Searching for Love: The Complete Story Read online

  “Good evening,” he said with a welcoming smile as he admired the way she looked in her skirt and blouse with her hair swept up into a ponytail.

  “Hello.”

  Gesturing toward the interior of his house with one hand, he held the door open with the other. “Come on in.”

  He glanced at the camera case hanging from her shoulder.

  “I wanted another chance to get a picture of the sunset from your balcony,” she said with a small smile.

  He closed the door behind her. “I hope it’s a good one tonight.”

  “Me too.” Reese set her camera on a table near the door, then turned to Brody. “Something smells delicious.”

  “I grilled some salmon.”

  “Mmm. I love salmon.” At least I did the one time I had it when Seth took me to dinner before his last deployment.

  Brody smiled. “Good.” He gestured toward the balcony. “I think it’s about ready.”

  Reese followed him out, and when she saw the lovely table setting, she glanced at him, but his back was to her.

  Much fancier than what I’m used to.

  A moment later he turned around, a platter in his hands, then walked to the table and set it between the plates. “Let me get that for you,” he said as he pulled out a chair.

  Reese slid into the seat he held out. “Thank you.” Not used to such chivalry, she felt a mixture of discomfort and pleasure. He’s way out of my league. But I could get used to this.

  Brody sat across from her, and as they served themselves, he asked, “Are you from California?”

  She didn’t want to talk about herself—that could only lead to questions she had no desire to answer. But she knew it was unreasonable to expect him not to want to know something about her. She decided to answer. “No. I’m from the Midwest.”

  “How long have you been in California?”

  She used the salad tongs to serve herself some salad, then set them back in the bowl. “Just for the last week.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Oh. What brought you here?”

  How much should I tell him? “I’ve always wanted to visit, so I decided to go for it.”

  “I think that’s fantastic.” He used his fork to break off a piece of salmon, then after chewing for a moment, asked, “Where else do you want to go?”

  The mental list she had made zipped into her mind. But she wasn’t ready to share it with anyone. Not all of it, at least. “I’d really like to visit Yellowstone.”

  “Yellowstone, huh? I’ve never been there.”

  “From the pictures I’ve seen, it’s beautiful. And the wildlife . . .” She smiled. “It seems like it would be amazing.”

  A bright light of excitement lit her eyes, tugging at Brody’s heart. “So you’re going to go there, right?”

  Her smile grew. “Eventually, yes.”

  Brody felt like he was finally getting a glimpse into this woman who had been on his mind ever since he had met her. He set his fork down and rested his forearms on the table. “You inspire me, Reese.”

  She tilted her head. “How so?”

  “You’re following your dreams. It makes me want to do the same.”

  “You should.” She glanced around as if she thought his dreams had been fulfilled already, then met his gaze. “What are your dreams, anyway?”

  He thought about Megan, the woman he had planned on spending the rest of his life with. That is, until her death had altered those plans. A sharp pain jabbed his heart, making him cringe.

  “Are you okay?” Reese asked, her eyebrows pulled together.

  He forced a smile onto his mouth. “Yeah. I’m fine.” Then he shoved all thoughts of Megan back into the compartment he had labeled Things to try to forget. “How’s your salmon?”

  Thirteen

  Reese wondered what secrets Brody hid. Why didn’t he answer my simple question about his dreams? And why did he look like he was in pain?

  “It’s perfect,” she said as she speared a bit of fish and lifted it to her mouth.

  He nodded. “Does your family still live back home? In the Midwest?”

  The question was completely innocent, but Reese froze. “Uh . . .” Then she thought about Seth. She was willing to talk about him. “My brother’s in the military. He’s overseas right now.” Reese quickly added, “I met your brother. Logan, right? Do you have any other siblings?”

  Brody nodded. “I have a younger sister. Avery.”

  Glad the focus of the conversation had switched to Brody, Reese asked, “So you’re the oldest?”

  “Yes. What about you? Is it just you and your brother?”

  Wary about where the questions might lead, Reese nodded. “Yes, just us. He’s older than me though.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, where are you staying while you’re in town? Do you have friends here in Malibu?”

  With zero friends in the area—or in the world, truth be known—loneliness surged through her. “I’m on my own,” she finally said. The truth of that statement hit her hard. Besides her brother, who was halfway around the world, she had no one on her side. No one to turn to.

  The light of passion Brody had seen in Reese’s eyes earlier had been completely extinguished. In its place he saw sadness. It hadn’t passed his notice that she hadn’t said much about her family—or herself. Or that she hadn’t told him where she was staying.

  A need to comfort her pumped through him and he found himself saying, “You always have me.”

  Her gaze lingered on his, as if she were trying to tell if he meant it, and again he wondered who had wounded her, and if he could heal that wound.

  “I love the way you prepared this salmon,” she said.

  Though she was obviously trying to steer the conversation away from herself, Brody went along with it. No reason to push her too hard. “Thanks. My dad loves to grill and he taught me all of his little tricks.”

  Envy at the easy way he spoke about his father filled Reese. All of her memories of her father revolved around him coming and going from prison. His addiction to drugs had seen to that. She had no good memories of him whatsoever. Certainly no sweet memories of him teaching her how to cook—or do anything, for that matter.

  Pushing a smile onto her face, Reese nodded. “Well, it’s delicious.”

  Though curious about his parents, she was afraid to raise the subject. Asking him about his parents would only lead to questions about hers.

  “Thank you,” he said. Then, clearly oblivious to her desire for secrecy, he asked, “What about you?”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah.” He spooned out a second serving of veggies. “What kind of stuff did you do with your family?”

  Sometimes we visited Dad in prison, or Mom would lock herself in her room for days while Seth and I scrounged around for food.

  “Oh, you know.” She scraped her hair behind her ears while her gaze went to her plate. “Nothing too exciting.” She felt Brody’s eyes on her, and after a moment she looked up.

  He nodded. “All right. I get it. You don’t want to talk about your family.”

  Relieved that he did seem to get it, a weight lifted from her shoulders and she smiled. “I’d like to hear more about your family, though.”

  “Hmm.” The corners of his lips twitched in a suppressed smile. “That doesn’t seem quite fair.”

  “You don’t have to,” she said.

  He laughed. “I’m kidding. I’m happy to tell you about them.”

  Again, envy at his easy ability to discuss his family pulsed through her.

  “My parents are great people.” He chuckled. “I can say that now. When I was a teenager I thought they were way too strict. Now, though, I can see that they were only doing what was best for me and my siblings.”

  Reese wondered what it would be like to have strict parents—to have her parents around to be parents at all. She and Seth had pretty much raised themselves.

  Something wet landed on her back, then she heard a squawk.


  “Oh no,” Brody said, a grimace on his face. “Did it get you?”

  Reese looked up at the passing bird. “What just happened?”

  Obviously suppressing a smile, Brody pressed his lips together, then he said, “I think that bird just crapped on you.”

  Repulsed by the idea, Reese jumped up from the table. “What?”

  “Turn around.”

  She did as he said, bracing for the verdict.

  “Yep. I’m afraid so.”

  She turned around and faced Brody, her forehead crinkled. “That’s disgusting.”

  “Yes it is.”

  She grabbed a napkin from the table, and reached behind her.

  “Wait,” Brody said, freezing her mid-reach. “Let me help you.”

  Glad to give him the task of wiping it up, she handed him the napkin. She felt his sure strokes of the napkin against her skin, bringing a tingle deep into her insides.

  “It got on your blouse too,” he said. “Come inside and I’ll use some soap.”

  “Great.” Reese didn’t have a lot of clothes, and really didn’t want bird crap all over her. The thought made her nearly gag.

  They stopped next to the kitchen sink and Brody used a damp paper towel to clean her skin. “I can’t get it off your blouse. You’re going to have to soak it or something.”

  And I was having such a good time too. Reese turned and faced him. “I guess I’ll head home then.”

  “What? Why?”

  With a laugh of disdain, she said, “I’m not going to stay here with bird crap stuck to my blouse.”

  “I’m sure my sister must have left a couple of shirts here. You can borrow one while we clean yours off.”

  Not wanting to be defeated by the obnoxiousness of a seagull—plus she was really enjoying herself—Reese agreed.

  “Great,” he said. “You can change in the guest room. If Avery left any shirts here, that’s where they’d be.”

  “Thank you.”

  He smiled. “No problem.” His smile grew. “And on the behalf of the seagull, I apologize.”

  Reese laughed as she followed him out of the living room and down a hallway.

  Fourteen

  The guest room was simply, but tastefully, furnished.

  “Make yourself at home,” Brody said, then he pointed to the dresser. “Feel free to look around. She usually leaves a few things here for when she drops by.”

  With a nod, Reese watched him leave, then closed the door behind him. She stepped to the dresser and looked through the drawers. It didn’t take long to find the few items Avery had left behind, but there were only two shirts, and both were tank tops—not what Reese usually wore. She was more a t-shirt kind of girl. Something loose fitting, not revealing.

  She pulled her blouse off, careful not to get any of the bird poop on her skin, then looked at the mess on the back of it. Dark bits were splattered across the top of her blouse. With a grimace of disgust, Reese folded it so that the nastiness didn’t get on anything, set it on the bed, then pulled on a blue tank top encrusted with decorative rhinestones along the neckline. Using the freestanding full-length mirror, she looked at her reflection.

  She had worn a simple skirt and blouse, but now the flowy skirt paired with the snug tank top had a whole different look. She knew she looked good in it, but didn’t want to give Brody the wrong impression.

  He knows you’re not wearing this by choice, Reese. Get over it. She looked at herself from different angles, pleased with her appearance. Besides, it’s okay to look sexy.

  Throwing a smile at her mirror-image, she picked up her soiled blouse and headed back to the kitchen.

  Brody rinsed out the pan he had used to cook the rice, but when he heard Reese approach, he looked up. Though he recognized his sister’s tank top, seeing it on Reese elicited a very different reaction.

  Dang. She looks good.

  The shirt clung to her curves—curves that she usually kept hidden. He had barely gotten a glimpse of them when she had worn her bikini on the day he had met her. When he had come to her aid she had been in distress and he had been too busy helping her to notice her body. Since then, every time he had seen her, she had worn loose-fitting clothes.

  “You found something to wear, I see,” he said, trying to keep his eyes on her face, even though they wanted to stray lower.

  She held her blouse up as she approached him. “Yes. And now I can clean this.”

  He held out his hand. “I’ll take care of that for you.”

  “Thanks.”

  Using care, he washed her blouse, then rolled it in a towel to soak up the excess water.

  “You’re really good at that,” Reese said, surprise evident in her voice.

  “I do take care of my own laundry.” Wondering if she was one of those women who had a housekeeper to do all of the dirty work for her, he found the idea mildly disappointing. He had always enjoyed doing the day-to-day tasks for himself, liking the idea that he could take care of himself completely if the need arose. It was true that he had a service clean his house twice a month, but he knew how to scrub a toilet if necessary. And he prepared all of his own meals.

  Reese gazed at him a moment, her expression uncertain.

  Why did I assume he doesn’t do his own laundry? Reese glanced around the beautiful beach house, then focused on the careful way Brody was laying her blouse on the towel to dry. Maybe it’s because he lives in a house I know must cost a small fortune.

  “You know all about my photography business,” she said. “But you’ve never told me what you do for a living.”

  He looked up from his task and smiled. “I develop apps. Like what you use on your smart phone.”

  Impressed, Reese nodded. “Do you work from home then?” She glanced around. “Here?”

  “Yes.”

  “What a lovely work environment.”

  He laughed. “Except when I’m in the middle of a project, I hardly notice where I am. The beauty of this place is wasted on me at those times.”

  In contrast to her job, which required her to notice the beauty of her surroundings. “That’s a shame, Brody.”

  A small frown played around the corners of his mouth. “I know. But I make sure to take the time to step away from my work and enjoy where I live.” Now his mouth curved into a smile. “Like going bodysurfing.”

  The memory of her near-drowning—at least it seemed like a near-drowning to her—made her shudder. “I would be content just to enjoy looking at the waves.”

  Brody’s smile turned smug and sure. “I’ll bet I can get you back into the water.”

  Reese’s heart leapt with the promise of spending more time with this man who she found herself drawn to more and more, and she smiled in return. “We’ll see about that.”

  Brody left her blouse lying on the towel on the counter, then said, “Our food is probably cold by now, but I can heat it up if you’d like.”

  “Okay.”

  A short time later they were back on the balcony enjoying the rest of their meal, and when the sun began to set, Reese grabbed her camera and took a number of pictures of the sun setting over the ocean.

  “What did I tell you?” Brody said as he stood beside her while she snapped away. “Spectacular, huh?”

  She glanced at him with a smile. “Yes. The view from here is different from the R . . . I mean, from what I’m used to.”

  Blood rushed to her face and she quickly turned her focus back to her camera, hoping he hadn’t noticed her near-slip into saying she was staying at the RV park.

  Brody watched her work, wondering what she had been about to say. Obviously she had no desire to tell him certain things about herself, which made him all the more intrigued. Though he respected her desire to have secrets, he also wanted to know more about her—especially as he found himself becoming more and more attracted to her.

  Then he thought about his brother Logan, and how he always seemed to persuade women to reveal more about themselves then they had pe
rhaps intended to.

  “I’m having a small dinner party this weekend,” Brody said as plans began to gel in his mind. “Just my brother and his date, and maybe Avery and her boyfriend.” He smiled at Reese as she looked at him with her soft brown eyes. “Would you like to come?”

  A tiny smirk pulled up one side of her mouth. “You want me to come and take pictures?”

  This time it was Brody whose face reddened, but he chuckled to show he could laugh at himself. “You’d be welcome to take pictures, but I want you there as my date.”

  Fifteen

  “Hmm. I think I can fit you in,” Reese said, but even as she agreed, her nerves rattled at the idea of spending time with Brody’s family. Although she had already met Logan, she hadn’t really talked to him and worried what he and Avery would think of her.

  Don’t worry about it yet. Just enjoy the rest of this date before you worry about the next one.

  “That’s great,” Brody said. “I need to finalize the day and time with Logan and Avery, so I’ll have to let you know which day for sure. Is that okay?”

  “Yes.” It’s not like I have anything else going on.

  Brody seemed to hesitate. “Would you be willing to give me your number?”

  The last time he had asked for it, she had told him no, but now she felt comfortable enough with him to let him have it. “Yeah.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Really?”

  Reese laughed, pleased to know her answer had been unexpected. “Yes. Really.”

  They swapped numbers, then Brody invited her inside to have dessert.

  “I don’t know what your dessert preferences are,” Brody said with a grin, “so I have a couple of options.” He opened his fridge and pulled out a bowl of fresh fruit, as well as two small dishes of chocolate mousse.

  “Can I just say ‘Wow’,” Reese said as she rested her forearms on the tall granite island. “Everything looks delicious.” Her gaze met Brody’s and she could see the pride shining from his face. “You’re really good in the kitchen.”