Chapter 3
Chapter Three
HAZEL
I couldn't get that dance or that kiss out of my head. My body was tingling just remembering it. How he'd held me tight. It felt possessive. He knew how to make a girl feel like the center of the universe.
Every time it came to mind, my heart raced, and my skin heated. I wanted more, but Brady was my friend. That kiss changed everything for me, but I was determined to pretend that it hadn't affected me at all.
I couldn't bear to see the pity in his eyes if he found out how much I was attracted to him when he didn't feel the same way.
I refocused on the kids who were seated around me in a circle for story time.
Their parents sat on small chairs arranged around the tables.
We had a room for story time, but I preferred doing it in the open.
That way, a child who didn't feel comfortable coming into the meeting room could still enjoy the story.
I turned the page, changing my voice for the toad character, when I spotted Brady walking the perimeter of the room. I knew he used the podcast booth for his video games, but I hadn't realized that he'd filmed them, streaming them online.
He smiled at me, and my entire body heated. I hoped none of the parents noticed. I waved, then forced myself to look at the book, to engage with the kids. I couldn't be distracted when my fake fiancé showed up at my job.
When I finished the last page, I said, "The end," and then stood. "I picked out a few more toad books the kids might enjoy." I gestured at a table by the window where I'd propped books on the ends so everyone could see the covers.
The parents made their way to the table, and the kids dispersed, some to play with the toys and others to pull out books to read. I knocked on the door to the booth.
"Come in," Brady said.
When I closed the door behind me, he turned to face me, his legs falling open.
I locked the door. I wasn't sure why I'd done that except it was the only way to show the patrons this booth was occupied.
"Can I see what you do?" I asked quietly, not wanting to interrupt whatever he was working on.
"I'm filming today, and this place is small. If you're here, everyone will see you."
I moved toward him so I could see the screen. "I watched a few episodes last night."
He raised a brow. "You did?"
"I wanted to know what you did." There was a storyline that played out on the screen, and Brady commented in real time. It was a little bit cheesy, but then again, he was talking primarily to children.
"This is the only available seat." He patted his thigh, and I sat gingerly on him.
He reached around me to work the controls. "I'll hit Play on the video and then talk about what's happening on the screen. I like to make it as real as possible. If it's a strange new character, then I might be curious about why he's here and what's special about him, or I might even be afraid."
"What should I do?" I asked nervously.
"Act natural. Say whatever comes to mind. You're animated when you read those stories to the kids. It's similar to that."
I wasn't so sure about that but nodded. "I can do this."
Brady's body was relaxed, and he seemed genuinely happy that I was here and interested in what he did. I wondered if it took a toll on him to keep it a secret from the people most important to him.
He hit Play, and the game appeared on the screen. A box in the right-hand corner showed me perched on his lap.
Brady grinned. "I have a guest with me today. My new fiancée. She's a librarian and wants to play with us. So be nice to her and protect her from the monsters."
I waved at the screen. "Hi, everyone. Happy to be here and to see what this is about."
Brady shifted so that I was cradled against his chest while he worked the controls, scanning the scenery until he found a large cavern and a new character. "Well, for one, we seem to have a guest. Who's this scary dude? I've never seen anyone who looks like this before. You guys have any idea?"
The only thing that was weird was that he had to interact with the viewers without any response. There was no chat function either. I assumed this was a show that would be played again and again. Hopefully, that meant he could cut it if I wasn't entertaining.
I looked at Brady. "Should I be worried? Is this guy going to harm us?"
Brady shifted me slightly on his lap. "He might, babe. Stay close."
I bit my lip to keep from laughing because I was perfectly safe with him in the booth.
But I could see what he meant when he was talking about the drama required for this job.
"For one, he has gleaming red eyes. I don't think we can trust him.
But what do you guys think? Should we run away? Or see if he's here to help us?"
"I don't know. I think we should probably get out of here. And what's the deal with that cavern?" I asked, trying to get a better look at it.
Brady panned over to the cavern again. "I swear this wasn't here yesterday.
Right, guys? It's new. I don't know about you, but I'm suspicious of anything new in the game.
Why is it here, and why now?" He swung back to the new character, who was standing closer than before.
"What's this guy's deal? Is he following me? "
Instead of running, Brady decided to stick around and test the new character to see what his powers were and whether he'd be helpful to us. Somehow the intrigue filled forty-five minutes of time. Then he hit Pause. "You need to get back to work?"
I stood on stiff legs. "I can't believe we were in here for that long."
"You really got into it," Brady said, his voice tinged with amusement.
"It's really no different than talking directly to kids, figuring out what will engage them to keep reading or, in this case, watching."
"You're a natural."
"You think your viewers will want to see me with you?" I asked.
“Yeah, you got into the scene, acting scared but curious enough to keep going."
"Are you sure? I don't know anything about video games."
"What I'm doing isn't really about playing a game; it's being curious about your surroundings, why things are here, and what we should explore next."
"It's an adventure but never leaving your living room."
"Exactly."
"Kids obviously love it. I saw how many subscribers you have."
"I'm not the biggest." Brady rattled off a few names I'd never heard before. "But I have a feeling with you on the videos, you're going to increase my viewership."
I snorted. "I bet they'll tell you to get the boring librarian off your videos."
"We'll see about that."
"I'd better get to work." I backed away.
He nodded at the screen. "I'm going to stick around and edit this for a bit."
"You don't have to work today?"
"We're waiting on materials to be delivered to start the next project. This one is supposed to be me and Dalton, but he's been distracted lately."
"Are you covering for him when he's dealing with other things?" I asked.
He let out a breath. "I want to give him the space and time to deal with his girlfriend. But Oakley’s making demands of him instead of just seeing how things play out. She's telling him they have to move in together and get married before the baby comes."
"That's a lot of pressure."
He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Dalton's overwhelmed. He wants to do the right thing, but he doesn't necessarily jump into anything. You know how he likes to analyze everything to death."
"I'm sure he'll make the right decision for him," I said, knowing how much Brady worried about Dalton. He was worried his brother would get hurt in this situation.
"I just want him to be happy. And if being with the mother of his kid helps him, then I'm all for it. I just don't like how Oakley's pressuring him. I think he would do all the things she wants if she just gave him time to adjust to everything."
"They have time. Nothing has to be decided today."
"Apparently, her parents are upset that she's single."
I frowned. "I thought they were dating."
Brady shook his head. "Oh, when her parents say single, they mean unmarried."
I wrinkled my nose. "It's not the 1950s."
"Dalton will figure it out." I'd been front and center to the family dynamic, and specifically Dalton and Brady's relationship. They were the two youngest boys and only eleven months apart, so very close, almost like twins.
I opened the door. "Good luck with your show. It was fun."
"Thanks, Hazel. For everything."
"Of course. That's what friends are for," I said glibly as I slipped out of the room. I settled at my desk and tried not to pay attention to the booth door to see when Brady came out.
I was on the phone when a shadow appeared across my desk. "I'll put a hold on that book for you, and you can pick it up in the next day or two."
"Thank you," the woman on the other end of the line said as I hung up.
"What's up?" I asked Brady.
He raised a brow. "Is that how you greet your fiancé?"
I looked around; there were a few kids playing with the toys on the carpet, one coloring at a table, and another browsing puzzles to check out. But no one was looking at us. I stood and smoothed my hand over my skirt. "How should I greet my fiancé?"
He surprised me by banding an arm around my waist and pulling me flush against his body. "I missed you."
Then he kissed me, soft and sweet. It only lasted a few seconds, but I was breathless when he pulled away. "Can I take you to lunch?"
Sandy, one of the pages who covered for me on breaks, appeared out of nowhere. "I can hold down the fort if you want to go out to lunch."
I almost said it wasn't necessary, but then I remembered our plan to be seen around town. "Thanks, Sandy."
"I remember what it's like to be young and in love. Now go. Have a good time."
I blushed as I reached for the purse I kept in my drawer. We'd gone to lunch before, but this time it felt different. He was my boyfriend. His hand caught my arm and drifted down until his fingers were interlaced with mine. "That's better."
"Are you enjoying this?" I asked, my face feeling hot.
He grinned. "I am actually."
I shook my head and asked lightly, "It's a game to you."
"Mmm. I wouldn't say that." The look he shot my way was intense, and I couldn't put a finger on why.
I waved goodbye to my coworkers at the front desk.
"Do they know we're engaged?" Brady asked once we were outside.
The sun warmed my skin. "I'm sure they do. Grandma wasn't exactly quiet about it at bingo night, and there have been a few days for the gossip to get around town."
We got into his truck, and he glanced over at me. "Where to?"
"Can we go to our usual place?" There was a restaurant called the Mucky Duck on the beach in Captiva, and it was the best for lunch and putting your toes in the sand.
"The Mucky Duck it is."
He kept his work truck clean since I rode with him all the time, and it only took a few minutes to drive to the restaurant.
"Are you ready for this?" Brady asked.
"It’s not much different than any other day," I lied.
He chuckled. "I guess so. If you think holding hands and kissing is not much different than what we normally do."
"Obviously, that's not usual—" I stumbled over my words.
His forehead creased. "If you're not comfortable with this?—"
"It's fine," I said, thinking of how nice it was to hold his hand, to be seen as his.
It was like a dream come true. I never thought Brady would ever think of me as someone who could be more than a friend.
But this charade allowed me to experience what it would be like dating Brady Kingston for real.
"You know, this will mess up your most eligible bachelor status. "
Brady rolled his eyes. "That article wasn't about me. It was Hudson and Shep."
"I think you're selling yourself short." I saw the comments online about the poll. Brady looked like a real-life Ken doll with his sharp jaw and classic good looks. The only difference was that Ken had blond hair and Brady had brown.
"I'm not missing out on anything. This is what I want."
I grinned. "Let's go eat then."
"Wait for me to come get you. We're dating now, remember?" His request was adorable, so I waited patiently for him to round the hood and open the door.
He held his hand out to help me down.
"You know, I've been getting out of your truck just fine for years on my own."
He grinned. "Indulge me. I'm trying to be a good boyfriend."
I was charmed by his efforts. After checking in, the hostess seated us on the deck so we had a view of the ocean.
"I'll be taking care of you today," Jo said as she looked from me to Brady. "I just want to say I think it's great you two are seeing each other. You make the cutest couple."
"Thanks," I said, knowing that too many of those comments were dangerous for my heart.
Brady's eyes sparkled with amusement.
We ordered, and when Jo left, I said, "Do you think this is necessary? Being seen around town as a couple?"
"We need to make it look real if we want people to believe it. If I proposed to you, then our relationship would be out in the open. No more secrets."
This entire situation was messing with my head. I sighed, looking at the waves breaking on the shore. Everything was the same yet completely different.
Brady was my friend but also my fiancé. We still hung out together, except now we held hands and apparently kissed depending on the occasion. I wasn't prepared for everyone to know we were dating. It would hurt when we inevitably broke up.
Then I'd have to watch him move forward with someone else, and everyone would know I wasn't enough for Brady.
I hated the thought of that, so I pushed it out of my mind and focused on the man in front of me. I only had a few weeks with him, and I wanted to enjoy every minute.