Chapter Seven
B rady
Brady unlocked the brewery door and shuffled into the building.
He should have taken the day off. Fatigue settled over him.
Late night, minimum sleep, and relatively early morning had caught up with him.
He should be wrapped up in bed with Jane enjoying the first morning of the year.
Instead, he’d snuck out of her house and now brooded like a child who had his candy snatched.
He stalked behind the bar and poured himself a pint of the IPA. Hair of the dog and all. Yeah, he’d had a few drinks last night but his hangover wasn’t from alcohol.
It was her .
The memory of Jane, the things they’d done, played on a loop in his head like a film he couldn’t shut off. Heat flared through his body, but his chest clenched tight.
She was a god damned seductress and he fell for her hook, line and sinker. The tension between them had finally snapped, and he’d leapt off the edge like a man with nothing to lose. Minimal hesitation. Very little thought of the fallout.
She brought out a version of him he hadn’t known existed. His past with women was simple: one night, maybe two. He made sure it was good for them—better than good—but that was it. No strings. No addiction.
But Jane? She was different. She unraveled him. She made him want more. Need more.
For the first time in his life, walking away didn’t feel like an option. And this— this —was the one situation where walking away was the only choice he had.
He carried his pint into the office and started in on some work. Crunching some numbers might be the only thing that cleared his head. Either that or going for a run. But after last night’s workout with Jane, he didn’t think his legs would support him for more than a half of a mile.
“How long have you been here?” Taylor said, peeking into the office.
He startled. The jerk of his hand on the keyboard knocked the empty pint glass to the floor and it shattered.
“Motherfucker.” He leaned back in the chair and huffed out an exaggerated breath.
Then he glanced at his watch. It was almost noon.
The brewery would be opening soon. Work had accomplished what he’d hoped and taken his mind off Jane. “Almost an hour.” He sputtered.
“Whoa! How did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed to start the year off?” Taylor chuckled. He left the doorway and reappeared with a broom and dustpan. He swept the shards of glass into a pile.
“You scared the shit of out of me.” Brady said. He stood and took the dustpan before bending to have Taylor push the glass into it.
“It’s not like I was quiet on my entrance. I think I was even singing—rather loudly, I might add—some Ozzy Osbourne on the way in.” Taylor held up the trash bin and Brady poured the contents of the dustpan into the trash. “Plus, you look like hell.”
“Thanks.” He slid his fingers through his already unruly hair. “I love you too.” He collapsed back in his chair and rested his head against the back.
“Did something happen?” Taylor sat in the leather pub chair in front of the desk.
He wanted to tell Taylor about Jane. He needed to tell someone. But telling Taylor would put him in a bad spot because he’d have to keep it a secret from Rex and he’d hate that.
“Nah. Just rough night.”
“When I left last night, you didn’t seem in bad spirits.”
“I wasn’t.”
“Did something happen with Jane?”
His breath lodged and he glanced wide-eyed at Taylor. “What makes you say that?”
Taylor’s mouth pressed into a hard line. “When I left, she was the last one here. She said she’d wait for you and walk out with you.”
Brady inhaled, holding the breath for a few seconds, like Jane had taught him to lower his heart rate. “I wish she would have walked out with you.”
“Brady! What did you do?”
He looked away, staring at the framed twenty dollar bill they’d first collected when they opened the doors to Dog Tired. They’d hung it on the wall to remind them all of what they’d accomplished. “I slept with her.”
Taylor sucked in a breath and slapped his hands on the arms of the chair. “You what?”
He didn’t say anything. He’d admonished himself longer and harsher than Taylor ever could.
Taylor crossed then uncrossed his legs. Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees. “Jesus Christ, Brady. Rex is going to flip his lid.”
“I know. That’s why we’re not telling him.” Brady shifted his gaze back to Taylor.
“ We’re , as in you and Jane?” He quirked a dirty blonde eyebrow at Brady.
“As in you, me, and Jane.” He waved a finger between them.
“God damn it.” He clasped his hands together. His jaw ticked. “You couldn’t just walk away, could you? Now you’re pulling me into this and asking me to lie to our best friend.”
“I tried. Believe me, I tried.” He shook his head, jaw tight with the memory of all the ways he’d tried to steer things in a different direction.
At first, he’d made a gallant effort—dodging her looks, keeping the banter light. But it hadn’t lasted. His resolve had cracked, then crumbled. She’d never been so bold. Never made it so clear she wanted him.
Sure, they’d flirted. Caught each other staring too long. Let touches linger when they shouldn’t have. But there’d always been a line. A silent, mutual understanding.
Until last night. Until they shattered it.
“So, you put up a fight to her seduction but you couldn’t hold her off? Come on, Brady. You’ve had a thing for her forever and she for you.”
“She came after me. I was in here working.” This was a true statement. He hadn’t initiated things between them, but he made the conscious decision to take her offering. And he’d do it again.
“You did it in here?” Taylor leaned back in his chair and rolled his eyes.
Heat rose to his cheeks. Even though Taylor was his best friend and they shared many things, he didn’t usually kiss and tell. What happened between him and a woman was between them. He had never been one of those guys who bragged about his hook ups like they were conquests.
“You do remember we have security cameras in the brewery, right? If Rex looks at them, what is he going to find?”
“The cameras aren’t in here .” He huffed, but he hadn’t even thought about the surveillance cameras. She’d literally wiped his mind of anything but her. “But he will see her storming out the front door and speeding away in her Jeep.”
“So you fucked her and sent her packing? Smooth, Brady. Real smooth. You’ve scorned your best friend’s sister.”
“That’s not what happened. For fuck’s sake.”
“Explain.”
“She caught me off guard. She came onto me strong and despite knowing better, I gave in. It’s stupid, I know. But it’s Jane. She’s the only woman I’ve ever had a connection with. It just happened. Afterwards, I told her it couldn’t happen again and she was pissed.”
Taylor shook his head.
“It didn’t end there.”
He jerked his head up. “What does that mean?” Taylor flailed his hands in the air. His exasperation would be comical if the situation wasn’t so dire.
Brady proceeded to tell him about the flat tire, Jane’s trip on the lawn and his begging for one night.
“You’re a dead man walking, dude.”
“It’s over. I asked for one night. She gave it to me.” He slid his fingers through his hair. “We move on.”
Taylor’s laugh surprised him.
“What’s so fucking funny, T?”
“The two of you have been dancing around each other for years. You think sleeping together is going to curb the desire that sparks the room whenever you two are in it.” He shook his head.
“Like I said, you’re a dead man walking.
Rex is going to skin you alive.” He pushed to standing.
“I won’t rush to tell Rex anything. The two of you need to deal with him.
But I’m not going to lie to him if he asks the right questions.
” He turned and strutted toward the door, but turned around before walking out.
“But congratulations, man, I know you’ve fought that temptation for a long time.
I hope it was worth it and I mean that sincerely.
” He spun on his heels and left the office with the broom and dustpan in hand.
Being with Jane was worth everything.