I shake my head in both sympathy and anger for this woman and her daughter. Hearing something like this always makes me regret the complaints I have about my own life.
“I’m glad she was able to get away and that she has you to lean on.”
Brady lets out a mocking snort.
“Yeah, well, I was an asshole myself for a long time. She didn’t deserve that shit from him or me. I have a lot of making up to do with her. Keeping an eye on her and Emma and helping them out is the least I can do.”
I wonder what he means about him being an asshole to his sister, but I don’t want to push him to tell me something he doesn’t want to so I move on to another subject.
We run three more miles, talking easily about both of our childhoods. I tell him about some of the better memories I have of just my dad and me, and he tells me about his three best friends, all Navy SEALS scattered throughout the world. Men he keeps in contact with all of the time and knows he can trust or turn to for help whenever he needs it.
I’m glad he has people like that in his life. I can count on one hand the friends I have who I can rely on like that. Actually, I can count on one finger, but even after what he did for me at June’s bar, I’m still not sure if our friendship will ever be the same.
“So, you and Finn. Just friends, right?” Brady asks nonchalantly, staring straight ahead.
I smile to myself when I hear the wariness in his voice.
Could he possibly be jealous of Finn?
“Yes, just friends. We met in elementary school. He was a loner because he lived in the town’s only orphanage, and I was pretty much in the same boat because my family had a lot of money and when you come from money it can make people petty and resentful. So we stuck together and defended each other when kids were nasty on the playground,” I explain, thinking back to that time and smiling when I picture a ten-year-old Finn shoving some boy who had just called me a rich bitch. “Finn went into the Marines right out of high school, and when he came back injured, he couldn’t get hired anywhere. Surprisingly, it was really easy to get my mother to agree to hire him as my bodyguard. It’s the one time I didn’t have to fight with her.”
We round the bend that takes us to the end of the trail and slow down our running until we’re walking slowly, stretching our arms as we cool down.
“So, you guys never hooked up? I mean, friends hook up all the time. Sometimes you need to scratch an itch and no one else is around. And he’s a good looking guy. And always around you. Chicks like Marines and all that ‘ooh-rah’ shit…” Brady trails off, once again not making eye contact at all, and that makes me smile even wider.
“Brady, are you jealous of Finn?” I ask, turning to face him as he holds onto his foot and pulls one of his legs behind him to stretch out the muscles in his thigh.
“What? Jealous?” he asks with a nervous laugh. “Why would I be jealous? I mean, you’ve known him all your life. It would make sense if you guys were together. The media already assumes you are. Every time they spot the two of you in public they take a close-up shot of your left hand looking for an engagement ring.”
He’s rambling now and it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard or witnessed. I can never tell Brady that though. Something tells me he wouldn’t take too kindly to being called cute.
“You read tabloid articles about me and Finn?” I ask as I move closer to him, wrapping my arms around his waist as he drops his foot and rests his hands on my shoulders, gently kneading the muscles there.
He rolls his eyes and lets out another awkward laugh before leaning down and kissing my lips quickly before moving back.
“It was just for research. You know, trying to figure you out before I got here.”
We break apart and Brady holds onto my hand as we head across the parking lot towards his truck.
“Mmhmm, research, right,” I mumble with a laugh.
He ignores my comment, opens the passenger door for me, and helps me climb into my