Bittersweet (3 page)

She looked up and laughed at the mischievous smile on his face. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I haven’t genuinely laughed in so long.”

***

“So where are you taking me?” she asked, admiring the scenery as they drove through Dublin.

“You’ll see. Um, it’s a good tourist spot.”

Time seemed to pass quickly when she was in Brady’s presence, and soon they were pulling up to a large open space with a helicopter. “Are ye ready for this?” he asked.

“Ready for what?”

He helped her from the car and led the way

“Um, what’s that for?”

“It’s our ride. Come on, Jenna, ye’ll have to wait and see. Let me help ye up.”

Bracing herself for anything, Jenna found the helicopter ride exhilarating and scary at the same time. Although the scenery was still breathtaking, it looked so different from being so high in the air. Everything was smaller, and you could see so much more all at once. It was breathtaking. He seemed pleased with Jenna’s amazement and answered questions whenever she had them. She’d never been on a helicopter ride before, and who knew you could take a tour on one? Obviously Brady did.

As the helicopter descended, she began to panic slightly and clutched on to him for dear life until they were safely landed. Not that she minded. She liked the feel of his muscles under her fingers. Her nervousness faded, replaced by disappointment that the ride was over so quickly and she had to let him go. As he helped her out, her stomach embarrassed her by growling.

“Ye hungry, love?” he asked with a quirk of his lips.

“Starved.”

“Good, I like a woman that likes to eat. I’m hungry too. Come on, I know a great spot.”

They grabbed lunch on the go and took a leisurely stroll hand in hand. While walking down a trail, they engaged in small talk to get to know each other better.

“So tell me about yerself,” he said.

“Hmm, let’s see. I’m twenty-seven and an only child. Both my parents are still living and have been married the last thirty years. I currently live in Staten Island, New York, but I was born in Canada.”

“What else?” he persisted.

“What else? What is it that you want to know?”

“Anything and everything ye’d like to share. How about ye tell me about the most exotic place ye’ve ever been to, where ye’ve traveled. Now that would be interestin’.”

“Well, when it comes to traveling, it’s simple because I’ve never traveled before this.”

“Really?” He laughed.

Jenna played along. “Pathetic, huh? Honestly, Brady, with being a wife and a mother, I didn’t have the time.” The words slipped out before she could take them back. The laughter died quickly, and Brady’s face fell.

“Ye’r married?” He was clearly not happy with the thought. “Ye’r here with me and ye’r married and have a child. Please, tell me this is some kinda joke. ’Cause if it is, it’s not very funny.”

Playtime was over. The atmosphere had become extremely serious, and Jenna began to cry. “No, it’s not funny,” she whispered, trying to hold back a sob. “The truth is I really am pathetic. I was married, Brady,
was
being the important word. My husband died a little over a year ago, and it was partly my fault. God, I still miss him, but I’m trying to move on. I need to for myself, and I want to for my son. It’s been hard, but above all else, the most important thing in my life, my whole life, is my child.”

She wasn’t sure what to expect now that she’d told Brady about Jayden. She missed her son so much that thinking about him hurt.

“Shite, Jenna, I’m so sorry, darlin’.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into the embrace. “But come on, love, ye’r far from pathetic, and it couldna been yer fault.”

She cried on his shoulder, and being there felt so good. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such strong arms around her, and God, he smelled amazing. “We didn’t have seat belts on. We were stranded…” She sobbed. “There was a rainstorm and we couldn’t see a thing, so Tyler pulled over. I was irritated, and I needed a distraction, so he kissed me. It’s a bit of a blur and it all happened so fast. I saw the blinding bright lights of the truck in front of us. The driver lost control, and it nearly got the both of us killed. He’s gone, and he shouldn’t be, Brady. Why do bad things have to happen to good people?”

“It’s not yer fault, Jenna. God, love, I’m so sorry, but thank ya for sharin’. Ye’ve helped me learn so much about ye. Now everythin’ makes so much sense.”

“What makes sense?” She sniffed and wiped her face.

“Well, when I seen ye at the airport, ye seemed like ye were interested, but then ye looked so panicked and left so quickly. Last night ye were different, easy to talk to, and I enjoyed yer flirting. Hell, ye even let me kiss ye.” He gave her one of his killer smiles. “But today ye seemed so shy.”

She smiled and then exhaled loudly. “I guess I’m not that hard to read. Thanks for listening.” She felt both relieved and foolish at the same time. He probably thought she was a nut case. “You know, I’m still waiting.”

“For what, love?”

“Well, I just figured that after hearing my story, any sane man would be running for the hills. I have baggage and a child, and you don’t seem to mind at all.”

He laughed louder than ever. “Yer baggage isn’t all that scary, love, and I think kids are grand. But then again, maybe I’m just crazy.”

He was so sweet and understanding he left her speechless. She barely knew the guy, and she’d already told him things that only the people closest to her knew about. Hanging on to her guilt was such a burden, and nobody knew she had blamed herself the whole time. Yet she’d told him, had bared her soul to a man she’d only officially met the night before. There was just something about him that made her feel so comfortable.

“Brady,” she whispered breathlessly. “I’m going to have to kiss you.”

A slow, naughty grin crossed his mouth, and there was no telling him twice. She stroked the side of his face and nipped his bottom lip before tracing her tongue over it to soothe the sting.

The moment their lips touched, a fire exploded within her. Sliding her tongue along his, she just barely resisted the urge to tear off his shirt.

Before things got out of hand, Brady pulled away. Acting like a smartass, he scooped her up, threw her over his shoulder, and began walking up the path again to continue their stroll. Jenna laughed the whole time.

“There, mission accomplished. Hearing laughter is so much better than watchin’ someone cry.”

“I agree. Not to mention, throwing me over your shoulder gives you a good view of my ass.” She laughed and felt so much lighter after sharing her burdens with him. The fact that she could feel every defined and perfectly sculpted muscle on his chest and abs as he took his time putting her down was an added bonus she wouldn’t mind repeating.

“Not really,” he said, taking her hand to twirl her around. “I actually have a better view like this. It takes care of all angles that way.”

She blushed and he laughed again. “Jenna, love, ye’r one of a kind.”

Chapter Four

It was dark by the time Jenna got back to the hotel, but she was too full of adrenaline to go back to her room. The date had been amazing, and being with Brady seemed so much easier now that all her baggage was out in the open. Her shoulders felt a hundred times lighter, so she decided to go see Sam for some good old-fashioned girl talk.

“Sam,” she announced as she barged in without knocking. “So let’s hear it, how was your day? I had such a great time. I should have had a little more faith in you when you said—” The pure high of excitement she’d had when she’d walked in immediately evaporated. She gasped and was struck speechless.

“Uh, Jenna.”

Sam was in bed, holding the sheet up to hide anything indecent while Caleb stood nude in the bathroom doorway with an unopened condom in his hand. Jenna felt her face heat with embarrassment the moment she noticed his lower-body salute, and she fumbled trying to get to the door.

“I’m so sorry.” Stuttering and embarrassed, she was almost in tears by the time she got to the hallway. Caleb’s laughter followed her halfway to her room. She’d brought all of this upon herself, though. Right then and there, she vowed never to walk in on anyone ever again, and she owed Sam and Caleb an apology.

***

“Jenna.”

She could hear her name in the distance. She’d tossed and turned all night, thinking about her embarrassing encounter.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She’d even smacked herself for it. “Jenna?”

Wait, is that coffee?

She groaned. “Sam? What are you doing in my room?” But she was still half asleep and didn’t care. Coffee waited for her, and that was all that mattered right that second.

Sam laughed. “Well, at least I knew you were solo, thanks to last night. I’m just here to bring you coffee and get some details about your date yesterday.”

Jenna blushed.

“Come on, dish it. I wanna know how it went.”

She needed to apologize before getting to the good stuff. “Sam, about last night—”

“Oh, hush. We really don’t need to get into that part right now. All is forgiven. Now come on, what about Brady? Spill it.”

“It was great.” Jenna beamed and gave her every last detail.

“So you told him everything. Wow, that took guts. How do you feel about all of this?”

“I’m fine, really. But I’ve found that he can run hot and cold at times. He was genuinely sincere, comforting, and we had a good time, but I guess I’m disappointed that he didn’t kiss me again after our one kiss on the trail.” She shrugged. “I’m still confused. I didn’t think I was ready to date, but he makes me feel so comfortable. There’s just something about Brady. I can’t explain it. So I guess maybe a holiday fling won’t hurt. It has been a while.”

Sam laughed and gave her a hug. “That a girl. Now, about last night? You obviously know that my date went very well”—She giggled.—”despite the minor interruption, so now there’s just one more question to ask.”

Jenna could feel the heat in her cheeks and could only imagine what shade of red they must have been. She cleared her throat and braced herself for Sam’s question.

“I know you got a good look,” Sam said and smiled wickedly. “Now, Caleb’s gorgeous, but isn’t he absolutely delicious without any clothes on?”

Jenna stared in disbelief, and her jaw dropped while Sam laughed.

“He is one fine man,” Jenna agreed when she found her voice. “But he’s no Brady.” Then she laughed with her.

***

St. Stephen’s Green was packed. It seemed to be a popular spot as one of the many local bands played a catchy tune.

“Oh look, there’s Caleb,” Sam announced just as they got seated. She left Jenna and headed toward the tree-lined walkway to meet him.

“Oh, wonderful, all alone in unfamiliar territory.” Still, she was probably better off standing at a distance. She wasn’t sure she could look Caleb in the eye after seeing him naked.

“Don’t look so glum, love.”

She hadn’t seen him approach but smiled when Brady sat down next to her.

“Much better.” He smirked. “Listen, Sam wanted me to let ye know that somethin’ came up and she’d meet ye later.”

“What?” She sat there in disbelief; her friend had actually ditched her. That had to be a first. She was too angry to sit in one spot and abruptly stood.

“Hey, where ye goin’?”

“I can’t believe she just left me like that. Something came up? I can just imagine what that something is. I mean, I’m glad that Sam and Caleb are hitting it off, but this is ridiculous.”

He laughed.

“What?” she snapped, glaring at him.

“I’ve just never seen ye mad before. Yer cute when ye get angry.”

She rolled her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself. It was pointless to carry on. Sam was who she was angry with, not Brady, and the last thing she wanted was to make things awkward by acting like an idiot. Getting ditched wasn’t the end of the world, but boy, Sam was going to get an earful when Jenna saw her again.

***

Brady

Brady wasn’t sure what to do. It became clear that she didn’t want to stay at St. Stephen’s Green. She was upset—that much was obvious—and man, she was cute. He still wanted to laugh, but she was just calming down, and he didn’t want her upset with him.

Christ, he wanted her.

“Would ya like me to take ye back?” he had to ask. Sam and Caleb leaving her had been at the spur of the moment, and he had to be at work soon.

“Do you have the number for a taxi? I’d hate to inconvenience you.”

He laughed again. The only way this woman inconvenienced him was his inability to stop thinking about her. She was a gem, but she also drove him crazy with need. He was getting hard just standing close to her. Hell, he’d relieved himself in the shower that morning, picturing her breasts rubbing up against him the way they had when he’d lowered her to the ground the day before, only naked this time.

His mouth enclosed one of her nipples, teasing, licking, and suckling it. Her clit bloomed, and he’d smelled her arousal. Taking his time, he hadn’t stopped until he’d tasted all of her. She’d moaned and trembled until she’d begged him for release, and then he’d given it to her fast and hard.

Just thinking of it again made his cock throb with anticipation, and he nearly groaned. He’d have to take a cold shower before heading to work now, but it served him right for getting himself worked up like that. Jenna was just too much temptation, and he knew she’d be dynamite. However, she was also special, and she’d been through a lot, so he had to be patient.

“Don’t be silly, darlin’. There is no way I would send ye away in one of those when I have my car. Besides, I like spendin’ time with ye, and I hope to take advantage of it as much as I can. If ye’ll let me.”

***

Jenna

She could sense him watching her, taking quick peeks while he was driving. “Do I have something on my face?”

“What?”

“Maybe a booger in my nose,” she teased—praying that she didn’t, of course.

She laughed but he was louder.

“What are ye talkin’ about, Jenna?”

“Well, I’ve noticed that you look at me a lot, especially when we’re in the car, and I was just wondering…” She took a deep breath, not sure if she wanted to know what he was thinking or how he was feeling. She lightened up and went with honesty. “Okay, maybe I was trying to be funny. I like it when you smile.”

He smiled again but didn’t answer, clearly lost in thought.

“You’re awfully quiet. Are you going to give me an answer?”

“About what?”

“Do I have something on my face?” She liked playing with him a bit.

He stopped the car on the side of the road to give her his undivided attention and smiled again when he looked at her. “Well, let me see,” he said, going along with it. He moved his face closer to check. “Nope, nothin’.”

She turned breathless with his close proximity and had to resist fanning herself. The heat between them grew, and electricity intensified around them in anticipation.

“Jenna,” he moaned, moving closer.

“Shut up and kiss me,” she teased, loving that she affected him as much as he affected her.

She wrapped her fist in his shirt and yanked him closer so she could kiss him hard. It was so frickin’ good she could kiss him for hours—among other things. Man, she hoped he had nowhere to be for a while, because her plans involved relieving almost fourteen months of sexual frustration. Damn, she’d forgotten how good being in such strong arms felt.

He broke the kiss first. “Jenna, we’re still in the car, love. Let’s not push it.”

Her face heated again, and she started to shake with anxiety. He’d been right to stop. Thank God for that. With her track record, being in the car and getting all hot and heavy definitely wasn’t the best idea.

“You’re right, and thank you. I really don’t know what I was thinking.”
I am such an idiot.

She covered her face and just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. She was not only embarrassed but also in the process of trying to control an anxiety attack. Brady must have thought she was crazy for trying to start something in the car when in truth she hadn’t been thinking at all. She’d been too absorbed with her desires. Thank God one of them still had a level head. “I’m so sorry.”

“No worries, love.” He reached across the seat to give her hand a little squeeze and pulled back out into traffic. “Really, Jenna, it’s all right. Ye’ll be out of the car soon enough. We’ve almost arrived.”

By the time they reached the hotel she’d begun to calm but still didn’t want their time to end. He left the car running, got out, and opened the passenger-side door.             

“Would you like to come up?”

“Now that’s a silly question. I’d love too.” He kissed her again and groaned. “But I can’t. Sorry, darlin’, it pains me to say it, but I’ve got somewhere to be.”

Okay, so maybe he wasn’t as into her as she’d thought.
Or maybe you’re just overreacting, Jenna.
Regardless, she was disappointed. She knew he had a life, obligations, and a job he had to go to, but the rejection kind of hurt. Opening up like this was hard for her. Tyler had been her life for so long, and she was finally willing to give herself to someone else. Yep, it totally sucked.

“Of course.” She stepped away from his embrace and his car. It was stupid, childish, and deep down she knew she was taking things the wrong way, but all she wanted was to get away. “I’ll, uh, see you later.” Waving, she headed to the entrance.

“Jenna, wait.” he called out and pulled her toward him again. “Shite, Jenna, I’ll definitely take a rain check. I feel really bad for refusin’, and if it hadn’t been for that damn shipment I have to help unload at the boozer, I probably wouldn’t bother goin’ to work at all. Believe me, love, there is nothin’ I’d rather be doin’ than goin’ up there with ye right now. I want ye bad.” He sighed and pulled her up against the car to discretely place her hand on his crotch. “Feel how much.”

He moaned when she stroked him. “Jenna,” he said through clenched teeth. “Ye have to stop, or there’ll be trouble.”

“Is that a promise?”

He moaned again and took her hand off of him. “Ye can count on it. Look, love, I’ve gotta go before I change my mind and get in a heap a trouble. Ye don’t want me to lose my job at the boozer, do ye? And ye can bet that I’ll be seein’ ye as soon as I can.”

“Hmm,” she mumbled. “Until next time, then.”

***

“I can’t believe you,” Jenna snapped. “You ditched me when we had plans. What if Brady hadn’t shown up, Sam? I’ve never been here before. You shouldn’t have done that to me.”

“Jenna, I’m sorry. I guess I’m just shocked that you’re angry. I mean, I knew Brady was with you and knew he would bring you back. Honestly, you should be thanking me for giving you the opportunity to spend more time with him. I didn’t think it was a big deal.”              

“Not a big deal? Are you kidding me? How would you feel if I took you to a place you weren’t familiar with and left you with someone you barely knew? Brady is amazing, but the fact that I was with him is irrelevant. You could have had the decency to tell me yourself that you were leaving. Geez.” Sam was about to speak again, but Jenna cut her off before she could. “Listen, I don’t really want to fight with you right now, or ever for that matter. Just don’t do it again and we’ll be good.” With that she left and slammed the door behind her. She just hoped she hadn’t made things awkward. Caleb had been with Sam when Jenna went to give her a piece of her mind, and the last thing Jenna wanted was to cause problems between them.