Page 92 of Hard To Love

Chapter Thirty-Three

It wasa quick ride to the club and in spite of me coming with my ex-boyfriend, a couple of the bouncers picked us out of the line and let us right in without any questions. I could barely hear myself think over the deafening sound of blaring music as my eyes scanned the room looking for a familiar face.

Brad and I continued to navigate our way through the crowd and slid into a small space at the bar. I immediately recognized one of the bartenders.

“Hi Zach.” I shouted so he could hear me above the music. A cautious look erupted on his face as he glanced between Brad and me.

“Hello, Ms. Davis, what can I get for you tonight?”

“Please, call me Emily. I’ll have a white wine and my friend here will have a vodka tonic.”

Brad went to hand him money for our drinks, but Zach waved him off. “The drinks are on the house for Ms. Davis, err..I mean Emily and guests…” He gave us a tight smile and turned to walk away.

Brad held up his hand, stopping him. “That won’t be necessary. I insist on paying for our drinks.” He shot back in a sharp tone, that wasn’t up for a discussion. I give Zach an apologizing smile, as he probably wondered what the hell was going on.

I pulled out my phone and shot Cassie a quick text.

We’re here. How did Chase take the news when you told him Brad was bringing me here after dinner?

In reality, it would have been easier to text Chase directly but if I did I would have spent the rest of the night ignoring an avalanche of texts and phone messages. Having Cassie deal with him seemed like the safer way to go.Safer for me, at least. While I waited for Cassie to reply, my mind raced a mile a minute thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

“Everything okay?” Brad asked tilting his head towards my phone.

I gave up waiting for Cassie to respond to my text, so tucked my phone back in my purse. “Sorry, that was Cassie.” I answered then glanced around and tried to get my heartbeat to fall back into regular rhythm.

Brad’s eyes slowly dragged across my face when he reached for my hand. “I know this is hard, but he was never good enough for you.” His fingers squeezed mine with his thumb gently stroking the inside of my palm. “I’m just grateful that you’re no longer with him. I know it may not seem like it now, but trust me when I say, him ending things with you was for your own good.”

How the hell was I supposed to respond to that?

Something pulled at me, and it bothered me to no end because I couldn’t figure out what it was. Anger and guilt mixed together making it hard for me to think clearly.

“Brad, I appreciate you always looking out for me. I know how much you loathe Chase…” I paused… “But, we probably shouldn’t have come here.” Those were the first honest words to come out of my mouth all night.

He reached over and placed his hand on my cheek, “I would do anything in the world for you. You know that, right?” His somber voice was digging its way into my head and I found myself questioning why I wasn’t feeling the way I should have felt.

A wave of guilt came crashing through, hitting me hard enough to realize that I couldn’t do this to him. Even if he was responsible for everything, I didn’t have it in me to hurt him like this. Yes, I wanted answers and yes, I wanted to help Chase but not like this. I felt the overwhelming need to come clean.

“Brad, I need to tell you something.” No sooner than I started to speak, I felt the vibration of my phone through my purse. My shaky hands reached inside and pulled it out.

Where are you?

Thank god, for small favors, because the message was enough to shift the conversation and set my guilty conscience back on the right path.

“It’s Cassie. She’s here and I need to go find her. Will you wait here for me?” He glanced around the crowded club like he was looking for someone, probably Chase.

All of a sudden I felt a hand on my shoulder causing my body to snap tight.

“Easy there, I didn’t mean to startle you.” I heard Cassie say over my shoulder. I turned around and let out a huge sigh of relief. Thank god! She must have sensed my panic, because her eyes raced across my face studying my features.

“Hey, stranger.” Brad greeted her then pulled her in for a proper hello. His eyes moved over her shoulder then he extended his hand to Liam, “How you doing? I’m not sure if we have officially met yet, I’m Brad. What can I get you two to drink?”

Liam cleared his throat, no doubt biting back what he really wanted to say. The stress lines on his face and the tightness in his posture told me all that I needed to know. Even though Liam was in on the plan, his contempt for Brad was obvious.

“Thanks, Cassie will have a Cosmo, and I’m just going to stick with a Bud Light.”

Brad motioned for the bartender and placed an order for another round of drinks. He leaned in close and placed his arm around my shoulder, whispering in my ear.“I meant every word I said. I would do anything for you.”

I screwed my eyes shut as his words filtered through my brain. “Brad, I don’t know what to say.” I opened my eyes and glanced around the club looking for any sign of Chase.

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