Boss I Love to Hate: An Office Romance(37)

I reached over and squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry. Sorry you lost them so young.” Full emotion hit me as I remembered the loss of his parents. It only reminded me of how lucky I was to have a great relationship with my own parents.

He nodded and released a heavy sigh. He seemed lost for a moment, in his thoughts of his past, of his parents, his face wistful. “Yeah. Me, too. I miss them. Sometimes, I try to block it out, but there are big moments that I know they’ll never see, and it makes me feel their loss even more.” His stare turned distant. “If they could’ve only seen how Sarah and Mary have grown.” His eyes dropped to where we were connected. “Or see Charles get married or me one day.” His voice trailed off, and the quiet spanned the space between us, in the open air, when people passed us by to get to the church.

The whole world disappeared, and there was just us.

A moment later, he shook his head. That vulnerability that I had just witnessed disappeared and that cocky smile was back. “But my parents never did like Mason’s girlfriend, even in college. They never said it to his face, but they would let things slip to let me know that they never liked her.”

“Protective brotherly type, I see.” I leaned in, playful.

“He just deserves more, and I know he can do better.” His gaze dropped back to our intertwined fingers, and he gave it a cheerful little shake. “Feel better?”

I nodded. He’d diverted my crazy, worrying thoughts for a moment. My tiny reprieve from all this chaos happening in my head.

“Let’s go meet your friends,” he suggested, tipping his chin toward the steps to the church.

Before I could think further, he was pulling me toward our destination.

As soon as we entered the doors, Carrie lifted her head, and her smile was blinding. She rushed over to me and encased me within her arms in a bear hug that could rival my grandma’s. “Sonia! I’m so happy you’re here.”

I patted her back, and all annoyance of the Jeff-and-Replacement thing eased.

“I’m so sorry. You’re so right,” she whispered against my shoulder, hugging me tighter. “If I could disinvite his ass, I would.”

“It’s fine.” It wasn’t totally fine, just a little fine now. “I’m not going to let a boy destroy years of friendship.”

Because our friendship transcended boys and drama and gossip. It had been here before Jeff and I were even together and would outlast any other major catastrophe in my life. Good friends were hard to come by, and Ava and Carrie were the best kinds of friends. I hadn’t been feeling it the other day, feeling betrayed by the sting of her inviting Jeff and disregarding my broken heart, but this here, this wedding, went beyond Jeff and my breakup. Because years from now, I hoped that Jeff would just be a memory, and I knew that Carrie and I would still be friends.

“I love you,” she whispered in my ear, relaxing against me. “Thank you for being here. You don’t know how many days I’ve spent worrying about this.” When she pulled back, her mouth went lax, and her eyes scoured the over six feet of fineness beside me.

“I’m Brad.” His voice was low, masculine, silky, and smooth.

Carrie’s mouth fluttered open and then shut. “Carrie.” She stuck out her hand to meet his. It happened in slow motion, as though they were in a film, meeting for the first time.

Internally, I laughed because this was precisely the reaction I had been hoping for.

Her stare ping-ponged between us, and then she pointed at him. “Aren’t you … aren’t you the BILF? You work with Sonia.” Her finger shook in front of his chest. “You are the BILF!”

I blanched, pale, pasty white, like the pasta I ate almost every other day.

She had not just said that out loud. My jaw locked, and I tipped my chin, indicating that she should stop talking. I would kill Ava for this.

“BILF?” Brad asked, confusion evident in his tone.

“Yeah BILF, like MILF.” She motioned between us. “When did this happen?” She turned to me with accusation in her eyes. “I thought you hated him. She calls you names behind your back just so you know. She has these weird drawings of you and even has a voodoo doll and this dartboard thing.” Carrie let out a little chuckle.

“I do not!” My neck, my face, and my ears felt impossibly hot.

To my utter shock, Brad played along, his face the epitome of amused. “Very interesting. Is that why I had numbness in my leg the other day?”

Carrie laughed, but I was far from entertained.

“Oh, look! I think Tim is calling you.” I turned her toward the front of the church and shoved her. “Go. We’ll be up there in a second.”

She contested, but I gave her a look that said I would make a voodoo doll of her if she didn’t keep on moving.

When she left, Brad’s smirk widened. “BILF. Instead of Brad, are you going to call me BILF from now on?”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s what my friends call you. I call you …”I coughed. BILK.“… other things you’d rather not know.” It was way too late for anything less than honesty at this point. Everything was out in the open. “So, if you ever bring this up again, I will literally poison your lunch. Now, let’s go.” I pivoted and headed to the front of the church, ignoring his smug attitude behind me.