“I know. I was reckless—“
“No, I mean you walked away from him when he was begging you to stay? That’s the nuts part!
“I didn’t want to make a possibly bigger mistake by staying and have it fall apart.”
Denise waved the postcard Brianne had sent from Orlando in a moment of mindless bliss. Denise read the words Brianne had scrawled on it out loud. “The sex is great. Do I have to come back? Love, Bree.”
Brianne groaned.
“That pretty much explained how you felt.”
“I didn’t know how much of it was vacation romance and how much was real.”
“Bree, you’re still young enough to take chances and go with it.” Denise was in her early thirties and had been through a nasty divorce. She was a levelheaded mother of two, but she knew you had to grab your chances for happiness and love when they came along. “The guy’s evidently totally gone on you. The ring. The cell phone. The roses. The limo. What else does he have to do?”
“I just needed to know it was real.”
“How long are you going to leave him hanging?”
“Not long. I don’t think I could take it.”
There was a sharp rap on the office door and a uniformed delivery man asked, “”Brianne Collins in here?”
“I’m Brianne Collins.”
He thrust a clipboard at her. “Sign here.”
“What for?”
“A delivery of desks, chairs and computers.”
“Who ordered these? We can’t possibly afford—“
”They’re already paid for, ma’am.” The man handed her an envelope.
Tearing into it, she read the note out loud. “You said your needed these for your kids. Love, Josh.” Brianne groaned.
“I like this guy!” Denise announced. “He’s better that an unrestricted grant!”
“Where do you want this stuff?” the deliveryman demanded impatiently.
“I’ll show you.” Denise headed for the door. “Sign your name for the nice man, Bree.”
The nights and early mornings were the worst. Her bed seemed empty – even sharing it with Big! No strong arms wrapped around her making her feel precious and protected. No soft breath stirred her hair. No early morning erection rubbed against her, keeping her from leaving the bed.
Finally, she threw off the covers, forgetting sleep and earning an irritated look from the dog that had no insomnia problems.
She could only hope Josh was suffering the same fate!
“C’mon, ‘C, you’re only half alive since Brianne left,” Justin tried to cheer his friend as they relaxed between studio sessions. “She’ll come back.”
Josh could only pray Justin was right. Why had he ever agreed to an entire week?
“She’s into you in a big way.”
“Bree is an intelligent, independent woman. She knows my lifestyle could be a royal pain in the ass for her. She may just decide I’m not worth the aggravation,” Josh muttered.
“Hey, JC!” Joey tossed and envelope at him. “Mail.”
Josh could tell by the size and weight it was a greeting card. It was addressed to him and sent through Johnny. It was postmarked Chicago with no return address. His heart started to pound when he recognized the handwriting. Brianne! She must have sent it on her layover in Chicago. Tearing the envelope open, he saw it was a card with a Rottweiler on front. The inside read: “This kind of looks like Big. Miss you already, baby. All my love, Bree.” ‘All her love’ -- he liked that a lot!
“How many more days before you can call her?” Joey asked.
“Tomorrow at 6:30, so don’t anybody expect me to be doing anything else at that time.”
“Hiya, baby!”
“Josh!”
“You told me I had to wait a week to call you. My week was over five minutes ago.”
“Jeeze, you took me so literally,” she laughed.
“You mean I could have called earlier?”
“I wouldn’t have hung on up on you, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Damn!” He could have saved himself a few hours of torture. “So, did you miss me, baby?”
“Horribly. I didn’t know it was possible to miss someone so much.” She wasn’t about to go into the sleepless nights. “Did you miss me?”
”Do you need to ask? I missed you before you boarded the plane.”
“That soon, eh?”
“And you missed me almost that soon. I got your card yesterday. Thanks, Bree. It made my day.”
“I’m glad. And thank you for your donation. You should be getting a formal letter of appreciation when the board gets around to it.”
“I did it for you and the kids. I don’t care if the board appreciates it or not.”
“All that software was wonderful. It does really help.”
“I was hoping your email might have been a little more enthusiastic.”
“You’re just lucky you weren’t on line. I would have been IM-ing you all over the place.”
That would have been some comfort, them chatting even if it was over the World Wide Web. “Then I’m sorry I was off line. J’s been saying I’m only half-alive without you. I don’t think I’m that alive. When can you come down next?”
“I just got back,” she reminded him gently.
“Baby, I can’t get away right now. It’s a bad time.” Josh sighed softly. “Could you come for the weekend maybe? You could fly down Friday after work and go back Sunday evening. I realize it’s a lot to ask—“
“I’d do it if I could afford—“
“Don’t worry about money. If you can come, I’ll take care of getting the tickets.”
“Josh, that isn’t comfortable for me.”
“You’d be doing it for me – and I’d give you the moon if you wanted it.”
“I don’t want the moon. I want you.”
“And you so have me, angel. So, you’ll come?”
“I’ll have to talk to Dad or Jeff about taking Big. It couldn’t be this weekend. I have things I have to catch up on from being gone.”
One more week? Josh didn’t want to wait that long.
“Call me tomorrow evening. I’ll have your answer, okay?”
“You got it.”
“Josh?”
“What, Bree?”
“This using your money for trips—“
“Forget it. I have it to spare. Spending it to see the woman I love makes it worth it.”
”Are you sure? I don’t want you to think I’m some gold digger.”
He laughed. “It never crossed my mind, baby. Like I said, you’re doing it for me. Because I asked you to.”
“So, if I get horny, I have to pay?” she asked teasingly.
Josh chuckled. “If you get that horny, I’m sending the Concorde!”
They laughed together and it felt good to be able to joke across the miles that separated them.
“I really do miss you, baby,” Brianne told him softly, intimately.
He groaned. “It has to be next weekend?”
“’Fraid so.”
“C’mon, ‘C!” Justin’s voice came over the connection.
“Bree, I’ll call you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Josh.”
“Love you.” And though it nearly killed him, he rang off.
“It’s not like that,” Josh stated. “Bree makes me feel – well – whole, complete.”
“You’ve never said that about anyone else,” Joey pointed out.
“That’s why I’m asking her to marry me this trip.”
“Got the ring?”
“Yep.”
“You’re serious!” Joey was disbelieving.
“Very.”
“Sheesh! Does she know?” Justin asked.
“That I love her? Oh, yeah. That I want to marry her? I’ve already asked her, but she didn’t want to rush it after only two weeks.”
“But it’ll only be a month when she gets here.”
“And two weeks without each other.” Two excruciatingly long weeks.
“Wanna spill it now or do you want to make small talk first?” Brian asked as they sat at his kitchen table.
Brianne studied her handsome father. The years hadn’t diminished rugged appeal. He could still have any woman he wanted – he just didn’t seem interested. In his younger days, the prettiest girls in the county had chased him. His blonde good looks and marine blue eyes had been a lady-killer combination when added to his lean, muscular build from his physical labor. But he’d fallen for tiny, dark Emily Parker.
“Daddy, when did you know you loved Mom?”
Instead of looking sad at the mention of his late wife, Brian’s eyes now sparkled with remembered love. “The first time I laid eyes on her.”
“Then you believe at love at first sight?”
He nodded slowly. He guessed it had something to do with the new ring she wore on her left hand. “Are you gonna tell me my little girl got married without me?”
“Heavens no! I’d never do that to you. That would be one of the most important days of my life – and I’d want you and Jeff there.”
“Got engaged?”
“No. It’s more like we’re engaged to be engaged. He wanted to marry me last week though.” She hadn’t planned on being interviewed by her father. “I met someone my first night in Orlando. Our eyes met and there was this unspoken connection almost immediately. I’d never felt anything like it before.”
“So, my baby’s moving to Orlando.”
“I think I just may, but I have some major issues to deal with first.”
“That’s not good.” Then came the ‘Dad’ question. “Can he support you?”
Brianne chuckled. JC Chasez could probably support the entire town she lived in – and in style! “Yes, Daddy. He’s got plenty of money.”
“He’s a miser?”
“No, actually, he’s a little too generous most of the time. That makes me uncomfortable.”
“Does he make you feel that way?”
“No! He says he’d give me the moon. He bought new computers for the center. The note said basically, ‘You said you need these.’ So, he bought them.”
“He is generous.”
“To a fault.”
“Honey, that isn’t a bad thing.” Brian chuckled. “If he’s got it and he wants to spend it top make life easier for others, I’d say that’s admirable.”
“And he travels a lot. And I do mean a lot. About five months out of the year.”
“So, you’d be a gypsy.”
“If I went with him.”
”You’d need to go with him, Brianne, for both of your sakes.”
“And he’s famous.”
“Anybody I’d know?”
“I don’t think so. You know that group Janie is so wild about? He’s one of them.”
“So, he gets screamed at for a living. That has to be tough.”
“He’s such a sweet, sensitive man. And he writes these beautiful songs.” And some songs her father would never understand! “He does some producing. That’s what he wants to focus on in the future.”
“Then his life will settle down.”
“But who knows how long that will be?”
Brianne was clearly struggling with her love for Josh. Why couldn’t she have fallen in love with a ‘regular, everyday’ kind of guy? “In order for me to be with him, I’ll have to fly to wherever he is. That means rushing around, leaving home and Big for days at a time – and spending a lot of his money to do it.”
“Jeff and I can take turns with Big,” Brian offered. “And if he’s willing to fly you to him, then it shouldn’t be a problem for your conscience to deal with. You’d be doing it to make you both happy.”
“It just doesn’t seem fair. Not to you. Not to Jeff. Not to Josh.”
“Don’t worry about me or Jeff. And if your Josh is willing to spend money to have you with him, then he doesn’t think it’s unfair either.”
“He did tell me not to worry about the money. He’d have me come every weekend if he could.”
“I’d say he’s in love.”
Brianne smiled. “We both are.”
“If you both are, then let it work,” Brian suggested.
Brianne rose from her chair to hug her father’s neck. “You always know how to put things in perspective.”
“It’s in my job description as 'Dad’.” He patted her hand. “I’ll take Big next weekend so you can be with your Josh. I’ll pick him up on my way to work next Friday. That work for you?”
It was a most generous offer! “If you’re sure…”
“I’m sure.”
“Thanks, Daddy.”
“And I’ll talk to Jeff.”
“I—“
“You know he’ll give a sack of brotherly crap. I’ll talk to him.”
It was true. Jeff was overly protective and a royal pain about any man in his sister’s life. “If you’re sure.”
Brian chuckled. “I’m sure. Just be happy, baby girl.”
Beep.
“Baby, it’s Josh. Not home yet? I though you got off by three-thirty most days. Was I wrong? Anyway, I’ll call later. Love you.”
Beep.
“Bree? You there? I was hoping I could talk to you. I miss you, baby, so much. You can come next week, can’t you? Guess I’ll try a little later. Please, be there.”
Beep.
“Baby, are you okay? Something wrong? Are you just not picking up?—“
When the phone rang in the middle of his third message, Brianne snatched it up. “Hello!”
“Baby!” Josh let out a gusty sigh of relief. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. I stopped after work to talk to Daddy. He said he’d take Big next weekend.”
“The you’ll come?”
“I’ll come.”
“That’s fantastic! Thank you, angel. I need you with me so bad…”
“I’d forgotten my parents fell in love at first sight. Dad’s definitely on our side.”
“Not Jeff?”
“Daddy said he’d be talking to Jeff.”
There was a silence.
“Do you need to hang up, Josh?”
“No! Talk to me, baby girl?”
“I talked to you yesterday. I don’t have a whole lot new to say.”
“I just want to hear your voice.”
“I told Daddy all about you tonight.”
“You hadn’t before?”
“Not really. The only ones I’ve been sharing with have been Denise and Colleen at work. I hadn’t seen Daddy since I got home.”
“Didn’t Jeff notice the ring?”
“My brother is the epitome of a totally clueless male. He wouldn’t notice if I had a third eye unless I pointed it out.”
Josh laughed at that. “Baby, I tried to memorize everything about you.”
“But you’re in love with me.”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Anyway, Daddy said he’d try to help by taking Big when possible. I told him who you were.”
Since Brian Collins was in his fifties, Josh didn’t imagine the man would be impressed by his daughter’s lover’s fame. “Bet that didn’t impress.”
“No, but you being willing to fly me to you did. He said you had some ‘admirable qualities’. His words, not mine.”
It was nice to know that Brianne had shone the best light on him.
“Your turn,” she announced. “Talk to me.”
“I’m hammering out some final tracks as a producer on the girl group I told you about. The guys and I are working with our choreographers to get the tour pulled together. I’d love to fly you here to get one of your backrubs.”
“I’ll bring massage oils with me this time,” Brianne offered.
“That’d be great, Bree. Can I take you on tour with me?”
“No, Josh.”
“I need you with me, baby.”
“Daddy thought the ring meant I had gotten married while I was gone. He seemed a little hurt until I said I wouldn’t do that to him. Josh, you need to get up here and meet him. It’s important to me.”
The thought of meeting her construction working family was daunting.
“Josh?”
“I’m here, baby.”
“Time to hang up if we’re running out of things to say.”
“It’s just harder on the phone. When we’re together we can cover the gaps by listening to each other’s heartbeats.” Josh sighed. He hated the idea of hanging up. “I am kind of worn out, but I wanted to talk to you.”
“Take a nice long, hot shower, relax, and get a good night’s sleep,” she suggested.
“I plan to. Baby—“
“Come on. Josh. We’ve got to hang up.”
“I’ll call for your flights. How long does it take for you to get to the airport from work?”
“About twenty minutes.”
“And you get off at three-thirty next Friday?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“That means you can sleep in my arms Friday night.”
“Sounds like heaven, Josh,” she murmured softly.
“Baby girl, I miss you so much—“
“Let’s say good-night.”
“Good-night, angel. Dream of me.”
“’Night, Josh.” Brianne gently replaced the receiver.
Josh punched ‘end’ on his cell phone. Damn! Phone calls were not enough!
“It’s been forever, angel,” he muttered.
“It’s been two weeks.”
“I got used to your face being the first thing I saw every morning and the last thing at night.”
More accurately, it was the back of her head he saw at those times, since they had taken to sleeping spoon-style.
Josh held her close, stroking her hair.
“Aren’t you going to kiss me?”
“If I get started, I’ll disgrace myself. I’ll wait until we have a little more privacy.”
“Well, then let’s go.”
“No luggage?”
“For two days?” She lifted her handbag and duffle bag. “I travel light.”
Josh grabbed her single piece of luggage and led her to his car, keeping an arm about her waist.
“I won’t run away,” she teased. “I promise.”
“I’m acting like an idiot, huh?”
“Not an idiot. I think it’s sweet actually.”
He brushed his mouth against her ear. “We got the place to ourselves. I can make you scream all night,” he whispered seductively.
“Or I can make you scream.”
And she could, Josh knew for a fact.
In the end, they made each other cry out. Lying entwined on his big bed in the aftermath, they were drained, sated and floating on a cloud of bliss. Josh couldn’t stop touching her, feeling her heart beat close to his. It had never been this way with anyone else. Brianne’s love took him to new heights – and without her, new lows.
After a while, Brianne closed her eyes, her head on his shoulder.
“Sleepy, baby?” he asked softly.
“I know it’s not very romantic but yeah. I’ve been up since six this morning.”
He pulled a light cover over them, then pulled her back against him. “Angel?”
“Hmm?” She was half-asleep already.
“Will you marry me?”
“Sounds like a good idea. We’ll talk more about it later,” she said with a tiny yawn.
“You’re saying ‘yes’?” he demanded excitedly.
“Mmm-hmm.”
“I love you so much, Bree.”
“Love you, too, baby.”
“Bree—“
“Let me sleep or I’ll take it back,” she teased.
“Yes, ma’am.”
Brianne turned, snuggling her face against his neck. “I love you a lot, Josh,” she whispered drowsily.
Josh held her close, now far too wound up to even contemplate sleep. He wanted to call everyone and tell them she had said ‘yes’! At this hour, they were liable hang up on him. So, he lie there, holding his love, knowing that in the not to distant future, he’d be holding her all night long for more than just a handful of nights here and there. That made him so thrilled he thought he could probably fly! ‘I love you a lot, Josh’ were the sweetest words ever uttered.
“You aren’t sleeping,” Brianne grumbled.
“Sorry, baby.”
“Your heart is racing a mile a minute.”
“I am just so happy you said ‘yes’—“
Her mouth was in the perfect place to make him crazy. She lowered her head a fraction of an inch to lick that spot above his medallion that seemed to be directly connected to the one-eyed crotch monster.
Josh groaned and shifted against her. “Baby, you know what that does to me.”
“Uh-huh. I guess I have to exhaust you, then maybe I’ll get some sleep.”
“You can try. I’m so jazzed now, I could go for hours!”
“Cripes. Well, don’t be too disappointed if I fall asleep in the middle it, okay?” she teased.
Josh laid her back, kissing her tenderly. “You take it easy, angel. I’ll do all the work.”
Brianne laughed and looped her arms around his neck. “Okay, husband-to-be.”
Just hearing her say the word ‘husband’, had him bounding up off the bed. “Just a sec.”
“Now what?” She wondered if he realized what a handsome spectacle he was, striding across the room, naked and semi-aroused. She sat up to get a better look. “What are you looking for?” she asked as he rifled through his top dresser drawer.
“Here!” He grabbed something out of the drawer and returned to bed.
It was a ring box. He opened it and presented it to Brianne. “Wear it. When I make love to you, I want to know you’re mine forever.”
“I am yours – practically since the minute we met.”
He took her left hand, removing the sapphire ring and slipping the exquisite diamond ring where it needed to be. He placed the other ring on her right hand.
Brianne was speechless. It was perfect. Not over-done, not flashy or showy. It’s beauty lie in its simplicity. He had chosen well.
“Fit okay?” he asked when she said nothing.
“Joshua…I don’t know what to say.”
“You already said it. ‘Yes’.”
She had. Now, she hoped she could live with it. Love with this man was complicated – marriage would be even more so. Saying ‘yes’ to him, meant saying good-bye to the quite life she had always enjoyed – and saying good-bye to her home.
Josh gave an uncomfortable chuckle. “You regretting it already? Shouldn’t you give it at least an hour or so?” he kidded. Her sudden silence was unnerving.
She gave him a brave smile. “I was just thinking how different my life will be from the one I had planned.”
“But we’ll be together, baby. That’s what counts.”
Leaning forward, she kissed him softly. “Thank you. It’s a beautiful ring.”
“It can out shine the angel who wears it.” Josh laid her back once again. “You just relax and let me make love to you, baby.”
Two Weeks Too Long
“You what?” Denise demanded when Brianne told her what had happened between herself and Josh in Orlando.
“Gonna get a conjugal visit?” Justin taunted.
When Brianne arrived home she let Big into the yard and checked her phone messages.