Should I do it? Do I dare?
Before I can even think, my heart guides me. I release my hand from his and slowly, gently take a lock of his brown hair and stroke my fingers through it, guiding my fingers through the locks and coming to a stop at the nape of his neck.
Brady’s eyes widen in surprise. So do my own, as I can’t believe I just did what I did. Such an intimate gesture during a conversation, but it felt right.
“You do understand,” I say, the words softly escaping my lips without my brain interjecting. “I like that about you.”
I lower my hand. My heart is racing. I see that he draws a breath of air, not saying a word.
Then, to my surprise, he reclaims my hand in his. But he doesn’t lace his fingers through mine. He gently guides my hand and holds it against his chest.
Over his heart.
I can’t breathe as I feel how rapidly it is beating. Brady keeps his eyes on the road, his left hand on the steering wheel, but his right hand is firmly wrapped around mine, holding it to his heart so I can feel it beating against the palm of my hand.
“I swore,” he says quietly, “that nobody else would make me feel this way. After what happened with Grace, I was done. My previous life before Grace—of casually seeing girls—didn’t even interest me. I was all about baseball. At least, I was going to be. But here I am. I met you, and none of those promises I made to myself matter anymore. I couldn’t even wait a damn day to ask you out on a date. I had to see you the same night I met you. Then I kissed you goodnight, which I also never do, and I had to see you again the next day. Waiting wasn’t going to work when I have so much more I want to know.
“And then you say these words right now, and while you barely know me, you are picking up on the things that matter most to me,” Brady continues. He pauses and lifts my hand to his mouth, his lips pressing a warm kiss onto my skin that sends my pulse soaring. A slight gasp escapes my lips. I remember how those lips felt against mine twenty-four hours ago. “I feel like you could be the first woman to get me. This should terrify me. I shouldn’t want this. But every second I’m with you, I not only want it, but I also crave it. And it’s all because of you.”
His words leave me breathless. My heart is hammering against my ribs, and a rush of emotions surges through me.
I’m about to reply when Brady gently puts my hand back down on my leg. He repositions his fingers to link with mine again, and then he clears his throat.
“I’m sorry. Go back to what you were saying. About Tim and Virginia.”
My head is still dizzy from his beautiful words, but somehow, through sheer will, I find a way to get back to the conversation, as he obviously wants to shift back to it. But I have one thing to say before we do.
“You are making me break my rules, too,” I say.
Brady steals a glance at me. I continue. “I was done after my last relationship, the one back in December. My heart was fooled. I didn’t trust men; hell, I didn’t trust myself. How could I keep putting my heart first and have it completely broken whenever I did? Was I not worth it to these men? Why were my friends finding great men while I was in this place alone? I decided to stop trying. I had my new job, and it’s with an organization I’m passionate about, and that was going to be enough. Until I began to talk to you. I’m having these same thoughts that you are, Brady. And I’m so glad I’m here tonight, with you.”
He exhales, and then to my surprise, laughs.
“What?” I ask.
“I was worried that I said too much. But as soon as you touched my hair like that, I had no control over the words.”
My heart accelerates yet again.
“Now, seriously, I keep going off on deep-dive tangents, and I apologize,” Brady says, smiling affably. “Please, tell me. What happened with Tim.”
I grin. Oh, I like this grown-ass man.
“So, of course, because I was thinking with my heart, I told my parents I was going to Virginia. That led to a lot of fights because my parents knew I was letting my heart take the lead on a huge decision, but I can be really stubborn when I want to be.”
“Really stubborn or impossibly stubborn?” Brady queries.
“Okay, impossibly. And don’t even think of linking that attribute to my red hair.”
“I’ll take that under advisement.”
I laugh again. “Okay, now that you know I’m stubborn—you’ve been warned—I held out for Virginia. They were furious at me, but they knew I wasn’t going to give in. So I happily went to Virginia with Tim, who upon the second week on campus, tells me he doesn’t love me anymore, that he doesn’t know why, and breaks up with me.”
Brady winces. “Oh, God.”
“I begged for a reason, any answer. Because in my heart, you don’t shut off love like that. But he did. He swore he didn’t want anyone else, he just wanted to have the freedom to be a freshman at college, and a week later, he was dating a new girl.”
“Ouch.”
“He was right, I suppose. Most people don’t find lasting love at that age, but I honestly thought I had. Of course, I couldn’t tell my parents, so I kept that hidden until Christmas. That led to a fantastic holiday filled with ‘we told you so’ when I really needed help with my broken heart.”
“That had to be horrible, Addison.”
“I won’t lie, it was. I was utterly heartbroken, away from home, in a new state with no friends. I was miserable for the first part of my freshman year, but then I realized even if my heart was broken, I loved Virginia. I was forced to grow and be brave, and once I started to heal, I felt as if I was in the right place. I took a trip to DC with some sorority sisters and loved it. Then I knew. I might not have come out of Virginia with a forever love story, but I had found my home. And that was a gift.”
Brady comes to a stop at a red light. He turns his face toward mine. “If I could kiss you right now, I would,” he says, his voice gentle.
“Why?” I ask.
“You aren’t afraid of your heart. You follow it. You have no idea of how attractive that is to me.”
I feel my chest rise and fall quickly as his words tumble over me. “Then what’s stopping you?”
He removes his hand from mine and strokes the side of my face. The instant I feel his calloused fingertips against my cheek, I grow hot.
“Because this red light,” he says, his voice low with desire, “isn’t nearly long enough to kiss you like I want to, Lady Addison.”
Chapter Nine
Something in my chest burns hot with his words. My breath catches when I see the desire flickering in his eyes.
And something swelling in the pool of my stomach tells me this kiss would be a consuming one.
Brady shifts his gaze back to the traffic in front of him, letting out a long, slow exhale. “Your reputation will be saved by this traffic light.”
“How disappointing,” I say without thinking.
He blinks. “I’m sorry?”
I blink. Good God, did I say that aloud?
But the way his lips are beginning to curve up in a scandalous smile, I did say it aloud.
I blush. His smile grows more devilish.
“I like your style in more than fashion,” he quips.