Love Rekindled (Love Surfaced) Read online

  “I wouldn’t call him much of a man. I heard he’s on the unemployment line.” She cocks her head to the side, as though she gets some sick happiness knowing she got Brad fired.

  “It’s a good thing we’re not together then,” Brad speaks up for the first time since saying her name. He must have been dumbfounded.

  “Yeah. You know I really shouldn’t be with a has-been. Oh, wait . . .” She begins to slide out of the booth. “I mean, a never-was.”

  She stands and I choke on the little bit of saliva in my mouth.

  Her hands slide over her stomach at the same time the waitress brings our drinks to the table. I reach for mine immediately, downing half of it in one gulp.

  “Bayli?” Brad asks her, his voice quivering, exemplifying the emotions flowing through my veins.

  She looks down. “Didn’t I tell you? You’re going to be a dad.” Her hands pat her stomach and half my drink sprays across the table as my heart plunges to my stomach.

  The only part I love is that Brad looks down at me, like we’re a couple and he needs me there to support him if this really is the case. That or the fact he doesn’t understand why all these women are hiding kids from him.

  “Are you serious?” he asks her, his hand turning cold in mine.

  She laughs, releasing a conniving and scary noise. Bile surges up my throat. “No. See, I always knew you were a loser, so I had a back-up.” She holds her hand up in the air. “You just saved me from having to hide the fact that you would have been raising a kid that wasn’t yours.”

  Brad’s hand slides from mine and he moves out of the booth, towering over Bayli. His eyes bear down on her taunting ones. “Your parents tried to sue me for the cost of the wedding. Your dad got me fired from my job. And you were already knocked up with someone else’s kid. You’re sick.”

  I watch the show in front of me, wishing Brad and I could have one drama-free night.

  Bayli shrugs her shoulders. “You left me two days before the wedding. Fuck yourself, Brad. Go take your trash,”—her eyes veer to mine and then back to his—“and start a new life in loserville.”

  Brad’s head falls back and a hollow laugh flows out of him. “Your originality in trying to be a bitch needs a lot more work.” He digs into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. “I’d give you this twenty to find class, but,”—his eyes slowly look her up and down—“obviously, there are some things money can’t buy.” He tosses the twenty on the table and holds his hand out for me.

  “Excuse us. I’m going to take my beautiful girlfriend home and screw her until she’s hoarse from screaming my name. Good luck with the whole baby thing.” His eyes fixate on mine until I clutch my purse and grab his hand. He tugs me out so fast, I fall into his arms. “You wonder what the competition is?” He snakes his arm around my waist, snuggling me nice and close to him. “There isn’t one, because Taylor is so out of your league, you’ll never even skim the surface of where she is. Oh, I should introduce you two.”

  “That’s okay.” Bayli narrows her eyes at us and twists to walk away.

  “This is Taylor, the love of my life. Taylor, this is my ex, Bitchy Boob-job Bayli.”

  With a cough, I conceal my laughter, which is begging to escape.

  “Grow up, Brad.” She stalks off toward the dance floor and ends up with a few girls, who I assume are her friends.

  “You first,” Brad calls out, but she doesn’t hear him. With the fact that none of her friends turned around, it’s obvious she didn’t tell them she just saw her ex with another girl.

  “Let’s find another bar, shall we?” Brad turns to me and I nod. He grabs his jacket from the booth and leads me across the dance floor.

  I feel her eyes on me, and I honestly worry that the baby in her belly could very well be Brad’s. I’m surprised he didn’t second-guess it at all. Especially when I do the math in my head.

  The cold air burns my face when we step outside, but the chill expands my lungs to suck in much-needed oxygen after what just happened.

  Brad’s quiet on the way to his truck, and he opens the door for me. I climb in and patiently wait for him to get in. His key is in the ignition when I lay my hand over his.

  “Brad?”

  “It’s not mine, Taylor,” he answers the unasked question.

  “How can you be sure?”

  The idea of him having another kid out there is like a knife to the chest, but it’s not a deal-breaker for us to get back together. Then again, after what I had to endure in that bar in the last five minutes, I can’t really imagine a lifetime of it.

  “I didn’t sleep with Bayli in the last two months before our wedding date.”

  His head hangs like he’s ashamed while I want to jump up and down in my seat like it’s my twenty-first birthday and I’m about to walk into my first bar.

  Calming myself down, I try to act concerned since he’s so upset about it.

  “Why?”

  He remains silent for a few seconds. “I knew I shouldn’t marry her, but you know, I always wait until last minute to confess to anything. I made excuses about business trips and having to stay at my apartment, said I was sore from the gym, anything to get me out of it.”

  I want to laugh, and now I get the part where he said he was going to go home and screw me. It was twisting the corkscrew into Bayli more.

  “Oh.” I try to sympathize, while my insides are bursting with joy.

  “There’s another reason.” He gives me his attention, and I suck in my lips to keep them straight.

  “Oh.”

  “I kept envisioning you, and it felt wrong. I said your name once, and I started making excuses after that. Believe me, Bayli knows exactly why she lost out to you.”

  Unable to hold back my enthusiasm that Brad really was thinking about me, I climb over his center console and straddle him in his seat.

  His hands seem unsure of where to go, so he pins one on the gear shift and the other on the door handle.

  “Relax.” I kiss his forehead and he instantly eases more into his seat.

  “Forget her,” I say, kissing his nose.

  “She had some truths in her digs.”

  My hands move up to hold his chiseled jaw, the dimple in his right cheek not showing because of his frown. “There was no truth to what she said, Brad. She never saw what’s in here.” My hand slowly moves down to cover his heart. “She never saw what I see every time I’m with you. You’re working on finding your way; don’t let her ruin that progress.” I move my hand back up to his cheek because the minute that dimple appears, my lips are smashing on his. “Remember that sweet girl, who’s asleep, waiting for her mommy and daddy to come home? She knows her daddy, and you know what she thinks of him?”

  “What?” His unenthusiastic response shows how unconvinced he is.

  “He’s the bravest, strongest man, who loves her. So, I think you have at least four women, who believe in you.” I hold up my fingers. “Em, Piper, your mom, and me.”

  “You believe in me?” The honesty pouring from those caramel eyes could undo me and my pants.

  “So much, Brad. So much.”

  The dimple makes an appearance, and unable to control myself, I crash my lips to his. His hand lands on the back of my head, pulling me into the kiss, and I grind my center against his crotch. He matches my rhythm and our teeth collide as we’re unable to quench our thirst for one another.

  “God, Taylor, I want you so bad.” He tugs my hair, spurring my lust on, so I capture his words with my mouth as I dive in to kiss him deeper.

  His hands glide down my sides until he cups my ass, pressing me into him. Moans and groans escape from both of us. Abruptly, I’m pushed away as he holds my head in his hands.

  “Not here. Not now,” he says, and I sit back as much is humanly possible with a steering wheel pressed into my back. His right hand stays on my cheek in a tender caress. “The first time we’re together again, will not be in my truck.”

  “We could fool around,�
� I say seductively, and he sucks in a big breath.

  “How about I take you home and properly feel you up in my parents’ basement?” He winks and my body melts.

  “Sounds good. I may even let you venture south.” I raise my eyebrows.

  “Me too.” His eyes veer down to his crotch, so I reach down and rub the hardness with my palm.

  “How fast can you drive?” I give him a chaste kiss on the lips and move back over to my side.

  “I know back roads.” He starts up the truck and I buckle myself in. He cranks on the defroster to high, to be able to see out of the fogged up windows.

  I lick my lips as he looks at me while backing out of the parking spot.

  “Temptress,” he murmurs with a sly smile.

  A warm buzz strums through my body with the thought of being lip-locked with Brad in the basement of his parents’ house.

  Brad parks the truck under his basketball hoop and I wonder if Em or another kid will play on it one day. Will Brad and I really defy the chances and live happily ever after? I’m not sure how long I’m off in la-la land, but Brad’s hand moves across my face and I blink to come back to the present.

  “I made record time here.” He glances at his watch before escaping the truck. He jogs over to my side and opens the door, holding his hand out for me.

  “Yes, you did. And your hands didn’t veer over the console once.” I lean closer. “That was a little disappointing.”

  His chuckles echo through the still, dark night. “I hate to disappoint you. Let me escort you in.” He guides me up his sidewalk to his front door, stopping on the cement stoop like he’s not about to come in with me. “I had a great time, Taylor.”

  I roll back on my heels, my eyes fluttering up to the sky. “Me too.”

  “Could I kiss you?” He steps forward, but I hold my hand up in the air.

  “On one condition.” He stops, tilting his head in intrigue. “It’s on your basement couch.”

  “Deal, baby.” The term baby only spurs more warmth in my heart for him. He used to call me that more than my actual name, and I’ve longed for it again.

  He inserts his key into the lock, and I eagerly wait behind him, my stomach fluttering to be with him again. We quietly step into the foyer, each toeing off our shoes. The house is quiet and I’m thankful Chris and Maggie accomplished getting Em to sleep. We both look upstairs to my room where she should be nestled in the Pack ‘N Play. We look at each other, and I’m fairly sure we’re contemplating ditching our other plans to check on her.

  “No,” I mouth, and Brad’s lips purse because he doesn’t like my answer. I shake my head again and he smiles, waving his hand in the air.

  We tiptoe toward the basement door, and right as we’re there, Brad’s hand molds to my hip and he flips me around so my back presses to the wall. The hand snakes up my body and his thumb brushes my cheek.

  His lips slowly move over mine, and I suck in a breath and let it go slowly, knowing that we’re together. I melt into the gentle touch of his lips, sinking in the familiarity of him and us. His other hand slowly rises and his thumb brushes across my nipple, making me want to drag him down the stairs myself.

  “Dada!” Em screams, and Brad flies off my body like I’m a live grenade.

  “Emerson,” he croaks out and moves behind the island in the kitchen, shielding his arousal from her.

  I stifle a laugh and his pleading eyes fly to mine to handle the situation.

  “Em.” I bend down and hold my arms out to her.

  Her eyes are red and sunken as she shuffles over in her pajamas.

  “I’m sorry, guys.” Maggie rounds the corner in a nice matching plaid pajama set. Her hair still looking perfect, but her make-up is scrubbed off.

  “It’s okay.”

  I scoop Em up and Maggie looks over at Brad with a confused look.

  I watch him adjust himself once more, and then he tentatively slides into view.

  “Did she not want to go down?” he asks his mom, hiding his body behind mine.

  His hand reaches out to his daughter and he smooths out the back of her hair.

  “She fell asleep, but then woke up about forty-minutes ago, and we’ve been trying to get her back down ever since.”

  “I’m sorry, Maggie. I’ve got it. Go get some sleep.”

  “Did you guys have fun?” she asks, opening the fridge and grabbing a bottle of water.

  “We did, thank you for watching her.”

  Maggie moves to the hallway and we follow. Brad holds his hands out to Em, his predicament obviously calmed down now. Kids can put out the fire of arousal faster than a bucket of water to a match.

  “Baby girl, it’s sleepy time,” he tells her as she nuzzles her head in the nook of his neck.

  “Anytime.” Maggie stops at the bottom of the stairs and places her hand on my shoulder. “Chris and I had a lot of fun with her.”

  “Thank you.”

  She walks up the stairs and I hear her bedroom door shut. We follow and Brad places Em on the bed. Instead of rolling over to sleep, she sits up and stares at the television.

  “Peppa!”

  “No, it’s bedtime,” I say, but she shakes her head.

  “Peppa!”

  “That damn British show.” Brad rolls his eyes.

  “Peppa!”

  I look at Brad, exhausted, and he chuckles.

  “Do you want me to take her to my room for the night?”

  He’s so sweet and I love the fact he’s willing to do that for me.

  “Why don’t you stay with us for a while?” I’m not even sure why I’m okay with all three of us in the same bed, but I’m not ready to be away from him.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Thanks.”

  He grabs the remote for the television and clicks on the On Demand feature to find Peppa Pig.

  Em snuggles up in the crook of his arm and laughs when the pig family is introduced.

  “Peppa,” she says in a much calmer voice.

  I smile at them together. It’s truly magical how close they’ve become in such a short time.

  “I’m going to get ready for bed.” I sneak into the bathroom to change and wash my face.

  Things between Brad and me are moving so fast, I can barely see a straight line now. But the scariest part is I’m not sure I want to. I’ve yearned for this life since I walked out on him, and I’m going to fight to keep it. I scrub my face and dry it with a towel, planning how I’ll tell Brad exactly my thoughts on our future. How I don’t see my future without him in it.

  I open the bathroom door, and there, in that bed, is my dream come to reality. Em’s arm is thrown over her daddy’s stomach. His arm is above his head with his eyes closed. I move over and pry the remote from Brad’s lifeless hands. Clicking off the television, I grab the extra blanket and put it over each of them. I nestle into my side and reach my arm across Em to Brad’s stomach. His hand comes down and he links his fingers with mine.

  “Good night.”

  “Good night, Tay,” he mumbles, and nothing has sounded better than those three words.

  Slap

  Slap

  “Mama!”

  My head shakes and my eyes blink a few times before I realize it’s Em smacking me in the face.

  “No.” I grab her wrist when she’s coming down on me again.

  I sit up and see Brad’s asleep.

  “Shhh.” I hold my finger up to my lips.

  “Shhh,” she mimics me.

  I pick her up, and luckily, she stays quiet in my arms until the door is shut behind us.

  Knowing my time is precious to get her downstairs if my point of having Brad sleep in is successful, I rush down the stairs. We are the first ones up, and when I check on the clock, I see why. It’s six o’clock in the morning. Even for Em it’s early.

  I set her down on the floor and she instantly walks over to the new toys. I’m winding my head around to free the crick in my neck
from the way I slept when the back door opens and shuts quietly.

  I push my fingers through my hair to look presentable when Chris rounds the corner from the garage. He’s all decked out in running gear. He breezes by us, until Em squeals.

  “Pa!” she says, and I’m impressed she’s nailed down all these names so fast.

  He swivels around in shock.

  “Emerson,” he responds, and a smile hijacks his serious face. He bends down as she runs over to him. “I thought you’d sleep in after the night you had.”

  She doesn’t allow him to hold her for very long before she wiggles out of his hold and moves back over to her toys.

  Chris looks up and sees it’s me with her, not his son. He nods. “Taylor.”

  “Hi.” I wave my hand in the air like an idiot.

  Awkwardness fills every square inch of this man’s home. The one I entered in with full will. Stupid decision really.

  He toes out of his running shoes and enters the room.

  Oh, God.

  My stomach knots thinking about what he wants to talk about.

  “Brad and Maggie still asleep?” He sits in the armchair, his arms resting on his thighs. In this position, he resembles Brad. I see that same dimple in his right cheek as he smiles over at Em.

  “Yes.”

  “I’m surprised Maggie is still sleeping. Then again, she’s not used to chasing after a two-year-old.” I take it as a dig, but when I look up at him, he’s not being bitter, just stating a fact. My guilt for keeping her away from these people who would love her misinterpreted his tone.

  “She’s tiring.”

  “I imagine it’s been hard with you doing it all by yourself.”

  “It is what it is.” I shrug, not really wanting to have this conversation, especially with him.

  “I think I owe you an apology, Taylor.” He slides down and rests his back along the chair. Em rushes over and hands him a toy onion from her shopping cart.

  “No, Chris, I’m sure you don’t.”

  “Yes.” He nods his head. “See this whole thing scares me on multiple levels. The fact that you kept her from Brad and us for two years terrifies me. The thought that you might do it again does too. It’s the reason I was standoffish at first. I didn’t want to get too close, then have her stripped away.”