Chapter Thirty-Three

Brad

I got it. She didn’t need to be that pissed. I had thought I was being funny and complimenting her at the same time when I told her I liked her body. Clearly, she didn’t think it was funny. The woman had not replied since I’d sent the stupid text last night. I hated being away from her. I couldn’t get in front of her and kiss her or wrap my arms around her and tell her I was sorry for being an idiot.

Once again, I had fucked up. Once again, I was going to have to grovel. I didn’t really mind. Once I lived there, I knew the making up would be well worth the anguish the woman was causing me. I did a quick search for flower delivery places and decided to go big. I didn’t mind spending a couple hundred dollars on an arrangement that would soften her heart toward me again.

“What are you doing?” Jaxon asked, flopping down on the couch in my office as he was prone to do.

I had already decided I was going to leave him the couch. He seemed to enjoy it more than anyone else. God knew he’d certainly used it more than anyone else.

“I’m sending flowers,” I mumbled as I entered my credit card information.

“What’d you do now?”

I laughed. “I said I liked her body. Now she isn’t talking to me.”

He burst into laughter. “You have a finicky woman.”

I shrugged. “I guess.”

“What was the context of this comment that pissed her off so badly?”

“She asked if the pact was the only reason I wanted to marry her. I told her I liked her body.”

Jaxon slapped a hand to his head and groaned. “You’re such an idiot. Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with you? You actually think you’re going to make a good husband?” he railed.

I was stunned by his rather rude remarks but didn’t get the chance to respond. My phone rang about the same time I pushed send on my order. It was my realtor.

While answering the phone, I simultaneously ordered Jaxon out of my office. I didn’t need his two cents on selling my condo.

“This is Brad,” I answered, automatically falling into my radio voice by habit.

Jaxon looked at me, and I could tell he was going to say something smart about the way I answered my phone. I jumped up from my chair, pushed him out of my office, and closed the door.

I listened to my realtor and couldn’t believe what I was hearing.

“Already?” I asked in disbelief. “What does that mean?”

“It means you pack your stuff and get out and take your big fat check with you!” she said, full of excitement.

“I thought you hadn’t listed it yet?” I asked, feeling a little overwhelmed by how fast everything was happening.

“I haven’t. I had buyers waiting for condos like yours to come up for sale. Your location is exactly what they’ve been looking for, so I ran it by them and they are ready to make a cash offer for your full asking price. We could put it on the market and see if we can get a bidding war to drive up the price, but that could take a little more time and you would have to wait for bank loans to be approved and whatnot,” she said.

I shook my head, trying to get everything to stop spinning. I couldn’t believe it. My stomach was flip flopping. I was scared as hell and more than a little apprehensive at the thought of making the move. But it was what I wanted, and I knew I had to do it.

“I’ll take it,” I heard myself say.

“Great! I’ll draw up the paperwork and get this thing started!”

“Thanks,” I mumbled, hanging up the phone and flopping down on the couch Jaxon had just vacated.

“Holy shit,” I muttered aloud. “Holy shit. This is really happening.”

Feeling a bit crazy, I started laughing. I didn’t know if Mia was ready for me, but I was going home. I was going to be back in New York whether she liked it or not. Shit was about to get real. There was a twinge of anxiety, but it was easily outweighed by the excitement I felt about my future with Mia. Assuming she would ever speak to me again, that was.

I loved her, and she wasn’t going to get rid of me so easily. I was prepared to dig in my heels and fight for her. She thought this was all on a whim, but it wasn’t. I was dead serious about making a marriage work with her. Without a doubt, I knew we were good together, and it wasn’t just about the sex. If I could ever be around her long enough to just be with her without wanting to jump her bones, I could prove that to her.

Thinking back to what my callers had been advising all along, I realized I had to court her, to woo her and show her how much I loved her with gestures. It didn’t have to be expensive; it had to be heartfelt. I could do that.

“Are you done?” Jaxon asked, pushing open my office door. “That was really rude by the way.”

He looked shocked to see me on the couch. “Yes, I’m done.”

“You’re on my couch.”

“It’s my couch.”

“You never sit there. You have a chair. Does this mean I get to sit in your chair?”

“No.”

He shrugged his shoulders and moved to sit in my chair anyway. “What was that all about?” he asked.

“I sold my condo,” I said, the words feeling strange as they crossed my lips.

Jaxon was silent a while. “Wow,” he finally managed to get out.

I chuckled. “Yeah, wow. I also have a booth. One of the stations out there is going to be leasing the booth to us. Tina is already working on lining up guests based in New York for the show. It all seems to be happening really fast.”

“It is really fast,” Jaxon agreed. “Why are you moving if she won’t even talk to you?”

“I’ll make her talk to me. I just have to convince her she wants to marry me.”

“Have you told her why? Like the real reason you want to marry her?” Jaxon asked.

I rolled my head to the side so I could look at him sitting behind my desk. “What do you mean the real reason? I already told her we could get married and live happily ever after.”

He shook his head, rolling his eyes as he did. “You’re an idiot, a real moron.”

“Why?” I asked, sitting up to look at him.

“Have you told her you loved her?”

I scoffed. “What are you talking about? She knows. Why else would I ask her to marry me and move across the country to be with her?”

He leveled his gaze at me. “Let’s go over the details. As far as I know, you haven’t told her you are moving, right?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. I wanted to make sure it was going to happen before I brought it up again. When I told her I had tried and failed to get a job and she would have to move to me, she got really pissed—like slept-on-the-couch pissed.”

He covered his face with his hands. “You told her you wanted to marry her, but did you ask?”

I looked up at the ceiling as I tried to remember if I had. A feeling of dread washed over me as I realized I had done no such thing. She had found the ring, but it wasn’t like I gave it to her. I had never dropped to my knee and asked her. It was more of a let’s-do-this thing rather than a proposal. I had proposed marriage with the same care I would propose Mexican over Italian for dinner.

“Shit,” I mumbled under my breath.

Jaxon was nodding. “I thought so. Explains why she isn’t talking to you again. Flowers aren’t going to cut it, man. You fucked up.”

“Thanks. So helpful.”

“You have to say the words. You have to give her your heart, not just your dick,” he said crudely.

“What makes you an expert in the field of love? Your longest relationship has been about a week, and I know damn well you’ve never loved any of them,” I shot back.

“I’m not quite as dumb as I act, and I have actually loved before,” he said in a quiet voice.

I looked up at him to gauge his emotions and see if he was being honest. “You have?”

He nodded. “Yes. It can’t be that hard to believe.”

“When? What happened?” I asked, suddenly intrigued by the man’s past. I had known Jaxon about ten years. He had been a womanizer since I’d known him.

He shrugged a shoulder and pretended nonchalance. “I was young, college. She was too. We were going to get married. I did the whole big proposal thing and spent a small fortune on a ring.”

“Wow,” I mumbled, surprised to hear he had ever been down that road before. “And?”

He sighed. “She died. No, not died. She was killed. Drunk driver, wrong way on the freeway. Killed her instantly a month before our wedding.”

My mouth fell open. I wanted to offer him words of comfort, but I didn’t think that was what he wanted. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

“It’s okay. It was a long time ago. I’m not sad about it. I mean, I am of course, but it isn’t something I dwell on. I just wanted you to know I do know women and I know that a proposal that means something is important to them. You have to get on one knee or do something special for her. Calling her up out of the blue and claiming you want to marry her because of a silly pact is not exactly smooth, my friend. You have to do better than that,” he said with a smile.

The earlier pall in the room had quickly been erased. I now had a better understanding of Jaxon and why he was the way he was. I could give him my two cents based on my one semester of psychology, but I had a feeling he already knew he was a serial womanizer because of what had happened to him. If this lifestyle made him happy, I was certainly not going to take that away. He’d lost enough.

“Thanks. You’re right. I did this all wrong. I guess I assumed she was the same girl I knew back when. I jumped in with both feet without thinking about how she would feel about it. It was stupid,” I said, suddenly realizing my mistake.

He grinned. “I know I’m right. I’m happy to hear you say it though.”

“Whatever. I need to get ready for the booth. Then I guess I better get some boxes and hire those movers. Holy shit, this is happening fast,” I said, still in a state of disbelief.

“It is. I’m going to be sorry to see you go. I talked with the owner today. Your little leap to satellite means I get to take a lot more trips around the country on the company’s dime. You better believe I’ll be out in New York to check up on you. You better have a line of women for me.”

I laughed. “I’ll get right on that. I’m sure Mia won’t mind me scouting the territory for you and scoring some numbers. Should go over real well,” I said with sarcasm.

He chuckled. “I was only trying to save time. I guess I’ll have to do my own legwork. Your taste in women is not the same as mine anyway.”

“Oh, by taste do you mean legal and of at least drinking age?” I quipped.

That made him grin even bigger. “That’s a ridiculous standard, and you are seriously limiting yourself if you exclude those coeds, but I guess none of that matters to you now.”

“Nope. It doesn’t. I’ve got a woman.”

“You hope,” he shot back before racing out of my office.

I did hope. I had some serious work to do to get back in her good graces after screwing things up so badly.