20. Brady
“You’d better keep your damn hands to yourself, Brady,” Beckett growls as we come to a stop in front of his car.
“You act like you don’t know me at all.” I shove my hands into my pockets, willing myself to calm down and not beat the shit out of one of my best friends. “I’d never do anything like that to Emersyn.”
“I used to believe that. Until I caught you taking advantage of her at your going away party last year.”
“Give it a rest, Beckett. I had every intention of telling Emersyn how I felt about her that night. Sex was the furthest thing from my mind.”
“Could have fooled me.”
“Look, I came over here to shoot the shit and get things back to how they were. I miss my friend.”
“Why aren’t you hanging with your buddy Seth?”
“What are you, jealous?” I chuckle, causing Beckett to scowl in my direction. “I got tired of being the fourth wheel.” I hold my hand in his direction.
Beckett stares down at my hand for a few moments before giving it a hard shake. “Sorry, man. I missed you, too.” He pulls me in for a one-armed man hug, then steps back. “You know I see nothing but red where my baby sister is concerned. I need to protect her.”
“From what I can see, she’s done a pretty good job protecting herself.” I glance to the side and notice Emersyn propping up the hood of her car.
She catches sight of us staring and wiggles her fingers at us, letting us know she’s good.
“Tell me about it. She just chewed my ass out for treating her like a child.” His eyes soften as he looks over my shoulder at his sister. “I want to protect her from everything. I don’t want to watch her cry from heartbreak again.”
“Again?” I question, seeing the perfect opportunity to find out how Emersyn has taken my year-long silence. “Because of me?”
“Of course, asshole. Did you have to cut off all communication with her? The first few weeks after you left, she cried herself to sleep, wondering what she did wrong to make you turn your back on her. Then it turned into months of worrying if you were all right. Thankfully, your mom kept us up to date on what was going on with you, but not hearing from you took its toll.”
“I tried to keep my distance, like you said, but it was hard. My resolve broke a little more with each email and package she sent, but then one day, they just stopped.”
“It was for the best, Brady. By leaving her, you let her grow and become the woman she is today.”
“But I’m home now, for good.”
“And?” He raises his eyebrow at me before unlocking his car and opening the door. “Look, I’m glad you’re home safe and sound, but we’ve been friends since I was five years old. You’re not good enough for my baby sister.”
Beckett ducks into his car and slams the door in my face, ending the conversation.
I step out of the way as I hear the ignition turn over, and he pulls out of the spot, beeping the horn at us and waving out the window as he drives off toward the bar.
“Sorry. He’s an asshole.”
Emersyn’s voice startles me, and I spin around, taking a step back.
“What are you apologizing for?”
The air crackles between us as I stare into her eyes. Her honey-colored skin glistens in the sunlight as she brushes some curls off her face.
I can’t stop my eyes from roaming down her body. Her pert nipples peek through the thin cotton shirt she’s wearing, tucked into a painted-on pair of jean shorts that should be illegal.
“Up here.”
My eyes snap up to her, and I smile. No sense in trying to hide the fact that I was checking her out.
“I would apologize, but I’m not sorry.” I brush past her and head right for her car, bending over the front end while looking inside. “What seems to be the problem?”
“The check engine light came on when I was leaving this morning, and I didn’t want to drive it all the way to my parents’ house, so I came to Beckett’s place instead.” Emersyn turns and leans against the front bumper, staring off into space.
“It may be a clogged filter, but that’s an easy fix. I can head to the auto parts store while you’re at work and change the oil and put in new filters. If the light comes back on, I can hook it to the diagnostic tool and find out what’s going on.”
“When did you learn so much about cars?”
“We did a lot of our own maintenance overseas. I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, but I know how to fix the basics.” I unhook the prop rod from the hood and slam it shut.
“What’s on your mind, Em?” I stand to my full height and turn toward her.
I have a feeling things are going to get uncomfortable quickly, but we need to talk things out sooner rather than later if there is any hope of us starting over.
“Why did you leave without a word?” Emersyn whispers, wrapping her arms around her waist as if protecting herself from my answer. “I know you had a war to fight, but you could have at least returned an email or a letter. I doubt they had you so busy over there you couldn’t send a simple note saying, I’m not dead.” She pushes off the front end of the car and begins pacing back and forth. “I told you have I felt aboutv you that night, and you just left. You didn’t even have the decency to tell me goodbye. You just vanished without a trace.”
“Em.” I reach out, wanting to pull her into my arms and tell her everything I’ve been feeling over the last year.
“No, Brady.” She steps out of my reach. “You don’t get to come home and make everything better with a smile and an apology.”
“I am sorry, Em. So sorry.” My voice breaks toward the end of my sentence, suddenly overcome with the realization that she may have moved on and forgotten me—as I’d hoped.
“I told you I loved you! I poured my heart out to you before you went off to war without the promise of return. And you said nothing.” Angry tears stream down her face, but she swipes them away quickly. “What makes matters worse is you made me believe you cared. That you had been dreaming about our first kiss for as long as I had, if not longer.”
Emersyn spins on her heels, storming toward Beckett’s apartment, but I follow her. She started this conversation, and I’ll be damned if I let her get away without hearing my side of the story. The only thing on my mind is finding some way to make this up to her and show her how much she means to me, that she deserves so much more than what I just gave her.
It isn’t until I’m sitting in front of the auto parts store that I realize what a colossal mistake I’ve just made.