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  Briella shrugged. “Architecture is in my genes. It’s a passion and a gift that I possess. And yes, I’m a woman. You weren’t complaining about that last night or this morning for that matter.”

  “See, I’m responsible for part of this,” Mila said. “No one ever took her seriously as an architect because she was a woman. Sure, they gave her small jobs, but all of the big jobs went to men. Briella was so much better than those guys, so I came up with the name Billie.” Mila beamed at Briella. “And it worked.” “No one would even meet with me when they knew I was a woman. Now they call me, thinking I’m a man. I go in there and knock their socks off, and then they couldn’t care less if I’m a man, woman, or child,” Briella finished.

  Dexter let out the breath he had been holding. “Wow, and to think we’ve been worshipping your work for the past few years!”

  “See, this is why I never tell people what I do for a living,” Briella admitted, frustrated. She looked at her boyfriend, whose face was absolutely unreadable. “Kason, talk to me.”

  “I’m just a little shocked, sorry. It was bad enough that your mom is my boss. Now, not only are you an architect, but you’re a much better architect than me? That takes a little getting used to,” Kason said slowly, not looking at Briella.

  “No, don’t even think like that. It’s not about who is better at what. Your house is awesome! I was jealous the moment I looked at it, thinking that whoever designed it was a genius! I am still the same Briella. My job doesn’t define who I am. It’s just what I do. You aren’t going to take that out on me, are you?”

  Kason buried his face in his hands for a moment, then looked at Briella. “I guess you’re right. I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be an ass. It’s just a little weird to be sleeping with someone you idolize, especially after finding out that the idol you thought was a man is a woman

  “Well, now you can idolize my body and my work at the same time,” Briella joked, hoping to break the tension. It worked and everyone laughed. She sidled up to Kason and kissed him.

  “So, we’re good again?” Briella asked.

  “Yeah, we are,” he said, and pulled her in for a kiss, then stopped. “But…”

  “But?”

  “Can I have your autograph?”

  “You’re funny, Country Boy,” Briella said, and resumed eating her breakfast. “Seriously, you aren’t going to treat me differently now, are you?”

  “Does that mean you won’t give me your autograph?”

  Briella rolled her eyes.

  “No, I promise I won’t treat you differently. But next time we go out to dinner, you’re paying. You must be loaded!” Kason laughed.

  “Yeah, I am, but so are you!” she replied, just as the phone rang and Mila answered it.

  “Briella, it’s your mom,” she said, and she handed the phone to Briella.

  “Hey, Mom, were your ears burning or something? We were just talking about you. Well, actually two of your architects were talking about you, Kason Harris and Dexter Knowles. You remember the guys we met while we were down there? That’s them,” Briella said, and then listened to her mother for a little while. “I agree. Have you seen Kason’s house? He’s the one who designed it.”

  She nodded a few times, as if her mom could see her, and smiled at Kason. “No, Mom, I don’t think he rivals me. I think he is far better than me. He just hasn’t had the kind of exposure I’ve had. I know you know how to get him the attention he deserves.”

  The conversation went on while the rest of the group listened to Briella’s end. Her mother talked for a while longer, then they hung up.

  “Sorry, that was the first time we’ve spoken since we left Texas. She seems to have high praise for both of you. She said there are a few idiots in the office, but both of you have very bright futures ahead of you. She hopes that you will stick it out and keep working for her,” Briella said.

  “So our jobs aren’t in jeopardy then?” Dexter asked.

  Briella shook her head. “No way.”

  “Yeehaw!” Dexter yelled.

  “You know, that’s the first country thing I’ve heard come out of your mouth, Dexter!” Briella laughed.

  Dexter grabbed Mila and hugged her, swinging her around in circles. “Oh, the stress has been lifted!” he cheered, as everyone laughed with him.

  “Well, I hate to break up this little party, but we need to get you guys to the airport soon,” Mila said.

  “What? Already? But I feel like you guys just got here. Maybe I should call my mom and have her give you guys the next couple of days off,” Briella offered, disappointed that they were leaving already.

  “No, don’t do that. We don’t want to look like we’re using ya’ll to get time off from work,” Kason said. “Besides, ya’ll have to work this week too, so it’s not that big of a deal. We’d never see ya during the day, anyway.”

  “Fine, fine. See what happens when you try to spend more time with your boyfriend?” she joked.

  “Don’t worry. Remember what I said. We’ve got phones, e-mail, planes…it’ll all work out!” Kason said optimistically, though he didn’t want to leave Briella either.

  The guys got their luggage together and the girls took them to the airport. The mood was somber the whole way there. When their boarding call came over the loud speaker, the four got up and walked towards the gate together. Mila began crying, and Dexter tried to kiss away her tears. He promised that they would talk later that night, and that they would see each other again soon.

  Briella kissed Kason with everything she had. As he pulled away from their hug, a lone tear fell from her eye. Kason kissed it away even as he began backing away from her and toward the gate. “Soon,” he whispered.

  Mila and Briella watched the guys walk away, but before they disappeared for good, the guys stopped, turned around and waved goodbye. Briella and Mila blew them kisses and waved.

  When the girls stepped outside, the cold breeze hit them. Briella put her hands in her coat pockets and felt a piece of paper. She took the paper out and unfolded it. As she looked at it, she smiled.

  Dear Briella,

  Thank you for the best weekend of my life. I look forward to spending more and more time with you in the future. You make every day feel like heaven! I can’t wait to see you again. Just know that I am thinking about you every minute of the day. Until we see each other again, I won’t be the same.

  Love,

  Country Boy Kason

  P.S. Dexter and I left something for you and Mila at your apartment. Happy hunting!

  Suddenly, both girls were animated, the edge of their sadness dulled a bit by this new adventure. They ran into their apartment to begin the search once they got home. They looked high and low, but couldn’t find a thing.

  Finally, Briella gave up and went to lie down in her bed. As she hit the bed, she felt a slight lump underneath her. She pulled her covers back, and there lay the button down shirt that Kason had worn the day before. She put the shirt up to her face and inhaled the scent. It smelled deeply of Kason.

  His note on top of the shirt said, Wear this when you sleep so I can be close to you. Love, Kason.

  Briella called to Mila, and told her where to look. Mila found Dexter’s shirt in her bed with a similar note. The girls put their new shirts on and then hugged each other, and felt a little better about missing their men.

  Chapter Nine

  When the guys got home that night, they called to let Briella and Mila know they’d made it. They sounded exhausted, so the girls didn’t talk for too long. Briella and Mila thanked them for the shirts, and said they had been wearing them all day.

  “Wasn’t it supposed to be a shirt you wear at night?” Kason asked.

  “It’s a shirt we are supposed to wear around the clock,” Briella said.

  The guys laughed, hung up and went to bed.

  At five in the morning, fifteen minutes before Briella’s alarm was set to go off, the phone rang. The ringing jarred Briella out of a pleasant
dream.

  “Hey, did I wake you?” Kason asked.

  “Huh? Kason? What’s going on, are you okay?” Briella asked, confused and still in a haze of sleep.

  “Yes and no. Physically, I’m fine, just having trouble sleeping and I needed to hear your voice. I’m sorry if I woke you,” he said.

  “Ah, how sweet! It was almost time for me to get up anyway. Are you sure you’re okay? You sound a little shaky right now,” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I just had a strange dream about you, and I had to make sure you were well. You sound pretty shaky too, but I guess it’s because I woke you up.”

  “You got that right. I always get jittery when the phone wakes me up. So, a really weird dream?”

  “Yes. Obviously this dream shook me up pretty bad, or else I wouldn’t have called, right?” he asked. “It was just weird, but I’m satisfied that you’re okay!”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “No…no, not right now. I want to get my mind off things. Can you talk to me?”

  Briella did just that, telling him how much she missed him, how much she wanted to see him again and how surprised she still was that they were both in the same line of work. They talked until the alarm sounded.

  “Alright, well my alarm is going off, so I need to get ready for work. Anything else?”

  “I’d feel a lot better if you were here to kiss me, but this will have to do. Have a good day at work, Billie!” Kason teased.

  “I will, you too. Get some sleep before you go in. Your dragon lady boss won’t like it if you fall asleep in your Monday meeting!” Briella teased back.

  The next few weeks passed rather quickly. Every other weekend the guys would come up and visit the girls in the city. During the visits, the four grew closer. Briella and Mila dragged them through all of the tourist traps, and took them to the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Times Square, and the World Trade Center memorial. Their favorite spot was Madison Square Garden, where Briella and Mila had recruited them to be Knicks fans. The guys really enjoyed the action-packed basketball games and gained new respect for the girls’ team.

  Kason was learning to accept Briella’s success in their field, and he himself was gaining new attention for his work. He was apprehensive about being with Briella when he first found out that she was Billie Fox, but over time he learned to accept it. Briella never made him feel as though she was better than him, and if anything, she boosted his self-confidence by saying she wished she was as good as him. Briella truly felt that Kason was a better architect than others, and she was proud of that, rather than jealous.

  One night, when Kason and Dexter were with the girls in New York, they were sitting around playing cards and drinking. Dexter asked Mila why they often talked about her being Charlee’s second daughter.

  “Well, my parents died the summer after we graduated from high school,” Mila said. “Briella and I had been best friends since middle school, and I was always over at her house anyway, so Briella’s parents took me in and gave me a home. Charlee also paid my way through college, but I didn’t know it at the time. I thought that my parents had left me money in their will, or that they had a trust fund in place. I found out by accident after I graduated that Charlee had paid for it all. She has been there for me whenever I needed her after my parents died, and I can never thank her enough for all that she has done for me.”

  “Wow, I knew Charlee was nice, but that’s above and beyond nice,” Dexter said. “I’m glad you had someone like that in your life to help when you needed it.”

  “Just goes to show you that there are nice people out there still. Now I see where you get your kindness from, Briella,” Kason said. “You know, Charlee is a terrific boss, and I’m not saying that to suck up either. She is well respected by everyone working there. It’s like she knows that she doesn’t need to put the fear of God into everyone to make them do their work. She draws on people’s strengths to get them to perform at their best level. She’s going to make her firm more successful than any other in the state of Texas!”

  “Well, she has high hopes for that firm. She really enjoys the environment. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so happy.” Briella smiled. “Speaking of Mom, Mila and I are taking a week off from work to go down. We plan on seeing Mom, but do you guys know of anyone else who would like to see us?” Briella asked.

  “Parker?” Dexter teased. Mila playfully punched his arm.

  Briella groaned, “Kason, are you going to do something about her while we’re there? I don’t want her cooking food for us, unless it’s absolutely necessary!”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure she isn’t around when you are,” Kason reassured her.

  “Oh yeah, that makes it sound like there’s nothing going on between you two,” Briella said sharply.

  “That’s not what I meant and you know it. Maybe I’ll give her some vacation time or something.”

  “No, make sure she’s there. I want her to know that I’m there, and that you’re mine and she can’t have you. You told me that she has tried to kiss you a few times since we have gotten together, so maybe it’s time for her and I to have a little talk, since you won’t fire her. Just let her know that Mila and I will be cooking the whole time we’re there, so you won’t need her for that,” Briella said.

  Kason sighed. “Relax, Briella. We both know I don’t want her like that. She just does good work, and I don’t want to have to break in someone new right now. It seems like we are always traveling, for some reason,” Kason said, and kissed Briella’s lips.

  “So anyway, we’ll be in Texas soon,” Mila said.

  “Are you going to stay with us or with Charlee?” Kason asked.

  “Um, where would you like us to stay?” Briella asked.

  “I don’t think you really need us to answer that question,” Dexter grinned.

  “Well, I guess we’ll stay at Mom’s then,” Briella teased. Kason reached out and grabbed her, then pulled her onto his lap.

  “You’re staying at our house, in my bed. Don’t even think otherwise!” Kason said, as he tickled Briella until she fought for breath.

  Kason picked Briella up and carried her into her bedroom. Shortly after they shut the door, the phone rang. Mila knocked on the door and yelled, “Briella, it’s your mom. She wants to talk to us all on the speakerphone. Sorry to interrupt!”

  Briella and Kason came out of the bedroom a moment later, slightly flushed. They all went over to the computer desk and put the speakerphone on.

  “Hi Mom, we’re all here. What’s up?” Briella asked.

  “Hi, Honey. Hi, guys. I just got some news that I thought you all should hear. I got a call from Jeff Thomas of the Architectural Society, and it seems as though there is an awards banquet in New York on Wednesday, and we are all requested to be there. I will be flying in tomorrow, and Kason and Dexter, you two are going to stay until next week, if you want to. There is no need for you to fly back here for 2 days of work. The event is formal, so go out and get tuxes and dresses. Briella, can you take a cab and meet me at the airport tomorrow at 3:30?”

  “Yes, Mom. Any exciting reason why we all need to be at the banquet?” Briella asked.

  “They didn’t tell me, but you might want to have a speech prepared, just in case,” Charlee said.

  Mila and Briella grinned at each other over the table as Charlee went on. “Well, I have to run now. Go shopping and get something nice for yourselves. I’ll see you all tomorrow! Love you!”

  “Love you too, Mom! See you tomorrow!” Briella said.

  The phone clicked off and the four of them started speculating on what the banquet might have in store for them.

  “So, are we going shopping?” Mila asked.

  “Well, as much as I’d like to finish what he started, I think we’re going to need all the shopping time we can manage,” Briella replied, then looked at Kason and gave him an apologetic smile.

  “I agree, though I’d much rather conti
nue where we left off,” Kason teased.

  “Oh please! You guys never come up for air, do you?” Mila asked.

  “Hmm, does this ring any bells?” Kason said with a grin, breaking into a falsetto. “Oh Dexter! Oh yeah, keep going, just like that! Uh! Uh! Oh Dexter!”

  Mila blushed hard. “Jerk,” she said weakly, even though she was smiling.

  “So don’t talk to me about coming up for air when that’s coming from your room every night,” Kason teased.

  “Fine, you win, let’s just go!” Mila said, and left to get her purse to avoid any more embarrassment.

  “Can you really hear her?” Dexter asked in a whisper.

  “Um, yeah. Try music next time. It always works for us…either that or put a pillow over her head, right, Briella?” Kason said, laughing.

  “The music works for me!” Briella said, shooting Kason a look telling him to watch what he said, or else he wouldn’t need any music because there would be no sounds to drown out.

  Shopping for the awards banquet went well. The girls both found dresses in the second store they went to, and the guys found tuxes in Macy’s. The girls wouldn’t let the guys see their dresses because they wanted to surprise them, so in turn the guys wouldn’t let the girls see the tuxes.

  The next day, the two couples ventured to the airport to pick Charlee up. Mila and Briella hadn’t see Charlee since they had moved her down to Texas, so they were both anxious for her arrival. They waited for her at the gate, pacing impatiently, and as soon as they saw her they practically tackled her.

  “Oh Mom! I have missed you! It’s not fair that my boyfriend gets to see you more than I do. How are you? How was your trip?” Briella fired off questions in rapid succession.

  “Briella, slow down, honey. I’ll be here for a few days. I’ll have plenty of time to answer them all,” Charlee laughed.

  “Hi Charlee. It’s so good to have you back here for a little while,” Mila said as she hugged her.

  “It’s good to see you too, honey. Now, where are my two roving Texan architects?” Charlee asked.

  “Hi, Mrs. Fox. We’re over here, trying to avoid interrupting the reunion,” Kason said.