Mike laughed again and pointed his spatula toward Brock. “She’s got you there, buddy.”
“Before I forget,” Brock said, changing the subject, “I had Brenna invite one of her friends tonight. I didn’t think you’d mind.”
“The more the merrier.” Mike stacked burgers on a plate. His handsome face broke into a broad grin as he turned to Brenna. “Can she cook like you?”
“Nope. She can barely make toast or boil water.” Brenna shook her head, recalling Kat’s disastrous attempts at cooking. “I’ve tried to teach her but she isn’t a very willing student.”
“Is she like you? Have a sweet personality?” Mike hoped there was something redeeming about the girl.
“Not a bit.” Brenna tried not to squirm when Brock tickled her sides.
“Is she shy?”
“I don’t think that is a word anyone would use to describe her.” Brenna’s eyes twinkled with mischief.
“What does she look like?” Mike asked as they left the patio and walked back inside the kitchen.
“You know the girl that does the morning news show?” Brenna struggled to keep a smirk off her face.
“The leggy blond that looks like she should be a model for Victoria’s Secret? That news girl?” Mike’s enthusiastic interest was palpable as he set the platter of burgers on the counter.
“Yeah, that’s the one.” Brenna nodded her head, maintaining a serious expression. “She doesn’t look a thing like her either.”
Brock howled with laughter and playfully jabbed Mike’s shoulder.
“Brenna, you are so going to get yours.” Mike sent her a warning glare, tempered by a sheepish grin. “That was not cool. Not at all.”
“But it was funny.” Brock thumped Mike’s shoulder again as Levi walked inside the front door carrying bags of ice and hamburger buns.
“Sorry. I got off work late and the traffic was awful then I got stuck behind two old ladies at the store who kept arguing over who was more romantic, Cary Grant or Clark Gable,” Levi said, dumping his load on the counter.
Silence followed Levi to the kitchen as everyone stopped to look at the tall, dark-haired beauty confidently striding across the room toward Brenna.
“Cary Grant,” Kat said as she walked up behind them and smiled at Brenna. “Hands down, he wins. Smoldering good looks, smooth voice, and just the right amount of humor tied up in a handsome package.”
“Kat!” Brenna cried, throwing her arms around her friend and giving her a warm hug. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too, Brenna.” Kat stepped back, but held onto Brenna’s hands. “Look at you. Being in love definitely agrees with you.”
Brenna blushed, but pulled Kat closer to Brock and his friends. Jett dropped the chip he was eating when he spied Kat, dribbling salsa down his shirt. Ned coughed, trying to dislodge the olive he swallowed when she came in the door. Mike stood open-mouthed while Levi remained positively transfixed.
“Hey, guys, this is my friend, Kathleen. She and I worked together at Harchett Industries. Kat this is Mike and Levi, hosts of the party this evening, and our friends Jett and Ned.”
Mike recovered first, welcoming Kat to his home. Jett and Ned spluttered something and escaped to the living room until they could regain the ability to speak.
Levi stared at Kat for so long, Brenna wondered if he might be ill. Finally, he took Kat’s hand in his and smiled.
“Cary Grant it is, then,” Levi said, kissing the back of Kat’s hand in a show of gallantry Mike and Brock would have said was impossible for him to pull off. “Welcome to our humble abode.”
“Thanks for having me.” Kat stared back at Levi with a look of interest Brenna hadn’t seen before.
Levi, just a year younger than Mike and the same age as Brock, didn’t seem like the type of guy Kat would normally date. He worked with troubled teens and took odd jobs to make extra money since his position was not one that paid well monetarily, although he said the feeling he got helping “his kids” more than made up for it.
Tall and handsome, in a rugged sense, Levi was the more serious, quiet one of the two brothers. That alone made Brenna even more surprised by Kat’s interest in him. She usually went for the lively life-of-the-party types.
As the evening wound down and guests began to leave, Brock offered to drive Kat home, since she’d taken a cab to the party. Levi volunteered to give her a ride and she accepted, hugging Brenna as she headed toward the door.
“I can’t thank you enough for inviting me to this party, Brenna. We’ll definitely have to talk later.” Kat gave Brenna one more quick hug then followed Levi down the hall.
“You’ve besotted my brother with a beautiful wench,” Mike teased as Brock and Brenna helped him clean the kitchen.
“I wouldn’t let Kat hear you call her a wench,” Brenna advised as they wiped down the counters and put away the remaining food. “You wouldn’t like the reaction.”
“Good to know.” Mike grinned at Brenna and Brock. He was still in shock over Levi’s reaction to the beautiful and charming Kathleen. “Can you believe him?”
“I’ve never seen him act quite so interested in a woman before,” Brock agreed.
“Interested? Are you blind, dude? He was practically drooling at her feet.” Mike waggled a finger at Brock. “It’s all your fault for dragging this little matchmaker into our midst.”
“Hey! I didn’t plan on setting either of them up,” Brenna said in her own defense. “It just happened. Maybe it was meant to be. Maybe ten years from now when Uncle Mike is bouncing a beautiful dark-haired niece on his lonely bachelor’s knee, he’ll remember who introduced the two lovebirds.”
“Isn’t it time for you to take this sassy little miss home?” Mike raised an eyebrow Brock’s direction while placing a hand on Brenna’s head and ruffling her curls. “The later it gets, the lippier she becomes.”
Brenna playfully slugged Mike in the ribs. He grabbed his side, feigning dire pain.
“Hospital, man! Hospital! I’ve been attacked by a butterfly.” Mike flopped across the counter before winking at Brenna.
Due to Brock’s home project, Brenna spent many hours getting to know Brock’s friends while they helped him work on the house. Although big and imposing, Brenna knew Mike was really a teddy bear at heart.
“Let’s get out of here, coffee girl. I’ve had about all I can take of this big lug.” Brock grabbed Brenna’s hand and led her to the door as Mike followed.
“Thanks for the party, Mike. It was really nice.” Brenna stretched up to kiss his cheek when he bent down toward her. “I’m glad you liked the cookies.”
“What’s not to like about double chocolate chip loaded with nuts?” Mike asked, remembering Brenna hid a few for him in the cereal cupboard before his friend’s ate them all.
“Later, man.” Brock bumped fists with Mike as he escorted Brenna out the door.
On the drive home, Brock and Brenna discussed who was at the party. They laughed over the way Ned and Jett sat in a corner, engaged in an intense argument about a pretty redhead Mike worked with who attended the party. She left without giving either of them an interested glance.
Brock started to turn down her street, but Brenna remembered she’d left her car at the store.
“Can you run me by the store so I can pick up my car, please?”
“No problem.” Brock switched direction and drove to Letty’s shop.
The only car parked on that stretch of the block, since all the shops were closed, was Brenna’s.
He pulled in next to her car and ran around to open her door. Before she climbed out of his truck, he lavished her with such heated, fervent kisses, Brenna wondered if the rubber on the bottom of her shoes might melt.
Finally, he placed his hands on her waist and lifted her out of the pickup then walked her the few steps to her car.
“Thanks for the date, construction man. I really enjoyed it.” She leaned into Brock, absorbing his warmth and strengt
h.
“Anytime, coffee girl. I’m glad you had a good time.” Brock ran his hands up and down her back as he held her close, deeply breathing in her scent. He bent his head and trailed kisses down her neck, nibbled on her ear, then gave her one more scorching kiss before watching her slide into the car. “See you tomorrow?”
“Absolutely.” Brenna blew him a kiss through the car’s open window. “Love you.”
“Love you, too, baby.” Brock winked at her then ran back around to his truck.
Brenna drove home in a dreamy state, not noticing the car that sat across the street from her parent’s house or the man sitting inside. Distracted by thoughts of Brock, she got out of her car and started up the walk when a she felt herself spun around. A hand on her mouth was the only thing that kept her from screaming loud enough to wake her parents as well as every neighbor in a three-block radius.
When she recognized her would-be attacker, she grabbed his hand and pinched it hard until he dropped it by his side.
“Will, you idiot! You scared me half to death. What’s the big idea?” Brenna glared at him, angry and disturbed by his behavior.
“I need to talk to you but I get the idea you’ve been avoiding me,” Will whined. He rubbed the spot on his hand where Brenna pinched him. “You didn’t have to pinch me.”
She felt like slapping him upside the head and kicking him a few times, too, but managed to restrain herself. “Honestly, I have been avoiding you. I’m tired of telling you that I won’t take you back and you don’t seem to be getting the message. Will, I’m not interested in dating you again. Not now, not ever. Why can’t you just accept that and move on?”
“Because I love you.” Will traced his thumb across Brenna’s cheek, causing her to slap at his hand. “You’re my girl.”
“For the last time, Will, I’m not your girl. I haven’t been your girl for a very long time and I have no desire to be your girl ever again. What is it going to take to convince you I’m not interested?” If she hadn’t been so mad, she might have been frightened by the odd look in Will’s eyes. “You are the most thick-headed man I’ve ever met. I don’t want to see you anymore. If you don’t quit stalking me, I won’t even be able to be your friend. Can you understand that?”
“But, Rennie, we’re so good together and I …” Will sounded weak and desperate.
“We were never good together. We were barely ever together at all,” Brenna fumed, wanting to stamp her foot, preferably on top of Will’s. “Just leave me alone.”
“You don’t mean it.” Will grabbed Brenna by the shoulders and roughly pressed his lips to hers. Brenna struggled against him, trying to land a kick to his shin, when she felt herself pulled against something solid and warm. She took a deep breath and inhaled the scents of cedar, musk and Brock.
Will stumbled back and fell to the sidewalk.
“Leave her alone.” Brock’s tone was low, dangerous, and laced with warning. Brenna turned and buried her face against his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist.
Brock ran a comforting hand along her back while clenching his other hand in a fist at his side. He’d started driving toward his house when he felt an indescribable nudge to make sure Brenna arrived home safely.
Quickly turning around, he stopped at her house in time to see a man pull her into an embrace. He jumped out of his truck as Brenna started fighting against the man. Brock knew it had to be Will.
“You don’t understand.” Will got to his feet and took a step back, away from the anger shooting off Brock.
“I do understand.” The muscle in Brock’s jaw twitched. “What you don’t understand is that Brenna can get a restraining order against you. She can see your sorry backside sit in jail for stalking and harassment. You really need to get some help. Now go before I call the cops.”
“But I…”
“Go!” Brock raised his voice just enough to sound like thunder, although in truth it was still quiet in the stillness of the evening.
Brock waited until Will drove off to pick up Brenna and carry her to the porch. He sat on the swing, holding her on his lap and letting her cry.
“It’s okay, Brenna. He’s gone. It’s fine, baby,” Brock soothed, waiting for her tears to stop.
When she finally sat up and wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands, she gave Brock a watery grin. “Once again, you come to my rescue.”
Her tear-filled eyes turned Brock’s heart to butter. He’d do anything for the woman in his arms. She meant more to him than anything in the world.
“Anytime you need to be rescued, coffee girl, I’ll be there,” Brock assured her, hoping what he said would prove to be true. The way Will chased her had gone from annoying to crazy. Brock would die if anything happened to Brenna. “Did he hurt you? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. He mostly scared me and made me mad.” Brenna slid off Brock’s lap and straightened her spine. Her gaze narrowed as she stared down the street in the direction Will had gone. Brock could see her temper flare. “It makes me so ticked to think of him skulking around, following me. How dare he?”
Brock kept his grin to himself. He knew Brenna would be fine if she was angry.
“I can see his problem.” Brock wrapped his arms around Brenna from behind and kissed her temple. “I’d have a hard time letting you go, especially to a handsome, charming, stunning man like the one you’ve got now.”
“You are the most conceited thing.” Brenna laughed as she turned in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly then pulled back just far enough to give him a tender kiss. “Thank you for saving me, letting me cry, and making me laugh.”
“You’re welcome. Now get inside and don’t give Will another thought. If you do want to file for a restraining order, you certainly can,” Brock said, walking backward down the porch steps.
“I hate to do that, especially considering his dad and my dad work together and he’s been a friend of Greg’s for so long. Let’s hope he learned his lesson and will leave me alone.”
“Yeah, let’s hope.” Brock worried it would take more than warnings from him and the threat of getting the tar beaten out of him for Will to leave Brenna alone. He hid his distress behind a smile, catching the kiss Brenna blew to him. He watched as she went inside and locked the door behind her.
Grateful for the prompting that urged him to follow her, he wouldn’t let himself think of what might have happened if he hadn’t shown up. Then again, knowing Brenna and her temper, she might have just taught Will a lesson right there in the front yard.
Brock almost wished he could have seen her clean the idiot’s clock.
Chapter Fourteen
“Are you girls ready? Tomorrow is the big day.” Brandon passed a platter of grilled steaks around the table. In celebration of the store’s big grand opening the following day, they’d gathered for a family dinner at Letty and Brandon’s house.
Since Brenna’s relatives considered Brock an unofficial part of the family, everyone expected him to join them for the meal.
“I can’t believe it’s finally here.” Brenna took a helping of twice-baked potatoes before passing them to Brock. His knee bumped hers under the table and she gave him a secret smile. “I just hope everything goes well.”
“You ladies have worked so hard, how can it be anything but successful?” Greg kissed Avery on the cheek.
“Here’s to our girls and Trio Designs.” Brandon held his glass up in a toast.
“To our girls,” Greg and Brock echoed.
When they finished the meal, Avery looked at Greg. Almost imperceptibly, he nodded his head, giving her permission to go ahead with their plans.
She tapped a spoon against her water glass to get everyone’s attention. All eyes turned to her and she took a deep breath before she spoke. “We’ve got a little announcement we wanted to share and tonight seemed like a good time.” Avery’s eyes filled with moisture as she glanced around the table.
“What’s that, honey?” Brando
n asked, smiled at his oldest daughter with love and pride.
“Well, by Christmas, we’ll have one more addition at the store.” Avery looked at her mom then Brenna.
“Addition? You’re not remodeling again are you?” Brandon frowned turning his gaze from his wife to Avery.
Letty’s face appeared blank and a little pale until Avery nodded at her in answer to an unspoken question. She released an ear-piercing scream that had Brenna scrambling out of her chair and running around the table to hug her sister.
As the three women hugged each other and bounced around in a circle, Brock and Brandon looked to Greg for an explanation.
“Not remodeling at the store, Dad.” Greg grinned broadly. “But we might need Brock to do some work at the house. We’ll need a nursery.”
It took a moment for the words to sink in before a smile lit Brandon’s face and he gave Greg a hearty slap on the back. Brock got to his feet and extended his hand to Greg across the table with an enthusiastic “congratulations.”
The women stopped dancing and crying, regaining their seats.
“I propose another toast.” Brandon held his glass up again. “To our new baby.”
Brenna smiled at Avery. Her dad’s reference to the baby belonging to them all was accurate, because they would all stake a claim on the little one when it arrived.
Later, as Brenna and Brock sat outside on the porch swing in the warmth of an early June evening, they talked about Avery’s news.
“It’s going to be hard to top that.” Brock held Brenna’s hand to his heart with his arm wrapped around her shoulders.
“I don’t think anything tops first grandbaby.” Brenna settled against Brock and enjoyed the quiet of twilight surrounding them.
“You girls certainly know how to pack a lot of excitement into a very short period of time,” Brock teased. “The grand opening of your shops is enough, but I bet you three already have the nursery planned, the names selected, and are deliberating on what preschool the kid will attend.”
The Coffee Girl Page 18