“Do you think I was crazy for leaving Alicia last night? Instead of being here with you, I could be waking up in her soft arms.” Brad shoved a piece of fluffy pancake into his mouth as he watched Richard across the kitchen table.
“Is that why you wanted me to invite you over to my house for breakfast? I thought you wanted to spend time with your favorite brother.” Richard took a sip of his black coffee and watched his brother over the mug.
“Stop busting my balls and answer my questions.”
Chuckling, Richard placed his coffee cup back down on the table. “Zack and Lee would tell you that you were dumb for leaving last night. I think you did exactly the right thing. There’s something about Alicia that reminds me of Dawn.”
“Really, I thought Alicia was more of a Cherise with her commitment issues. I lost count of how many times Cherise pushed Lee away from her.”
“I can see where you get that idea from, but that tough exterior is an act. She really has a tender heart like Dawn. You’re doing the right thing by winning over her emotions first. Any man can make a woman’s body want him, but only the man who’s meant to be with her can truly capture her heart.”
Brad was shocked by Richard’s advice. He didn’t know that his brother was this deep or insightful. “I can’t believe you know so much about women now after the way you treated Dawn.” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and he instantly regretted his jibe.
“You’re right,” Richard agreed not taking offense to his nasty comment. “I was a real bastard to her. I shouldn’t have ever treated her the way I did. Thank God she loved me enough to forgive me and marry me.”
Brad couldn’t hold back his astonishment. He was momentarily taken back by his brother’s honestly. Richard had never opened up like this to him before.
“What if Dawn had wanted to be with Hamilton instead of you? Would you have let her go?”
“Fuck no!” Richard snapped. “Dawn might have been upset with me, even a little disappointed, but never enough to ever consider Hamilton as a love interest. I would have kidnapped her and locked her away at our family’s cabin until she got over it. Dawn is my wife now and forever. I truly would be lost without her and our son.”
Finally, someone who understood what he was going through. “See, Alicia is that for me, but she’s having a hard time opening up. How much longer should I wait before I move on to someone else that I might be able to have a future with?” Brad hated the thought of spending the rest of his life without Alicia.
“You will never be happy with another woman if Alicia is the love of your life. Fight for her with everything that you have in you and from what you just told me about last night. Alicia isn’t fighting you the way she used to in the past.”
The memory of making out with Alicia had kept him up most of the night and well into the morning. “No, she isn’t putting up blocks against me anymore. I think I’m moving towards something good with her.”
“Great…now enough about Alicia,” Richard said. “I want to discuss your life. Are you still thinking about leaving Lee’s business and starting up your own?”
He hadn’t let go of the idea of being his own boss, but starting up a new venture was hard especially since he still wasn’t too sure what he wanted do. “I haven’t decided yet,” Brad admitted, honestly. “Sometimes, I get a little envious that you, Zack and even Lee have jobs that the three of you love.”
“Don’t be jealous. We always knew what we wanted to do since college. You, on the other hand, loved being outside more than you ever cared about being inside a building,” Richard told him. “Just make sure this time you decide on a career that you love to do every day.”
Stretching his legs out underneath the table, Brad ran the palm of his hand along the back of his neck trying to relieve some of the knots. Richard made it sound so easy, but it wasn’t. He just couldn’t do anything with his life. He had to pick a good career, so he could be on an equal playing field with Alicia. She was younger than him and was already working at a job she loved and moving in the right direction with her life.
“It’s not as easy as you’re making it out to be. I’m thirty-two years old. I should already have a well-established career and I don’t. How can I ask Alicia to spend the rest of her life with me when I won’t be able to take care of her?”
“Alicia doesn’t seem like the type of woman who will want you to take care of her. All you need to do is love her and that will always be enough.”
“Are you sure?” Brad asked more than a little worried.
“Well, it’s enough for my stunning wife,” Richard laughed, trying to ease some of the tension in the room. “How about you take a peek at your nephew before you leave?”
His brother got up from the table and pushed the chair back in then headed for the door. “I think Dawn should be done bathing him by now. I told her I would stay home from work today, so she could spend the day with Traci and Cherise.”
“Do you love being a father?” Brad asked.
Turning back around, Richard gave him a smile so huge that it spread from ear to ear. “Sterling is the most beautiful gift that Dawn could ever give me. The love I have for my little boy knows no bounds. You’ll see when you have your own.” Richard spun back around and went out the door towards the nursery at the end of the hall.
Brad stood alone in the kitchen for a few minutes wondering would he ever be a husband and a father. He knew one thing. He wasn’t going to let Alicia leave him without a damn good fight on her hands. She was his perfect woman and he wanted her in his life forever.
Whistling to himself, he walked out of the kitchen and followed behind his brother thinking of another way that he could win over another piece of Alicia’s heart.