On the Record (Record #2)(110)

“So . . . how is she your girlfriend? And wait . . . did you just say Clay tried to sleep with her too?” Savannah asked. “Can either of you keep it in your pants?”

Brady shifted his eyes from Savannah. This was not the conversation he wanted to be having. Getting reprimanded for falling for Liz was out of the question. He had heard it enough from Heather. He had beaten himself up about it. He wasn’t going to listen to it anymore.

“She’s my girlfriend since yesterday. Everyone is just going to have to get used to the idea. I have to deal with the rest of the world having an opinion, so I just can’t take any more shit right now,” Brady said sternly. He hadn’t meant to snap, but he was so over it already.

“I wasn’t trying to give you shit,” Savannah said softly. “I like Liz. I’m just shocked. Everyone is going to be shocked.”

“I know.” He tried to clear his head. “I know. I’m just about to break it to Heather.”

Savannah cringed. “Do you want me to come with you?”

Brady chuckled at Savannah. He loved his little sister. He hoped no one ever tried to ruin her goodness. “No. I think I’m old enough to tackle my own problems. But thank you.”

He walked back over to Clay, who stood taller as he approached. He probably thought Brady was going to hit him after all. It would be what the ass**le deserved, but he wasn’t going to actually start a fight when he had won in the end anyway.

“What do you want?” Clay asked.

“Don’t leave your phone where reporters can take it next time,” Brady said, pulling Clay’s phone out of his pocket and tossing it into his brother’s hands.

“She took my phone? What a . . .”

“I wouldn’t finish that sentence,” Brady said. He glared at Clay before turning, nodding at Savannah, and walking out of the room. He did have to deal with his own problems. Clay and Savannah now knew. Two down, the rest of the world to go.

As he walked to the staircase, he wondered about what he should expect from Heather. She had been there since day one, and her opinion had always been important to him . . . until Liz. Heather just couldn’t see clearly about his relationship with her. He knew that it was because she saw Liz as a liability. It didn’t matter now, though, because there was nothing she could do but accept it for what it was.

As Brady descended the staircase, he saw Elliott standing at the base of the stairs typing away on his iPad. If Brady knew him at all, he was probably trying to get away from Heather.

“Hey, man,” Brady said as he approached.

Elliott jumped. “When did you get back?”

“Not too long ago.”

“Where the f**k did you go?”

“Away, but now I’m back and we can deal with all of this.”

“Good.” Elliott shut down the iPad and tucked it under his arm. “Heather has been driving me mad.”

“Sounds accurate.”

“You with that girl again?” Elliott asked all nonchalant as if it didn’t make a difference one way or another.

Brady laughed and nodded. “Yeah. I am. You going to help me break it to Heather?”

“I think she’s been preparing to slaughter you all weekend. She’ll come around.” Elliott clapped Brady on the back. “I’m surprised it took you this long.”

“Stubborn, I guess.”

Brady never knew how to read Elliott. They had known each other a long time. Sometimes Brady thought the man was going to blow up on him, and other times Elliott was completely chill. Brady was glad to have him as a friend on the occasions when he just rolled with the punches. Made him a good lawyer.

“Stubborn,” Elliott said with raised eyebrows. “Now who would possibly describe you that way?”

“Everyone.”

“Right.”

“How’d you know I’d go back to her?” Brady asked him. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited. He hadn’t even known that he would go after her. She had his heart, but f**k, she had messed him up. He had struggled with the decision up until the minute she had gotten into his car.

“Do you remember what you said to me the day of your primary victory, when I asked you if you really loved her?”

“I said that it didn’t matter.”

“Exactly. Frankly it doesn’t matter,” Elliott told him. “You could have said yes and you could have said no, but you said it didn’t matter. Which to me meant it was the only thing that mattered.”

“She is,” Brady agreed. It had just taken him a while to realize that. Without her, all of his dreams and aspirations seemed flat.

“Let’s try to convince Heather of that. My advice, for what it’s worth, you might want to just let her get a few good punches in,” Elliott said with a laugh. “She’ll feel bad about it and forgive you quicker.”

“I like where your head’s at.” This was the reason he kept Elliott around.

They walked together to the living room, where Heather was hovering over the phone. She looked like a wreck. Her blond hair was still perfectly straight, but it was up into a high ponytail that he had rarely seen her do before. She was short on makeup, and her suit looked like it needed a trip to the dry cleaner’s. Brady had clearly really stressed her out.