“Yes, you do!” Brooke exclaimed. “Since you practically live here, if I want to see you, I have no choice but to come in. And there’s no way anyone can walk into this place without getting hungry.”
“That’s why I bring you here again and again. You stroke my ego,” Chloe said.
“Your ego doesn’t need stroking. You know what a good cook you are. You got the chef genes, hands down.”
She flinched a bit at that statement. She wanted to be good on her own, not because it was in her genetics. She didn’t necessarily want to be better than her parents; she just wanted to be best on her own.
“That’s most certainly true. Though Sarah has gotten a lot better at cooking.”
“Good. Then I never have to,” Brooke said, perfectly content to not be a world-famous chef.
“It amazes me anyone wouldn’t want to cook. It’s so much fun to throw ingredients together and watch magic happen.”
“That only happens when you love to do it. I light stoves on fire when I attempt anything fancy.”
“That’s true,” Chloe said with another smile. “And you’ve done well at calming me. Now you have to go find out what Brandon wants.”
“While you hide in here?” Brooke said.
“Yep, I’m totally hiding, and I’m not even ashamed of it.”
Brooke disappeared out the doors, and Chloe crept over and glanced through the crack as Brooke sashayed up to Brandon. Brandon looked up with a big smile. Then he stood and gave his sister-in-law a hug.
“Are you stalking my best friend?” Brooke asked with a sly smile. Brandon laughed. Chloe was a bit envious of their easy relationship. Of course, she knew she could have that same relationship if she gave the guy a chance. If she could guarantee friendship only, she might just do that. Maybe her hormones would eventually calm down. Maybe not.
“Do I ever need to stalk anyone?” Brandon asked.
“I wouldn’t think so, but here you are . . . ,” she said, pointing out the obvious.
“Yep. Here I am. Now are you going to tell me where Chloe ran off to?” he said, giving Brooke an assessing look. It appeared as if he was trying to judge if Brooke was more his sister-in-law or more Chloe’s friend. He’d lose. Nobody got in the way of their deep, abiding friendship.
“Well, I hate to tell you this, but she left for the day,” Brooke said, thinking on her feet. “Maybe I can help you.”
“We both know she doesn’t ever leave this place so early,” Brandon said, the smile never leaving his eyes. “I bet she’s watching this entire conversation, and you’re the go-between.”
“Whatever do you mean?” Brooke asked, fluttering her eyelashes. “I’d never do such a thing.”
Brandon leaned back in his chair, as if he had all the time in the world. Then his lips turned up, and Chloe’s breath was taken away. Brandon had a smile that could make the biggest Grinch grin back at him. She was sure the man was very aware of his appeal.
“We both know I spotted Chloe while I was walking in. She disappeared faster than a hooker at the end of her hour, and then magically, you appear. My guess is she’s in the back trying to wait me out.” He paused for a very long time. “But you should know by now that I’m a very patient man.”
Chloe wanted to shout out “Mayday! Mayday! The ship is going down!” Instead, she stayed where she was and tried to have faith in her friend’s ability to get information from Brandon or get him out of there.
“I have noticed you’re a patient man,” Brooke said. “But Chloe is a very stubborn woman.”
His grin widened. “I’m very aware of that. I like it.”
“What if she just doesn’t want to be around you?” Brooke asked.
His smile fell completely away, and Chloe felt instant guilt that she was the cause of that look on his face. She didn’t want to hurt the man. He hadn’t done anything to her to warrant her rudeness.
“I just want to see Chloe,” he finally said. Marcy walked up to the two of them, a quizzical look on her young face as she set down a pastry in front of Brandon. Brandon thanked her and picked up the treat, then took a big bite and sighed. “Perfection as usual,” he said.
“You might want to make a graceful exit to show her you’re a bigger man than you appear to be sometimes,” Brooke warned. “Give her a choice of seeing you or not.”
Brandon looked thoughtful for a moment before he chuckled. Then he took another bite of his treat, all without replying. Chloe found herself holding her breath. He finished the pastry and took a large drink of his mocha before looking at Brooke again. Then he stood and pulled out his wallet. He took a few bills out and tossed them on the table.
After picking up his coffee cup, he looked relaxed as he faced Brooke, as if he didn’t have a single care in the world. The man probably didn’t. He was great looking, was beyond wealthy, and carried enough confidence for a dozen men. He wasn’t often denied anything he wanted. This had to be a new one for him.
“Tell Chloe I’ll be at my new house,” he said. “I won’t wait long before I come searching for her again,” he added, the words most certainly a promise. “But I’d love it if she came to me instead. We have a lot to talk about.”
“When did you buy a place?” Brooke asked with confusion. “Your brother didn’t say anything about it.”
“That’s because I signed the papers on Friday. Today is moving day. I didn’t want to say anything until it was a done deal. It’s the house on top of Diamond Hill Road.”
Brooke whistled. “Wow! Isn’t that a bit much for a single guy?”
His grin grew. “I don’t plan on being single forever,” he told her with a wink before he looked toward the back of the restaurant again. Chloe would swear her heart stopped at his words.
The giant mansion he’d bought had been empty for some time. It needed a lot of work. And Brooke was right—the place was huge, over five thousand square feet. And it wasn’t that far from her own place. That made her sweat a bit.
“Wow, I guess we’ll be having a housewarming party soon. I’ve always wanted to see the inside of that place.”
“We will indeed. But I’m going to need help making it into a home.” His eyes again looked toward the back, and although Chloe was hidden, she felt as if he could see right into her eyes. Did they have a connection? She wouldn’t admit it if they did.
“I hope you get everything you want, Brandon,” Brooke said. Chloe wanted to shout at her friend that she was the lowest of betrayers.
Brandon just smiled again, turned, and walked out the door as easily as he’d come in. Brooke stood where she was for several moments, and Chloe found herself unable to move. The entire visit had shaken her up.
Finally Brooke turned, and their eyes met through the slit in the doors. Chloe realized she could stop hiding and stepped into the open, signaling for Brooke to come to her. It was better safe than sorry, just in case the man was planning on sneaking back in.
“That was interesting,” Brooke said when she approached.
“I heard the entire conversation,” Chloe said with a sigh.
“I don’t think Brandon is going away until the two of you have a showdown. He isn’t the type to tuck tail and run,” Brooke said.