More Than Friends: Brad Read online

  Jumping up from the couch, Alicia tried to approach Brad, but he took a step back from her. She wouldn’t admit to herself how much that slight movement hurt her feelings. However, she had to make Brad understand that if he didn’t agree Tiffany was going to do it on her own with another news reporter.

  “Brad, the title of the story is ‘Why white men love and marry black women.’ It seems when a white man proclaims his attraction for a black woman not only sexually, but also romantically that it sometimes leads to a lot of controversy and sometimes even dangerous threats. So, the main focus of the piece will be why some influential white males are opening themselves to dating outside their races, despite any criticism that may come from it.”

  Alicia watched as some of the anger left Brad’s handsome face, but it still didn’t look like he was going to agree to her request. If he turned her down she wasn’t sure what she would have to do to make him help her.

  God...she wondered what Brad would think if he knew she wanted to do this assignment just to be able to spend more time around him.

  Brad raked one hand through his dark hair giving it that tousled look that she loved so much. “I can’t give you an answer about this until I talk to everyone else involved and if one person doesn’t want it the answer will be no. I don’t care what your boss wants. Our final answer will be it, so don’t try to change my mind.”

  The need to argue was pushing at her, but Alicia knew when to leave something alone and see how the cards would play out. “Okay...that’s fine. Go and talk things over with your family. I swear that I’ll do an excellent piece about your brothers and their families.”

  Brad gave her one more look and then headed toward the front door. “Don’t count on hearing a yes because I can already hear Lee now, but I’ll ask for you.” Opening the door, he went out and then suddenly came back to her getting close, looking down at her intensely.

  His mouth was on hers before she would move one muscle and just as suddenly the surprise kiss ended. “Have a good night, beautiful,” Brad whispered against her swollen lips before going out the door closing it softly behind him.

  Pressing her fingers to her mouth, Alicia stared at the closed door wondering if Brad’s family agreed to the story how she was going to handle working so closely with him and keep up a distant attitude.

  Chapter Three

  “Are you busy? I think we need to talk to each other about what happened last night at dinner.”

  Brad debated if he should even acknowledge his brother or keep reading over the rental properties that Zack had given him a couple of weeks ago. He loved Lee, but he was tired of working with him. It was past time that he made his own mark with his own business.

  He wasn’t the kid brother that Lee, Richard or Zack needed to take care of anymore. It was about time he proved it to himself and his brothers.

  “What do we have to talk about?” Brad questioned as he looked up from the papers on his desk. “You hate the woman I’m in love with. How can we ever get past that? It’s like a pink elephant in the room.”

  Coming into his office, Lee sat down in a chair. “I wouldn’t say that I hate Alicia, but she doesn’t treat you with any kind of respect. Why would you want to be around a woman like that?”

  “How can you give me advice?” Brad demanded. “Didn’t you have one hell of a time getting Cherise to admit how she felt about you? I don’t ever remember telling you to give up on her.”

  Lee glared at him before his laughter filled the room. “I guess I need to see and understand that you aren’t my baby brother anymore, but it’s going to be hard on me. I’ve taken care of you for so long that it’s going to be a hard habit to break.”

  For a moment, Brad was too stunned to say a word to his brother. Why was Lee giving up so easily? It wasn’t like him at all. Lee usually dug his teeth in and didn’t give up without a hard fight.

  “Okay, what’s up? Are you sick or something? I know you and you wouldn’t have thrown in the towel this quickly and especially when it comes to Alicia.”

  Leaning back in the leather seat, Lee laced his fingers across his stomach and watched him with the steady stare he’d hated ever since he was a little kid.

  “Cherise told me that if I didn’t stop pressuring you about Ms. Hart that I will drive a bigger wall between us. I don’t want that to happen. I might not act like it most of the time, but I do love you as much as I do Zack and Richard. I think I push them just as hard as I do you.”

  “Don’t you understand that all of us are adults now? God, both Richard and Zack are fathers and you’re about to be one in a matter of months yourself. It’s past time you took a step back and enjoyed your life. Hell, you finally got Cherise to marry your ugly ass,” Brad teased.

  “Yeah that’s true. When Traci told me I’d lost her and she was moving to Paris I almost lost my mind. I couldn’t let Simon have what I had been fighting for so long. I love Cherise so much and the babies are a wonderful bonus of our love for each other.

  “So, I’m going to listen to her about Alicia. Honestly, I truly don’t know that much about Ms. Television Reporter. How about you set aside a time for all of us to do something together?

  “It can’t be anything too stressful with Cherise being as far along as she is; however, I’m willingly to extend the olive branch for your girlfriend little brother.”

  “Do you mean that despite the fact that Alicia isn’t my girlfriend yet?” Brad asked sliding forward in his seat. “Alicia wanted me to ask the family something, but she was afraid that you would shoot the idea down instantly.”

  “What does she want?” Lee inquired in a low, composed voice which he knew usually meant trouble was on its way.

  Brad knew it was now or never, so he jumped in feet first. “Alicia wants to interview us for a special her boss requested at the news station.”

  “Hell...No!” Lee shouted as he jumped up. I’ve already told that Tiffany woman I don’t want the public meddling into our lives. Why does she care so much? If we were poor and married to black women, it wouldn’t be news worthy at all. Tell Ms. Hart and her hard-headed boss that the answer is still no.”

  “You don’t speak for the rest of the family.”

  Lee’s eyes darkened dangerously. “Yes, I do and I better not hear that you bothered Richard or Zack with this nonsense either. When are you going to grow up and stop fantasizing about this woman,” his brother tossed out before he got up from the chair and stormed out of his office.

  Well, it seemed like the olive branch had broken before Alicia had a chance to even accept it from Lee, he thought.

  Brad hated that Lee didn’t see the importance of this story, but he wasn’t going to let Lee’s piss ass attitude stop him. He was going to talk to his other brothers after work and get their opinions. If Lee didn’t want to participate then so be it.

  ****

  Cherise moved around several times on the bed before she finally found a comfortable spot for a while. At least the babies had stopped kicking for the night and decided it was time for them to sleep. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for two miniatures versions of Lee in a couple of months. Her husband was bad enough sometimes but to have two sons that would be exactly like their daddy, it definitely was going to keep her busy.

  She was reaching for the romance book next to her on the bed when Lee came storming into the bedroom looking madder than a bull in a pen slamming the door behind him.

  “I can’t believe the nerve of my brother. I don’t know how I made it all day at work without yelling at him again,” Lee complained as he placed across the carpet in front of the bed.

  “Bad day at work,” Cherise asked, watching as Lee practically ripped the dark purple tie from around his neck. .

  “I tried...I really did, but Brad just doesn’t want to listen to anything I want to tell him. I’m older and wiser. He should be glad that I want to give him my opinion.”

  “Sweetheart, Brad might be the youngest but he’s still an a
dult and a grown man. He has a right now not to want you all up in his business and mainly his love life. I’ve talked to Alicia before and she didn’t come across that horrible to me. I think she’s a little guarded with her emotions and that’s it.”

  Lee stopped his crazy pacing and looked at her. “Alicia is bad for Brad. Baby, I love you, but you don’t know what you’re talking about. Look how long it took you to come to your senses about me?”

  “I’m going to let that comment pass because you’re upset about your day, but I’m warning you not to say it again.” Cherise waved a finger in her husband’s direction.

  Coming over to her, Lee took a seat on the bed next to her. ‘Wait until I tell you what Alicia wants us to do and then you’ll agree with me.”

  Cherise knew she wasn’t going to be able to relax with a good book anymore, so she gave her undivided attention to her husband. Lee wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight unless he got this problem off his chest and she didn’t need him tossing and turning in the bed next to her.

  “I’m listening.”

  “Brad knows how I feel about the media and their interest in my family. I’ve done everything in my power to keep them out. I hate doing interviews unless I really need to and it’s for a good cause.”

  “Sure I have money, power and fame, but I’ve no need to put it out there for the public to judge me about. So, why in the hell do I want Alicia in my personal life? It’s not hers or anyone else’s business why I married you.”

  Cherise couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Lee was actually upset that Alicia wanted to tell the world how they fell in love with each other. Was there another reason that he didn’t want the story done?

  “Could you please move so I can get off the bed?’ Cherise touched Lee on the arm and waited while he got up. She noticed how he was watching her kind of strangely, but she didn’t care. Once she got off the bed, Cherise stood in front of her husband.

  “Lee, I think a story about you and your brothers will be wonderful. I don’t understand why you’re so irate about this. Are you saying you don’t want the world to know that you fell in love with me?” she questioned.

  Lee quickly pulled her into his arms and planted a kiss on her mouth. “Baby, I started planning our wedding the second day after I met you. Of course, I don’t mind telling the world I’m in love with my beautiful pregnant wife.”

  Leaning back in hr husband’s arms, Cherise stared up into his handsome face. “I’m glad you knew it because I hated you the first day I saw you and even more the second day.”

  “Did you really hate me?” Lee whispered against her neck. “You weren’t the tiniest bit turned on by me?” Moving his hand between their bodies, he rubbed it over her belly. “Are you telling me that you didn’t know that I’d be the father of your children?”

  She couldn’t resist teasing her overly confident husband...sometimes he was just too arrogant for his own good.

  “No, honestly I had my eye on Simon. That’s why I ran off to Paris with him. There’s no telling what might of happened if you hadn’t come after me.”

  Placing a finger under her chin, Lee lifted her chin until her eyes connected with his. “You never would have done anything with Simon because you were in love with me. Plus if he had laid a hand on you I would have tossed his ass off that balcony,” he growled.

  “Why would you have done that?”

  “Because I love you and I wouldn’t have let anything or anyone stand in my way of my feelings for you.”

  “Why can’t you see that’s how Brad feels about Alicia?” Cherise asked Lee. “You can’t live his life for him. Do you truly think he would have asked you to do this interview if he thought Alicia would do a hatchet job on his family?”

  His eyes clung to hers, analyzing her reaction. It was going to be hard for Lee to admit that he was wrong, but he would be man enough to do it.

  “Do you know how much I hate it when you’re right?” Lee moved her finger off her face and then took a step back. “I can’t make Richard and Zack not do the interview.”

  “Does that mean you’re agreeing to do it?”

  “Yeah, if my other brothers say yes, then I won’t say no.”

  Cherise stood on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss. “I’m proud of you and so are your boys.”

  “I’m glad you’re proud because that means you’ll give me something I want,” Lee said, smiling at her.

  Lord, she could only guess what her sexy husband wanted.

  “What can I give you?”

  “Right at this second I’ll settle for a kiss from my gorgeous wife and then I’ll pick something better later,” Lee told her with a certain look in his eyes.

  “I bet I already know what it will be,” Cherise said as her husband lowered his head for a kiss.

  “What’s your guess?”

  “Crab puffs,” Cherise moaned “I think you love those darn things more than me.”

  Lee’s face lit up right before he pulled her closer to him. “They do come a very close second,” he admitted and then kissed her.

  Chapter Four

  Why did it seem like her hours at work were getting longer instead of shorter, Alicia wondered as she dragged her weary body over to the small wine bar at the corner of the room and poured herself a glass of red wine.

  Grabbing the glass, she moved over to the island in the kitchen and rested her back against the side. She had been sitting on her behind for the last sixteen hours and she wasn’t in the mood to sit down at the moment.

  God, when was Tiffany going to learn that everyone didn’t have to jump through hoops when she called. No, she hadn’t heard from Brad yet about doing the piece on his family, but that didn’t mean he was going to turn her down.

  If anything or anyone was holding him up, it had to be Lee. . He came across like it was his way or else. It was almost like he had never heard the word no in his whole entire life. No was something she heard a lot while she had been growing up as a kid. She wouldn’t be able to handle that kind of strong personality.

  At first, she didn’t understand what woman in their right mind would want to be with Lee Drace until she met Cherise Roberts.

  Cherise was the perfect match for Brad’s brother. It was like they were almost cut from the same cloth, but Cherise was a tad bit better at filtering her comments and nicer than Lee was when it came to her.

  Now, Brad was totally on a different scale when it came to his older brothers. He was so laid back. His carefree attitude always made her smile when he was giving her tennis lessons. Not to mention how his kisses almost made her forget her own name and where she was.

  Why did she have to like a man who would never be a part of her life? Brad lived everyday and every moment to the fullest. He never allowed grass to grow under his feet.

  However, she, on the other hand, was a totally different story. She liked some kind of structure in her life. Not so much that if something went wrong that it would flip her out, but enough that she knew why she was waking up every morning.

  Alicia knew going in that a career as a TV reporter/anchor would take some sacrifice, but she wasn’t aware of how much. A lot of her friends thought she had the most glamorous job in the world, but they didn’t know how wrong they were.

  Her closest friends wouldn’t believe it if she told them the truth. However, it wasn’t like any other job in the world and she loved the excitement and thrill. She even loved the pressures the position brought every single day. How could someone not love doing something new every day and making a difference?

  One of her biggest dreams while living in Treebanch, Alabama was to be able to leave the small television station there to something bigger and better. So, when her boss told her about the position opening up in the Houston area, she had jumped at the chance and was lucky enough to beat out seven other people for the position.

  Her old job back home had been a wonderful experience for her. Working at a smaller news station she had done everythin
g from shoot video on a scene, edit her own words, to report and produce an element in the same day.

  The only thing she wasn’t told to do was to use the teleprompter and she would have done that too because this was her dream.

  Sure, only a little more than a ten percent of news anchors hit it big to hold a nightly news show, but who said that she couldn’t be in that low percentage? Shit, if she’d stayed with her news job back home she would be making less than $18,000 a year there.

  Her Ivy League parents still weren’t pleased that she didn’t go to Harvard or Yale like they had. No, just the other day her father called to lecture her again about how everyone and their mama wanted to be television, but how there weren’t that many available slots for them.

  Alicia took another sip of her wine as she pulled the hair clip off. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair causing it to brush the back of her neck.

  She wouldn’t forget how her mother almost died when she cut off all of her long hair when she first moved to Texas. She had tried to make her mother understand how much quicker her hair was to do now since it was shorter.

  Sometimes she wondered why her parents even had her because they’d spent more time doing their own thing instead of listening to what she’d wanted to with her life growing up.

  Both her older brother Shelton and her sister Chloe moved away from home right after graduating from high school to pursue their dream jobs. She knew that they kept in contact with their parents.

  But she didn’t see any good reason to do anything more than a call or card for the holidays. She always got the feeling she had been the surprise baby her parents hadn’t been prepared for but kept because they didn’t believe in abortion or giving away a child.

  Alicia made her way out of the kitchen and fell down on the couch. Picking up the remote, she turned on one of her favorite celebrity gossip shows. At least, there were some people out there in the world with more horrible lives that she had.