Maddox and Axl had mentioned not hearing or seeing from Asher recently either. And they saw him more than Jayden did. Had it really been so long?
Jayden hadn’t seen Asher in—three weeks?
The last text he’d gotten was just at two weeks old.
That was too long to go without hearing from Asher.
Jayden tapped out a quick text asking his brother to reach out, then hit send.
Asher was probably off on some adventure. He had a nose for trouble and a tendency to leap before he looked. Growing up, Jayden had been dragged into far too many schemes and mad plans than he’d have liked. Moving into the Fullilove house hadn’t stopped that, but Jayden had been able to get some distance from his brother.
Of course, Asher had become the ring leader. Whenever Axl or Maddox got in trouble, it was usually because Asher had put some outlandish idea in their heads. At least the younger boys had better sense.
Jayden and Asher were just different.
Asher never met a rule he didn’t want to break.
Jayden wanted to get by with as little trouble as possible.
They were opposites.
He didn’t think Asher would ever grow up or settle down. In that, he was like their birth mother, wherever she was now.
Jayden peered at the phone, but there was no reply from Asher or smoke signal from Brandi.
Maybe he should go home and try to address this with Nicole directly. She’d seemed very sweet and genuine all through their conversations leading up to the date. After talking with Brandi though, he had to wonder how much Nicole had been holding back? What else hadn’t she told him? How much had been an act?
On the other hand, dating was about discovering. He wanted to know more about Nicole. He wanted to be part of her life. And that meant Brandi. He couldn’t be with a woman and expect her best friend to not be part of his life, too. Which was ultimately why he was here. Winning over Nicole would be easier if her best friend liked him.
A diesel pickup chugged toward him. He watched the beat up red truck approach, slow, then turn into the drive, pulling in farther than he had.
Someone finally decided to come home.
He continued to wait, leaning against his car at the end of the drive.
Jayden watched her silhouette inside the cab. She didn’t glance back at him or appear to have even noticed him. Brandi took another moment before getting out of the truck and turning to stare at him.
“What are you doing here?” Annoyance laced her voice.
“I recall telling you I was going to prove myself to you.” He strolled up the driveway toward her.
“By showing up and hanging out behind our house?” She circled the truck to stand at the tailgate. “Here’s a question, how did you know where we live? I talked to Nicole last night and she said she wasn’t telling guys where we live.”
Busted.
He braced himself for this one. Yesterday it had seemed like a perfectly acceptable thing to do. Now, even he cringed at his answer. “Social media. Nicole shared her profile with me and I found a picture from when you moved in.”
Brandi’s eyes grew wide and her lips parted. “That’s so creepy.”
Jayden could admit to himself it was a little over the line.
She threw her hands in the air. “Do you see how creepy just showing up like this is?”
He inclined his head. “Yes, in hindsight this wasn’t my best plan. I expected a much different reception.”
Brandi sighed. “What are you doing here, Jay?”
“Jayden. And I’m here to prove myself.”
She just stared at him a moment, then shook her head.
He eyed the furniture in the back of the truck. It looked old and worn. In fact, one looked like it was singed.
“What are we doing?” he asked.
Brandi followed his gaze. “We’re unloading.”
She had on slacks and a blouse with flats and her hair twisted up out of the way. It was a much different look from spandex and neons. Brandi was an attractive woman. She had sharper features where Nicole’s were softer, more rounded. Brandi’s dark hair set off her hazel eyes in a striking way and her tanned cheeks were dotted with freckles she didn’t try to cover up, which he liked for some reason. She was a woman who owned who and what she was. That was something he could respect.
She lowered the tail gate and Jayden joined her.
“Are you opening a furniture store?” He couldn’t begin to fathom what two women in their twenties would want with two china cabinets. The big kind that were part hutch and a lot of glass.
“Yes, actually.” Brandi hoisted herself up and placed a hand on the top portion of one of the pieces. “Grab this one first.”
Curious, Jayden got into position and when Brandi told him to tug, he did. Together they wrangled the large, sturdy piece out of the truck bed. She used a remote to get the garage door going and together they carried her find toward the house.
Little by little the door came up, revealing the garage.
Or more accurate, a workshop.
The space was divided in half, with a work bench and several tarps down on one side. The other had a curtain tacked up on the wall and what looked like a roll of laminate floor spread out and a throw rug on it. An antique corner shelf stood in the middle of the display with a few knickknacks on its shelves. A workspace and a photo studio? For a furniture business? What the hell was she doing?
“Here’s good,” Brandi said between breaths.
They gently placed the top part of the hutch on a tarp.
“What is all this?” Jayden peered around, curious now.
“My side hustle.” Brandi’s voice warmed and it was clear she took pride in the work.
“You resell furniture?”
She snorted and rolled her eyes. “Yes, but first I fix it up. A lot of these pieces are grubby or damaged. Sometimes, like with these hutches, people don’t see the potential.”
Jayden considered that as he studied the grimy, glass fronted piece of furniture. Someone had taped or glued newspapers to the glass at some point. “What potential do you see?”
“You have no vision what so ever.” She grabbed his arm and pulled him back so there was five feet of space between them and the hutch. “Picture this with gleaming wood. Refinishing it is ideal. I’ll paint if it I have to, but I try not to do that. Can you see it?”
“Sure.” He didn’t know what the other half looked like, but he could imagine it had the same floral and swirly carving design.
“Now, imagine this mounted on the wall as your new wet bar glass storage.”
“Wait, what? Like, not attached to the bottom?”
Brandi chuckled. “Nope. Not at all.”
Jayden stared hard at the wooden piece with its mirror back and glass shelves. Keep it separate from the base? And mount it on the wall?
He’d never seen it done, but he thought he could picture it. It would be different. Unique.
“I’ve got hardware to put on bottom so you can hang your stemmed glasses upside down, too. Clear up some cabinet space in the kitchen.”
“What would you do with the bottom part?” He was curious now.
“Easy. Those get turned into entertainment centers. Not everyone likes mounting their sixty inch on the wall. Hutches like this were made to bear weight, plus when updated right they’re timeless and provide a lot of storage for books, games, toys, whatever.”
“Huh.” Now that he could see.
He had to give it to her. It was unique.
Brandi smacked his arm. “Come on, there’s more to unload.”
They unloaded the other three pieces. Each went on its own stained tarp. There was clearly a method to her madness.
Once done, he turned his attention to the pieces lining the garage wall. There were shelves, a dining set, another hutch, two writing desks. Some were gleaming wood. Others had a coat of paint. Each one was unique.
“You did all this?” he asked.
<
br /> Brandi shrugged. “Nicole helps me sometimes. When she’s bored. Don’t worry, it’s not her thing. She’s more about baking these days, though a word to the wise? Never take a big bite of something she’s learning to make. The first one is always a disaster.”
He filed that tidbit away for later. How had the woman capable of burning water become a baker? What was that story like?
Jayden kept most of his attention on Brandi, while storing up questions for another time. “Where do you sell them?”
“I post what I’ve done online. Once a month, if a friend of mine’s free, he’ll help me haul it all to a flea market. But that’s not really my crowd. I mean, if I have a bunch of small pieces like side tables or whatever, it can be good. You just don’t move the big, expensive stuff there. I have a website, too. It doesn’t get a lot of traffic, so I don’t do much with it beyond slap pictures up. Honestly, most of my sales are through social media. Taking staged pictures. I’m not really trying to move anything at the moment. A lot is going on with work, so I’m not bothering with customers right now.”
“I’m impressed.” He turned his attention on the woman.
When she’d opened the door and he’d walked into this mess, he hadn’t liked Brandi very much. She was abrasive and loud, but she spoke her mind. She was truthful, even when he didn’t like what he heard or didn’t agree.
But this?
This was impressive.
“Well, thanks for the help and showing up,” Brandi said.
Jayden tilted his head. “Showing up and unloading isn’t the kind of proof you were talking about wanting.”
She held up her hands. “You know—”
“So, what’s next?”
“Jay—”
“Jayden.”
Brandi fixed him with a hard stare. “Jayden, I don’t know what to say right now. I didn’t think you’d show up again.”
“Maybe we both underestimated each other?” He sure as hell had.
Brandi nodded, her expression serious. “Okay. I’ll own up to that. Either I underestimated you, or I totally missed the creepy stalker thing. Jury is still out which one it is.”
Jayden tipped his head back. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”
She crossed her arms over her chest and grinned. “Not likely, stalker.”
He sighed.
Not only had he underestimated Brandi, he’d dismissed her. Viewed her as a roadblock to what he wanted, and that wasn’t fair. She was Nicole’s friend and an important part of her life. It was fine to prove himself to Brandi, but more importantly, he wanted her to like him. Her call last night had surprised him, but it had also woken him up to just how much she looked after Nicole. His thoughts yesterday about making nice until he could get to Nicole were shortsighted. In truth, he wanted Nicole to have Brandi in her life. From the way it sounded, they were family in the same way he had a boatload of family he wasn’t related to.
“Okay, well, have you eaten?” he asked.
“Nope. You?”
“No. So, how about I pick us up something while you...do whatever you need to do so we can get to work?”
She narrowed her gaze. “You still plan on helping me?”
“We both want to be in Nicole’s life, right?” And he needed to get to know Brandi better. She was Nicole’s best friend. That wasn’t a negotiable part of her life, and he would do well to realize that.
Brandi frowned at him a moment before replying, “Yes, but I feel like this answer is a trap.”
He held up his hands. “No trap.”
Jayden needed to give her something. Something that made all of this make sense.
What would she understand?
He didn’t know much about her.
“I grew up poor. I guess I’ve gotten to the point where I can do better for myself, and to me that means finding someone to enjoy it with.” His words reverberated within him, striking a chord of truth he hadn’t examined closely before now. “When I met Nicole, I had a moment where I thought, I’ve found someone I can see sharing my picture perfect future with. I know reality will be different. And maybe I’m wrong, but I want to take the chance to find out if perhaps I’m right.”
“Wow.” Brandi blew out a breath and blinked a few times. Her hazel eyes were so big and round he could have fallen into them. “I was really just trying to figure out if you’re a sanding or a painting kind of a guy.”
“What’s the difference?”
“One takes a lot more elbow grease.”
“Whatever the job,” he spread his hands, “I’m your man.”
Brandi regarded him for a moment. There was something new in her eyes. Was she seeing the real him instead of the jerk he’d been? Was it possible for him to turn this around?
With luck and a little help, he’d give it his best shot.
BRANDI TOSSED THE PLASTIC fork into the bag of meal trash, then leaned back against a set of shelves she had yet to list on her website. Mostly because she was toying with the idea of switching it out with the two units in the living room. But that was a decision she needed Nicole to make with her. Then again, Nicole always humored Brandi when it came to moving stuff around and trying out a new piece in their place.
When Brandi had pulled up and saw Jayden waiting for her, she’d been half ready to run him off. But Jayden hadn’t struck her as the kind of guy who’d roll his sleeves up and help, which meant he’d only be in the way and a suck on her energy.
Or so she’d thought.
Boy, was she wrong.
She’d accused him of throwing money at the problem, first with the flowers, then with the cookies. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen a guy try to buy his way out of the dog house. It seemed like those were the kind of guys Brandi attracted. But Jayden hadn’t intended those gestures to be the apology. His words were the apology. His actions—showing up here and helping—reinforced the words. The gifts? Those were the proverbial icing on the cake. She just hadn’t seen it then because he wasn’t what she was used to.
When he said something, he meant it. And he intended for his words to be believed.
Jayden really did see himself with Nicole.
Brandi had written him off as some ego driven guy unable to accept that he’d been dumped. Now that she’d gotten to know him a tiny bit, she was actually a little jealous of Nicole. Jayden was that guy. The one who’d work harder and longer for his family’s comfort. He needed some work on prioritizing his relationship, but he wasn’t a bad guy. Hell, he might be the best thing to happen to Nicole since...Brandi.
Jealousy bit down hard.
She swallowed and did her best to wrestle the dark emotion back into her mental box.
Nicole deserved someone who would move heaven and earth for her. She should get the chance to be happy and explore the world with someone watching her back. Brandi had always thought that was her role, but maybe she’d been keeping it warm for Jayden this whole time? Was this Nicole’s future?
If that was the case, why couldn’t Brandi be happier for Nicole? What was wrong with her? When did Brandi get to find a guy worth her time and space in her heart? Where was he?
She breathed in deep and closed her eyes.
Her last boyfriend had been a real piece of work. She’d dated him for six months, pretty long for her. Sure, he had his bad habits, but she’d finally let herself fall for him. And then he’d gone and broken her heart like every other bastard she’d let in. In the grand scheme of things, though, he didn’t matter. He was just another guy, and from now on she wasn’t giving men space in her life.
Brandi had a plan, and she was going to stick to that this year.
“What do you think of this?” Jayden asked slowly as he swiped the cloth over the glass.
Brandi blinked a few times.
Was that the same cabinet?
Wow.
“Color me impressed.” She leaned forward, elbows on her knees.
They’d eaten in shifts, hi
m first while she did an initial once over on the four separate pieces of the two hutches. She’d talked out loud, listing off what she thought she could do as far as repairs, refinishing and replacements.
The glass on the older piece with the fire damage was in bad shape. It was discolored, likely from smoke, plus tape and other adhesives had coated the surface along with twenty-year-old newspaper. Jayden had offered to scrape and clean the glass so she could figure out if it was worth salvaging. She’d written off the glass as needing to be replaced, but now she wasn’t so sure. Yeah, it showed the imperfections, but they were also interesting.
The man was far more than he appeared.
A lot like this cabinet.
With a little elbow grease, they both looked a whole lot better.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
Yes, she was jealous of Nicole for finding a guy who actually seemed to be one of the good ones. Only time would tell if he was really as attractive, thoughtful and attentive as he was now. Maybe the other night was simply a one off?
“Jayden?” She sat up a little straighter.
“Hm?” He continued studying the glass surface, frowning at imperfections too fine for her to see.
“Hey, look at me?”
He pivoted, turning his serene gaze on her.
Brandi took a moment to breathe and not just blurt it all out. If he was serious and wanted to pursue Nicole, he could be part of Brandi’s life from here on. Which meant they really did have to figure out how to get on together.
“I’m sorry I’ve been so hard on you.” She swallowed. “I guess I’m jaded and expect the worst out of men. That’s not fair to you. And I’m sorry about that, too.”
“Don’t be sorry for looking out for your friend.” He took a few steps toward her then extended his hand. “I’d be in a much worse place if it weren’t for people who’d looked out for me.”
She glanced at his hand, then his face.
No part of Brandi wanted to touch him.
Somehow, between now and Nicole getting back, Brandi had to figure out how to stop being attracted to her best friend’s boyfriend.
The Wrong Perfect Match (Fullilove in the House Book 1) Page 4