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He sighed, seeing there was no fighting her "I couldn’t Heather hasn’t let ot here She doesn’t trust ain Those are her oords It’s like she thinks that I’ else by her"

"And you’re still hiding me," Liz said wistfully

"Yeah, she stayed by ht while I was out, and told me that my new number had been tapped too, so she would screenout for me, but I couldn’t very well tell her that you were the person I wanted to call"

"And when you got back to your place?"

Brady shrugged "My parents don’t have a landline Everyone has a cell phone, and they were all asleep when I got in I had to ditch Heather to even get away tonight to coy after what happened"

"So all of that, and you still can’t call today or anything I’m just so confused, Brady What are we?" Liz asked, finally sitting down next to him

"What do you mean?" He wrapped his arm across her shoulders and drew her into him

Here it was Here was hereyes, and tell him exactly how she felt and what she wanted to do She could let hi, and she wanted to be out in the open That hat she needed to do

But it was so close to the primary Would he even listen to her? Let alone that he was drunk and could hardly take her seriously It sounded like a recipe for disaster

Liz held the words on the tip of her tongue, desperate to let hio on with this torn division in her chest But she felt as if the words weren’t enough Her si run Maybe Clay was right…and Brady would do whatever it took to win Then she would just be collateral das she wanted to tell him would be dust in the wind

She took a deep breath "Why do you do all of this, Brady? You could have found a inal amount of time to coh Why go to this extent when it’s not even necessary?"

"I wanted to see you," Brady said, pulling her onto his lap and nuzzling her neck His hands slid down her back, drawing her into him "I’ve ht for each other, yet he was denying the

His hands moved to her ass, and he picked her up andhim He pulled her hips into him and shot her that devilish smirk

"Especially this," he said, his voice heated

Liz shook her head, pushed off of him, and stood "You can’t even take this seriously Why does it always have to be sex first and talk later? Why can’t you just answer my questions? Why am I here, Brady?"

"Because I wanted you here"

"That si things? Do you not like e have going on?" Brady asked, standing and towering over her "Do you not want me to fuck you?"

"You knohat, Brady? So on, and so and walking away froer Her skin was superheating, and she felt tears prick her eyes

"Don’t you see howe etting bitched at for ever seeingsecond best to everything else in your life"

"What do you want fros for you I wouldn’t have had you coinning that I wanted you and the cas don’t always coincide, and you said you were okay with that"

Brady crossed the room, spun Liz around, and stared intently down into her eyes

"Those things don’t change whether I love you or not"

Liz’s breath caught at that word She was sure he would never use that word to her It didn’t inable Brady Maxwell had told her that he loved her

Sure, he had prefaced that with things don’t change, but she was having a hard tih It could never be enough toto hold on to…so that she had

As her er about hi to dinner with so She hadn’t expected hiht out and said it by all means, but it was still nice to hear that word off of his lips

"Liz," he whispered, sliding his hand around to the siveI know this ht by you as best I can" His head dropped do, and he planted a soft kiss on her lips, before resting his forehead against hers

"I’ a hand up into his dark brown hair and trying to hold on to her fight even though he was draining it all out of her

"I know, baby," he htly to tilt her head to one side

"I want us to be public," Liz finally told hi and kissing down her earlobe and to her neck "You knoe can’t do that I have the prieneral election in Noveoose bu out on her skin

His free hand slid up her loose shirt and teasingly traced along her ribs "We can’t be like that, baby"