Devoted - The Complete Series: A BWWM Romance Boxset (11 page)

He kisses my shoulder, and I smile. “Well, in fairness, you sorta tracked me down though. It’s not like we bumped into each other at a grocery store or something.”

“True. True,” he chuckles good-naturedly. “But I didn’t know if you would be married or seeing someone by now. I couldn’t plan for any of that, I just had to go on blind faith.”

“Well, I’m glad you did,” I admit, pulling his arms around me tighter.

“So am I,” he murmurs. “”But you didn’t answer my question. I want to know what you see in your future, is it a career? Children? Both?”

“I don’t know,” I sigh heavily. “I thought I had it all worked out, but life is throwing me a few curve balls.”

“How so?”

“Well, I applied for school because I really want to get my teaching degree. And I got accepted.”

“Congratulations!”

“Yeah, well thanks, but it doesn't really matter now. I didn’t get enough funding for my tuition, so that dream is on hold for the time being.”

“No! You can’t just give up. If it’s a dream, you have to pursue it. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

I roll over, facing him and give him a quick kiss. “I’m not giving up; it’s just on hold. There’s nothing more I can do right now.”

Bradley bites his lip as his eyebrows push together. “That’s not entirely true,” he says slowly.

“How do you figure? What am I supposed to do? Go rob a bank?”

“No,” he laughs, giving me a little kiss on the tip of my nose. “I’d be happy to give you the money.”

“What? No way. I’m not taking your money. I’ll figure it out on my own. No offense, I do appreciate the offer, but no. No. There’s just no way I’m taking money from you.”

“Listen, don’t shut it down so quick. Let me tell you something.” Bradley trails his fingers down the side of my face and tilts my chin until our eyes meet. “You know, if I hadn’t pushed my ego to the side years ago, and taken help when it was offered, I’d never have gotten my first company off the ground. Then who knows where I’d be today. Not here.”

“What do you mean? Who helped you out?”

“I couldn’t secure a loan back then for a car, let alone a business. My brother said he’d loan me the twenty-five grand I needed to get it off the ground. Not that he ever did let me pay him back.” He smiles, his eyes fogging over a little. “Anyway, his help changed my life. Let me do the same for you.”

I chew on my lip like it’s made of bubble gum. My mind keeps flipping back and forth over his offer. “Well, I need to think about it,” I finally spit out. “But I’ll tell you one thing, if I do accept, I will be paying you back. In full. I won’t take your money unless you agree to that.” I look straight in his eyes.

“That’s fair. I can live with those terms.” He smiles broadly, and I snuggle into his hard chest. I know I said that I have to think about it, but I’d be a fool to turn down this opportunity.

“How about you sleep on it?” Bradley yawns, making me yawn back in response.

“I will.”

Bradley is already lightly snoring against my shoulder. My mind is racing, and my throat is dry, so I slip my limbs out from his and make my way down the hall to the kitchen to quench my thirst. Halfway down the hall, I notice the door to his office is open a crack, and the eerie blue light from his computer has painted the room. Pausing for a moment, I look around from the doorway, but the next thing I know I’ve stepped inside the room. I know I shouldn’t be in here; I’m not even sure what’s possessing me to look around his bookshelves and tables.

My eyes sweep the office and everything looks as you’d expect.
Why am I being so nosy? Get the hell out of here!
Making my way to the door, my hand is on the knob when something catches my eye. It’s out of place and out of context amongst the stacks of papers and books. I lift the fuzzy, brown stuffed bear from the corner of the large chair. With its big red bow and “I love NYC” sweater on, it’s really adorable. The tag dangling from its foot is swaying slightly in the night air, tempting me to read it. I take a quick look over my shoulder, like a criminal making sure the coast is clear, and pluck the tag between my fingers. “I love you so much, sweetheart.”

Who’s ‘sweetheart’? Bradley? A woman?
I put the bear back where I found it and quickly slip out of the room. My mind spins as I down another glass of water. I want to wake Bradley up and ask him about the bear, but I don’t want to admit that I was sneaking around his apartment while he was sleeping.
Is it something he kept out of sentimentality?
It seemed brand new, so I doubt it.

As I creep back down the hall and climb back into bed with Bradley, I watch him sleep as the moonlight splashes over his face. You may have met the first guy you’ve bothered to get to know, but that doesn’t mean you know him. Don’t fool yourself. As I lie next to him and drift off to sleep, I wonder about the parts of Bradley’s life that I’m not a part of. How can I feel so close to someone who is still such a mystery?
And how long will it take until I really know Bradley Sheppard?

Chapter Fourteen:

Bradley

After six mind-numbing hours of board meetings about Zervion’s Global Campaign, there’s nothing I want more than to somehow instantly transport to the hotel. All week I’ve been looking forward to being locked up in a penthouse suite with Brianna. I doubt we’ll leave the room until check-out. Hell, I doubt we’ll leave the bed.

Twenty-six missed calls. Twenty-fucking-six. How is that even possible?
I only had my ringer on silent for a little over an hour. Scrolling through the page of numbers, they’re all from the same source: Eileen.
Of course they are
.

Calling her back, the phone doesn’t even ring one time before she answers it. “Where are you?” She shrieks in my ear forcing me to pull my cell away from my head by a foot.

“Eileen, calm down. Tell me what’s wrong,” I start rolling out my placating voice for her, the one I’ve practiced using on her for over a year now.

“Don’t you tell me to fucking calm down, Trevor!”

“Bradley,” I interrupt.

“I know who you are! Now you tell me, who the fuck do you think you are?” Her voice cracks and her sorrow fills my phone. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” She cries.

“Please, just tell me what’s going on. Where’s Mom?” I still haven’t found a stable Nanny that Eileen will agree to, so I arranged for my mother to stay with Brooklyn instead.

“Is that your answer? You fucking abandon me, you abandon your family, Trevor. You’re off gallivanting around New York City like some kind of hot shot, and you think you can just send your mother over here and everything is going to be alright? What are you even doing there? Why did you walk out on us?” Her pitch is starting to drill into my eardrum.

“Eileen, please, can you please just breathe? We can talk about this, ok? But first, I just need you to tell me where Brooklyn and Mom are. Can you do that for me, please?” It’s a fine line to walk between concern and condescension. Spider webs are thicker.

“You’re cheating on me aren’t you? Aren’t you! Just admit it!” She’s hysterical and my stomach is a block of ice as I try to figure out how to get there in less than four hours. There’s no telling where Brooklyn is, I don’t think I’m going to get any straight answers from her in this state.
Holy fuck, I’ve never heard her this bad before. Is she drunk?

“Eileen! Where’s Brooklyn? Fucking answer me or I’m calling the cops right now.” I’m done with this bullshit. Nice didn’t work.

“Are you threatening me? I wouldn’t threaten me if I were you.” Her voice is so suddenly calm; it’s eerie. A chill washes over me. “Maybe you should call the cops!” Her tone swings back to screaming in a single breath. “Because I can’t fucking do this anymore. I can’t. I don’t want to live like this. It’s no way for us to fucking live. Brooklyn and I deserved more from you, but you walked out on us. You expect me to live here and raise your kid while you fuck around in the big apple? Fuck you” she wails. My phone is filled with her sobs; she sounds like a lost child.

“Please,” my voice cracks with fear, “please, Eileen. I didn’t abandon you. I promise you, ok? But we can talk about that. We can talk about all of this. Just, please, tell me where Brooklyn is.” I beg.

“I’m going to take her with me. She can’t be in this world either, it’s too dark. It’s just too fucking dark. She’s like me, you know. She’s affected by the darkness. I can’t let her grow up like that. It’s worse to let her grow up like that, Trev.” She rambles.

“No, look, Eileen, you don’t mean that. Ok? Just hang tight, I will be there tonight. We can talk about this. Ok? We can make this better together. Don’t you want it to get better?”

“There is nothing left! You took away all my better days. You stole them from me. I have nothing left to live for. Nothing!” She cries and the phone goes silent. I check the timer, but it isn’t counting anymore.
Fuck, she hung up
. I try to call her back, but it’s going straight to voicemail.
Fuck! I need to get there, now! I’ve gotta get on the next flight, and call work, and dammit, I’ve gotta call Brianna
.

But first, I press the dial pad on my phone, praying with every fiber in me that Eileen is bluffing. “Hello, this is 9-1-1. Please state your emergency,” the tinny voice answers.

“Hi, my name is Bradley Sheppard and I think my child is in severe danger.”

Chapter Fifteen:

Brianna

This week has been moving like someone slow motion. Underwater. In a pool of molasses. I feel like a child counting the number of ‘sleeps’ left until their birthday. Somehow I made it through, the days finally disappeared. Tonight, Bradley is picking me up and taking me to one of the most luxurious spa hotels for a romantic weekend staycation. All week, I’ve been looking at the pictures online of the Mandarin Oriental New York, imagining myself as the smiling woman with her hand frozen around a wine glass for the photographer. Whenever an ungrateful customer complained about their fries being too cold, I would just close my eyes, take a deep breath, and remember the couple’s package that Bradley booked for us in the spa studio.

All week, we’ve been talking late into the night and texting like a couple of lovestruck high schoolers. I feel guilty that I ever doubted him, after our long conversations into the wee hours of the morning, I’ve learned that Bradley Sheppard is one thing: a great guy. For a self-made man, he’s so grounded and humble. Every day he listens to me talk about my day or my thoughts with genuine interest. At first I found his sincerity disarming, like most adults, I’ve grown accustomed to people being closed off and specific about how they advertise their ‘personal brands’. Bradley lacks all of that pretension, just being himself, to hell with whoever doesn’t like it.

Self-pity started to flood over me when I realized that I’ve deserved a man like this for a long time. Yet, I’ve been settling for men who treat me like a piece of ass for years now. Being the ‘fun girl’ has become a mask I’ve trapped myself behind because in my heart, I never believed that I deserved more.