“Ladies,” he greeted, breathing heavily.
“Bryson,” Izzy said with a smile.
“Hi,” Hadley said, eyes widening when Bryson didn’t hesitate in lowering his head and brushing a kiss over her lips in front of Isabel.
“Man, that dog is fast,” Bryson said when he released her.
Isabel raised an elegant eyebrow and grinned when Hadley glanced her way.
“Hmm.Someone started celebrating early.What’s the occasion?”Bryson asked.
“A beautiful day on a beautiful island,” Isabel said.“The sun is shining, the sky is blue, it’s five o’clock somewhere and…I think I’m going to go for a walk and see what my gorgeous husband is into.Talk to you later,” Izzy said to Hadley, winking.
Bryson murmured goodbye and dipped his head when Isabel walked past.
“Hm,” he drawled, staring down at Hadley.“You’re looking pleasantly muddled.”
She laughed and shrugged.“Izzy pours with a heavy hand when she can’t have some herself.”
Bryson braced his arms on either side of her and kissed her again.“You taste delicious.”
Hadley sighed against his lips, reminding herself of Isabel’s words.“I’m glad you came over.I wanted to talk to you.”
“Yeah?”Bryson lowered himself onto the couch beside her.“What’s up?”
“Well, my kids are coming to visit next weekend and I didn’t know if… I mean, how do you feel about… Is it too soon to, you know, meet?”
Bryson lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, tugging her close.“I think that’s entirely up to you.Do you want us to meet?”
“I guess I just don’t know the proper order of things.If they were younger, it would be different, I’m sure, but they’re adults and we’re…you’re…you.Plus, we’re sure to see you at some point, and I don’t want to pretend you’re just the guy next door.”
“I appreciate that.Because you’re definitely not just the girl next door.”
She let her head roll back on his upper arm to see his face.His gaze lowered to the direction of her lips, and she waited, pulse picking up speed when his lips covered hers, this kiss slower and deeper and fantastically exploratory.
By the time he lifted his lips from hers, Hadley’s head whirled from more than the alcohol.
“I should get back to work.”
“Oh.”
His lips curled at the corners and he smooched her again.
“Stop frowning.It’s your call, sweetheart.Meet them, wait.You decide what’s best for you and for them.I’m okay with your decision.”
Hadley watched as Bryson stood and walked away, her mind slowly putting itself to rights again.
Bryson had left the decision up to her and yet…he’d made it the moment he’d put them first.
Bryson tookHadley to meet his father the following Friday evening.He could tell he’d surprised her in the doing, but he wanted her to truly know whatever she decided about him meeting her children, he was okay with it.He was in this for the long haul and wanted to see where things between them might go.
They picked his father up from the assisted living center and took him out to dinner and for a drive, then back to the center, where they sat in the common area and listened to stories of the island from the old days.
Hadley laughed and asked about people she thought his father might know, and his father told her what he could remember.
When he began talking about Bryson’s mother, Hadley’s eyes had teared along with his father’s because of the depth of the man’s mourning.
“She was a saint,” his father said as he always did.“Best woman I’ve ever known.Beautiful.Sharp as a tack.It nearly killed her when we lost our baby.”