“I can’t believe you brought me here,” Alicia hissed glancing at the closed front door. “You know that I’m not welcomed at his house. How about we grab something and eat it at my place before I head back to work? I want to spend some extra alone time with you anyway.”
“No!” Brad snapped. “You are going to get over your fears of my family dinner starting tonight. There’s nothing to be afraid of and it’s about time you see that for yourself.”
Taking her by the hand, Brad opened the front door and dragged her in behind him. The instant Alicia hit the living room, the scent of a home cooked meal filled her senses while the sound of family laughter touched her ears.
“Come, let’s go and surprise everyone. They weren’t expecting me to bring a date.” Brad took her in the direction of the formal dining room before she could tell him no, so she just walked next to him.
Oh, Alicia bet that Brad’s family would be in for a hell of a surprise when they saw her walking into dinner with Brad. She was going to gain more shock than Sidney Poitier did in Guess Who’s Coming Dinner. She only prayed that things went better than she hoped.
“Sorry we’re late everyone, I had to stop so I could bring someone with me,” Brad said, interrupting the flow of conversation going on at the table.
Several pairs of eyes flew in their direction as all of Brad’s family members stopped talking to look at them. Alicia felt like an animal on display in the zoo. It was really weird. Alicia stood next to Brad as Lee glared at her from his seat at the head of the table. She didn’t have to guess what he was thinking, she already knew.
“Brad, you bought Alicia. It’s about time,” Traci said, grinning at them. “Take a seat you two and grab something to eat. As usual my sister fixed enough food to feed an army of guests and she knows that it’s usually just us having dinner.”
Alicia would rather have stayed in the doorway, but Brad gave her a small shove forcing her to walk and take a seat at the table.
“Hi, Traci and everyone else,” Alicia said. She wondered if everyone noticed her knees knocking together. She was so nervous, but she had to get over it. Brad loved spending time with his family and she wanted to enjoy this time with him. It would give her more of an insight into who he was and what made him the incredible man that he was.
“I didn’t think I would ever see you again after the way Lee treated you today,” Cherise said.
Cherise wasn’t too far off, Alicia thought.
She wasn’t in the mood to go round three with Lee again today. She crossed her fingers everything went smoothly for Brad’s sake. He thought so highly of all of his brothers and she wouldn’t want to do anything to change that.
“Like I said earlier, Lee has a right to his opinion, but that doesn’t mean that his aversion for me will keep me away from Brad. I like how I feel when I’m around Brad. He’s a wonderful man.”
“Nicely said,” Richard exclaimed. “You keep doing what you want. Lee just loves to hear himself talk. Ignore him and he’ll stop.”
Alicia couldn’t help but smile at Richard. Richard was right. Brad was a good guy, probably the last truly good guy she might meet in her life. She should have realized that before now, but she was going to do her best to make up for lost time and her stupidity.
“Thank you. I’ll remember that.”
“Okay, enough about warning Alicia about Lee,” Dawn chimed in. “We all know how controlling he can be, but we all love him anyway. Now, get some food on those empty plates before my husband goes for seconds. You know how much he loves Cherise’s cooking.”
Laughing, Alicia watched as Brad grabbed a bowl of mashed potatoes, placed some of his plate and passed it on to her. For the next couple of minutes they filled their plates with beef, green beans, macaroni and cheese, and bread.
“How are the interviews coming along?” Traci asked. “I’m excited about my turn coming up tomorrow. I have so much to tell about Zack.”
“Don’t you dare tell all of our secrets,” Zack joked, smiling at his wife.
She loved how all of the couples teased and flirted around with each other. She longed one day to be able to do that with Brad. She saw herself there, but just not quite yet.
“Alicia was going to interview me first, but I insulted her and she left,” Lee stated making everyone at the table look at him. “I apologize for being so harsh. I should’ve kept my opinions to myself. I hope you can schedule another time to interview me and Cherise.”
Shock was the only word that Alicia could use to describe how she felt about Lee’s apology. She wasn’t expecting it. It was almost too good to be true.
“Apology accepted,” she said because she didn’t know what else to do. “How about I call you after I’m finished with Traci’s interview tomorrow? If you’re free I can come by your office?”
“I’ll be in meetings until at least one o’clock, but I’ll be free afterwards,” Lee told her.
She could tell that he was trying his best to be cordial and if she guessed right it seemed that Cherise had a long talk with her husband. Lee had taken a 180 degree turn about her and that could be the only reason why.
“Okay, I’ll be at your office at two o’clock,” Alicia said.
Alicia glanced down as Brad grabbed her hand on the table then looked back up at him. He winked at her and she couldn’t help but to smile back. Maybe this dinner wouldn’t turn out as bad as she thought it would. She was still a little nervous of Lee and wasn’t quite sure what to think about his apology, but if he was willing to give an olive branch than she would take it for Brad.
“I guess now is a good as time as any to tell everyone our secret,” Brad said loud enough for everyone to hear.
Secret…what secret was Brad talking about? She didn’t have a clue.
“What are you talking about?” Zack asked, staring at them.
“Are you pregnant?” Lee tossed out. “Is that why you brought Alicia to dinner, so you could break the news in front of everyone?”
“No, I’m not pregnant,” Alicia answered quickly. Shit! Lee would be the one who asked that question.
“Alicia and I are now officially a couple,” Brad said, smiling at her. “It took her long enough to let me in. I’m hoping things will only get better from here.”
Looking at Brad, Alicia knew that she would always remember this moment because this was when she first started falling in love with Brad Drace. He was willing to announce to his entire family that they were a couple when she wasn’t even sure about it herself. How could a woman not fall in love with a man like that?
“What do you think about Brad bringing Alicia to dinner tonight?” Zack asked Traci as he walked around their bedroom and got ready for bed. “I was very surprised to see her, but I didn’t say anything because I could see how pleased Brad was to have her there.”
“I thought it was about time. I love Brad to death and I want to see him with a wife and children. I hope Alicia realizes what a wonderful guy she has in your brother.”
Taking off his shirt, Zack tossed it into the hamper near the bedroom door for the cleaners pick up tomorrow. “You think Alicia is the woman for my baby brother?” Zack asked.
“Sweetheart, it doesn’t matter what either one of us thinks, but yes I do think Alicia is the one for Brad. Brad is a protector and Alicia looks like she needs taking care of for some odd reason.”
“I don’t care what Alicia needs. I’m concerned about my brother.”
“Zack, you have to realize that Brad isn’t a little boy anymore. He’s an adult and doesn’t need you holding his hand. I honestly believe that Alicia has feelings for him. Did you see how she looked at him after his announcement? Without a doubt, that was the look of a woman falling hard for a man.”
Zack finished getting undressed and pulled a pair of pajamas out of the top drawer of the dresser. He yanked them on and then joined Traci on the bed.
“Lee wouldn’t agree with you,” Zack said as he tugged Traci against his bare chest.
“Honey, I love Lee but he needs to stay out of it. Would you have dumped me if he had told you too? We were having a lot of problems before we finally made up and got married.”
“Hell…no! I wouldn’t have given you up for anything in the world.” Zack told her.
“Brad feels the same way. He’s in love with Alicia and I truly believe they have a future together.”
Flipping them over, Zack pressed her back against the bed. “You know what? I’m tired of talking about Brad and Alicia. I’d rather be doing something else a whole lot more fun,” Zack whispered by his wife’s mouth.
“Like what?”
“Working on baby number two. Carter is almost three years old, so it will be a perfect time for us to start getting busy on a daughter How about it Mrs. Drace?”
Traci grinned at her husband as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I think that I might be persuaded to make a new addition to our family,” she answered right before her sexy husband kissed her.