3 Seconds (Time for Love Book 6) (8 page)

“Thank you,” he
whispered, before returning to his side of the car.

We were both
silent, each of us dealing with the emotion surrounding us in our
own way.

I’d hoped he’d
be excited by my gift, but his reaction made me wonder if anyone,
any
woman
, had ever done anything like this for him before …
Something that was offered with the sole purpose of making him
happy.

By the time we
arrived at the venue, the mood of the car had shifted once again,
and we were both brimming with excitement about the show.

Once we were
settled in our seats and the first band was on stage, Brendan said
he’d go grab us some drinks and be right back. When he came back
with not only the plastic cups of beer, but Thirty Seconds to Mars
T-shirts for both of us, I stood up to greet him with a smile. When
he whipped off the shirt he was wearing, much to the delight of me
and every lady surrounding us, I laughed out loud. He looked so
cute, his face beaming as he tucked his discarded shirt into his
back pocket.

“I’ll be right
back,” I said, unwilling to change in the crowd and opting instead
to go to the nearest bathroom to switch out my cute tank top for
the fitted woman’s T.

When I got back
to our seats, I gave him a long, slow kiss to show my appreciation
for his gift, then settled in next to him.

We were close
enough to see Jared Leto clearly, and Brendan elbowed me in the
side playfully when I let out a not at all quiet sigh. “
Oh. My.
God.”

Yes
, I’d
bought the tickets for Brendan, but that didn’t mean that getting
an up-close glimpse of the man I’d been crushing on since I first
watched
My So Called Life
as a pre-teen, wasn’t an added
bonus.

Holy
shit
, he looked good!

Brendan gave me
a little shake, nudging me out of my hormone-driven stupor, and
laughed when I turned to him and clapped my hands excitedly.

“I can’t
believe we’re here!”

It was a
fabulous night.

We sang along
with our favorite songs, Brendan holding a much better tune than I,
and stayed until the last note of the encore was played.

By the time we
got out of the crowded parking lot, it was way later than I usually
stayed out on a school night, but when Brendan asked, “You wanna
stop somewhere and get breakfast?” I couldn’t say no.

I didn’t want
the night to end.

So, even though
it was almost three in the morning, and we both had to be at school
the next morning, I found myself pulling into an all-night
diner.

Brendan got out
first, walked around the car to open my door, then held out his
hand and helped me out of the car. I swear, my insides got all
gushy. I’m not sure if it was from the excitement of the evening,
exhaustion, or him being a total sweetheart. Probably a combination
of the three, but for the first time in years I felt like a smitten
teenager, out on a date with the boy of my dreams.

It felt
amazing
.

Chapter
Thirteen ~ Brendan

Beep, beep,
beep
…

“
Noooooo
,” I groaned as I reached a hand out and slapped at
my floor, trying to find the offensive alarm clock.

Victorious, I
covered my eyes with my arm and began to silently beg for the time
on that damn clock to be wrong.

I slid my other
hand beneath the covers, finding only my cell phone keeping me
company. Bronagh and I had decided to sleep separately, so that we
would at least get a couple hours asleep. We knew if we stayed
together, we would have more than likely found something else to
occupy our time.

I peaked
beneath my arm at the clock on my phone, and cursed when I realized
that the time on my alarm hadn’t magically been changed, but was
indeed correct.

“
Damnit
!”

I pushed the
covers off my naked body and sat up slowly, pausing when I was
seated to try and get the fog out of my brain.

Last night had
been unreal.

Bronagh
surprising me, being at the concert with her, then stopping for
breakfast on the way home. All of it … I’d never shared a night
like that with a girl before. It was pretty sad to say at my age,
but it was true.

And the fact
that she’d paid attention to me, to what I enjoy, the music I like,
then gave me a gift for no other reason than to make me happy … I
almost didn’t know how to handle it. The joy that such a simple
gesture gave me.

Shit, I’d
gotten misty over it and had to pull myself together.

Suddenly the
phone went off in my hand, scaring the shit out of me. I’d
forgotten I was holding it.

“
Fuck
,”
I said, not thinking as I turned it on.

“Is that any
way to answer your damn phone?” Brock’s voice chastised as I
brought the phone to my ear.

“Sorry, man,” I
said, running my hand over my face as I tried to come fully awake.
“I’m still half asleep and the phone scared the fuck out of
me.”

“Don’t you have
class this morning?”

“Yeah,” I
answered, pushing off the mattress and getting to my feet. “I’m
getting ready to go now.”

“We haven’t
seen you in a while,” he said gruffly, and I knew he’d probably
gotten up early just to get in touch with me before school. We
didn’t usually go this long without seeing each other, or at least
checking in, but I’d been so caught up in Bronagh, that I hadn’t
reached out as usual.

“Yeah, sorry,
I’ve been busy.”

“Well, get
unbusy,” Brock ordered. “Tori and Dec miss seeing you, so you need
to stop by … soon.”

I grinned in
response. What he really meant was that he wanted to see me.

“Yeah, okay,
does tomorrow work? I can stop by the shop.”

“See you
then.”

“Later,” I
said, then turned off my phone and grabbed some clothes off the
floor, hoping like hell they weren’t funky.

I rolled up to
class with minutes to spare, so the hallway was empty, except for
me and Bronagh heading toward our classroom from opposite
directions.

She paused a
few feet from the door, off to the side so the students already
inside couldn’t see her.

Her eyes were
dancing, even though the circles under her eyes betrayed her
exhaustion.

“Hey,” she said
softly, a small smile playing on her lips. “You get
any
sleep last night?”

“Not enough,” I
admitted, then added, “But it was totally worth it. Those pancakes
were delicious.”

Bronagh
chuckled at that, then gestured silently for me to enter the room
before her.

I was still
grinning as I crossed to my station, but when Calla came up to me
and asked, “Can I talk to you later?” the smile fell from my face
and I said, “Not today. I’ve got a ton to catch up on and am
running on no sleep. Maybe tomorrow.”

Calla looked
like she wanted to argue, but Bronagh chose that moment to come in
and start the class.

I was running
on autopilot, which is always dangerous when working with knives,
but I managed to make it through the first class unscathed.

As my next
instructor droned on about what we’d be working on for the rest of
the week, my mind wandered to the beautiful freckled red-head in my
life. I thought of her as she looked in the tent, lying under me as
we made love … Then flashed to her singing, totally out of tune,
along with the radio as we drove to the concert. She was more than
beautiful. She was smart, funny, generous, and the sexist woman I’d
ever seen.

Unable, or
maybe unwilling, to put a name on the emotions I was feeling, I had
the overwhelming need to at least get these feelings … those images
… down on paper.

I needed to
write. One song, two … I wouldn’t know until I got started, but I
needed to get this out of me before I imploded.

Chapter
Fourteen ~ Bronagh

“Chef, do you
have a minute?”

Behind my desk,
I looked up from the recipe I was tinkering with to see Calla, one
of my students, standing at the door, her back stiff and head held
high as always. I wondered if it hurt to always stand so erect, at
the same time I thought the petite blonde would be pretty if she
didn’t always look so hard.

“Of course,
Calla, come on in,” I answered, waving to the empty seat in front
of my desk and hoping the fact that I was about to fall over from
exhaustion wasn’t apparent.

I hadn’t had
much interaction with the young chef, but from what I’d seen so
far, what she lacked in talent, she made up for in determination.
I’d worked with people like her plenty of times throughout the
years, and knew that there was little she’d let stand in her
way.

“What can I do
for you?”

“As you know,
in just a few short weeks, the semester will be over, ending my
career as a culinary student, and pushing me on my path to become a
great chef.” When I nodded, she continued. “As you also know, there
is a prestigious job with Chef Agard waiting for the top student.”
She pressed her palms to my desk and leaned toward me. “I fully
intend to be that student.”

I pulled her
information up on the computer, perused the screen, and told her,
“Calla, your practical assignments and theory tests all show that
you’re doing great. I’m sure your final exam will be no problem.
You’re a strong candidate for the position with Chef Agard.”

“I know all
that,” she said with a scowl. “But I also know I’m not the
strongest
candidate … Brendan O’Malley is standing in my
way.”

Alarmed by her
choice of words, I asked lightly, “What do you mean by that?”

“We all know
that Brendan is top of the class, and he wants that job as much as
I do…”

Distracted by
her words, I didn’t follow what she was saying, because I wondered
if what she said was true.
Does Brendan want that job with Chef
Agard in France, and if so, what is he doing with me? Wasting
time?

“I’m sorry?” I
asked when I realized Calla was waiting for me to respond to
something she said.

“
I said
… If Brendan is doing anything that will disqualify him for the
position, I won’t hesitate to bring it to light…” She watched my
face, waiting for me to realize that she was insinuating that she
knew what was going on between Brendan and me, and was threatening
to turn us in if she didn’t get top of the class, and the job she
coveted.

My back
stiffened at her threat, but I schooled my features, not willing to
give her the satisfaction of a reaction. I’d dealt with plenty of
women like her throughout my career, and even though she was
correct in her assumption, I didn’t appreciate being
blackmailed.

I laced my
fingers together and kept my eyes locked on hers as I replied,
“While I can appreciate your drive, I have to say that your obvious
contempt for Mr. O’Malley won’t help you win that position. All you
can do is work hard and perform at your best level. The opening
with Chef Agard will go to the student
he
deems
appropriate.”

Calla stood and
said, “Just remember what I said. Thanks for your time.”

I waited until
she walked out to allow my emotions to rise to the surface.
Although my first instinct was to seek out Brendan, I knew that
would only give her the fuel she desired. I decided I’d rather hold
off on telling him until we were alone again, then I’d let him know
what was going on.

Once I was able
to get home, take a shower, and calm myself down, I called Brendan
and asked if he had any plans that night. He told me he was working
on a song but to come on by, he’d leave the door unlocked.

I picked up
takeout from my favorite Thai restaurant, and went to his loft.

His place had
really started to grow on me. I loved the funky, creative vibe it
had, and could understand why he loved to write in his space. Sure,
it didn’t scream “a grownup lives here,” but it suited Brendan.

I put the bags
of food on the counter, then walked into the sitting area to see
him bent over his desk, writing furiously with a pencil. He wore a
black knit beanie, his hair sticking out from underneath, still
dripping wet from his shower, a pair of basketball shorts, and
nothing else.

I gave myself
the pleasure of taking in the muscles of his back and I padded
quietly through the room, telling myself I didn’t want to interrupt
him, when what I really wanted was more time to watch him
unnoticed.

He was truly a
beautiful man. All long, lean, and tattooed … His appearance seemed
effortless in its coolness, and his authenticity only made him more
appealing.

Once I was
close enough, I leaned down and placed my lips gently on his
shoulder, my lips curving when he jumped at the contact.

“Sorry,” I said
with a laugh. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”

He looked up
with a grin, his green eyes struggling to focus on me after being
so intent on the page.

“Hey,” he
replied, then brought his hand up to cup the back of my head and
lowered it so that our lips met.

The kiss was
brief but effective, and I pulled away reluctantly.

“I brought
food.”

“Awesome, just
let me finish up and I’ll be right there.”

I nodded and
retreated to the kitchen, where I began dishing up the Coconut
Curry with rice.

I let him get a
few bites in before I broached the subject that had been bugging me
all afternoon.

“Calla stopped
by my office today…”

Brendan’s head
shot up and he asked warily, “What about?”

“She’s
suspicious about us, and was fishing around for conformation. She
threatened to report us if she doesn’t beat you out for the job in
France.”

“Calla
threatened
you?” he asked, putting down the fork as his eyes
narrowed fiercely.