Brad's driving me crazy! Oh, everyone, including my good friend, Paz Edwards www.PazEdwardsBooks.com, wants to know if I enjoy his kisses. And then my other friend, Doreen Orsini www.DoreenOrsini.com says if I don't want Brad's kiss, she'll take it. But it's not just about his kiss, Paz & Doreen. It's what his kisses are doing to me inside. I'm all mixed up. My heart tells me one thing and my head tells me another. I just can't figure Brad out. One minute, he's kissing me until I feel it to the tips of my toes and in the next instant, he's tearing my book apart. And he's tearing me apart, too. He must be the most cynical man on the face of the planet. Sigh...but then he has this uncanny ability to catch me off guard. Read this and tell me what you think... ************************************************************************************* Julie removed a steaming mug full of water from the microwave and placed the cup on the counter. She reached up into a cabinet and grabbed a tea bag from a box, then dunked it into the cup, watching the water bubble around it. Maybe the peppermint tea would calm her queasy stomach. She rubbed her forehead to relieve the dull ache building inside her head then spooned some sugar into the mug.
“I didn’t mean to upset you.”
She looked up to see Brad standing at the entrance of the small kitchen off the set. He leaned against the door jam.
“You didn’t,” she sniffed. His face had a tender look, his eyes warm. Julie’s heart tumbled at the sight. Just another one of his tricks, she thought. She had to stay on her guard. “It’s–it’s the air conditioning in the studio, it stings my eyes.” Was he truly capable of compassion or was this just another excuse to grandstand?
He walked in and grabbed a napkin from a dispenser on one of the tables. “I recognize pain when “I recognize pain when I see it. Someone hurt you.”
Julie’s heart slammed from one side of her chest to the other.
Brad moved farther into the small room. He stopped in front of her and angled his head, striking a thoughtful pose. “You know it’s the strangest thing.”
“What?” she whispered.
“I’d like to kill him.”
She swallowed, hard. “Who?” A tear trickled down her face. She turned her head, but not before Brad saw the teardrop and brushed it away with the pad of his thumb. She shivered at his touch. At the same time, a coil of heat unfurled deep within her.
“Him.” Brad pressed the napkin into her hand, grasping her shoulders gently with his hands. “That’s who.”
“Well, you know what they say. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me,” Julie’s voice wavered. Her lips trembled.
Brad pulled her forward and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. His lips lingered there for a few seconds then traveled down to her temple and cheek. She shut her eyes as his mouth worked its magic across her cheeks and nose. His breath smelled of mint; felt warm against her face. When his lips settled on hers, he applied gentle pressure. Her mouth opened, like the bud of a flower stretching its petals wide as the sun’s rays shone down on it. Julie took comfort in the feel of his warm mouth closing over hers. He took her face into his hands as he angled his mouth over hers, first one way then another.
She kept telling herself she sought comfort from him, but soon realized she perpetuated another lie as comfort which turned into something more. Something that broke open every wall she had placed around her heart.
When Brad pulled his mouth away from hers, she had to resist the urge to cling to him.
“He was the fool, honey, not you.” With that said he turned on his heel and walked out.
“Damn you, Brad O’Malley,” she whispered as the tears streamed down her cheeks. “Damn you.”