“Thank you,” she said, her voice soft.
From the muted landscape lighting, he wasn’t certain, but it looked as if she blushed. Fascinating. For reasons he didn’t fully understand, Brad pulled her into his arms and held her close.
“What on earth do you think you’re doing?” she asked, starting to pull away from him.
“I’m giving you a friendly hug to go along with my apology,” he said, enjoying the feel of her lithe body pressed to his a little more than he anticipated. He felt a tiny shiver course through her and instinctively knew it had nothing to do with her being cold.
“When have we ever been friends?” she asked.
Releasing her, Brad stepped back. “Maybe it’s about time to put this rivalry behind us and declare a truce.”
She looked suspicious. “Why now after all these years?”
He shrugged. “Once I become the president of the TCC it would be nice to see unity restored to the club.”
“Oh, really? You ‘re going to win the presidency?” She laughed as she turned to walk back into the house. “I knew there had to be an underlying motive to your sudden generosity.”
After watching her go inside, Brad stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets and stared up at the clear night sky. What the hell had gotten into him?
Lately, it seemed that he seized every opportunity to touch Abby, to hold her to him. It had started the other day at the clubhouse when she had helped him change Sunnie’s diaper. He’d hugged her to offer his comfort when she told him about her inability to have children. But that didn’t explain his kissing her under the mistletoe. And later that evening when she stopped by to help him get Sunnie to stop crying, he had told himself he hugged her out of gratitude. But the truth was, a simple thank-you would have sufficed.
Brad shook his head as he rejoined the party. There was a simple explanation for his actions and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what it was. He was a healthy male with a healthy appetite for the ladies. Since taking on the responsibility of his niece, he had curtailed his pursuit of female companionship, and it was only natural that he would gravitate toward Abby, since she was the only single female he’d had contact with in the past few weeks.
Satisfied that he had determined the reason for his uncharacteristic actions, Brad found the host and hostess, thanked them for the party and headed for the door. He would have to ask his sister to babysit again some evening in the near future in order for him to have a night out. Until then, he’d just have to make sure he steered clear of Abigail Langley.
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