Caught Between a Lie and True Love (Caught Between series Book 1) (20 page)

“Am I that obvious?” Jeb’s face darkened and he dragged his gaze back Brody's way. “Mattie says she wants me, but she really wants someone else.”

Mattie
? He remembered the Judge had called her Mattie, too. Curious, Brody prodded. “What’s between you and Matilda anyway?”

“Nothing. She’s in love with someone else.”

“She is?” He couldn’t imagine the woman having any feelings beyond bitterness and hate. “Who?”

“Not my place to say.” Jeb shuffled his feet and zeroed in on Brody's face. “What are your intentions toward my daughter?”

The question caught Brody off guard. He thought they’d been discreet. “Sir?”

The other man’s glower deepened. “Everyone else in this town may be blind, but I’m not. You like her, don’t you?”

“Sure. What’s not to like? She’s funny and she’s a great mom.”

“What about love?”

“Love?” His voice squeaked like an adolescent boy and he had to clear his throat.

Jeb gave a tug on his tie. “The heart recognizes love before the brain does.”

Brody raked his hands through his hair. Over the top of the fence, he could see Paige’s concentration on her work. “It’s complicated. Matilda’s breathing down my neck, looking for any excuse to take my daughter away from me.”

“Tell you what, boy, let me take care of Mattie so you can court my daughter. You’re just the type of man I’d like her to settle down with.” The man’s glower deepened. “Although that doesn’t mean I’m handing over the Mayor’s office to you.”

“Of course not, Sir. Thank you, Sir.” He scratched the back of his neck. “It’s just, Paige isn’t interested in settling down on the island, and I can’t afford to be interested in anything else.”

“Don’t let her feed you a load of bull, boy. My daughter loves it here. It’s my fault she was chased away from the only home she ever wanted.” Jeb shifted, guilt oozing thick and dark from his posture. His gaze slid to the porch, then back to Brody. “I better get going. I promised Matilda I’d visit a few more of her kindly neighbors tonight.” He turned to leave, then turned back. “She won’t wait forever, boy. If you want her, go after her. But remember this. If you hurt her, you’ll have to face me.”

“Yes, Sir.”

As Jeb retraced his steps to the house, Brody realized that he liked the other man. Too bad they were opponents in the race for the Mayor’s chair.

What would it be like to spend the rest of his days with Paige at his side, raising their two daughters together? Would she even consider such a proposition? They barely knew each other—

Except Jeb was right. The heart knew what it wanted and Brody’s heart was shouting loud and clear.

As he made his way toward Olivia’s back porch, it suddenly occurred to him that maybe Paige had already made her choice. That she knew if Jeb won the Mayor’s race, the residents of the island would accept her as one of them.

In which case, was she being nice to him
because
of the Mayor’s race? If it was a ploy to distract him, then it was working and that really sucked. There was no way in hell that he was taking advantage of anyone, no way in hell that he was going to let anyone take advantage of him.

She was working with her head down, pencil moving across the pad of paper. But as he approached the porch, she glanced up, and warmth infused her gaze. “Hi Brody.”

“Hi yourself.” His feet took him closer, up the porch steps until he stopped in front of her. “What are you doing?”

“A new wedding gown design.” She nudged the pad so it angled toward him. “I don’t think I mentioned that I design wedding gowns, did I?”

“We haven’t exactly had a lot of time to get to know each other.” Stuffing his hands in his pockets so he wouldn’t touch her, he studied the drawing. “I’m impressed.”

She shifted on the rocker and the neckline of her shirt gaped, affording him a nice view of her lacy bra and upper swell of her breasts. “Thanks.”

Brody started to sweat and forced his gaze up to her face.

Was her dad right about her? Was it possible she wanted to settle down right here on this island? If so, the odds were suddenly stacked in his favor.

She was staring down at the drawing, her brows furrowed, a critical slant to her very kissable mouth. As her unique scent drifted to his nose, he inhaled and his brain turned to mush. “What’s wrong?”

With a shrug, she set down the pencil and pad on the little table next to the rocker, pushed to her feet, and hands in pockets, faced him. “So what’s between you and Delores Peabody?”

“Delores?” He studied her expression and realized that she was jealous of the other woman, which eased off the pinch in his heart. “She’s my campaign manager.”

Her lips pursed, setting off a chain reaction that hardened several of Brody’s body parts. “How long have you been sleeping with her?”

That instantly cooled him down. “What?”

She stuffed her hands deeper into the front pockets of her jeans. Her gaze dropped to his shirt front. “I found her charm bracelet on your roof last night.”

He blinked, feeling kind of stupid. “You did?”

Her gaze returned to his face, evaluating. “Was she up in your bedroom, too? I mean, I know of your reputation, I just thought you’d changed.”

“No,” he objected. He ran his fingers through his hair. “I mean, yes, I have changed. I’ve known Delores since we shared the same crib before our first birthday.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Ah, so you have slept together.”

Brody forced the tension to leave his shoulders. No point in feeling guilty over something that had never happened. “Only till we were three. That’s when I pulled down her training pants and her parents banned me from their house.”

A look of surprise crossed over her features. “No way.”

He grinned. “Yeah way.”

She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. “Okay, but you didn’t answer my question. How long have you been attracted to her?”

“That wasn’t your original question.” When she just stared at him, he relented. “Then there was that incident when we were five.”

“Hey, you’re avoiding my question.”

“I’ve been taking lessons from the master.” That shut her up. “Her parent’s cousin married my parent’s cousin and they decided we’d make a lovely ring bearer and flower girl. But right before the wedding started, Delores and I decided to elope.”

“No.”

“Yeah. We made it all the way to the playground where we discovered a pool of rainwater and mud. And before either of us could say I do, we were buried elbow deep in goo, tossing mud balls at each other.”

“Your parents must have been furious.”

“Only till the first dance. They’d managed to scrub us clean, and while we weren’t wearing our bridal attire, they did manage to get me dressed in a suit and Delores into a frilly dress. We led the bride and groom up for the first waltz, stole the spotlight, and were forgiven for our indiscretion.”

“Okay, okay, I want to rephrase my question.”

“Fire away.”

“When was the first time you and Delores kissed?“

“Ah, now we’re getting to the juicy part.”

She raised one perfectly shaped brow, and her chin shot up. “You don’t have to go into too much detail. Just a time and place will do.”

“Actually, I’ve never kissed Delores. I’ve kissed a lot of other girls, but never her.”

“Why not? I get the distinct impression that she’d like it to be more.”

He frowned and stepped into her personal space because actions spoke louder than words. “This is why.”

He hauled her up against him and claimed her mouth, and every cell in his body clamored that this woman was the one he wanted to wake up to for the rest of his life.

At first, she was stiff against him, unyielding, but as he deepened the kiss, he felt her relent, soften…join in.

And then he remembered his conversation with Jeb. He broke off the kiss, stepped back, and released her. “Are you playing me?”

She blinked up at him, lips swollen from his kiss, cheeks flushed, eyes glazed with desire. “Excuse me?”

“Because if you are, I’m warning you now that you’ll break my heart.”

He left her there to think about what he’d said, and as he headed home, he remembered Jeb’s words.

It’s my fault she was chased away from the only home she ever wanted
.

What had the older man meant by that?

As Brody stepped into the house, the music upstairs went silent. He pulled plates and glasses and utensils out of the cupboards and drawers.

And wondered if he was foolish to think Paige might change her mind about staying.

Behind him, he heard a sound…Hope entering the kitchen like a ghost.

She sidled up to the counter, picked up the knives and forks, and took them to the table. “Are you afraid of her?”

Brody wasn’t sure what conversation his daughter wanted to have, but he was willing to go along with it if it meant they could stop fighting. “Who?”

“Grandma. Are you afraid of Grandma?”

Relief speared him in the gut and he crossed his arms over his chest. “Hell, yeah.”

“You’re twice her size.”

“But she’s twice as mean.”

A tiny smile tugged at her mouth, brief and quickly fading to the sulky pout she normally wore. “It doesn’t matter where I live, you know. With you or Grandma. It’s all the same.”

“No, it’s not,” he countered but she’d pulled out her cell and was staring at the screen. Brody sighed. It was times like this that he felt the most lost, when he couldn’t read what she was thinking or feeling. “Is something else bothering you?”

She plopped down onto one of the chairs at the table. “I want to go back to the city.”

“You know we can’t. It’s part of the custody deal.”

“This island sucks. I’m bored. There’s nothing to do.”

“What about your friends?”

“What friends? Starr is going back to the Mainland at the end of the week.”

And wasn’t that the root of why she wasn’t settling well? She had nothing…no one. And the only family she had left was at war with each other.

“What if Grandma gets custody of me?” Her voice was small, almost a whisper, and Brody felt his heart squeeze in his chest.

“She won’t,” he promised, and silently reaffirmed his decision to do anything to make that promise come true. But there was something else on her mind, something she was obviously hesitant to bring up. “You know you can tell me anything you want, don’t you?”

Without looking his way, she asked, “Have you ever done anything you regretted?”

He folded his arms across his chest and wondered where this conversation was going. “Plenty of times. Unfortunately, it’s part of maturing. Why?”

She shrugged her narrow shoulders, the downward slope of her mouth sad. “I wish my mom had told you about me.”

His answer surprised him. “Me too.”

She thumbed the cell, and silence filled the air between them. Then she raised her head and looked at him. “So what’s my punishment for leaving the house without your permission last night?”

He sighed and sat down across from her. Whatever was on her mind, she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. “I’m getting tired of punishing you.”

“No you’re not. It’s one of the few joys parents have.” Without looking at him, she shrugged. She looked miserable, downtrodden and sadder than when they’d first come here to live. “Or at least that’s what Mom always said.”

Brody’s heart squeezed in his chest. He wanted the freedom to hug his daughter, but he feared she’d push him away. “I don’t think I ever told you that I was sorry you lost your mom.”

Silence filtered through the kitchen. Outside, a vehicle roared down the street, and the sound of children laughing in the distance reminded him that he’d never heard Hope laugh. In the four months they’d been together, she’d barely even smiled.

She glanced up from the tiny screen. “I hear Starr’s mom is a good kisser.”

He quirked one brow. “And that would mean?”

“That she’d be an excellent wife. Men like good kissers.”

Brody narrowed his eyes at her profile. “How do you know that?”

She slanted him a look. “I am thirteen, Dad.”

Dad
.

She’d finally called him
dad
. Even though she’d said it while she was wearing that teenage pout, she’d said
dad
. Brody stemmed the urge to pull her into his arms and cry like a baby. “Thirteen is way too young to be kissed.”

“How old were you when you kissed your first girl?”

“Tell you what, Pumpkin.” When she scowled at the use of her pet name, his grin widened. “I have a plan to win the heart of the last girl I ever want to kiss, and I sure could use your help. In fact,” he hesitated briefly, assuring himself that he had her undivided attention. “Maybe you could get Starr to give you some tips on what I need to do to win her mom’s heart.”

The smile blossoming across her cherished face speared Brody’s heart.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Delores straightened the doily on the dining room table, hummed the Wedding March, and daydreamed of her life as
First Lady
.

She’d host afternoon teas and monthly book clubs and shop online for the most fabulous clothes. And everyone on the island would revere her fashion sense and her ability to throw the best parties.

She spotted a brown leaf on the hibiscus plant near the window overlooking the back yard.

As she plucked it out, brushed a bit of dust off the window ledge, then with the tip of her index finger, moved the sheer drapes aside so she could see outside, she made a mental note to change the siding on Brody's house to brick.

Or maybe he could come live at her house. It was, after all, the better choice for the
First Lady
of the island. More stately. Better equipped to handle the steady stream of visitors they’d receive at their door.

Across the way, she saw Hope shimmy down the trellis and race over to Olivia’s. Did Brody know his daughter had escaped the house? Or was he ignoring her escape so he didn’t have to deal?

Once they were married, she was shipping that girl off to a boarding school, preferably somewhere across the country. The further away, the better.

Her elderly neighbor opened the door and let the annoying teen inside. As much as Delores loved Olivia, she hated the old lady’s granddaughter. She’d lost Brody once because of a floozy like Paige.