Thrasher (19 page)

“I’ll have to talk to Duke. I know everything is fine right now, but I’m not sure what our future holds. He and I have a lot to discuss,” I whispered, trying to keep my conversation from being overheard.

Megan leaned in closer. “He wants you back, Brie. You’ve got to give him a chance to explain everything. I know it is going to work itself out. You’ve just got to be open to all of it.”

I stood and tilted my head for her to follow me into the kitchen. “We’re going to grab a few more drinks. We’ll be back in a bit.” I leaned down and kissed the top of Duke’s head before the two of us slipped away.

Megan followed me into the kitchen, and I pulled two bottled waters from the refrigerator. I handed one to her and opened the other for me. She sat down on one of the barstools, and I leaned over the island, close enough so she and I were the only ones who would hear our conversation.

“I slept with John,” I admitted in a hushed whisper.

Her eyes bugged, and hands flew to her mouth as she talked through them. “Holy shit, Brie. You didn’t. When? How? Why?”

I snickered at her question before I began to answer them one by one. “I did. It was the night you and I got into it. He was here. I was still mad at Duke and obviously upset with you. There were multiple positions — on top, doggy-style — I’m sure a few more I’ve forgotten by now — and he was here. I needed a release, and I knew I could talk him into it.”

I couldn’t help but laugh as her eyes were still as big as snowballs. “It wasn’t a big deal. Well, it wasn’t supposed to be. I thought John was a normal guy — would be thrilled about a no strings attached night of sex — but that obviously wasn’t the case. He was okay the first few days after, probably because I avoided him, but then he started in on me and wanted to see where things could possibly go, so I fired him.”

Megan’s expression continued to make me laugh as her face contorted, apparently shocked with every word coming out of my mouth.

“You fired him? Does your dad know? Did you hire someone else?”

I shook my head. “I didn’t tell my dad. I figured I would go a few weeks without the annoyance of having someone constantly protecting me from a distance, and eventually I’d start interviewing new guys for the job. I even thought about asking Duke to have one of his guys deal with it, but I obviously got sidetracked before I could get to that.”

“So are you going to tell Duke about you and John?” she asked, as quiet as possible.

I shook my head, eyes widened. “I don’t think so. There’s no point. He already hates him as it is, and John really is a decent guy. I don’t want Duke to confront him. It was a stupid decision on my part. It only happened once, and there’s nothing that can change it. I just don’t see the point in bringing it up. It’ll only stir trouble between the two of them, and, quite frankly, I’ve caused enough trouble in the past twenty-four hours to last us all a lifetime.”

Megan wrung her hands together and gave me the look that she gave to her students when she really wanted them to listen. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep this from him. Look how upset you were when you found out he was working for your dad. You were so angry with him. Don’t waste your time having to go through that all over again when he finds out one day. Just tell him now and get it over with.”

A deep voice rang out from behind me as hands gripped my hips.

“Tell me what?” Duke asked as Tripp emerged with the empty pizza boxes, shoveling the last piece into his mouth.

I tried my best to figure out something to say. Leaning back against Duke, I pulled his arms around my waist. “Tell you how sexy you look in that outfit.”

He scoffed from behind me. “Oh yeah, I’m sure that’s exactly what you two were talking about.”

My body turned in his arms. I looked up at him and touched his nose. “Don’t be so nosey.” I hugged him and nuzzled against his chest, inhaling deeply, taking in the smell of his cologne.

His lips came down against my head, and I heard Tripp laughing at the both of us.

“Get a room.”

I glanced over my shoulder and stuck my tongue out at him, and we all laughed.

“Well, I hate to break up this party, but Megan and I need to get home. It’s the first night off I’ve had in the past three weeks, so I plan on taking full advantage of that.”

I hugged Megan and Tripp and walked them to the door. Duke and I watched as they made their way into their truck and out of the driveway.

I closed the door and turned to Duke. “It was good catching up with Megan. I’ve missed her so much.”

He smiled and kissed my cheek. “Good. I know she missed you too. She’s been moping around the office.”

I smiled and linked my fingers with his. “About that… you’ve got to give the guys more time off. Poor Tripp hasn’t had a night off in three weeks.”

He scrunched his nose. “He’s so full of it. He’ll use any excuse to get her home and in bed. Last night was his first night back after a week’s vacation.”

I shook my head and laughed, apparently my best friend would say anything to get him home and in bed as well. Pulling Duke’s hand, I led him up the stairs. “Let’s go to bed. I’m tired.”

He released my hand. “I’ll be up in a minute. I’m going to lock everything up.”

I made my way up the stairs, glancing over my shoulder just as he twisted the lock on the front door. I smiled to myself, thankful for this man whose goal in life was to make sure I was completely safe, as if I was his most prized possession.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

A loud thumping sound pulled me away from my Sunday morning hot chocolate, and I glanced up at Duke, who was sitting across the table from me reading the paper. “Expecting company?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

He shook his head and put the paper down on the table. He stood from the chair and headed toward the door. The lock twisted, and Duke pulled the door open. He couldn’t even get a word out before my mother and father burst through the door, scanning the foyer until they saw me.

I cringed as my mother ran over and pulled the mug from my lips, her eyes narrowing in on my stitches. “Brianna Elizabeth, I cannot believe you didn’t call us. Oh, honey, are you alright?”

I glared at Duke as I stood from my chair, assuming he’d finally talked to my father and had filled him in on the incident. “Mom, I’m fine. It’s just a few stitches.”

Her arms wrapped around me and pulled me into a hug as a sigh of relief escaped her tiny body. “Honey, we were so worried about you. Dr. Klein called us last night, and we’ve been trying to reach your cell phone, but it continually goes to voicemail. As soon as the jet was ready, we flew straight home from our trip to Hawaii.”

My body slumped back down into my chair as I cursed my doctor for breaching his doctor-patient confidentiality agreement. “You all shouldn’t have flown back. I’m fine. Look at me.”

My father’s loud voice filled the room. “Nonsense, sweetie. You and your brother are our number-one priority, and we wanted to see for ourselves that you were fine.” He pulled me into a hug, and I rolled my eyes, knowing full well I hadn’t been a number-one priority to my father since his political career had launched.

“I was just going to suggest to Duke that he and I go grab some breakfast. Would the two of you like to join us?”

My mother looked over toward my father and then back to me. “It’s probably not the best idea for you go out in public right now. The press would have a heyday with this if they get their hands on it, especially in the middle of election season.”

I let out an animated laugh. “Oh yes. God forbid I make our family look bad. I forgot all of my actions could affect our future in the White House. I’m glad you both felt the need to drop in, but I’m hungry and really don’t have time to sit around and chat. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going upstairs to change for breakfast. I’ll be sure to wear sunglasses and a baseball cap to keep the paparazzi away.”

I turned my back on the three of them and marched up the stairs, doing my best to stomp as hard as I could on each wooden step.

My mother called after me, and my father began talking to Duke about God-knows-what as I slammed my door, leaving them all downstairs.

Once I’d pulled on a pair of tight denim jeans, I searched through my closet for a long-sleeved Dri-FIT shirt to try to keep the bruises covered up. I lifted my long hair into a ponytail, slipped on my favorite Florida Gator’s hat, and reached for my gold-lens Ray-Bans.

I slid on a pair of shoes before I cracked my bedroom door open slightly to see if I could still hear my parents.

“The coast is clear!” Duke yelled as he shot up the stairs.

The creak of the door grew louder when I pushed it open. “Good. Get dressed so we can go grab breakfast.”

****

The server sat my plate down in front of me, and I leaned over it, inhaling the mouthwatering smell of my feta and spinach omelet with a side of golden hash browns and cinnamon toast. “Oh my goodness, this smells divine. I am starved.” I grabbed my fork, dug in, and stuffed my face.

Duke laughed at me as he took a bite of bacon, holding another slice out toward me. “You want a piece?”

I made a disgusted face. “You know I don’t eat bacon. It’s disgusting and greasy. No, thank you.”

He took the piece, bit in in half, and talked with his mouth full. “More for me.” A silly smile took over his face as he ate every piece on his plate.

We were halfway through our breakfast when Duke hit me with the question I’d been waiting for. “What’s going on with you and me, Brianna?” he asked tersely, staring across the table at me as I bit down on a piece of my cinnamon toast.

Practically choking on my toast, I reached for my glass and took several gulps of my water, unsure of what to say next. “I don’t really think the middle of breakfast is the best timing to discuss the topic of you and me. Don’t get me wrong, I know we need to sit down and figure things out, but right now I just want to enjoy my breakfast.”

Duke motioned the waitress for another cup of coffee and leaned in a little closer, lowering his voice. “I’m not really worried about the timing, or the fact that you are in the middle of breakfast. I’m worried that when we get back to your place, I’ll bring it up, and you’ll throw your usual hissy fit, and we’ll spend the next couple months mad at each other all over again.”

Appalled with his statement, I made a disgusted face. “Hissy fits? I am not a child.”

He made a face as if to say “
Yeah right.”
“Oh yeah, and you proved that by stomping up the stairs this morning while your parents were over.”

I couldn’t help but crack a smile when he said it out loud. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Fine, we’ll talk, right here, right now. No hissy fits, just two mature adults.”

Duke nodded. “Thank you.”

“Well, what do you want to discuss?” I asked, hoping he’d begin, and I wouldn’t have to start this conversation off.

“I’ve already told you. You and I… where do we stand?”

He took a sip of coffee, and I closed my eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply.

I squared my shoulders and sat up straight. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. “I’m still upset with you for not telling me that you were working for my father. You of all people know how ridiculous I thought his need for security was, and instead of just admitting that you were the same way, you hid it from me. You told me in the beginning this was all or nothing, and I wanted all of you. I gave you everything I had. I loved you like I’d never loved anyone before, and for you it was nothing but a job.”

Duke finished his cup of coffee and picked up the bill as he pulled cash from his wallet. “I think we need to finish this at home.” He stood, grabbed my hand, and pulled me up from my seat. He ushered me straight out the front door and into the truck.

The ride home was short, but Duke didn’t say a word the entire time. I rifled with my keys and finally unlocked the front door. When we were both inside, I broke the silence. “What is your deal? You ask to talk at breakfast, and then you clam up. This isn’t like you.”

Duke didn’t acknowledge anything I was saying. Instead, he walked into the kitchen and pulled out the eight-hundred-milligram Tylenol that the doctor had prescribed and handed me one with a bottle of water. “Take this,” he demanded.

I looked up at him, confused. “I just took one two hours ago. My lips aren’t hurting that bad yet.”

He leaned in, placing his forehead against mine, and his words came out in a deep throaty whisper. “Trust me. When I’m done with you, they will be.”

My knees almost buckled as I popped the pill into my mouth, took a sip of water, and allowed it to slide down my throat. Duke reached for the water bottle, took it out of my hand, then placed it on the tabletop and pulled my body up against his, lightly kissing my lips.

“I need you to know that I love you, Brianna. I love you so bad it hurts. After I got out of the Marine Corps, I never thought I’d find a person who could take all of my pain away, ease the nightmares, but I did. I found her the minute I met you, and I haven’t been the same since. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anything, and I want you — not just today, not just right now — I want you forever.”