Bad Boy Blues - Jessica Lemmon Page 0,39

patience wasn’t what it once was. He didn’t want to give an ounce of thought to Gramps and Ant’s claim that he was in love for one very good—and, yes, self-preserving—reason. It didn’t matter how he felt if Elliott didn’t feel the same way.

“I appreciate the advice, but with all due respect—”

“Here we go.” Gramps rolled his eyes.

“You don’t know her. I do. She loves Chicago.” Not me.

“Hi, Emory!” one of his grandfather’s neighbors called out.

“Hey, Mabel!” He waved and smiled but when he turned to Brady his frown returned.

It made Brady aware of how exposed he was on the front porch. The neighborhood was alive with commotion. People were returning home from work, and Gramps’s neighbors were watering their grass and tending to their flowers now that the midday heat had died down.

“Can we not do this outside?” Brady was tired. Tired of hoping and trying for something that wasn’t going to happen.

A car door shut. Another neighbor called out that she had someone else’s mail.

“Brady,” Gramps started.

“Now’s not the time.”

His grandfather’s gaze flickered off to the side. He set his jaw stubbornly, his green-brown eyes burning a hole through Brady’s head.

“You love her. Admit it.” He thrust out his whiskered chin. The old man was in need of a shave as much as he apparently needed to have this damn conversation. Lila tugged on the leash and whined again, and Brady tightened his fist.

“Yes. I love her. I’m in love with her, and she left. Are you happy? Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Gramps’s mouth pulled into a smug smile. “Yeah. That oughta do it.”

His gaze went over Brady’s shoulder, and this time, Brady followed it. A familiar BMW was parked in the driveway. Elliott stood in front of it.

Chapter 21

Brady Hutchins was in love with her. She’d heard him say it himself.

She’d known how he felt about her leaving. Knew that he’d wanted to continue and possibly build on what they had. But she had no idea how she felt about him until it was too late.

It’d taken all of twenty-four hours after she left the Cove to figure out she’d made a mistake. She’d arrived at her parents’ house and sat down to a dinner she didn’t touch. After, her mother had poured them each a glass of wine, and they’d moved to the terrace. That was when Elliott voiced aloud for the first time that she’d screwed up everything.

“I fell in love with him, Mom. He asked me to stay, and I bailed because he wasn’t part of the plan.”

Her mother had argued that plans change. That Elli should trust her gut. “We raised a smart, beautiful, talented woman,” she’d said. “And if the setback with Neil taught you anything, it should have taught you what you don’t want. Now you have to decide what you do want.”

It had reminded Elli so much of what Brady said to her that she’d only cried harder. She’d intended on going to the interview, stubbornly committed to the path she’d chosen for herself. But by this morning, she’d realized she didn’t want to be in Chicago another moment. She’d packed and left for Evergreen Cove.

“Hi,” she said now, twisting her fingers nervously.

“Hey.” Brady was clearly surprised to see her. Gramps had spotted her. He’d led Brady to the rocks with that admit-you-love-her bit. She could kiss the old man for that.

She’d had no idea what to expect when she returned. No way was she calling or texting—she needed to see Brady in person. She needed to look into his eyes and see if she was too late. After going to the police station and Brady’s house, she hadn’t known where else to look. She’d driven to Emory’s house hoping he could help.

Success.

“Can we talk?” she asked after giving an excited Lila a pat on the head.

“Give her here. I’ll make us some pancakes.” Gramps took the leash. “Nice to see you, Elliott.”

“You, too.” She meant it. It was nice to see him. It’d also been nice to drive by Cup of Jo’s and walk past the bench in Library Park where she and Brady had shared coffee.

It was nice to be home.

Evergreen Cove shouldn’t feel like home any more than Brady should feel like a necessary part of her existence, but it did and he was. She’d missed him so much.

After Gramps took Lila inside, Brady stepped closer to her. “This is a surprise.”

She’d recited a speech all the way here. She knew what she wanted to