Page 79
Story: Branded Hearts
“Hi, Mrs. Brown.” His voice is calm and collected.
“Bradley? Is that you?” She sounds surprised.
“Yes, ma’am. Hope you’re doing well.” He smirks at me, clearly enjoying this.
“What are you doing with my Meli?” she asks, and I slump in defeat.
“She wanted chicken parmi, so I took her to get some,” he says smoothly.
“Oh, how sweet. Is Liv there, too?” she asks, and I snatch the phone back.
“Uh, yeah, she’s just in the bathroom,” I lie quickly.
“You’re such a good big brother,” Mum says, and I can almost hear her smile.
“Mhm, yep,” I mumble, trying to keep my cool. “How did you know it was Bradley?”
“He’s the only one who calls me Mrs. Brown. I’ve told him to callme Sophie a million times,” she laughs.
“I’m just trying to be polite,” Bradley says, leaning closer, his shoulder brushing mine. His breath is warm on my face, sending chills down my spine.
“Alright, Mum, gotta go. Talk soon. Bye!” I hang up quickly, my heart racing from the unexpected turn of events.
“Why did you do that?” I ask, half-exasperated, half-amused.
“What? I just said hi,” he says, raising his hands in mock innocence.
I roll my eyes. “You know exactly what I mean.”
He grins. “Just being polite.”
“Polite? More like nosy,” I tease, nudging him with my elbow.
He chuckles. “Okay, maybe a bit nosy.”
“You tryna score brownie points with my mum?”
He laughs. “Nah, she already adores me.”
I want to argue, but he’s right. Mum’s always liked Bradley, ever since we introduced the Mitchells to our family. She’s always said he’d turn out to be a fine man. My skin tingles with heat, and I shift in my seat, the corners of my mouth twitching upward.
“So, Meli, huh?” he asks, smirking.
“It’s just a nickname,” I mumble, feeling shy. “My niece couldn’t say Amelia when she was learning to talk, and it stuck.”
“I like it. It’s cute,” he says, his tone low and teasing.
He starts the car, and we pull out of the parking lot. The drive is quiet, the tension between us palpable. I steal glances at him, his profile illuminated by the soft glow of the dashboard lights. I can’thelp but feel a pang of longing. It’s so easy to be around him, to lose myself in his presence. I didn’t ramble too much tonight, so that’s a win.
Maybe he doesn’t think I’m a complete mess after all. The song “Stick Season” by Noah Kahan plays on the radio, and I can’t help but smile.
“Oo, I love this song,” I say, moving to put the volume up a little louder. At the same time, he moves to do the same thing, and our hands brush. It sends a jolt through me, but not the usual spark of electricity.
“Fuck, your hands are freezing,” he says, turning on the heating in the car. He grabs my hand and places it in his lap, trapping mine with his.
“You should have told me you were cold,” he says so casually, holding my hand in his warm grasp. I sit there stunned for a moment, feeling the warmth of his hand seep into mine.
“I, uh, I didn’t realise,” I stammer, trying to regain my composure.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79 (Reading here)
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128
- Page 129
- Page 130
- Page 131
- Page 132
- Page 133
- Page 134
- Page 135
- Page 136
- Page 137
- Page 138
- Page 139
- Page 140
- Page 141
- Page 142
- Page 143
- Page 144
- Page 145
- Page 146
- Page 147
- Page 148