Page 31 of Something Borrowed

“Okay, maybe not. Besides, we have to prove how we got it and no one would believe that. Okay, so we need to go on a ride and get a picture of us on it. Lines will be long. We can eat while waiting in line.”

“Then throw up immediately? No, we ride first, then eat.” She pressed a hand to her stomach as if it were paining her.

He tracked the movement of her hand and narrowed his gaze, resolving to find something not fatty or irritating to her stomach. Later, they would talk about what was really going on. But for now, she needed to de-stress. He paid for the tickets and fairly dragged her by the elbow into the fair. They paused just inside the gate and he took a deep breath, closing his eyes to fully appreciate the experience.

“Smell that? Cotton candy, funnel cake, popcorn. Heaven on earth. This is going to be great!”

“What’s so great about it? Let’s get going on this list,” she grumbled, clearly put out by being forced to have fun.

He kneaded her shoulders, feeling the tension in the muscles. “Relax, Brigid. We’ll get the items on the list, go on a few rides, have something to eat. It’s meant to be fun. Remember what that is?”

Her shoulders slumped under his hands, and she turned, her eyes looking sad. “I don’t, Grady. I work all the time. I’ve grown up and have a job. I don’t have time for fairs and rides.”

Grady sighed. “Maybe you should make time. Life is not all work and nothing else, Brigid. You used to know that. Remember, during law school, we still found time for football games, relaxing Sunday afternoons. We used to be more than sex, even if you didn’t want to remember that. Despite us both working hard in our jobs, we took time off to enjoy ourselves. When did that stop?”

“When I had to get serious about my future, Grady.”

“And I didn’t? I built my business from the bottom when my father almost lost it. Trust me, I know all about hard work and lean times and goals and obligations. I know about family pressure and demands being placed on you. But I also know that you have to live your own life, make your own choices and be happy because, ultimately, only you live your life, no one else. And I want to share that life with you, if you’d let me. But you won’t even try, will you? You’ve decided that we’re too different based on someone else’s evaluation of my worth. Well, fuck them.”

Brigid looked stunned, eyes wide and mouth open as she stared at him. People skirted around them, eying them nervously. He ducked his head and grabbed her arm, pulling her to the side. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”

She shook her head, laying a hand on his arm. “No, you’re right to be frustrated. I’ve led you on.”

“Did I ever make you happy?”

“Of course you did.” Her eyes grew liquid, and tears threatened to spill.

“Then why won’t you give me a chance?” He hated that his voice sounded pleading and small, but he had to know if he had a chance. He had to know why she was walking away.

She sighed again, as if all the world’s problems lived on her shoulders. And maybe to her, they did. “Grady, I saw how Friday night was, how people treated you. I hated it. And that’s my life. I didn’t want to subject you to that world forever. When I found out about your mother, well, it seemed like this relationship was just doomed.”

“So, you thought you were protecting me? Why didn’t you ask me what I thought? How I felt?” He pulled her close and tilted her chin so she was forced to look him in the eyes. “Brigid, I care for you. To me, you’re worth it every time. They’re nothing to me, and I can handle them, knowing that I am going home with you.”

She sucked in a deep, shuddering breath. “You say that now, but you know what a bitch I can be. Maybe I’m not worth it in the long run. Someday you’ll wake up, alone with the kids, and I’ll be working, and you’ll wonder what you were thinking.”

He blinked. “You thought about us having kids?”

Her eyes widened, and panic flared in them. “No, that’s not what I meant.”

He grinned, a warm feeling coursing through him. “No take backs. You said it.”

The utter fear on her face was so adorable he let it go, for now. He scanned the rides to the left of them and saw a roller coaster advertising pictures too. The monitor showed a freeze frame of a couple of high-school-age kids screaming their brains out. The perfect way to get their minds off the heavy topic of their relationship.

He pointed to the roller coaster. “There’s an option.”

“Oh, hell no. Not in a million years. That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen, or a year in traction.”

“It gets us our picture. Besides, it’s pretty tame.”

“I don’t care if it’s for five-year-olds. I’m not getting on it.”

“I figured as much. You don’t like to have fun. You probably don’t know how to have fun.” His words were casual, and he held his breath, waiting for her pride to kick in. She didn’t keep him waiting for long.

“I know how to have fun. Just because I’ve grown up and don’t like to act like a child doesn’t mean I can’t have fun. I have a healthy respect for my life, and that roller coaster is not in my long-term plans.”

He shrugged. “They won’t let us on the kiddie stuff.” He grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the back of the park. “Bumper cars! I haven’t been on those in years.”

Brigid tried to dig in her heels, pulling on his arm to stop him. “They’re not on the list! Grady, we can’t stop and do things for fun. We have work to do.”

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