Except there was no probably about it. The sexy, dark-haired woman who haunted my dreams didn’t need to haunt my waking hours. I snorted, turned off the shower, and dried off. I wrapped a towel around my waist and then went to find something to wear.
I would exercise, but it wouldn’t be anything big. Maybe I’d eat breakfast first. Hell. I had no idea what I wanted to do. I slid on another pair of gray sweatpants, not bothering with underwear since I would just change in a minute anyway and headed towards the kitchen for coffee. The doorbell rang, and I cursed. It’d better not be fucking Lee again. I left the coffee brewing and headed to the entryway. I looked through the peephole and smiled.
I opened the door and grinned. “Hey, there,” I said as Brenna walked in. She had a box in her hand from our favorite donut place and a smile on her face.
Her eyes caught mine, and they widened. “Oh. So… Are you trying to seduce the poor delivery people who show up at your house?”
“What?” I asked, then looked down at my naked torso. “Shit, I can go put on a shirt.”
She blushed and then waved her hand. “Don’t on my account. I brought breakfast.”
“Did we plan on meeting this morning?” I asked, rubbing my face. I should have shaved, but it was the weekend, and I didn’t care.
“No, but I’m your best friend, and I felt like coming over. Is that okay?” she asked, a little hesitant.
I was a bastard. “Of course, you’re welcome over. I don’t have many plans today, though, just housework, maybe a little paperwork.”
“I have to decorate a few things later today, projects are piling up, but I just wanted to see you. We haven’t really hung out that much lately.”
Because I was keeping a secret from her, and I wasn’t good at lying to Brenna. Unfortunately, I couldn’t say that to her.
“No problem,” I said. “Come on in, I’ll make you a cup of coffee.”
“Do you have the good creamer?” she asked.
“Of course, I do. It’s your favorite. Why wouldn’t I have it?”
She gave me a weird look that I didn’t understand, and I shrugged. I took the donuts from her and set them on the counter. Brenna hopped onto the kitchen island, dangling her feet, her favorite position in my kitchen, and I shook my head. I poured her a cup of coffee and then doctored my own as we sat and ate donuts.
She grinned at me, and I leaned over and wiped jelly off her chin. “Messy eater,” I said.
She blushed and shook her head. “You’re a jerk, you know that?”
“Maybe, only I’m your jerk. What cakes are you working on tonight?” I asked, munching on my second donut. I would be working out hard later.
“It’s a four-tiered monstrosity, but it’s a large wedding, and I’m enjoying it. I’m calling it the crystal palace.”
“Lots of sugar work, then?” I asked.
“You don’t even want to know. It’s going to work out. The bride and the bride’s mother couldn’t agree on anything, so I’m sort of melding their two ideas. It should work, and they loved the design that I sent. They picked out a light and airy vanilla cake with a chocolate ganache filling.”
“You know me and chocolate,” I said as I bit into the last of my eclair.
She rolled her eyes and grinned. “Yes. You and chocolate. It’s a sickness. Anyway, I also have a groom’s cake to make, and an order of cupcakes for a birthday.”
My eyes widened. “You are busy.”
“I am, but I did schedule some time off this morning so I could just breathe. And I wanted to see you.”
“Sounds good to me.”
The door opened again, and my gaze shot to it, my pulse racing. I had forgotten to lock it. Fuck. I was way too distracted and exhausted. Annabelle walked through, a smile on her face. Her brows shot up as she saw Brenna sitting on my kitchen counter, eating breakfast, and me standing next to her wearing only sweatpants.
“Well, then, what’s going on?” my sister said, teasing.
I snorted. “Nothing, it’s just Brenna,” I said.
Annabelle winced, and then I heard the words that had just come out of my mouth.
“Fuck, sorry,” I said.
“Oh, no, it’s fine,” Brenna said, beaming. “You’re an asshole, but it is just me. Nothing going on here,” she said with a laugh. “Seriously.”
I caught the look that Annabelle gave me, but I couldn’t read it. What the fuck was I missing? It was Brenna. My best friend. We sat like this often. She’d seen me drunker than hell and wiped my brow after I vomited everything I’d eaten the night before. I had seen her drunker than hell and had held her hair back. We had seen each other at our worst and best, but there were no romantic feelings there. They would have come up before now. I would know if she liked me like that, right?
Hell, what was wrong with me?
“I brought donuts,” Brenna said.
Annabelle clapped her hands and came over. “Gimmie, gimmie, gimmie.”
“Are you supposed to have sugar?” I asked as I handed over the box.
“If you dare to take donuts away from a pregnant woman, I will curse you to the fiery hell of a carb-less life,” she growled.
“Well, then, that sounds dangerous. Where is that husband of yours?” I asked.
“He’s at work. Tough case,” she said, cringing. “Let’s just say I’m really glad we’re all a decent family who talks to one another. You know?”
I nodded. “You know we’ve got our problems, though.”
“Not those problems. As much as it might be a little overwhelming that we all hang out, live near one another, and work together, we’re not like that.”
What was unsaid was the fact that we had almost been like that thanks to our parents. Things were better now. It had been a year since the blowup. And it had gotten better.
Brenna dangled her feet and reached for my coffee. “Let me get you some more.”
I shook my head. “No, I need to switch to water. I need to work out soon.”
“That reminds me…” Annabelle began.
“What?” I asked as I helped Brenna down. I ended up pouring the coffee since I was closer, but I had a feeling that Brenna felt a little uncomfortable sitting there while Annabelle and I were standing. Getting a pregnant Annabelle to sit down these days was harder than hell.
“If you have time, can you stop by Eliza’s house later this week? She needs a few things done in her studio, and you’re the construction guy. I figured you’d be the best at it.”
“It’s bookshelves, isn’t it?” I asked, sighing.
“No. Maybe? I don’t really know.” She cringed. “It’s either bookshelves or framing. I’m not sure, but she asked for someone handy to drop by later this week if we had someone available, and the two of you work well together.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about that statement since I didn’t want to think about Eliza more than I already was. When the hell had that happened? The smart thing to do would be to say I couldn’t help, but that wasn’t me. I wasn’t that much of an asshole. “I can help.”
“Thank you, big brother of mine,” Annabelle said with a smile.