Page 51 of Expiry Dating

Sam and Lily burst into laughter, and Alice couldn’t deny how much fun she was having. Even if she was about to be grilled. It wasn’t until Lily moved to Bluestone that Alice fully appreciated just how much she needed her big sister. How much she missed her. Coming here was the right decision. Alice knew that now, more than ever.

“Okay. Fine.” She let out an overly dramatic sigh. “What do you wanna know?”

Talking about Brady only made her think about him more than she was sure was healthy. How is it possible that he’d managed to crawl so far beneath her skin that she actually missed him? She’d only left him a few hours ago, yet she still couldn’t wait to see him again.

Danger! Danger! You’re gonna get hurt.

After her interrogation was complete, Sam enlightened them on the perks of living with Duke. All the while Alice was grappling with her own internal monologue, which was quite frankly being more than a little mean and pretty damn judgemental. Just as she managed to get her thoughts on lockdown, the conversation moved on to Jake, who had apparently been binge-reading baby books.

“Every day he’ll reel off these random facts. Today he told me that our baby is peeing in me and then drinking it. I mean, come on! I’m gonna shove those bloody books up his arse if he doesn’t cut it out!” Lily scowled, ignoring Alice and Sam’s giggles.

Another round of lemonade and fries and they were ready to call it a night. And there was only one place Alice wanted to be.

After waving off Lily and Sam, Alice climbed into her car and began the drive to Brady’s. Her belly fluttered the closer she got to his place. She knew it was silly, that she was acting like a teenager with a crush, but she’d have to worry about that later.

When she finally pulled into the gravel driveway, she leapt out of her car and made a beeline for the front door. After fumbling in her bag for keys that she had apparently forgotten, she decided to knock instead. Just moments after the first knock, the door swung open, and she could swear she could hear her heart break into a million pieces.

Standing before her was a beautiful blonde bombshell. Her glossy waves hung over her bare shoulders, and even in yoga pants, she still managed to resemble some kind of divine goddess. Even the woman’s damn smile was perfect.

Alice was going to be sick. There was only one reason a stunning woman like this would be answering Brady’s door at midnight. She felt like the biggest fool on the planet. She had to get the hell out of there now.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid,” she chastised herself on the way back to her car.

How could I be such a moron? Of course he’s sleeping with other people. He probably couldn’t wait for a night off from me. No wonder he didn’t suggest I come over tonight.

Her hands were shaking as she pulled out of the driveway. But she didn’t cry. Not yet. Her first priority was to get home, only then would she allow herself to fall apart.

The drive back was done on some sort of autopilot. Before she knew it, she was pulling into the ranch. Heart still hammering, stomach still roiling.

“Fucking Brady Mitchell.” It wasn’t until she parked up that she let the first tears roll.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“Um, I think I messed up,” Laura announced as Brady returned to the living room.

“What do you mean?”

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