“I know I did, but I didn’t know you were going to match the walls to Elphaba’s skin color.” Bekah shuddered delicately. “It’s going to be hideous!”
“It will be lovely! Stop complaining! I know it’s going to be the most popular room.” Bri pulled the casserole out of the oven and plopped some on each of the plates, serving them all. “If you want drinks, get them. We’re not open for business, and I’m not serving anyone who’s complaining about my Wicked room.”
Bekah looked at Anthony. “Do you want water, milk or coffee?”
“No soda?” he asked, frowning. “I want a Pepsi.”
Bri looked up from her plate, glaring at him. “Then bring your own.”
Bekah was obviously shocked. “Bri, what has gotten into you? You’re never rude to people.”
“He’s on my last nerve,” Bri said as she took another bite. She chewed slowly before continuing. “I have never met anyone quite so presumptuous in my entire life!”
“Wow.” Bekah looked at Anthony, obviously impressed. “No one gets under her skin that fast. It took her brother years to make her that prickly.”
Anthony sighed. “She hurt my feelings. I’m wounded and may never be able to drink Pepsi again.”
Bri refused to respond to that. He obviously wanted attention, and she wasn’t about to give it to him!
“You’d think she’d be nicer to me since we’re practically engaged!” he said, drawing Bekah’s attention again.
Bekah giggled. “I have to hear this.” She put a glass of water in front of Anthony, since he hadn’t asked for anything else. “Practically engaged?”
“She asked me out while I was talking to her about the shade she was painting that god-awful room.”
Bekah looked at Bri in shock. “You asked him out? Did you ask him to marry you too?”
Bri kicked Anthony under the table, feeling quite satisfied with herself when he yelped with pain. “I did not ask him out!” She knew her cousin was just playing along with him, but it still annoyed her. Why wouldn’t he let it go?
“We’re going to a restaurant tonight. I tried to talk her into cooking for me again, but I think she’s worried we’re moving too quickly. The whole thing about the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach? I’m already more than halfway in love with her after this meal.” Anthony calmly took another bite of his lunch, enjoying it immensely. Bri really could cook.
Bri thought for a moment about turning his words on him and telling him she was in love with him too, but she had a feeling it would backfire terribly. She’d never been good at teasing, because her nature was too serious. “Go away, Anthony.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I thought you needed those bathrooms done quickly.”
She sighed. “I do need them done. I just don’t want to have to deal with you to get them!”
Bekah started chuckling softly, and after a moment it turned into a full-blown laugh. “You two are going to keep me very entertained for the next month, aren’t you?”
Bri ignored her cousin and just kept eating. Why do I have to put up with idiots? Bekah’s normally my best friend, but put her with Anthony, and I want to strangle them both!
“Oh, Bekah, I can’t believe you’re laughing at my pain! I’ll perish without Brina’s love!”
“Brina?” Bekah asked. “You already have a special nickname for her? It is true love, isn’t it?”
“I don’t ever want to talk to either of you again,” Bri responded calmly, getting up from the table and rinsing her plate before putting it in the dishwasher. “You two just keep laughing. I’m going to go listen to messages and see if we have any reservations, and then I’m going to finish painting the Wicked room. It’s going to be beautiful.” She left the room with her head held high, stalking off to listen to the messages in the office.
Bekah looked at Anthony with wide eyes. “Bri gets along with everyone! What did you do to her?”
Anthony shrugged. “I have no idea, but I think I’m in love. What’s her favorite flower?”
Bekah started laughing again. “She’s a fan of lilacs.”
“Lilacs? There’s a florist in town, isn’t there?”
“There is! Are you going to bring flowers when you pick her up for your date tonight?”
“Of course, I am. What kind of cad do you think I am? I’m going to woo your cousin like she’s never been wooed before! By the time the week is over, she’ll be as in love with me as I am with her!”
“Anthony?”
“Yes?”
“You’ve lost your ever-loving mind. I’m glad though, because I haven’t seen a firework show this good since I was a little girl.” She stood and washed off her plate, putting it into the dishwasher.
Anthony watched her leave and grinned. This was going to be a fun job!
Chapter Two
Before leaving for the day, Anthony stopped in the Wicked room to see Bri. She was just about finished and had a small amount of hideous green paint on her nose. He grinned when he saw her, as he leaned against the doorjamb. “Just as ugly as it was earlier.”
Bri glared at him. “Don’t you have anywhere to be?”
“I do. I have to hurry home and shower and change, because I want to look good for our date tonight. I thought I’d take you to River House for a little dinner and dancing.”
“I didn’t ask you out, Anthony.” She’d never in her life asked a man out. Maybe it was old-fashioned, but it didn’t feel right to her.
He stepped closer to her, rubbing his thumb across her nose to remove the paint. “But we’re still going out, right?”
“Do you want to go out with me just to give me a hard time?”
He shook his head. “I want to go out with you, because I find you fascinating. So far I’ve seen you dripping in sweat and covered in paint. I have a feeling you’re going to clean up good, and I’m going to want to sweep you off your feet.”
She sighed. “I guess one date won’t hurt too much. But you have to promise to behave yourself!” River House was a Silver Springs institution. Her grandparents had their first date there, and so had her parents. Like most businesses in town, it had been run by generation after generation of the same family. She’d been for a celebratory dinner with family members, but never on a date. Her senior prom didn’t count, because Larry Bergdorf had left her in the middle of the dance floor to drool over one of the cheerleaders who had just broken up with her boyfriend. Bri ended up having to call her big brother to drive her home, so how could that possibly count as a date at the most exclusive restaurant in town?
He grinned, surprised at how her answer made him feel. “I’ll be here at six.”
“I’ll be ready.” She looked down at her hands. “And hopefully no longer green.”
“I’ll see you then!”
Bri watched him go, thinking about what an idiot she was as she painted the last little bit of wall. She needed to do the painting in The Sound of Music room tomorrow. She’d do three walls in a light gray and one in white. And she’d found a fabric that matched the curtains Maria had made clothes for the children out of. Of course, her fabric would be for the curtains, and her mother had promised to make a quilt for the bed as well.
She stepped back and admired her handiwork, pleased with how it looked. She knew it was an odd color, but it would suit the tone of the room she was trying to create perfectly. It may not be for everyone, but she thought most would like it. B&B’s B&B was getting there! She still had a flutter in her stomach every time she thought about how soon they’d open.
When she was done, she carried her roller down to the basement to wash it out in the utility sink. For some reason, her grandmother’s basement had scared her when she was a child, but she loved the changes they’d made to it. They’d had a commercial washer and dryer put in just last month, and they’d painted to make it look a bit less stark.
Half of the basement was now finished as well, and would be a good place for her and Bekah to relax once the
guests started coming. They’d put in a couch and a little television, knowing it would be where they’d relax together.
An hour later, she’d showered and was standing in a robe in her bedroom, digging through her closet. What should she wear for the first date with a man that made her crazy? She couldn’t find anything good. Maybe she could borrow something from Bekah.
She picked up her cell phone and dialed her cousin, knowing she was spending the day in the yard planning out their flower beds. She wouldn’t be able to plant for another six weeks or so, but she was going to have everything ready to go as soon as it looked like the last frost was over. Bekah wasn’t as talented at domestic chores as Bri was, but she could help clean the rooms and keep up the lawn, snow shoveling, and gardening. Together they made a great team.
“What’s up?” Bekah never could seem to answer the phone like a normal human.
“I can’t figure out what to wear tonight!”
“For your date with Anthony? I still can’t believe you asked him out…”
“Would you please stop picking on me for long enough to get up here and help me find clothes? I need you!”
“On my way!” The call ended abruptly and a minute or two later, Bekah hurried into the room. “Where are you going?”
“River House.”
Bekah’s eyes widened. “River House? Wow. We haven’t been there since prom!” The cousins were only a week apart, and they’d gone through most of their rites of passage together.
“I know. We talked about going there when we decided to open this place, but we wanted to save the money for the renovations.”
“And we still had to borrow money!” Bekah shook her head. “Okay, wait right there. I have just the thing!”
Bri was a little worried at Bekah’s tone. Her cousin was a great deal more wild in her clothing choices than she was. “Nothing skanky!”
“I don’t wear skanky! I wear normal. You dress like a nun,” Bekah said as she walked back into the room, a vivid blue dress thrown over one arm. “This is going to match your eyes perfectly. You have to wear it!”
“I have to, do I?” Bri took the dress and frowned. All of her dresses and skirts came to just past the knee and not a one showed any cleavage at all. This dress…it was definitely not the type of dress she would normally wear. “I don’t know, Bekah. I’d feel awfully exposed.”
“Try it on for me. Please!” Bekah had been trying to ‘help’ Bri with her wardrobe for years, and she wasn’t going to give up easily.
“Fine. I’ll try it, but no promises.” Bri dropped her robe to the floor. She’d known she’d wear a dress, so she already had her undergarments on. She didn’t mind wearing just a slip in front of the cousin who was practically her sister. They’d lived in one another’s pockets since they were tiny.
As soon as her cousin pulled down her dress, Bekah started nodding excitedly. “That’s the perfect dress. Let me fix your hair, and then you can look in the mirror. And I call dibs on makeup too!”
“Aren’t you supposed to be working?” Bri asked, frowning. She tugged at the neckline of the dress, trying to show just a bit less boobage. How could she possibly go out in public this way?
“Stop fussing with the neckline. I’ll make up the hour I miss this weekend.” Bekah took her shoulder and pushed her down onto the bed. “Wait there. I’m going to make you look like an angel still, but one who’s not quite so sweet.”
Bri sighed. “I normally look sour?”
Bekah shook her head. “No, I’m the sour one. You’re the sweet one. Get it right!”
Bri refused to reply to that. She watched instead as her cousin hurried from the room and came back with a makeup bag, hair brush, and blow dryer. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“I did my hair and makeup just this morning. I don’t look like a tramp or a troll, do I?”
“Is there nothing between tramp and troll?”
“Yup, there is! Me! Now hush up as I do this!” Bekah went to work on her shoulder-length hair first, blow-drying and using a round brush on it. When she was completely finished, she took a step back and nodded. “You’re going to have that man slipping in his own drool, because he won’t be able to quit salivating when he sees you.”
“Oh great. What if he sues me for hurting him, and we lose the B&B?”
“We’ll never lose B&B’s B&B. Now go look in the mirror!” Bekah stood expectantly, watching as her cousin walked slowly to the full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door that connected their rooms. “Well?”
Bri turned her head one way and then the other, liking how her hair bounced. Looking at how low the dress was, she started to reach up and try to pull it up again, but she realized that she showed less than Miss Piggy from The Muppets. If a Muppet could show that much cleavage, so could she.
“Are you sure I don’t look…well…trampy?”
“You look as wholesome as ever. You just don’t look quite as…umm…Disney-esque.”
“Disney-esque? Why do you make up weird words and then casually drop them into conversation as if they belong there!”
Bekah shrugged. “Because I can. It’s not like I’m campaigning to get the word into the dictionary.”
Bri frowned. “You know, I read that my favorite writer is actually doing that. She thinks bobilicious should be in the Oxford English Dictionary.”
“And now I know better why you’re so strange.” Bekah poked her cousin. “Well? Do you like it?”
Bri nodded. “I shouldn’t, but I do. I’m wearing it.” She turned to Bekah and hugged her. “Thank you for always being here when I need you.”
“That’s what cousins and business partners are for!” Bekah stepped back and studied Bri carefully. “You need a necklace. I have just the one!” She hurried to her room and came back with a pretty heart on a chain. “That’s perfect. Draws a little more attention to the girls. You know that’s all he’s going to be looking at anyway.”
Bri frowned, sticking her leg out. “Hey, my legs are good too! I have runner’s legs!”
“Oh, trust me, he’ll sneak a peek at those, but the girls look good tonight. He was really watching you at lunch today.”
“He gets on my nerves, but he’s cute.”
Bekah smiled. “I’m glad you’re giving him a chance. He seems like such a nice guy!”
Bri shrugged. “I’m sure it won’t go anywhere, because he’s totally not my type, but I’ll give him a shot.”
The doorbell rang, and Bri looked at the clock. “He’s five minutes early!”
“Being prompt is a good thing! Go down there!”
Bri took a deep breath, one hand going to her stomach to calm her nerves. Every date she’d ever been on had been with guys she’d known her entire life. It was nerve wracking to go out with a guy she’d just met.
Hurrying through the house, she opened the door to find Anthony in a suit and tie. She blinked a couple of times, surprised at how different he looked. He thrust a bouquet of flowers at her.
She took them and brought them to her nose. “Lilacs. My favorite! Let me put them in water, and then I’m ready to go.”
Anthony admired her as she walked away. “You should grab a coat. I hate to ruin the look, but it’s supposed to snow again tonight, and I don’t want you to freeze.”
She nodded, grabbing a coat from the front closet, only to have him take it from her and help her with it. She wasn’t used to manners like that, but she wasn’t about to complain. He seemed to be on his best behavior tonight. “Thank you so much for the flowers.”
“You’re welcome. I wanted to show you that I do know how to be a gentleman…when I try.”
She grinned, taking the arm he offered to get down the front steps. The shoes Bekah had slipped onto her feet were heels, and she rarely wore them. She was a no-nonsense type of girl, and she felt like she was playing dress-up tonight. “It’s good of you to try for me then.”
He drove them the short distance to Rive
r House in his mid-size SUV. “Have you always lived in Silver Springs?”
“Yup. My family actually started this town back in the 1800s. I can’t imagine living anywhere else. I even went to college at the Silver Springs branch of the University of Colorado. I lived at home until my grandmother died, and when my cousin and I inherited her house together, we moved in. We’ve been slowly doing renovations for the past two years, trying to get it ready to go. We both graduated in August, after the summer semester, and we’ve been working hard ever since.”
“Sorry about your grandmother.”
Bri sighed. “She was a pretty spectacular lady. I’ll never forget her.”
“Do your parents still live here?”
“Of course. My parents and my brother and my sister, and my six cousins.” She frowned. “Well, one of my cousins has been traveling for work, but most of us are here!”
He pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, and turned to her, his hand taking hers. “Before I forget, I want to tell you that you look beautiful tonight.”
She blushed. “Thank you. You look pretty good yourself.”
“Can I tell you a secret?”
“Sure.”
“I feel naked without my toolbelt.”
She blushed. “I feel kind of bare now that I’ve washed off all the green paint. I was going to give Elphaba a run for her money!”
“You’re really obsessed with that show, aren’t you?”
She nodded. “Well, yeah. With all musicals really.”
“You’re not going to start quoting one of those old sappy shows, are you?”
Bri leaned close, her lips against his ear. “I break into song at a moment’s notice!”
Anthony pulled back, looking into her eyes. “We should do something before we go into the restaurant.”
“What’s that?” She couldn’t believe how comfortable she was with him this evening when he’d been a royal pain in her behind all day. It was strange. Why did she suddenly have this little flutter in her tummy when she talked to him?
“We should get the first kiss out of the way.”
Rocky Mountain Mornings (Roberts of Silver Springs Book 1) Page 2