With his body pressed into me, his mouth is everywhere, kissing my lips, my neck, and my breasts. I slip my arms under his and claw my nails into his shoulders. “Brady,” I breathe. “Tell me you’re okay. Tell me you know it wasn’t your fault.”
He stops kissing me and lifts his head. Looking directly into my eyes, he says, “As long as I have you, I’m okay. You’re the only one I need.”
I melt back into the bed, and his lips continue exploring my body. His mouth travels over my breast, down my body, over my navel, finally stopping just before my sex. His kisses land on my hips, and he licks my inner thigh. He nudges my thighs apart and runs his tongue down my other thigh.
“I need you, Sunshine. I need to taste you.”
“Oh, God, Brady.”
I grip his hair and lower his head. His tongue barely touches my sensitive nub, and I lift my hips off the bed. He palms my belly and presses my body back down, grinning against my skin. His tongue begins circling my clit, and I let my head sink onto the bed. I stretch my hands above my head and allow myself to feel the intense physical pleasure he brings me. Brady grips me at the waist and digs his fingers into my skin. He’s frantic, passionate and unrelenting as he brings me to orgasm.
Brady prowls up my body and, without stopping, slides into me. I feel a brief sting from the pressure and then relax as he begins to move slowly. He stops suddenly, and his eyes search mine for something. “Tori, I need to apologize.”
“No, you don’t, Brady.”
“I do. You saw it, and I need to apologize. When we were in the kitchen and Sheila said you asked for money.”
I turn my head. I don’t want to hear him admit he thought that about me.
“I’m sorry if you thought I believed her. My mind ran with questions, I admit, but I never once believed her. Tell me you believe me, please, Sunshine. I need you to say it.”
“I believe you, Brady.” I’m so thankful he told me, because when it happened, it crushed me.
As he begins to move, our breathing comes in soft gasps and our eyes stay fixed to each other’s, drowning in the moment between us. Sharing the familiar rhythm of our bodies blending together. Reveling in a show of love where everything else falls away and is infinitesimal. Only satisfying the other is important.
One year later…
Tori
People often say so much changes in a year. For us everything has changed, yet none of it ruined any of us.
Within a month after the awful morning that changed all of us, Brady and I moved to Mexico to be close to the Center and help Rodrigo. It’s the one place where we’re undeniably happy. The gym that Brady started on his last visit has been completed, and we’ve begun other projects to improve the Center.
If anything good came out of learning the truth about Sheila, for me, it’s been the knowledge that perfection doesn’t exist, and if something looks flawless, it’s usually far from it. My family has its own problems, and my parents have made plenty of mistakes. Our relationship is much closer now. My bond with my mother is stronger than it’s ever been because I no longer have unrealistic expectations of her. I realize that I’ve always held her to a standard of what I thought a mother should be, when in fairness, she should be who she is, and I should love her unconditionally. My parents have visited a few times. They weren’t thrilled with the idea of me being in a relationship with Brady. His reputation as the bad boy you should hide your daughter from had proceeded him. To my surprise, they kept an open mind and put any judgment aside. After spending time with us, they came to love and adore him as much as I do.
Liv moved down here about three months ago to be close to us, her family. Harrison came with her. Tyler wanted to stay with Liv,
but it didn’t work out. She and Harrison bonded through all of this and ended up together. She’d gone with him the night Sheila died, and they haven’t spent a day apart since. Liv spends a lot of time tutoring and helping the kids with schoolwork. Of course she instantly fell in love with Camilia. She dresses her up and does her hair. In a way, I think mothering Camilia offers Liv some much-needed comfort. Learning about her mother has been a painfully difficult thing for her to endure.
Brady, Tug, and Liv went to see Nate after his sentence was handed down. He’d pled guilty and was sentenced to fifteen years. I’m proud of Nate for admitting his wrong and refusing to put his children through a long, drawn-out trial. Nate told Brady, Tug, and Liv the truth about everything. I can tell it warmed Brady’s heart learning his real father wasn’t the heartless abandoning bigot Sheila had portrayed him to be. Brady found peace in the knowledge that his father had wanted him.
For Tug, the truth was difficult, but he’d overheard enough conversations to realize something was going on. He’d figured out Brady was Mona’s. He never brought it up because to him, it didn’t matter. Brady was his brother, period. The most affected was Liv. Her mother, next to me, was her best friend. She’d never seen the manipulative, greedy side that consumed her mother.
Liv was in a bad place for months after watching her mother kill herself, living in a hole of heartache and despair, struggling and clawing her way out slowly until eventually Harrison was the one to pull her through. Never did I envision the two of them as a couple, but watching them together, they’re truly a perfect fit. He’s the right to her left shoe. He grounds her in a way she needs, and he supported her when she needed it most.
I love having her here. She’s now and forever my BFFAA. We spend many nights together, crying, laughing, and healing. There’s nothing better for the soul than friendship. I love Liv like a sister. I’m grateful our friendship and love for one another pushed through the emotional mountain forced upon us the morning her mother left us. Liv learned about my confronting Sheila, and I was terrified it would be the end of our relationship. That Liv would blame me in an attempt to heal. I had my own guilt about it and felt a sense of responsibility. Instead, Liv demanded that I not take any ownership for her mother's actions. Liv was angry but accepted that her mother made many bad choices. Liv loves me unequivocally.
Brady didn’t sell off his father’s company, knowing it was his father’s wish for him to have it. Brady hasn’t gotten involved with running it, though, either. Other than consulting on legal matters, he stays away. It’s just not something that interests him. He wants to play the drums, help with the Center, and hang out with me.
After the news about Sheila broke and Nate was arrested, investors and clients began abandoning ship, and the company nearly sank. Brady hired a charming young genius to run the business and take over as CEO. Brady added the newcomer on as a partner. He’s a wiz with numbers and terrific with people. Within months of accepting Brady’s offer, Tug had most of the clients and investors begging to return to Gibson Capital. I’ve always said Tug could charm a nun out of her panties if he had the chance. The business world embraced Aidan Hunter the moment he took the helm. His face has been featured on Forbes magazine, and he’s been listed as one of America’s most eligible bachelors. And of course he never gloats about any of it.
Tug and I have remained friends, and not a single thing has changed about our relationship, even his incessant asking me out. It’s all in fun, and Brady has even helped me store away some “I’d rather” jokes. Just this morning I’d told him I’d rather pick lice off a monkey than go out with him. I pity the poor girl he finally falls in love with.
On the other hand, Tug still manages to drive Liv bonkers. He relentlessly teases her. Yesterday I thought she might disown him when he filled Harrison in on Liv’s most embarrassing childhood memory. Harrison laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes, and I’d never seen Liv so red. I’m sure it was anger and not embarrassment that caused her coloring.
Rather than causing Tug bodily harm, she laughed with us and waited until later that night to retaliate. Tug leaves a gym bag in his car and works out every morning. Last night Liv replaced the contents of the bag with her lacy bras and underwear. I would have loved to have seen his face when he arrived at the gym and opened his bag. In typical Tug fashion, he showed up at the house, hugged his sister, and praised her efforts. Then he told her to sleep with one eye open. Many things have changed, but many, like the two of them, are exactly the same.
When we moved down here, Brady and I bought a house on the water. Liv and Harrison live there with us, but Brady and I spend most of our nights in room 214. Spending our alone time together in the room where we’d first made love makes both of us happy. We spent my twenty-first birthday in this room. There was no rowdy party with alcohol pyramids like I’d always imagined. No, it was just me, Brady, and the tiny life growing inside me.