Love, Laughter, and Happily Ever Afters Collection (Eight Fun, Romantic Novels by Eight Bestselling Authors)
Page 24
Pulling out a twenty, she slid it over to him. âIâm fine. Thanks for calling me.â
âI already charged the standard tip for his drinks on his card, hon. You can put your money away.â
With a determined stare, she walked over and shoved the bill at him. âThis tip is my ridiculously small way of saying thanks. Not every bartender would take the time to go through a drunk customerâs phone or find out which bike is his. You did. You didnât just boot his ass into a cab and leave his bike out in front to get stolen. You genuinely care. I heard it when you called and Iâm looking at it now. Youâre a good bartender and an even better guy. Take the tip or not, your choice.â She shrugged. âIâm just going to leave it on the counter regardless.â
Then she just up and walked away.
Holy shit. The little hellion was more potent than a shot of illegal moonshine.
And evidently, he wasnât the only one who thought so.
Reaching over to pocket the twenty, the bartender couldnât take his eyes of Tessa. âSugar, if your boyfriend wasnât looking ready to tackle me, Iâd be embarrassing myself in front of all my regulars right now begging you for your number.â
Tessa laughed. That damn, captivating laugh that had a half dozen heads at the bar turning her way. âThatâs my friend Brian. Heâs not my boyfriend.â
An amused chuckle rang out from behind the bar. âTell him that.â
Smart bartender.
Tessa tossed them both a puzzled look and went over to retrieve her friendâa guy that couldâve passed as a bouncer for this very bar. Even though he was too drunk to stay on his feet without swaying, the second he saw Brian, the manâs frame went stiff, fists at the ready as he exchanged a few hushed words with Tessa. One drunkenly blinking eye on Brian the entire time.
With an arm wrapped around his waist, Tessa walked Isaac out of the bar, exchanging mollifying introductions as she walked Isaac over to the row of bikes out front. It wasnât until Tessa mentioned him being Connorâs brotherâand just a friend sheâd spent the night discussing HD testing withâthat Isaac eased off with the suspicious glaring.
Seemed like the need to protect her wasnât his compulsion alone.
Brian watched then as Isaac barely managed to throw his leg over his Harley.
âTessa, you canât be serious. The guy is too drunk to sit up, let alone hold on to you. Heâll take you both down if you try and ride double with him.â
The corner of her lip rose up. âAre you offering to ride double with him instead?â
He scowled at her. âIâm being serious. Were you telling the bartender the truth? Do you really know how to even ride this thing?â
âYes. I took lessons years ago.â She met his eyes quietly. âIt was one of the things Willow always wanted to do.â
He cataloged that info to read more into later. âStill, this is dangerous and you know it.â He helped Isaac off the bike. âCâmon, letâs get him in the SUV. Then you drive and Iâll follow you on the bike.â
She pulled back. âHave you ridden a Harley V-Rod before?â
Admittedly, no. But heâd driven a few dirt bikes when he was younger and the occasional buddyâs motorcycle in college. âIt canât be that different a ride.â
With a fierce headshake, she clutched Isaacâs keys tighter. âSorry, no can do. Iâm not letting you near the bike.â
Annoyed, he bit back. âIâm not going to wreck it.â
Surprised, she looked up. âI was worried about you hurting yourself. But yes, now that you mention it, I canât let anything happen to the bike either. But I will take you up on the offer of putting Isaac in the SUV. Itâll save me from using his belt to buckle his arms around me like last time.â
He came to a stuttering halt. âYou did what last time? Tessa, the guyâs got a hundred pounds on you, easy.â
âI didnât get on the freeway or anything,â she defended, chin raised stubbornly. âIsaac has actually never come to this bar before. Normally, he sticks to bars in Mesa or Tempe. Since I donât exactly know where he lives, I usually just coast us over to get some coffee and food in him to sober him up enough to ride back to my place where he sleeps it off. And I go really slowly. You could call me Fred Flintstone by the way I ride.â
Such an illogically weird reference, that, for some reason made him want to protect her even more.
âFine. You ride the bike. But just because Iâm morbidly curious to see if you can actually adhere to a speed limit. You go slow though, you hear? Iâm talking granny-on-a-scooter slow. Iâll be right behind you the entire time.â
Smiling, she suddenly jumped up and kissed him on the cheek. Out of the clear blue sky.
âWhat was that for?â he asked gruffly, wanting seconds.
âYour alpha-protectiveness. Itâs growing on me. Itâs sweet.â
Sweet? That was the last description he wanted to hear coming from her mouth. He didnât want Tessa to think of him as the sweet guy she could just give an innocent peck on the cheek to.
He wanted more.
âShe meant it as a compliment,â came the slurred commentary from his backseat.
Brian glanced up in the rearview mirror.
Isaac blinked at him slowly. âTessa. She hasnât had sweet guys in her life. Itâs actually a hell of a compliment.â
And then he passed out again.
Huh. Brian processed that drunken revelation later while half-dragging Isaac up to Tessaâs little one-bedroom apartment. After dropping him onto her living room couch, Brian motioned for Tessa to follow him back outside.
âWhy donât I stay over tonight too?â he offered. âJust give me a spare pillow; Iâm fine sleeping on the ground. Better to be safe than sorry. I mean I know heâs crashed here before, but letâs face it, heâs really drunk and heâs a guy.â
She gave him a reassuring headshake. âYou donât have to worry about Isaac. He wouldnât try anything, trust me. Heâs in love with a woman from his past. Random flings are the only thing heâs open to while he waits on her. And thatâs just never going to happen with us.â
No, just as heâd thought. A girl like Tessa wouldnât be open to just a fling.
Then again, for a girl like Tessa, Brian wasnât sure heâd be open to just a fling either.
âIsaac and I have been friends too long,â she continued. âAnd since I donât have a whole lot of friends, I make it a point not to fling or get flung by one.â
Funny, Brian would think a woman as full of life as Tessa would have a ton of friends.
âI guess you could say weâre more like each otherâs emergency brake if we ever find ourselves sliding backward down a hill.â She shrugged. âNo muss, no fuss. We just know to screech the other to a halt since we already know exactly what the other is going through.â
Been there. Never really had that.
âSo heâs in your phone directory too?â he asked, envious over that somehow. He wanted to know Tessa as fully as Isaac seemed to. Though even then, she was so fiercely independent, he wondered how fully anyone truly knew her.
âYeah, but not as a drunk-in-the-bar contact. Just as Isaac. I guess Iâve never used the emergency brake âadvanced featureâ of our friendship.â
Then whatâs kept her from crashing all these years?
âHand me your phone,â he said gently.
Giving him a look, she passed it over, a faint smile on her lips as she watched him type something into her phone. When his phone rang a moment later, he disconnected her end and gave it back to her while quickly typing in something on his own phone.
He watch
ed her curiously scroll through her friend directoryâa short scrollâand smile wider when she saw the new name heâd put in her contacts list. ââIf I Just Did Something Insane,ââ she read aloud with a chuckle. Then she looked up and read his screen, which he was displaying with the contacts entry he put for her phone number, âCaution—Crazy Woman.â
She laughed. âNice.â
âOh, and I put my cell phone number in there instead of my landline because I donât want to be getting whatâs sure to be daily calls of insane reportings on my home phone.â
She whacked him in the gut in relaxed humor. He caught her hand and tugged her closer, enjoying the return of her smile with a long lost ease that was as welcome as it was confusing, as turbulent as it was comfortable.
Smoothing her hair back, he gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. âDonât do this by yourself anymore, sweetheart. If youâll let meâand I really hope you doâIâll be your emergency brake from now on. Whenever, wherever.â
He climbed in his SUV and started it up, rolling down the window before he shifted into gear. âAnd could you do me one huge favor?â he called out.
She smiled hesitantly. âSure.â
âLock your bedroom door tonight. I know heâs your friend and all, but the thought of him being just a few feet from you in bed is killing meâ¦almost as much as itâs killing me to think of you sleeping anywhere but my bed tonight.â
At her quiet gasp, he just gazed at her for a parting second before saying softly, âSweet dreams, Tessa. I had a great night.â
CHAPTER FOUR
ALL WEEK, sheâd thought about the feel of his lips on her skinâ¦about being in his bed…about being in his bed while he did more than just kiss her cheek like a gentleman.
Today alone, sheâd been so hot and bothered by all the possibilities, sheâd had to restart the prep on three dishes for tonightâs catering event.
She had it bad.
âHey Tessa. Sorry weâre a little late.â
At the sound of Connorâs voice, Tessa glanced up and smiled.
âHey guys. Are we late?â
At the sound of that second voice from the other entrance, Tessaâs smile frozeâ¦and her heart rate went from a trot to a gallop. What the heck is Brian doing here?
Funny how the two brothers sounded so alike and yet Brianâs voice was the one that had her nearly forgetting why she was holding a tasting fork in each hand. She turned just in time to see Connor look over at his brother in surprise.
âHey, man. I didnât know you were helping Tessa out tonight, too.â
Neither did I.
Even though Brianâs eyes shifted over to address Connor, Tessa could still feel his attention on her.
Okay, seriously, why were her hands still holding two folks midair?
Right, tasting. While the guys chatted, she awkwardly jammed a fork in both of their directions. âWant a taste?â she offered lamely, blushing when she saw the sizzling hot awareness in Brianâs eyes dial up to scorching as he answered her silently.
Yes.
Tessa quickly spun back around to the stove, their murmured compliments over the food barely audible over the blood pounding in her ears.
Hearing the loud, jovial sounds of Abby and Skylar gabbing away as they entered the ballroom kitchen was her only saving grace. Grabbing two more tasting forks, she took a sample of two different entrées and greeted them without missing a beat. âHi Abby. Hey Skylar. Burgundy-braised pork loins in this one, and the other is stuffed beef tenderloin.â
âYum,â praised Skylar. âCrazy good stuffing.â
âThis pork is like butter,â chimed in Abby. âYou seriously need to teach me how to make this glaze. Iâd eat it by the bowl-full.â
Finally feeling her nerves settle, Tessa smiled. âOh good. I was pretty sure I didnât screw it up, but I donât usually handle much more than the prep and finish for the non-dessert dishes. I mean Iâve helped Lana do individual steps of almost all the dishes a bunch of times, but Iâm definitely a better baker than I am a cook.â She mentally stuck a tasting fork into her brain to stop her rambling. âAnyway, thank you guys again for swooping in to help at the last minute. This is the first time Lana has been sick during an event.â
Tessa knew sheâd only managed to turn it down from a ramble to a babble but she was downright frazzled. And it wasnât just because of Brianâs nerve-wracking presence. It was because of the entire event itself.
Her ten-year high school reunion.
Sort of.
To avoid that train wreck of a reminder altogether, she just switched her brain to autopilot. She could do this. This was just like any event. And Brian was no different than the other helpers they sometimes booked for bigger events.
Riiight.
She plastered on a big smile and dove in feet first.
âConnor, Abby, could you two set up the dessert station for me? I have a photo of the standard set-up we use over by the serving carts. There will be five trays of desserts so if you could just space it accordingly, that would be awesome.â
âNo problem.â Abby went over to grab the photo and quickly ushered Connor out the door.
Grabbing two pitchers, Tessa handed them over to Skylar. âIâve left all the chafersâthose metal trays that keep the food warmâat the serving stations out in the ballroom. Do you think you and your dad could take these pitchers and fill each of the pans out there with about an inch of water and then get the fire going on them? Iâll have all food ready to go out when the water gets hot enough.â
âSure.â Skylar headed over to the sinks at the other end of the kitchen to fill the pitchers.
Then at the drop of a footstep, the kitchen suddenly felt no bigger than a broom closet.
Tessa didnât even have to look up to know that Brian was now standing beside her.
âI didnât get a chance to say hi. I like the blue hair, by the way. Maybe even better than the pink and purple.â He placed a kiss on her cheek. The other cheek, this time.
Not that she was keeping track or anything.
âHey, Tessa did you want us toââ Connorâs voice halted mid-sentence and disappeared as he got jerked by the collar right back out of the doorway.
Tessa blushed. âI take it Abby was the one that asked you to come help?â
âYep. In what was the most obvious set-up of all set-ups.â
Her cheeks were going to burst in flames at this rate.
And feeling the back of his fingers brush over her heated skin didnât help the cause one bit.
âBrian, I have no idea why she did that. I swear, I havenât even told her we went to dinner last week.â
He grabbed the candle lighter and volleyed back, âWho said the set-up was on your behalf?â before heading over to help Skylar carry out the pitchers.
CONNOR CORNERED ABBY at the far end of the buffet station, out of earshot from Skylar. âIs someone sticking her cute little nose in where it doesnât belong?â
His impish wife looked up and batted her lashes at him. âWhat do you mean? Tessa needed the help. And when I heard how big the event was, I figured itâd be best to call Brian.â
Uh huh. âFor an event involving cooking?â
âWhiiich is why I also called in Skylar.â
Connor chuckled. âSo Brian talked to you about Tessa, huh?â
In an instant, her grin vanished and turned into a piqued pout. âWait, Brianâs been mentioning Tessa to you?â
Shit. Major guy-code violation. âNo,â he backpedaled. âNot specificallyâ¦â
âYouâre lying!â It was an indignant, hands-on-hips huff. Cute as hell.
âPossibly,â he fessed up, smiling as he offered graciously, âOf course I might know for sure if Iâm lying or not if you tell me what Tessaâs been telling you about Brian.â
Brian and Tessa were so going to kick their asses for this.
Abby maintained military silence for all of three seconds before her curiosity got the better of her. âOkay, Tessa hasnât been talking to me about Brian per se. But she did comment out of the blue once that Brian is really alpha intense.â
He blinked. âAnd youâre sure she was talking about Brian Sullivan?â His brain couldnât even find a long enough thread to link the two descriptors to his brother.
Bobbing her head excitedly, she was practically giddy. âThatâs why I invited him tonight.â
Connor chuckled. âWell, this is going to be interesting.â
THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME since Connorâs wedding that Brian was seeing Tessa all buttoned up in that white catering uniform. He much preferred seeing her in her off-the-wall novelty tees she always paired with a denim or flowing gypsy skirt. She lookedâ¦more her that way.
And he was really starting to like her being her.
Heâd known this was a set-up from the first thirty seconds of Abbyâs call a half hour ago, but he went along with it anyway because heâd wanted to see Tessa.
He was starting to get addicted to the woman.
After finishing up getting all the warming stations going on the buffet line, he sent Skylar to help Abby and Connor finish up at the dessert table and headed back down the corridor to the kitchen to see what else Tessa needed done.
âIâm telling you guys, thatâs her. You canât tell because sheâs all covered up, but thatâs definitely that chick we almost pulled a train on out at the lakes our sophomore year.â
Brian rolled his eyes in disgust as he neared the group of three guys standing out in the hallway near the restrooms. Those were the very guys heâd avoided in high school. Pathetic that some of them just never seemed to grow out of it.
âI know that night was her first time but she wouldâve been all over you guys too if those other girls hadnât thrown up all over the place and killed the mood for everybody. The girl was a freakâstill is, I bet. Look at that club skank hair with the blue streaks. Sheâs probably wearing something slutty right now under that chef coat.â