Breaking Braydon (21 page)

He took both my hands. “I would do anything to take this pain away from you. I’m so sorry.” His eyes were glassy, just like mine.

We watched the game like we always did, but it wasn’t the same. I cheered in all the right parts. I clapped and booed when appropriate. We both knew I was putting on an act.

The minute Colin went back to his condo, I reached for my laptop. I knew I would regret it, but I had to see it with my own eyes. I typed his name in and braced for the impact of the pictures and the news about his date.

Braydon Is No Longer Broken!

Braydon Decker, the well-known bachelor billionaire, has moved on to greener pastures. After a nasty break from his scientist girlfriend, Jain Parker, he is showing the world he

has moved on and is ready to party.

On his arm for the New Year’s Eve Gala at the home of Morton Carter, an esteemed philanthropist, was young socialite Tiffany Thompson. They made quite a stir when they ducked into the restroom during the twelve o’clock countdown. It appears they didn’t want an audience for their celebration. It seems The Bad Boy Billionaire is back to his old tricks.

Below the article was a picture of Tiffany and Braydon. She was beautiful, and they were holding hands. Braydon’s face was turned away from the camera so I couldn’t see his expression. Tiffany looked happy though. I hoped she was nice. I knew Braydon and I were over, but that didn’t mean I wanted him to be miserable. I touched my fingers to the screen, caressing his face.

“Goodbye Braydon,” I whispered.

THIRTY-NINE

Braydon

I still wanted Jain. It had been two months, and the yearning hadn’t decreased one iota. Colin and Martin would be in my office any minute, and I was excited. They saw her every day, and I knew I could get at least a little information from them. I had to play it cool though. They couldn’t know how much I was hurting. They might slip when they talked to Jain. This was the first time in my life I’d done an unselfish act, and I didn’t want to mess it up.

Todd walked into my office. “Bastion Medical is here.” He studied me closely.

“I’m fine, Todd. Did you want to sit in on the meeting?” I knew he was waiting for an invitation.

“Sure. I’d like to hear what they think of our ideas for the fundraiser.” He pulled another chair over by the two I’d already placed in front of my desk. He leaned closer. “Will it be hard to see Jain at the fundraiser? When I scheduled it for Valentine’s Day, I had no idea things would work out this way.”

I had to keep Todd on board with what I was doing. Otherwise, he’d keep questioning me. He didn’t see her on Christmas. My presence in her life was killing her. I knew I had to stop the suffering for at least one of us.

Julie buzzed the intercom. “Your eleven o’clock is here.”

“Send them in please, Julie.”

Colin and Martin walked in with large smiles on their faces. We did the usual greeting, and they took their place in front of my desk.

Todd asked, “Have you had a chance to go over the schedule for the fundraiser?”

Martin answered, “Everything looks great. Thank you so much for this opportunity. The auction was a great idea.” He turned to Todd. “You’ve done a fantastic job organizing all the donations for the auction. It looks like we’ll be able to stay in business for many years.” He turned his smile toward me.

“I’m happy to do it.” I made a decision. “I’d like to make a request.”

“Sure,” they said in unison. We all laughed.

“I think it would be a good idea to have Jain give the opening presentation. She’s so passionate about your company and the progress you’re making. I think people will respond to that. I believe we’ll have a much more profitable night if she represents you.” I hoped I sounded convincing. I needed to see her with my own eyes to make sure she was doing all right. Giving her an assignment was the only way to guarantee it.

Colin grinned slightly. “She doesn’t like the limelight. We’ll have to ask her.”

I had to ask, “How is she doing?” I looked out the window briefly. If he saw my eyes, it would be a dead giveaway.

“She’s okay.” Colin gave the short, generic answer.

I studied him carefully. “That’s all you’re going to give me?” I tried to smile, but it may have looked more like I was baring my teeth.

“New Year’s Day wasn’t a good day.” He stared at me, not with contempt, but with respect. “I take it you did it for Jain?”

I gave a noncommittal shrug. “I thought we both needed to move on. So, that’s what I’m doing.” I communicated with my eyes that I was lying. Colin either didn’t notice, or he wasn’t happy about it.

“She’s going on a date tonight, so you don’t have to worry about her ability to move on,” he said bluntly.

I immediately broke out in a sweat, and my heart felt like it would beat out of my chest. I kept my face impassive, unsure if they’d noticed my physical response.

“Anyone I know?” I couldn’t help it. I wanted—no, I
needed
to know.

“I don’t think you’d approve.” He winced.

“Not that doctor. Was his name Hooper, Harper, Hartnett?” I’d blocked him from my brain.

“Choice number two, Dr. Erik Harper. He’s taking her to the Space Needle. She’s lived in the Seattle area her entire life, but has never been. Isn’t that unbelievable?”

All I could get out was, “Yes, it’s unbelievable.” This unselfish act I’d been trying to do was for the birds. I was convinced she was better off miserable than with that jerk.
Why did I hate him so much?
Could it be he really was a nice guy, and I’d judged him too soon? Why did it still hurt so much? Why couldn’t I stop thinking about her, dreaming about her? I wanted her to move on and start carving a life out for herself. I wanted her to live and laugh again. If this jerk could do it for her, why did I want to hurt him, especially if he touched her? My body seized up when I thought of her kissing someone else.
Those lips are mine.

Todd adjourned the meeting. We’d accomplished what we needed to do. The event would be held at the newly-remodeled Paramount Hotel in three weeks. Everything was in place; all we had to do was sit back and wait for the day to arrive. That would be easier said than done.

After they left, I picked up my phone and dialed Tiffany. She answered on the first ring.

“Hey, Braydon.”

“I have two favors to ask. They both involve fake dates. Are you good with that?”

Tiffany and I had spent the past three weeks getting to know each other, mostly through text messages and phone calls. She was beyond thrilled about all the attention she’d received after our New Year’s Eve date. She was right when she determined she’d be very popular with both men and woman afterwards.

All except for Angela. She and Tiffany had a few words about it. She told Angela I was the best she’d ever had. It made me laugh when she told me about Angela’s reaction.

She replied, “I didn’t have to lie. You were the best gentleman I’ve ever dated.”

Tiffany and I had developed a close friendship. I could talk to her about anything.

“The first date is tonight. The second is on Valentine’s Day. I want to take you to the fundraiser for Bastion Medical at the Paramount Hotel.”

“I have nothing better to do. I don’t think I’ll get a boyfriend in the next three weeks, so it’ll be nice not spending Valentine’s Day alone.” She hesitated. “What about Jain? Won’t it make it worse for her if I’m in the same room?”

“Colin told me she’s moving on. She’s going on a date tonight, and she’ll be at the event with the same guy. I’ll need you there to make sure I don’t punch him – or do anything worse.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Her date is tonight?”

“So?”

“We’re stalking Jain on her date?” she asked.

“Not stalking. Observing. The guy she’s going out with is the same guy who almost attacked her in one of the lab rooms. I was a witness to it, and he practically mauled her.”

She laughed. “Were you stalking her on that occasion, too?”

“No! I was taking a tour of the research facility.”

“Braydon?”

“Yes?”

“How long have you been obsessed with Jain? Give it to me straight.”

“Since the day I laid eyes on her.”

FORTY

Jain

“You’re going,” Colin insisted.

“I don’t want to.” I crossed my arms and shook my head.

He threw his hands up. “You’re acting like a child.” Colin took me by the shoulders. “You have to do this. Remember we talked about moving on? You need to take the first step. You’ve already told Erik you’re only interested in friendship, so why are you trying to get out of your date?”

“I don’t think I’m ready for even a casual friendship. I’m worried he’ll say something that reminds me of
him,
and I’ll make a fool out of myself.” The panic I’d felt all day continued to rise.

“Those two men are complete opposites. Trust me, he won’t say or do anything to remind you of he-who-shall-not-be-named,” he joked. He thought that would make me feel better. It didn’t.

“I know.” And I burst into tears.

“Ah, Jain. I didn’t mean anything by it. You can’t sit around thinking about him all the time. It isn’t healthy. This date will be a good distraction for you. Think of it as practice. You’ll meet someone else one day. I don’t want you to be stuck hoping and wishing for him.”

“I’m not. But, Colin? Why do you think he didn’t fight for me longer? I know I told him to go away, but I didn’t think he’d be able to move on with his life so quickly.”

Colin took a deep breath, now serious. “I think he sensed he’d gone too far and you’d never trust him again. He knew he blew it – big time. It’s healthy, what he’s doing by going on dates. That’s why I want you to do the same.”

“Do you think he loves her? You saw him today; did he seem happy?” I held my breath, waiting for his answer.

“I can’t say. People put on their masks for the world. I don’t know him well enough to tell what he was feeling.” He fiddled with the button on his shirt.

“You’re right. I do need to join the land of the living. Erik has been respectful and hasn’t repeated anything inappropriate. I’m excited to go up in the Space Needle for the first time.”

“That’s my girl.” He held up his hand for a high-five. I slapped it, gave him a little bump with my hip, and went back to my condo to get ready. I could do this.

***

Three hours later, I was comfortably seated in the small Space Needle restaurant. I loved it, being up so high, looking down at the twinkling city lights. It was January, and the city had kept all the glittery Christmas lights up. It was beautiful.

“Thanks for bringing me here, Erik. I appreciate it. I know I haven’t been much fun around the lab lately, so this was a pleasant surprise.” I was shocked when he asked me.

“I know what you’re going through. I haven’t told anyone this, but the reason I came to work for Bastion Medical was because of a woman. I had to get away.”

“Did she…” I glanced down at the tablecloth. “Did she crush your heart, put it through a grinder then step on it?” I asked.

He laughed heartily. “Yes, something like that.”

I smiled at him. “Well, we have something in common then.”

“You know, Jain, we have much more than that in common. We both love science, we’re both doctors, we’re working toward the same goal…and we’re both incredibly good looking.”

I giggled but stopped short. I checked his face to see if he was kidding, and he stared back at me, expressionless.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh at that last part. Of course,
you’re
good looking, um…it was my part I was laughing about.”

He bent over the table, laughing harder than I’d ever seen him. “I was joking. I wanted to make you laugh, and it looks like it worked.”

It did work. In fact, we were laughing so hard, when the waitress came to take our order, we couldn’t talk. She was very nice about it and offered to return.

“For a second, I thought you were serious. I was trying to figure out how to respond,” I said through my giggles.

“It’s good to see you laugh. It took me months after my breakup to even smile. It does get better. It’ll take some time though.” His words were comforting.

“Can you tell me how long? I need to put on my calendar ‘Jain stops being an idiot.’”

“You’re not an idiot, Jain. If anything, it shows what a loving and caring person you are. You can’t turn off your feelings with a light switch. There will probably always be a part of you that’ll love him.”

I groaned. “No, don’t say that. It’s the only thing getting me through this – that one day, I’ll be able to think about him and not want to cry, or curl up in a ball and shut out the world.”

“You’re still in the grieving process. For me, it took six months.”

“Six months! That means I’ll keep feeling like this for…” I did the math in my head. “Three months, three weeks, and four days?”

“Everyone has their own timeline.” He stared down at his empty hands.

“You aren’t completely over her, are you?” I asked.

“There’s a part of me that wished I did more. I should have fought for her. My pride got in the way, and I waited too long. She’s married now, and pregnant.”

“I’m sorry, Erik. It’s always hard when you have regrets. The ‘what ifs’ can be brutal.”

“Yeah, I also believe things happen for a reason. She wasn’t the one for me. When you get past this and find someone else, I’m sure you’ll feel the same.” He seemed so sure.

“How can you be so sure?”

“I can be your example. If I can do it, anyone can. Believe me.” He pointed to himself. “This is the guy who was so heartbroken he had to move to the other side of the country to get away from the memories. Everywhere I looked, I was reminded of her. Restaurants, coffee shops, parks, you name it.”

My heart went out to him. That was what I was doing. Even news shows weren’t safe. I’d see an east coast city that was snowed in, and it’d bring me right back to Braydon’s log home. I could still picture it vividly, Braydon and I snuggled on his sofa, watching the soft, feathery snowflakes fall.