It was strange to be completely honest with the guy I was dating and not have it turn into a fight. He listened to what I had to say and apologized.
Let me repeat that for the cheap seats.
He. Apologized.
Maybe Sierra was right and I'd spent too much time dating immature little boys rather than grown men.
Or maybe things were just different with Broderick Murphy because he was Brody, the same boy I'd loved since I was eight and who'd grown into a fine man.
I knew my time with Brody would be limited during the week because he wanted to spend as much one-on-one time as possible with Jacks before she left to spend two weeks with her mother. That lasted two whole days before they showed up at Crave.
Apparently, Jacks missed me.
Thursday night, we all made dinner together and watched the first Harry Potter movie. Jacks and Brody had finished the book, so she was eager to see the movie.
I was able to take the night off because we had hired Lee Prescott on the spot when she showed up for her interview. Well, at the end of the interview anyway. We were desperate, but Sierra and I realized right away what a gem Lyria Prescott was.
Figures that Natalie Phelps was right about who we needed.
I was also taking Friday night off to do my job as distraction. Lee had only been training for a week but she was a damn quick study. Plus Sierra would be helping her out.
I wasn't going to Brody's house with seduction in mind. I brought burgers and curly fries from the local shack. I also brought a couple of bags filled with movie snacks, ice cream, sodas, and DVDs.
At six sharp, I rang the doorbell and waited. And waited. I beat my fist against the door. Still nothing.
Finally, I dug my phone out of my purse and called him. "Hey, Brody. Whatcha doin'?"
"Strange you should ask. I was just knocking on your door."
"Hmmm. Well, I didn't hear anything. Probably because I'm at your house, knocking on your front door."
Brody laughed. "This is what happens when I don't make concrete plans with you."
"Think you can get home pretty quick? The ice cream's gonna melt."
"You could come home," he suggested.
"You want me to haul five bags of food back out to my car and all the way home?"
"Good point. I'll be there in a few minutes."
He hung up without saying good-bye and I laughed to myself. Approximately six minutes later, Brody's SUV turned into the driveway and he pulled around the house to the garage. I'd just finished picking up the last bag when the front door opened and he reached out to take them from me.
"Here, let me take—"
I handed him three and then carried the other two past him inside.
"The ice cream will need an hour or so in the fridge to firm back up, but it's hot enough out there that the burgers are probably still warm," I said as I made a beeline for his fridge.
Once I had the ice cream in the freezer drawer and the sodas on a shelf inside the door, I went to the sink and washed my hands.
Brody was smiling at me when I turned around. A big, goofy grin that I'd never seen on his face before.
"What?" I asked, drying my hands on the towel lying on the counter.
"You came to cheer me up, didn't you?" he asked.
I shrugged but didn't answer aloud.
"Burgers, snacks, ice cream, and movies? Total formula to help a depressed friend. I remember the ritual well from high school. I'd come over to visit J.J. and one of your friends would be on the couch with you, moping, eating junk food, and watching movies. Usually right after they got dumped. Though there was the occasional fight with a friend or just plain ole PMS."
"Wow, spend a lot of time in the nineteen-fifties?" I asked him.
He had the temerity to laugh in the face of my irritation. "I didn't say all women performed that ritual. Just that I've seen you do it." He came toward me, the smile still on his face but there was some deeper emotion there. Tenderness, maybe. "And I'm grateful to be on the receiving end of it tonight because I wasn't sure what I was going to do when you didn't answer your door earlier."
He wrapped his arms around my waist and bent to press a kiss to my neck. I returned his embrace, tucking my face against his chest.
"I brought Burger Barn," I said. "You hungry?"
Brody squeezed me. "I could eat."
We settled at the bar with Styrofoam containers full of cheeseburgers and curly fries.
"How did it go?" I asked him between bites.
"The usual," he answered with a shrug. "Icy greeting, veiled hostility, and negative comments about Jacks' cheap clothing and luggage."
My eyes widened. "She says stuff in front of Jacks?"
Brody shook his head. "No, just when she's out of earshot."
"Also, I'm stuck on the cheap clothes and luggage. Jacks is six-years-old. She's going to outgrow everything in a few months anyway. Including her luggage. Why spend a ton of money on it?"
"I agree with that philosophy," Brody answered with a sigh. "Unfortunately, Monica and my mother share the same viewpoint and think I should dress Jacks according to her 'station' in Farley."
I rolled my eyes. "Six-year-old girls have stations? Are they like fire departments now?"
"See? This is why I spend time with you. You get me."
"Do you think she's going to try to take Jacks to France anyway?" I asked.
"I doubt it. But if she does, the private investigation firm I hired should be able to intervene. Or at least stall her until I can call the police to handle the situation."
The burger in my stomach suddenly felt like a lead ball. How was Brody walking around like a normal human being? Jacks wasn't even my daughter and I was stressed out.
I was also doing a shitty job of distracting him.
I turned, put my feet on the floor, and essentially stood between his thighs. Then I put my arms around his waist and gave him a hug. I didn't say anything else, letting my embrace speak for me.
"Okay, so I brought three movies," I said, pulling away so I could see his face. "A comedy, an action flick, and a thriller. Which one do you want to watch first?"
"The thriller," he answered.
"Um, are you sure? I mean, won't that put ideas and worries in your head?" I asked.
"Why did you bring it if you weren't going to let me watch it?" he asked with a disbelieving laugh.
"Well, I didn't think about it at the time! I just wanted to distract you from missing Jacks."
"Having you jump into my lap the first time something scary happens will definitely do that," he murmured, tugging my body back toward his.
I shook off his hold and marched around the island so that it stood between us. "That's it. We're watching the comedy."
"Yes, ma'am."
I pointed a finger at him and shook it. "Watch your tone, Broderick Murphy."
"Oh, are we going to play stern schoolteacher and naughty boy?" he asked.
"Gah!" I yelled, throwing my hands up in the air. "Forget it. Bring my food and I'll get the movie ready."
"Yes, Ms. McClane. Please don't spank me."
"Shut up."
When I was sure he couldn't see me, I stopped fighting my grin.