January 15, 2005
His lips gently brushed against her cheek as the falling snowflakes kissed his own face. Brady knew he'd never see her cry over his departure. He knew when he walked away, it would break her heart, but he'd never see a tear be shed.
Brady kept his hands on Nicole's shoulders as he slowly pulled away from kissing her cheek. When Nicole tried to turn her head to avoid his powerful gaze, Brady softly moved his right hand under her chin and turned her face back to him. "Please don't look away, Nicole."
Darting her eyes as far left as she could, Nicole replied, "Just go. We both know you don't want to be here - with me."
Brady reluctantly released his gentle hold on Nicole's face. He had no words to make things right; and if he did, Nicole would refuse to hear them.
After six months of being tangled up with Nicole in a lustful, whirlwind romance, Brady had chosen a wintry day in mid-January to end things. Though there were several contributing factors, Brady had only one true reason for bringing the courtship to an end. Someone else already had his heart.
Pushing the palms of her hands against Brady's firm chest, Nicole commanded, "Seriously, just go."
Brady knew that he didn't have much time to waste if he wanted to make his flight London, but he just couldn't walk away from Nicole without at least trying give them both closure.
"I honestly care about you, Nicole. You have to know that."
Nicole released a scornful, almost vindictive laugh. "Please don't give me that line about how you wish we could still be friends."
"Nic-"
"No," Nicole loudly interrupted, effectively capturing the attention of several bystanders. "I'm sure there'll be a day when I'll see you and Chloe Lane together and not want to scratch her big blue eyes out - but that won't be a day anytime soon. And, the day will never come when we'll all be best buddies. Never."
Brady lowered his guilty gaze to the fresh snow at his feet. Looking back over the past year of his life, he knew that he should never have become involved with Nicole. Despite her frequent advances, he should have kept the relationship platonic. He had known from the very beginning that there would be no getting over Chloe and that he would one day have to be with her once more. Now that day had come, and Brady was left dealing with the complication of leaving behind a girlfriend that should never have been more than a friend.
Lifting his blue eyes to face Nicole, Brady whispered, "Take care of yourself."
Nicole said nothing, choosing to remain silent as Brady walked away and left her standing alone in the snowy park. As the blonde stood motionless watching her lover walk away, she had no idea that she too was being watched.
Across the frozen pond, Philip struggled to listen to his rambling brother, but his gaze continually drifted back to where Nicole remained standing by herself. Minutes earlier his nephew Brady had been with her, but now the beauty was left alone. Whatever semblance of joy Nicole had learned over the past few months was gone from her eyes - that much was evident from a hundred yards away.
"I wonder what that's all about," Philip mused aloud, inadvertently interrupting Lucas mid-sentence.
Following Philip's gaze, Lucas replied, "With Nicole, who knows."
As Lucas attempted to express his most personal concerns, Philip again interrupted, "They always leave together."
"Who?"
"Brady and Nicole. They always grab something to drink, maybe do a little ice skating, and leave - together. So, why did Brady leave Nicole by herself?"
Lucas stared at his half-brother with a mixture of frustration and bewilderment. "As intriguing as you obviously find everyone else's romantic life, could you please try and stay focused?"
As Nicole finally began to walk away, Philip returned his full attention to Lucas. "It would be a lot easier to listen if you'd just get to the point. You've been talking in circles for the last fifteen minutes. What's got you so jumpy?"
"Well," began Lucas. "You know that Sami and I have really gotten close since everything that happened last winter, right?" Upon Philip's nod of agreement, Lucas continued, "We haven't exactly made it public knowledge, but I suppose you could say that we've gotten really close, if you know what I mean."
"Whoa, you two didn't actually think that you were keeping your romance a secret did you?"
The cold January wind began to harshly blow Lucas's red scarf in an array of directions. As he attempted to seize the woven accessory, he replied, "Yeah, actually we did."
"Oh."
Tossing his brother a playful glare, Lucas said, "Anyway, I've sorta decided that maybe we . . . well that if I . . . maybe . . ."
"Lucas, just spit it out."
"I'm going to propose."
It was half an hour after Lucas's declaration, and Philip was taking great care in placing the final accessory on the snowman.
From a few feet away, Lucas grumbled, "That scarf was a Christmas gift from Sami, so you better not mess it up. Besides, I still don't know what the point of building a snowman was."
"We built the snowman because I couldn't keep a straight face when you practiced your proposal on me."
Lucas sighed with mild, brotherly annoyance but gave no response. He could only wonder what he had been thinking when he seeking out Philip for romantic counsel. History had proven that Philip was one of the most unlucky warriors in the arena of love.
Philip's first love Chloe had only caused him heartache before becoming involved with Brady. Then, during the past summer, Philip had somehow become entangled in a messy situation with Belle Black. Though that particular romance had been uncommonly brief, it had lasted just long enough to break the young man's heart once more.
Lucas allowed his gaze to flow between his younger brother and the snowman. He quickly decided that each was as likely as the other to give him constructive advice on his proposal techniques. However, that thought did not stop Lucas from begrudgingly approaching the shaped snow, the engagement ring in hand.
Staring at his frozen companion with eyes reeking of apprehension, Lucas cleared his throat before opening his mouth to speak. He quickly shut his mouth and turned back around to look at Philip. "This is ridiculous."
Philip rolled his eyes, silently wondering if Lucas honestly thought that he had nothing better to do on a Saturday. "Just do it, Lucas. Pop the question to the snowman - or just go find Sami and ask her."
"You know I just can't walk up to Sami and say, 'hey, wanna get hitched?' It has to be perfect, but it can't be too tense because that would freak her out."
Again, Philip felt his eyes roll backwards. "So, start practicing on Frosty over there."
Lucas slowly walked back over to the snowman. Pushing aside the haunting doubts, he began, "Sami, I know we haven't always gotten along, but I really care for you. I've forgiven you for all the things that you've done to me and my family in the past."
Philip's eyes went wide with disbelief as Lucas continued his proposal. "Even though you ruined our friendship by lying about Austin being Will's father and even though you spent years torturing my mother and chasing after my brother . . ."
"Whoa!" Philip interrupted. "Lucas, man, I don't think that's quite what you should be saying if you're trying to beg a girl to marry you."
"Now do you see why I'm so nervous?" Focusing his attention on the snowman, Lucas tried once more. "Before I say anything else, I want you to know that I love you. I honestly love you. You don't have to answer
I see it in your eyes -"
Shaking his head, Philip interrupted, "If you're going to start quoting Olivia Newton-John songs, I'm leaving."
Lucas ignored both his brother and the chilling breeze. Shaking away his own doubts, he continued his proposal. "You're beautiful, and, um . . . well, intelligent, and every other thing I could ever want in a, um, lover . . . and friend. And . . ." Lucas took a nervous pause, unsure why he was already intimidated. After all, if he couldn't propose to an inanimate object, how would he ever be able to ask Sami to marry him. "Uh . . . I don't know what I would do if , well, if I couldn't be with you. I can't imagine living my life without you . . ."
"Oh, God, Lucas. Are you drinking again?"
Lucas spun on his heels to find Nicole emerging from the wooded area, a smirk adorning her lips.
Still reeling from Brady's farewell, Nicole had begun to aimlessly stroll around the winter wonderland. After passing by far too many sickeningly sweet couples, Nicole had stumbled across her ex-husband seducing a snowman. This was certainly a day she would not soon forget.
His cheeks tinged with embarrassment, Lucas demanded, "Get out of here, Nicole."
"Make me," Nicole childishly responded. Her gaze roaming to where Philip stood a few feet away, Nicole took her turn at rolling her eyes. "Don't tell me you have [I]feelings[/I] for the snowman, too."
Before Philip had a chance to defend himself, Lucas ordered, "Just get lost, Nicole."
An idea formulating in his mind, Philip exclaimed, "No, wait. Don't go, Nicole."
"Don't listen to him, Nicole. Just leave," remarked Lucas.
Philip tossed his brother a quick scowl before returning his attention back to his former step-mother. "Nicole, I know you've probably got a lot of things to do, but do you have a few minutes to help us out?"
Stealing a glance at the misshaped snowman, Nicole wasn't entirely sure she wanted anything to do with the bizarre situation. Then again, she certainly didn't want to return to her penthouse and spend the entire afternoon and evening drowning her sorrows with alcohol. Knowing that her living space was littered with photos of herself and Brady was enough to make Nicole never want to return home. Even worse, she realized that when she did return and make her way upstairs, half of the closet would be emptied and two of the dresser drawers would no longer be filled with Brady's belongings. "Depends. What do you want me to do?"
A grin began to fill Philip's face as he realized Nicole would be staying. "All you have to do is stand there and look beautiful."
Nicole arched a single eyebrow as a clear sign of suspicion. She had a feeling that nothing could be that simple with Philip and Lucas.
Motioning toward Nicole, Philip stated, "All right, Lucas. Start practicing."
Taking a giant step back from the brothers, Nicole demanded, "Practicing what?"
Lucas yet again rolled his eyes and remarked, "Not whatever you're thinking. So, get over yourself." Turning his attention to Philip, Lucas continued, "I don't want her help."
"You may not want it, but you definitely need it. You need a woman's opinion on this."
"Yeah," retorted Lucas. "I need a woman's opinion. Not a piranha's."
"If that's really what you think, then why did you once work so hard to get her to marry you?"
Lucas and Nicole looked equally disgusted upon the mention of their short- lived marriage. As the icy January wind began to blow with newfound fury, Lucas and Nicole each attempted to forget a past teeming with mistakes and wrongs that could never be made right.
Breaking the silent tension that he had created, Philip explained, "Lucas is going to propose to Sami, but he can't figure out how to do it."
"Don't tell me you actually believe you and Sami Brady can have some type of happily ever after," Nicole sadistically commented. Her expression remained grim as she added, "There are no happy endings. Wake up."
Immediately catching Nicole's weakness, Lucas snidely responded, "Ah, what's the matter, Nicole? Did Brady Black finally wise up and see you for the tramp that you are?"
Nicole diverted her gaze, but it did no good. Lucas and Philip could both see the truth. Her own happy ending had slipped away and now she wished the same dismal fate upon all others.
"I'm sorry," softly stated Philip.
Nicole indignantly brushed away his comment as though he had not even bothered to speak.
Already tired of his ex-wife's presence, Lucas quickly removed his scarf from the asymmetrical snowman. Shaking off the snow, he declared, "It's freezing out here. I'm going to head over to the Brady Pub to meet Sami for brunch. I'll call you later, Philip."
"Yeah, okay," distractedly muttered Philip as his half-brother made his departure. His gaze wholly focused on Nicole, Philip offered, "Do you need a ride back to the penthouse?"
A faraway look filled Nicole's eyes as she seemingly looked through Philip. He found himself unable to define the emotion he saw quickly pass over her delicate facial features. Still not truly looking at Philip, but past him, Nicole responded, "Thanks, but no thanks."
"Why not?" Philip presumptuously asked.
Nicole's glare became more distinct and Philip fully expected a hateful rebuttal to be hurled his way at any moment. He was shocked when Nicole quietly answered, "Maybe I just don't want to go back to the penthouse."
"Now . . . or ever?"
Nicole shrugged but gave no verbal response. After months of having someone with whom to share her bed and feelings, Nicole found that she was having a difficult time immediately shifting back to her cold and distant ways.
A disruptive thought began to overtake Philip's mind. Before he could stop himself, he volunteered, "You could always move back into the mansion for a little while."
As Nicole spun her head to look at Philip with disbelief, the young man nervously continued, "It would be really nice to have some company for a few days. After my dad died, I was really the only one left to live there. You were already out of the mansion and Brady was ready to go back to living on his own. And, obviously, Bo had no desire to live there." His eyes expressing a sincerity that shook Nicole's very soul, Philip added, "I would appreciate not having to be alone with a house full of memories."
Nicole took a deep breath, her thoughts racing. "Alright," she stated before any analytical judgments could terrorize her. "I'll go home with you to the mansion."
His lips gently brushed against her cheek as the falling snowflakes kissed his own face. Brady knew he'd never see her cry over his departure. He knew when he walked away, it would break her heart, but he'd never see a tear be shed.
Brady kept his hands on Nicole's shoulders as he slowly pulled away from kissing her cheek. When Nicole tried to turn her head to avoid his powerful gaze, Brady softly moved his right hand under her chin and turned her face back to him. "Please don't look away, Nicole."
Darting her eyes as far left as she could, Nicole replied, "Just go. We both know you don't want to be here - with me."
Brady reluctantly released his gentle hold on Nicole's face. He had no words to make things right; and if he did, Nicole would refuse to hear them.
After six months of being tangled up with Nicole in a lustful, whirlwind romance, Brady had chosen a wintry day in mid-January to end things. Though there were several contributing factors, Brady had only one true reason for bringing the courtship to an end. Someone else already had his heart.
Pushing the palms of her hands against Brady's firm chest, Nicole commanded, "Seriously, just go."
Brady knew that he didn't have much time to waste if he wanted to make his flight London, but he just couldn't walk away from Nicole without at least trying give them both closure.
"I honestly care about you, Nicole. You have to know that."
Nicole released a scornful, almost vindictive laugh. "Please don't give me that line about how you wish we could still be friends."
"Nic-"
"No," Nicole loudly interrupted, effectively capturing the attention of several bystanders. "I'm sure there'll be a day when I'll see you and Chloe Lane together and not want to scratch her big blue eyes out - but that won't be a day anytime soon. And, the day will never come when we'll all be best buddies. Never."
Brady lowered his guilty gaze to the fresh snow at his feet. Looking back over the past year of his life, he knew that he should never have become involved with Nicole. Despite her frequent advances, he should have kept the relationship platonic. He had known from the very beginning that there would be no getting over Chloe and that he would one day have to be with her once more. Now that day had come, and Brady was left dealing with the complication of leaving behind a girlfriend that should never have been more than a friend.
Lifting his blue eyes to face Nicole, Brady whispered, "Take care of yourself."
Nicole said nothing, choosing to remain silent as Brady walked away and left her standing alone in the snowy park. As the blonde stood motionless watching her lover walk away, she had no idea that she too was being watched.
Across the frozen pond, Philip struggled to listen to his rambling brother, but his gaze continually drifted back to where Nicole remained standing by herself. Minutes earlier his nephew Brady had been with her, but now the beauty was left alone. Whatever semblance of joy Nicole had learned over the past few months was gone from her eyes - that much was evident from a hundred yards away.
"I wonder what that's all about," Philip mused aloud, inadvertently interrupting Lucas mid-sentence.
Following Philip's gaze, Lucas replied, "With Nicole, who knows."
As Lucas attempted to express his most personal concerns, Philip again interrupted, "They always leave together."
"Who?"
"Brady and Nicole. They always grab something to drink, maybe do a little ice skating, and leave - together. So, why did Brady leave Nicole by herself?"
Lucas stared at his half-brother with a mixture of frustration and bewilderment. "As intriguing as you obviously find everyone else's romantic life, could you please try and stay focused?"
As Nicole finally began to walk away, Philip returned his full attention to Lucas. "It would be a lot easier to listen if you'd just get to the point. You've been talking in circles for the last fifteen minutes. What's got you so jumpy?"
"Well," began Lucas. "You know that Sami and I have really gotten close since everything that happened last winter, right?" Upon Philip's nod of agreement, Lucas continued, "We haven't exactly made it public knowledge, but I suppose you could say that we've gotten really close, if you know what I mean."
"Whoa, you two didn't actually think that you were keeping your romance a secret did you?"
The cold January wind began to harshly blow Lucas's red scarf in an array of directions. As he attempted to seize the woven accessory, he replied, "Yeah, actually we did."
"Oh."
Tossing his brother a playful glare, Lucas said, "Anyway, I've sorta decided that maybe we . . . well that if I . . . maybe . . ."
"Lucas, just spit it out."
"I'm going to propose."
It was half an hour after Lucas's declaration, and Philip was taking great care in placing the final accessory on the snowman.
From a few feet away, Lucas grumbled, "That scarf was a Christmas gift from Sami, so you better not mess it up. Besides, I still don't know what the point of building a snowman was."
"We built the snowman because I couldn't keep a straight face when you practiced your proposal on me."
Lucas sighed with mild, brotherly annoyance but gave no response. He could only wonder what he had been thinking when he seeking out Philip for romantic counsel. History had proven that Philip was one of the most unlucky warriors in the arena of love.
Philip's first love Chloe had only caused him heartache before becoming involved with Brady. Then, during the past summer, Philip had somehow become entangled in a messy situation with Belle Black. Though that particular romance had been uncommonly brief, it had lasted just long enough to break the young man's heart once more.
Lucas allowed his gaze to flow between his younger brother and the snowman. He quickly decided that each was as likely as the other to give him constructive advice on his proposal techniques. However, that thought did not stop Lucas from begrudgingly approaching the shaped snow, the engagement ring in hand.
Staring at his frozen companion with eyes reeking of apprehension, Lucas cleared his throat before opening his mouth to speak. He quickly shut his mouth and turned back around to look at Philip. "This is ridiculous."
Philip rolled his eyes, silently wondering if Lucas honestly thought that he had nothing better to do on a Saturday. "Just do it, Lucas. Pop the question to the snowman - or just go find Sami and ask her."
"You know I just can't walk up to Sami and say, 'hey, wanna get hitched?' It has to be perfect, but it can't be too tense because that would freak her out."
Again, Philip felt his eyes roll backwards. "So, start practicing on Frosty over there."
Lucas slowly walked back over to the snowman. Pushing aside the haunting doubts, he began, "Sami, I know we haven't always gotten along, but I really care for you. I've forgiven you for all the things that you've done to me and my family in the past."
Philip's eyes went wide with disbelief as Lucas continued his proposal. "Even though you ruined our friendship by lying about Austin being Will's father and even though you spent years torturing my mother and chasing after my brother . . ."
"Whoa!" Philip interrupted. "Lucas, man, I don't think that's quite what you should be saying if you're trying to beg a girl to marry you."
"Now do you see why I'm so nervous?" Focusing his attention on the snowman, Lucas tried once more. "Before I say anything else, I want you to know that I love you. I honestly love you. You don't have to answer
I see it in your eyes -"
Shaking his head, Philip interrupted, "If you're going to start quoting Olivia Newton-John songs, I'm leaving."
Lucas ignored both his brother and the chilling breeze. Shaking away his own doubts, he continued his proposal. "You're beautiful, and, um . . . well, intelligent, and every other thing I could ever want in a, um, lover . . . and friend. And . . ." Lucas took a nervous pause, unsure why he was already intimidated. After all, if he couldn't propose to an inanimate object, how would he ever be able to ask Sami to marry him. "Uh . . . I don't know what I would do if , well, if I couldn't be with you. I can't imagine living my life without you . . ."
"Oh, God, Lucas. Are you drinking again?"
Lucas spun on his heels to find Nicole emerging from the wooded area, a smirk adorning her lips.
Still reeling from Brady's farewell, Nicole had begun to aimlessly stroll around the winter wonderland. After passing by far too many sickeningly sweet couples, Nicole had stumbled across her ex-husband seducing a snowman. This was certainly a day she would not soon forget.
His cheeks tinged with embarrassment, Lucas demanded, "Get out of here, Nicole."
"Make me," Nicole childishly responded. Her gaze roaming to where Philip stood a few feet away, Nicole took her turn at rolling her eyes. "Don't tell me you have [I]feelings[/I] for the snowman, too."
Before Philip had a chance to defend himself, Lucas ordered, "Just get lost, Nicole."
An idea formulating in his mind, Philip exclaimed, "No, wait. Don't go, Nicole."
"Don't listen to him, Nicole. Just leave," remarked Lucas.
Philip tossed his brother a quick scowl before returning his attention back to his former step-mother. "Nicole, I know you've probably got a lot of things to do, but do you have a few minutes to help us out?"
Stealing a glance at the misshaped snowman, Nicole wasn't entirely sure she wanted anything to do with the bizarre situation. Then again, she certainly didn't want to return to her penthouse and spend the entire afternoon and evening drowning her sorrows with alcohol. Knowing that her living space was littered with photos of herself and Brady was enough to make Nicole never want to return home. Even worse, she realized that when she did return and make her way upstairs, half of the closet would be emptied and two of the dresser drawers would no longer be filled with Brady's belongings. "Depends. What do you want me to do?"
A grin began to fill Philip's face as he realized Nicole would be staying. "All you have to do is stand there and look beautiful."
Nicole arched a single eyebrow as a clear sign of suspicion. She had a feeling that nothing could be that simple with Philip and Lucas.
Motioning toward Nicole, Philip stated, "All right, Lucas. Start practicing."
Taking a giant step back from the brothers, Nicole demanded, "Practicing what?"
Lucas yet again rolled his eyes and remarked, "Not whatever you're thinking. So, get over yourself." Turning his attention to Philip, Lucas continued, "I don't want her help."
"You may not want it, but you definitely need it. You need a woman's opinion on this."
"Yeah," retorted Lucas. "I need a woman's opinion. Not a piranha's."
"If that's really what you think, then why did you once work so hard to get her to marry you?"
Lucas and Nicole looked equally disgusted upon the mention of their short- lived marriage. As the icy January wind began to blow with newfound fury, Lucas and Nicole each attempted to forget a past teeming with mistakes and wrongs that could never be made right.
Breaking the silent tension that he had created, Philip explained, "Lucas is going to propose to Sami, but he can't figure out how to do it."
"Don't tell me you actually believe you and Sami Brady can have some type of happily ever after," Nicole sadistically commented. Her expression remained grim as she added, "There are no happy endings. Wake up."
Immediately catching Nicole's weakness, Lucas snidely responded, "Ah, what's the matter, Nicole? Did Brady Black finally wise up and see you for the tramp that you are?"
Nicole diverted her gaze, but it did no good. Lucas and Philip could both see the truth. Her own happy ending had slipped away and now she wished the same dismal fate upon all others.
"I'm sorry," softly stated Philip.
Nicole indignantly brushed away his comment as though he had not even bothered to speak.
Already tired of his ex-wife's presence, Lucas quickly removed his scarf from the asymmetrical snowman. Shaking off the snow, he declared, "It's freezing out here. I'm going to head over to the Brady Pub to meet Sami for brunch. I'll call you later, Philip."
"Yeah, okay," distractedly muttered Philip as his half-brother made his departure. His gaze wholly focused on Nicole, Philip offered, "Do you need a ride back to the penthouse?"
A faraway look filled Nicole's eyes as she seemingly looked through Philip. He found himself unable to define the emotion he saw quickly pass over her delicate facial features. Still not truly looking at Philip, but past him, Nicole responded, "Thanks, but no thanks."
"Why not?" Philip presumptuously asked.
Nicole's glare became more distinct and Philip fully expected a hateful rebuttal to be hurled his way at any moment. He was shocked when Nicole quietly answered, "Maybe I just don't want to go back to the penthouse."
"Now . . . or ever?"
Nicole shrugged but gave no verbal response. After months of having someone with whom to share her bed and feelings, Nicole found that she was having a difficult time immediately shifting back to her cold and distant ways.
A disruptive thought began to overtake Philip's mind. Before he could stop himself, he volunteered, "You could always move back into the mansion for a little while."
As Nicole spun her head to look at Philip with disbelief, the young man nervously continued, "It would be really nice to have some company for a few days. After my dad died, I was really the only one left to live there. You were already out of the mansion and Brady was ready to go back to living on his own. And, obviously, Bo had no desire to live there." His eyes expressing a sincerity that shook Nicole's very soul, Philip added, "I would appreciate not having to be alone with a house full of memories."
Nicole took a deep breath, her thoughts racing. "Alright," she stated before any analytical judgments could terrorize her. "I'll go home with you to the mansion."