“I’m here too,” Dev argued. “And I’m of actual use now, so that ought to make a huge difference.”
“I know.” She reached over and patted his arm. “I wasn’t implying otherwise. I . . . I don’t know.”
Wright knew.
Sophie was hoping for the occasional moment of free time, same as him, because now they had an excellent use for it.
Trevor bounced his weight off the wall. “You know whatever work you get stuck with, I’ll help. I’ve been helping more too.”
Before Sophie could respond, the words were out of Wright’s mouth. “And I can help.”
Her gaze clashed with his.
Offering to help her wasn’t completely out of the ordinary, but it wasn’t common either.
Wright’s job at the resort was more streamlined than anyone’s. They weren’t going to let their chef take on the job of setting up chairs and tables or calling up a DJ or band to perform at an event.
He was food. He was always food, and if Honeywilde had something going on, he would be cooking.
There’d be no way for him to help Sophie, that was why he rarely offered, and what made his offer now so out of place.
“It’s funny you say that, Wright.” Roark tapped a white index card against the ink blotter on his desk, studying Wright, jaw set like he was about to lay down the law.
Uh-oh. Sophie’s oldest brother knew about them. How in the hell could Roark already know? He couldn’t know. Wright was screwed. He was going to be fired and get his ass kicked and lose his best friend, lose everything, including Sophie.
His heart kicked in his chest, heat spreading across his back, making him sweat. The sensation was only slightly worse than if he were locked in a lake shed in the summer heat.
“The Chamber’s board sent us their list of theme ideas, and they’re horrible and boring. At Sophie’s suggestion, I put Madison and Anna on it and they gave us a few options.”
Roark tapped the card again. “The ideas are all conducive to a semiformal environment. Guests will be in dinner jackets and cocktail dresses. The theme is really more about the décor and menu, which is why I’d prefer we pick our poison and get the Chamber to go along.”
“Enough with the dramatics already.” Dev snatched the card from his brother as Wright’s heart tried to skip back into rhythm, leaving him breathless.
“Carnival,” Dev read.
“No.” Wright and Sophie axed the idea in syncopation and she glared at him again.
“It’s overdone and can get tacky,” she explained.
Dev tilted his head. “Agreed. We want something classy, but unique. Something out of the ordinary.” He scanned the list, shaking his head at one or two more. “Ooh, I like this one. A Midsummer Night. Nice.”
“Of course you like that one, it was Anna’s idea.”
“What can I say, she has great taste.”
Sophie took the card away from Dev. “I like it too. An enchanted evening feel. Magical atmosphere.”
“I could come up with a menu that suits.” Wright nodded to himself. “Lots of rich food, but small plate items, European fusion style fare, plenty of drinks, people giving away their money. A fund raising gala sounds about right.”
Roark leaned forward. “I like it. We could wait until six for cocktails, dinner at seven, so it’ll only be hot for the first hour or so. But we’ll need food stations versus a lot of wait staff. Lots of food stations.” He looked at Wright. “Which is why I’m glad you want to help. They want a completely unique menu from what we normally serve. What you already have in mind sounds perfect. I want you to get with Steve on some signature drinks to complement the dishes. They’re paying us a lot of money to host this. Pull out all the stops so they get a good return from donations.”
In other words, fill them up on high-end food and beverage to make their wallets loose.
Wright didn’t have to look to know Sophie was staring. Her gaze buzzed against his skin as Roark kept talking and making notes in his phone. “To keep Sophie from doing too much and telling us all to taking a flying leap, Dev, I’d like you to head up the event. Sophie and Wright can take lead on operations and food, respectively. Trevor, you’ll be Soph’s right hand. Everybody okay with this?”
They’d all be working on another big event together, spending even more time with each other than usual, this time with him and Sophie teamed up to create a magical night for a bunch of strangers.
Great. All of them together, all the time. How could any of this possibly be a problem?
When Sophie gave him a warning glare, he realized he’d been staring at her. He jerked his gaze away. “Sounds like a good plan to me.”
Sophie began typing on her phone, likely making a list of things they’d need to do. She’d picked up the habit from Roark, but she held the phone, slender fingers dancing across the screen in a way Roark’s never could.
Wright had to tear his gaze away again. “Do you want me to create a few different menus and let you guys decide?”
Roark shared a look with Dev and smiled. “I think I speak for everyone when I say you have more knowledge and skill about designing a menu than any of us. Pick whatever you’d like. You make the executive decision. Something that fits with the night and can feed approximately one hundred people. We trust you.”
A knot formed in his gut.
They trusted him.
Only because they didn’t know he’d entertained offers from their competitors, talked to people who’d hire him away, move him hundreds of miles from here, and pay him twice what he was making now. Maybe more.
They trusted him because they didn’t know the way he felt about their sister. The way he saw her, the things he imagined.
Whether or not the latter should matter, he still felt the weight of guilt.
He and Sophie were adults, capable of making their own decisions, and it was no one else’s business, not even her brothers.
Still, his loyalty to the Bradleys ran deep. They were as much a second family to him as they were to Sophie.
She’d lost her parents but the Bradleys had filled that loss.
Her brothers’ approval mattered, to both of them. No matter how much Wright might insist their opinions didn’t count, they did. And if Dev knew about earlier today, in the lake shed, his head would spin around.
Sophie glanced up and caught him watching her. She gave him another pointed look, but amusement sparkled in her eyes as she shook her head.
Wright’s chest swelled, his limbs going warm and gooey at one little look, and he knew. Head spinning or not, he wasn’t going to stop this thing with her. If Sophie wanted him, he would never throw on the brakes. It wouldn’t be him to say no and walk away; it’d have to be her.
With a history of doing exactly that, she probably would, and he’d be left to clean up the mess. But even the thought of losing her someday wasn’t enough to deter him.
He’d deal with heartache and fallout if they came. Better to only be with Sophie for a little while than to never be with her at all.
“Good.” Roark slapped his hands together, and Wright jumped. “I’ll email the board and let them know we’re in. I’ll give them the theme idea and you guys can run with it. Keep me informed and I’ll keep the board informed.”
Dev glanced around at each of them and laughed.
“What?” Roark frowned.
“Oh, nothing. But you letting us run this whole show, while you play messenger? It’s—”
“Awesome,” Trevor filled in.
Everyone chuckled but Wright.
“I’m working on delegating more, lording less.” Roark rose from his chair.
Sophie tucked her phone into the pocket of her shorts. “We approve.”
The meeting was over and Wright needed to get back to the kitchen or there’d be no cookies or dinner for anyone, but he lingered. With steps much slower than his normal hauling-ass speed, he loitered outside Roark’s office until it became obvious he was lurking.
/>
He’d turned away, giving up, when Sophie finally emerged. She fell into step beside him, silent as they walked toward the kitchen. Her destination would be one of the tables in the restaurant where she often did paperwork before and after dinner service.
Almost every day, Wright saw her in the restaurant working, but today was unlike any of the others.
Next to him, Sophie laughed softly, shaking her head and checking behind them. “Nice work on the gala spin.”
“Thanks.”
“But you were so bad at everything else. Even with all of your experience.”
“Bad at what? What experience?”
She paused, turning toward him, her voice quiet. “Oh, come on. You’ve dated how many women?”
“Several.”
She stared, blank-faced.
“A lot. But I treated all of them well.”
“Yet you are horrible at playing it cool. You kept staring at me during the meeting, with this look.”
She began walking again and he waited until they reached the restaurant before taking her hand and tugging her into the kitchen. The dry pantry was the first door on the left. He dragged her inside. “What look?”
“That look.” She pointed at his face, but her smile dazzled, even in the poor light.
“I’ll try to do better next time, but it’s not my fault. You look so good and I keep thinking about earlier.”
“Then stop thinking.” Her gaze danced away. “But me too.”
He stepped closer. “I have to start making cookies.”
“I know.”
“Then I have to start dinner. I won’t have any free time until after we close, and tonight will be late.” He wanted one last kiss. Something to hold them over until . . . until who knew when.
Her fingers laced with his, she pulled him to bend down. “I know. But seeing as how we work together, I imagine we’ll run into one another very soon.”
That was one of the perks of their situation. No matter how late he finished tonight, he’d definitely see her tomorrow.
“Plus, I know where to find you if I need you.” Her smile clenched his heart as she rose and pressed her lips to his.
The kiss wasn’t one of desperate need, like before. Gentle and unhurried, it soothed a wave of anxiety that he didn’t understand. He brushed their lips together and wanted to say he’d always be right here, but he couldn’t make that promise anymore.
For now, though, he wasn’t going anywhere.
Sophie leaned away. “And I promise not to hide this time.”
“Doesn’t matter.” He gave her hand a squeeze before finally letting go. “I’ll always find you.”
Chapter 9
The next morning, Sophie popped her head into the kitchen to say hey to Wright and was immediately swept up into a housekeeping emergency.
They were short-staffed on housekeeping already, and one of her employees called in sick. After cleaning some of the guest rooms herself, she sat down to complete the online posting to find a new housekeeper today. Hiding at the bar after the lunch rush, she typed furiously, determined to knock that off her list.
Then Devlin parked it on the stool next to her.
“Hey.” He was a little breathless. “What are you doing?”
“Working.” She kept typing. “What are you doing?”
“I need you to run an errand with me. Real quick.”
He got the side eye for that one. “Right now?”
“Yes. It won’t take long, I promise.”
“Can’t Trevor help you?”
“Absolutely not. I need your help.”
She grumbled and moaned at his insistence, even though she’d never tell Dev no.
“I mean it, Soph. I need you.”
Slowly, realization began to dawn. Dev wouldn’t demand her help, and only her help, unless it was something private. He trusted her the most, and the only private thing he had going on nowadays was Anna.
“Wait, are you—”
“Don’t ask questions. Say you’ll go with me.” His blue eyes practically glowed with excitement. “Come on. Close the laptop and put it away. We won’t be gone half an hour.”
Her voice conspiratorially low, she leaned close. “Where are we going? Nothing around here takes less than half an hour. It takes ten minutes just to get off the mountain.”
His smirk was classic Dev. Unruffled with a whiff of brotherly judgment. “Would you stop fretting and move your butt already? We won’t be gone long. I promise.”
Twenty minutes later, they were inside Larkin’s Jewelers, staring at two of the prettiest engagement rings she’d ever seen.
“I can’t decide which one to get Anna.”
She tried blinking away the burn in her eyes. “Awww, Dev.” She wasn’t going to cry; she was not going to cry.
Both diamonds were set in in platinum, one a classic Tiffany-style solitaire, the other a vintage style with the round-cut diamond surrounded in a halo of tiny diamonds.
“They’re both gorgeous.” Sophie turned the vintage style in the light, making it sparkle.
“Thanks. I have a favorite, but I need you to weigh in. I want to be sure I make the right choice.”
Sophie considered both rings. He really couldn’t go wrong either way, but which one would Anna love most? “I don’t know. You know her best, which one do you think?”
“Nuh-uh.” He shook his head. “That’s cheating. I want you to give me your honest opinion.”
Anna was classic and stylish, like the clean-lined solitaire. But since she’d met Dev, she was a little bolder and free. She was still classic, but Anna was far from ordinary. A ring like anyone else’s would never do, and it certainly wouldn’t do for Dev.
“This one.” Sophie held up the vintage halo one, the clarity so spectacular she could almost see rainbows.
“You sure?” Dev grinned and held out his hand.
She put the ring in her brother’s palm. “I’m positive. This one has my vote.”
He sighed, his knees giving way a bit. “Thank God.”
Behind the counter, Mr. Larkin, the town’s top jeweler since 1970-something, chuckled.
“What?” Anna looked back and forth between them.
“Your brother had that ring special made. I think he would’ve up and died if you said it was ugly.” Mr. Larkin turned to get a ring box and cleaning cloth.
Sophie stared at Dev. “You had the ring made for Anna?” The pleasant burn of tears returned.
“I did.” His grin grew, and then fell. “Uh-oh. Don’t you start. You’ll be all blotchy when we get back and people will start asking questions.”
“It’s so romantic.” One tear welled up. “You’re getting married.”
Dev handed Mr. Larkin the ring and took her by the elbow, leading her away from the counter. “Not today, I’m not. I’m . . . preparing. No waterworks yet. I need you to keep it together if I’m going to get through this.”
“Why? Are you nervous?”
“What do you think?” He held up his right hand, and it trembled.
Who would’ve ever thought? Devlin Bradley. Nervous.
“You don’t have to be nervous.” Sophie pushed his hand down.
“What if it’s too soon?”
Sophie laughed. “It is quick and maybe it’s too soon for some people, but you and Anna aren’t some people. The timing is perfect.”
Devlin was never going to be the kind of guy to date Anna for a year, be practical about time and wait patiently. Heck no. Her brother was in love and leaping, and she bet Anna wouldn’t have it any other way. “She’s going to say yes. You know she’ll say yes.”
“Will she?”
“Come on.” Sophie made a show of rolling her eyes. Anna and Dev loved each other so much it was a little bit sickening. “Of course she will. When are you going to ask her?”
“I don’t know. I had to get the ring first, and now . . . now I guess I better figure something out. I want it to be special.”
/> Her brother. Getting married. Earlier this year, she would’ve laughed in the face of anyone who said Dev would be hitched before Christmas. But the truth was, he would be, and they were perfect together.
Anna accepted Dev for exactly who he was. She didn’t want to change him, but having her in his life made Dev happier, and that made him a better person.
Sophie was thrilled for her brother, and shamefully envious of what he had.
What she wanted didn’t make sense. She longed for that kind of relationship and was simultaneously scared to death. To have that connection with someone might be wonderful, but it made you vulnerable. Too vulnerable. Even as she coveted what she saw in others, she couldn’t imagine herself in Dev’s position.
She’d never been in Dev’s position.
After a few dates, she ran off every guy she dated. Even the two or three decent ones didn’t last. The longer they stuck around, the closer they became, and as they grew closer, she got nervous.
Intimacy, not only the physical but the emotional, was terrifying.
The last guy she liked, she drove crazy, right before she’d driven him away. To this day she hadn’t lived down that reputation.
There were still rumors about her messing with poor Paul’s head. That’s what they called him. Poor Paul. She’d gone out with him for almost two months. A record for her.
They’d even had sex, but he kept insisting she was “distant” or “indifferent.” When she did finally open up to him, she wanted reassurance from him. She needed to know that he was there for her, that her feelings, and fears, were valid.
Suddenly she was too “needy” and “paranoid,” and that’s when they’d broken up in dramatic, glorious fashion.
Paul’s friends still gave her wary looks if they ran into her.
“I should probably tell Wright I found a ring.” Dev leaned over to look at a case of watches. “He might have some suggestions about a way to pop the question. He always has suggestions.”
“Yeah. He’s good at suggestions.” Among other things.
Lord above. And now there was Wright.
A Taste of Temptation Page 9