7 Months (Time for Love 8)
“I’ll, uh, talk to you later.”
“Goodbye, Brady,” I said, shutting the door firmly and locking up behind me.
I leaned my forehead against the hard wood and unleashed the tears, as I decided I was no longer going to be Brady’s booty call.
“I deserve better,” I chanted lightly, even as my heart broke at the thought of losing my nights with the man I was in love with.
Chapter Seven ~ Brady
“Just a second,” I called out as I shuffled through my house, trying to pull on a pair of sweatpants.
Whoever was at the door was persistent. I’d been out cold after a late night at work, and had been woken up by the sound of banging. It took a few minutes before I realized it was someone pounding on my door.
I flung the door open, ready to give the evil pounder hell, but the curse words froze on my lips when I saw Victoria standing on my stoop smiling sunnily, with Declan in his stroller in front of her. She looked decked out for a night on the town, rather than a mid-morning stroll, but that was my sister-in-law, always perfectly poised … Unless you got her on the back of a four-wheeler on a mud-ridden trail, then her poise went right out the window.
That was one of the things I loved about her. If anyone tried to pin a label on Victoria, she’d find a way to prove them wrong.
“What are you doing?” I asked, still half asleep and confused as to why they were at my door.
“Declan wanted to see his favorite uncle, so we stopped by to see if you were free,” Victoria said smoothly, bending to release Dec from his stroller before I had a chance to respond.
She pushed passed me and walked into my entryway, then turned and shoved Dec into my arms.
“Where’s Brock and Rose?” I asked, pulling Dec close and smiling as he gave me a hug.
“They’re at the house having some daddy/daughter time.”
“You came by to clean again, didn’t you?” I asked as I shut the door with my foot. “I told you, you need to stop doing that. I’m a grown man.”
“Well, I know that, Brady, but I’m not sure that you do. Why would you still be living like a frat boy if you did?”
“First of all, I didn’t go to a university, so I was never in a frat. Second, I don’t need my brother’s wife coming by every few weeks to pick up after me. Go mess around in your own home and leave mine alone.”
Victoria’s heels clicked as she moved into the living room with a wave of her hand.
“Our house is immaculate, you know that.” Her back was turned, so I rolled my eyes, knowing full well she’d smack me upside the head if she saw me do it. “Besides, it gives you alone time with your nephew, which you don’t get enough of anymore, and it gives me a feeling of satisfaction when I’m done. What’s the harm?”
When she laid it out like that, Victoria made sense, but still. “It’s embarrassing, Tori … Like you’re my maid or something.”
Turning with a loving smile, Victoria replied, “Not your maid, Brady, but your family. I like to take care of you. Plus, I’m dying to redecorate for you, you know that. I swear I could make this place function in a way where it would be easy for you to keep it clean. Heck, you might even want to.”
My heart warmed.
Since my parents’ death, Brock had been a father figure to me. And even though we were the same age, once Victoria came in the picture, she’d always made it clear that she loved us like we were her own family. Not to say she was a mother figure, but she liked to make sure we were taken care of.
It was sweet.
“Victoria,” I began. She’d brought up decorating my house a million times since she started working at O’Malley Brothers full time as an interior decorator. I just didn’t see the point. “I like things simple, you know that.”
Crossing to my table, Victoria lifted up the drumstick chandelier and held it out.
“I could design your living room around this piece. Masculine, laid back, but fun … C’mon, Brady, just let me do one room.”
“Won’t the woman who eventually lives here with me want to be in charge of decorating?”
I quickly realized my mistake when Victoria’s eyes got wide and searched my face.
“Is there a woman to move in here and decorate?”