The Love Handles Club (Love in the City Short) Read online

  Ironically, Bradley knew all of this without my having to give him graphic details. It was unspoken between us. I’d been treated horribly and he wanted to right any wrongs he could, so I let him help with the divorce. Maybe he shouldn’t have stepped in, but he insisted and I was truly thankful for his help. I couldn’t do it on my own as exhaustion ruled me most days. Maybe it was the pregnancy and moving back home under the circumstances. I’m not even sure. I needed support from someone who cared about me, wanted what was best for me, and perhaps even still loved me.

  Bradley and I hadn’t brought that word up yet, but we loved being together. He said he loved my hair, my lips, and the sound of my voice. The list of what he loved about me and what I loved about him was long, pages long. We hadn’t admitted to being “in love” with one another again. For me there was likely never a stop to the love I’d felt back fourteen years ago. It was always lying beneath the surface sometimes dormant, other times coming alive in my heart and mind as sweet memories came back to me.

  But today I was the lucky one. Not only was he in my heart and mind, he was also seated beside me on our plane to Atlanta. I felt his fingers weave through mine and I opened my eyes to find him smiling reassuringly at me. He knew I was nervous today, petrified. I knew he was anxious too, but he wouldn’t show it. He would be strong for me and I would be forever grateful to him.

  “We should be landing in a few minutes,” he said. His thumb lightly rubbing circles on the top of my hand. His touch soothed me, gave me strength.

  “I figured we were close.” I tried to smile back but I just couldn’t find one in me without having to force it.

  “Hey, it’s going to be okay. I promise.” His stare became more fixed, serious, as if he wanted to scare the worry away.

  “You’re right. We’re prepared, but nothing could be worse than having this divorce drag on for years and years.”

  “I don’t think Joe wants this divorce to drag on. He just wants you to cave. Give into his demands. He didn’t figure on your having an army to back you up.”

  “True. I think he thought I’d be a pushover just like I’d been in our marriage.” My eyes searched his face before I continued. “You’ve saved me in so many ways, Bradley.”

  “Likewise, beautiful.” He brought my hand to his lips and gently kissed my knuckles. “I’m here for you and the baby. In all ways, if you want me to be. Remember that today when we’re sitting across the table from Joe. I’m the one who cares for you. The one who lo—”

  He stopped mid-word. A word that began with an “L” left unspoken on his tongue. I knew that word and wanted to hear him say it too. But I wouldn’t ask or beg.

  “Dammit, Kelly. I wanted to tell you how I truly felt about you when we were doing something special. Like staring at the starry sky while I held you on my deck by the pool. After today’s meeting and this mess was over. Not like this when you’re in turmoil.”

  “Your being here with me is special.” I squeezed his hands hoping he’d continue on with what he was telling me. Those words he didn’t say were the very words I longed for, and needed to hear.

  “Okay then.” He turned his body to me as much as he could in our cramped seats. Taking my other hand into his, he leaned his body toward me. We were whisper close to each other. His breaths became mine too. I prepared my heart for what he was about to say to me. I felt my eyes starting to glisten with tears.

  “The very first time I saw you, I knew that there was something different about you. When you looked up at me, stared back into my eyes for the first time, I felt a special connection that’s still there for me today.” He paused slightly, taking a breath to continue on. “It never went away. It’s like I carried around a piece of us, together, in my heart. My love for you was always there inside of me. Never dying and probably keeping me from loving anyone else. It’s only been you, Kelly. Only you.”

  Damn pregnancy hormones. My eyes were spilling buckets of tears. One after the other, after the other. He brought his hands to my face, our fingers still entwined, and wiped the streams away. More tears followed, though, after he’d cleared them, so he brought his lips to my cheeks and began kissing the salty torrents. They all belonged to him now. His lips were tender as they caressed me, comforted me.

  “I love you with all my heart, Kelly Parker.” He went back to kissing my cheeks, but continued whispering to me. “You are the love of my life.”

  I needed to respond, but I could hardly catch my breath. His words. Oh, his sweet, sweet words. I could live on them like manna. They nourished me. Made me feel whole for the first time in years.

  “Bradley, you are the love of my life too.” His lips were on mine now. We had kissed a few times over the last few weeks, but nothing like this. The passion was intense. I wanted to crawl onto his lap and get lost in him. I didn’t even care who saw us together. After a minute or a few seconds, who knows, I had to pull away to inhale a bit of air. His kisses left me lightheaded and dizzy.

  “I love you,” I panted trying to catch my breath. “No one but you.”

  “We can make this work,” he said while using a spare cocktail napkin to wipe more tears from my face. “I want to make this work. For better, for worse. No matter what we face today. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?”

  Holy shit. Did he mean marriage? I’m pretty sure he did as some of his words were taken straight from the traditional wedding vow. I wasn’t even officially divorced. It should have seemed wrong to even think about us together, married. But the thought, the sweet idea of us, together forever, well, I couldn’t think of anything more I wanted in the whole wide world.

  “I think I do,” I replied. “The thought of not having you in my life to love and be with makes me feel ill. I need you, Bradley.”

  “You’re mine, Kelly. Mine.” His eyes appeared feral. An "I want to devour you" look came from them. I felt a quick shiver run down my spine. I desired this man like no other. I wanted to be his and wanted to make him mine too.

  “I’m yours.” My words were quietly spoken between us. Nothing more needed to be said. He placed his hand behind my neck, weaving his fingers into my hair and drew me to him for another kiss. His lips pressed hard and passionately to mine once again. Heat flashed through me. My breasts ached for his touch. My body hummed in its desire for him. Every cell of my being was on fire. In all the years I’d been married to Joe nothing came close. Nothing.

  “Yes, mine.” He pulled his lips away briefly to speak. But they were back, possessing me once again. We were shamelessly making out like teenagers in our seats. Our hands wandered everywhere they could without touching too intimately. I placed my fingers on the skin of his back beneath his shirt, going for broke, letting my fingernails rake over him. This time he was the one with shivers as I ran my nails across him slowly.

  He mirrored my movements as he snaked his hand up my blouse. I was protected from view by his body and the windowed wall of the plane behind me, pinned in. The hand touching me was hidden as I leaned back into my seat with him bending over me. First, he was safely rubbing my back, exploring my skin with his touch. Then I felt him inching up toward my bra line in back.

  It had been so long since a man had touched me like this. His exploring fingers, still undercover, slid around to my front. I felt him cupping my breast, cradling it in his hands. He slipped his finger into my bra’s cup and pulled down the lace, freeing me. Finding my hard swollen nipple, he ran his thumb across it. His forefinger joined in and they gently worked together pinching and pulling. My breathing was out of control. I wanted this man. Needed this man. I started to moan quietly. The sound of my own voice startled me back to reality. We were on a plane. In public.

  God, we needed to stop. Now. If no one had been around, our clothes would’ve been off in seconds. Thankfully, we were seated in the back of the first class area with a partition behind us. Private and hidden. The seats beside us were empty too. Only the poor flight attendant was likely getting the full
show.

  That thought made me release his lips and straighten up to look around. No one was watching us, thank God, but what were we doing? I straightened my top and my eyes found his. A worried look swept across his face. He brought his fingers to my cheek.

  “I want you so much Kelly.” He took a few deep breaths. We both needed to calm ourselves down. “I’ve never wanted anyone like this. I got a bit carried away.”

  “I feel the same. And, yes, we were a little out of control. But to be honest, I loved it.” I giggled like a young schoolgirl. Actually, that’s how I felt. Young and discovering love all over again. A heady feeling.

  “Tonight,” Bradley paused, getting my undivided attention. “We have two adjoining rooms at the hotel. I don’t want you stepping foot into yours. You’ll be sleeping with me.”

  My heart skipped a beat. We had purposefully chosen to stay chaste as our relationship crossed beyond friends. Just a few stolen kisses here and there. For some reason, I thought it was best to wait until I was divorced. Add the baby to the mix and things got confusing fast. I wasn’t sure how to handle being pregnant with one man’s baby while making love to another. It was hard to wrap my head around that to be honest. Seemed a bit warped, but my whole life was twisted right now. A big mess. The only things positive were Bradley and the precious baby growing inside of me.

  But his kiss. His fingers on my breast. I was done with the worry and done for him too. I wanted him in ALL ways now. No holding back. We had years to make up for and nothing was going to stop me. So I guess sleeping with him tonight was a start. A long overdue one.

  “I like the sound of that,” I purred back at him. “What do you have in mind?”

  “My lips everywhere on that sweet body of yours. My fingers following them.” I shifted in my seat as the heat of his words set me back on fire.

  “You’re killing me,” I whispered. “I’m about to come undone.”

  “Oh, believe me, you will later. I promise.” His voice was raspy. “I can’t wait to get my hands on you.”

  “I don’t feel too sexy right now, though.” I glanced down at my stomach pointing at my belly with my finger though I was sure he knew what I meant.

  “You’re as sexy as hell to me. Don’t forget it.” I cuddled into his sides after hearing his words.

  Bradley has been so supportive of the baby and me. He’d even gone with me to my last two doctor’s appointments and laughed when they called him the baby’s father. Never once had he corrected the nurse or doctor.

  There was so much to think about today, though. Joe and his reaction to our meeting stayed on the forefront of my mind overshadowing everything. Joe had become our future’s biggest obstacle. I felt my mood get serious as if a dark cloud had moved over us.

  “What if Joe stalls? Doesn’t agree to my attorney’s offer?” Fear started to rise up inside me again. I couldn’t help being afraid of Joe’s reaction. I knew him. I’d seen him cut his adversaries down to nothing. He used his power as Deputy District Attorney to crush people, left them a whimpering mess. Hardened criminals feared him. A wayward pregnant wife was no match against his brutality. My hands started to perspire as I pictured seeing Joe again.

  “Please don’t get upset.” Bradley said trying to soothe me. “I can see it in your eyes. You’re going there again. Remember we have the best in Dallas, paired with the best in Atlanta.”

  “You’re right... I think.” I was so confused. “I want to believe you, Bradley. You have no idea how much I do, but I lived with that man. I know what he’s capable of. My leaving him wounded his pride. Embarrassed him. Joe doesn’t do embarrassed.”

  “We have some arrows to shoot at him, Kelly,” Bradley said reassuringly to me, making me remember the plan. “Ones that would be even more embarrassing to him. Remember, it’s his political future now that’s his main concern.”

  As I was getting ready to respond, I heard the flight attendant’s voice over the intercom. “The captain has just turned on the ‘fasten the seat belts’ sign. All electronic devices must be turned off and stowed at this time. Seats and tray tables must be returned to their upright and locked positions as we prepare for landing. We should be on the ground in Atlanta in ten minutes.”

  “Hey, Kelly.” Bradley’s hand wrapped around mine. “Trust me when I tell you that it will all be okay. We’ll walk out of that office with papers signed. Okay?”

  “Okay.” My answer wasn’t that convincing, though.

  After landing uneventfully and getting off the plane, we gathered our bags at the luggage carousel. My attorney from Dallas was flying on our plane too, even staying at the same hotel so he joined us as we waited for our bags to appear.

  My doctor told me I’d be okay to fly, just to drink more than my normal amount of water, which led me to the next question for my escorts.

  “I need to stop at the ladies’ room before we get in the car to the hotel.”

  “Sure.” I watched Bradley scanning for the nearest restrooms. “I think they’re down this way.”

  He motioned to our right and reached for my hand. “We’ll be right back, Jensen. Would you mind staying here with our bags?”

  “No problem,” Jensen answered. “I’ll make a quick call and let our Atlanta office know we’ve arrived here on time.”

  We arrived back to find Jensen turned away from us, engaged in a deep and heated conversation. My heart started to pound when I heard him say Joe’s name laced with disgust. My stomach felt nauseous. I knew it was a bad idea coming here. I wanted to back away from them. Run. To where I’m not sure. Bradley sensed my fear and before I could even move, he wrapped his arms around my trembling body. I heard him whisper into my ear.

  “Kelly, it’ll be okay. Please don’t worry. Trust me.”

  All I could do was nod my head. Slowly Jensen turned around, maybe seeing us in his periphery, I wasn’t sure. But he froze when he saw me standing there. He quickly looked into my eyes and then turned away to continue his conversation.

  “Listen, Greg. I need to let you go. Thanks for giving me the heads up. I’ll discuss this with my client.” Jensen paused. Listening intently. The seconds ticked away and as they did I was dying inside.

  “I agree. He doesn’t have a leg to stand on really. I wish we could throw more at him too. But it will just delay things, so let’s stick to the plan we agreed on.” Jensen went silent.

  What were they talking about? Was Joe’s attorney’s pulling out something fancy to use against me? My head started to swim and as I became faint, Bradley’s two strong arms circled tighter around me, holding me up.

  Jensen ended the call, then swearing and muttering under his breath, turned back to face us. I couldn't quite make out his words but I knew they meant trouble for me. Trying not to imagine defeat was pretty much impossible, though.

  “Let’s head to our car. It’s waiting for us outside.” Jensen grabbed the handle of his luggage and pivoted toward the exit’s sliding glass doors. Bradley and I did the same and followed dutifully behind.

  The walk to the outside pick-up area seemed to take forever. I couldn’t wait to know what Jensen had learned. I glanced at Bradley who was dragging both of our suitcases and he appeared as tense as I was. It was the unknown that was eating at us.

  Jensen flagged a car holding up his name. The driver pulled the car up in front of us and jumped out of the driver’s seat to handle our bags. Silently we climbed into the car. Jensen took the front seat while Bradley and I hurried into the backseat. Nothing was said until all the doors were shut.

  “Here’s the deal,” Jensen finally started to explain. “Joe has decided to play hardball. We figured he would but his attorney’s claiming he has an old prenuptial agreement that you signed, Kelly. Do you remember signing one?”

  “What?” I felt like someone had slapped me in the face. A pre-nup? He had to be lying. “I don’t remember signing anything like that.”

  “Do you remember signing anything before the wedding?” J
ensen asked.

  “I signed some papers related to his family’s company. He told me they would protect me if anything happened to him. I’d be fine financially is what he told me.”

  My mind raced. I tried desperately to envision those papers again in my mind. It’d been a crazy time and I’d been right in the middle of last minute wedding plans. I think he’d even brought them to me at the country club when I was going over the guest headcount and seating.

  “I’m worried that you signed something he can use against us. Our office here is emailing me a copy. They’re just waiting for Joe’s attorney to fax it over.”

  “Jensen, what in layman’s terms does this mean?” Bradley questioned. “Will this affect what you’re planning on presenting today?”

  “I’m not sure yet. I’ll know more when I get my hands on a copy of that fax. I still think we have the upper hand. Joe and his team have no idea that Kelly is coming today. They believe I’m here representing her in absentia.

  “It’s best that we stick to the plan no matter what happens with this crazy paper his council produces. When you walk in seven months pregnant, the game totally changes.”

  “Thanks, Jensen. It’s hard to believe Joe has kept his lawyers in the dark about the baby. It’s a game changer for sure.” Bradley was pleased with what he heard.

  I was still struggling, on the other hand. Maybe it was all those years living with a tyrant. Those kinds of memories fade slowly if at all. I knew what this man is capable of. I hadn’t followed his orders to get rid of the baby. And when I’d left him... Well, no one leaves a man like Joe. He would be out for revenge and it was likely to get ugly.