
that won’t work. You know I don’t play well with others.”

The
girls eventually staggered out of the office on a sugar high. Becca didn’t get
another chance to think about the matter of Braydon and Hunter until she was
falling into bed that night, too exhausted to make any real, big girl
decisions.

* * * *

The
following day she rushed into work after a trying morning with Hunter and
didn’t seem to catch her breath until she was cracking open her email.

Good morning, angel. Lunch today?

Ps: You never called last night.

~Bray

Grinning—dear
God, she
was
turning into a fourth grader—she punched out a reply.

Good morning. I have a meeting at 12:30, so it will have to
be a late lunch. How’s 2:00? Someplace close to my office, if you don’t mind. I
have another meeting at 3:00.

PS: You never asked me to call.

~Your Angel

His
reply didn’t come for over an hour, during which time Becca displayed some
humiliating dependency issues she wasn’t aware she possessed, A.K.A.
obsessively checking her inbox and pouting when she found it empty. When his
reply finally showed, she squeaked with a mortifyingly girly voice she also
didn’t realize she possessed.

Sorry, Angel, no can do. My afternoon’s booked solid. I
suppose drinks after work are out. When will I see you again? It’s almost
embarrassing to miss someone this much.

PS: Of course I told you to call. Did you not hear my
subliminal pleas yesterday? I was using Jedi pathways to get your attention.

~Bray

Becca
laughed. He was a dork, just like her, and that was unbelievably refreshing.
Her skin tingled as she reread the line about him missing her.

My head must have been too fuzzy with chocolate residue to
pick up your subliminal signals. I miss you too. (A lot…insert corny smiley
face here) I promise I’ll call you tonight, because, yes, drinks are out.
Sorry. Told you my life was complicated.

~Your Angel

I don’t mind complicated. Just trying to figure my way into
the mix. Did you enjoy your brownies?

~Bray

Silly boy, I made love to those brownies. It was dirty,
sinful, and I was utterly useless afterwards.

~Your chocolate lovin’ Angel

His
reply was quick.

Annnnnnd…now I’m hard. I want you.

Becca
fell back in her chair and sighed. How the hell was this happening to her?
Things like this didn’t happen in her life. Men like Braydon McCullough didn’t
want her. There had to be something wrong with him she wasn’t seeing. He was
just too…perfect.

That
evening, she didn’t have the house shut down until well after nine. Hunter
didn’t have the best day and it was bath night. She could barely keep her eyes
open as she dialed Braydon.

“Hello,”
he answered and she was reminded of just how delicious his voice was. She was
also reminded that most adults had plenty of stamina after—she glanced at the
clock—nine-thirty-two. Good grief she was a waif.

“Hey.”

“You
sound tired. You okay?”

“Tired
is an understatement. I’m not even sure if I’m still breathing.”

“Bad
night?” He sounded so upbeat and energetic. She envied that and couldn’t recall
the last time she’d outwardly displayed that sort of oomph.

“Normal
night. I’m just tired.” She sighed, taking vicarious pleasure in his mood.

“Does
Hunter like pizza?”

Before
she answered she paused, alarm bells going off in her head. She couldn’t deal
with another pop in, but maybe that wasn’t what he was hinting at. Exhaustion
was likely making her presumptuous. Still, she answered cautiously, “Yes.”

“Well,
I was thinking, maybe—if it would help—one night I could come by with a pizza,
meet Hunter, and save you some time in the kitchen.”

It
still shocked her that a single man would push so hard to find a way into her
chaotic life. The sincerity seemed impossible, yet he sounded so genuine. She
laughed quietly, her face sinking deeper into the pillow. “Where did you come
from?”

“Center
County.”

She
hummed happily and mumbled, “Must be a magical place.”

“I’m
serious.”

“I know
you are. That’s what’s so incredible about you. How would you like to come over
tomorrow night after work? Hunter goes to his father’s on Wednesdays.”

“Can I
sleep over?”

“Yes.”
Her lips tightened with a smile.

“Mmm,
then yes. Should I bring the pizza?”

“Yes,
please.”

“Perfect.”
Becca was thinking the same thing, only applying the word to him. “Can I pick
up anything else?
A bottle of wine?
Brownies?”

“No
more brownies for at least a week. I have no self-control and my pants still
don’t fit right since the other day.”

“I
think you eating brownies could be incredibly sexy. Maybe just one.”

She
groaned and giggled. “You’re killing me, Smalls.”

“Okay,
fine. One pizza, a bottle of wine, and one teeny, tiny brownie.”

“Fine.”

“I’ll
let you get some sleep. Sweet dreams, angel.”

“Sweet
dreams, Braydon.”

* * * *

The
following afternoon Braydon rushed out of work and headed to the liquor store.
He’d ordered the pizza from a place near Becca’s and planned to pick it up
after he swung by Fritz’s for her brownie. As he climbed back into his car, his
cell rang.