by Lisa Crane
Travis tossed several bills on the table and rose. He left the restaurant, his temper back in force. What kind of spell had Brooke Valentine cast on him that he couldn’t enjoy a casual evening out with a gorgeous woman? The whole time he’d been with Kaye, Travis had been wondering where Brooke was, and what she was doing with the extremely handsome Rafa de la Cruz.
Brooke was doing her best to smother a yawn. Meghan saw it, however, and nudged her fiancé. Rafa looked over at Brooke and grinned.
“Come on, Brooke,” he said, pulling her to her feet. “I’d better get you home before you turn into a pumpkin. Or before that neighbor of yours sends out a search party!”
“Sorry,” Brooke said, smiling. “Your cousin is kind of a slave driver. I have to be at work by six o’clock.”
“You can come in a little late tomorrow,” Jazz offered.
“No, she can’t,” Riley argued. “Don’t you think Travis would find that odd? He doesn’t know Rafa is your happily engaged cousin, remember?”
“He’s got a point, Jazz,” Meghan agreed.
“I’ll be on time,” Brooke interjected wryly.
“All right,” Jazz said, echoing Brooke’s yawn. “See you in the morning.” She turned to her husband. “And you better take me home, too. I already look like a pumpkin, you know!”
Travis sat in his darkened front room, watching for headlights next door. It was nearly two in the morning, and he knew Brooke had to be at work early! Where in the world was she? He looked at his watch again, and his head came up at the sound of an engine; headlights splashed across the wall in his living room, then went dark. He heard a car door slam, then a second one. Almost against his will, Travis rose and moved to look out the window.
Brooke walked arm-in-arm with her date. Her head was tilted back and she was laughing at something he’d said. Then Rafael de la Cruz bent his head and kissed Brooke; it appeared to be a long, lingering kiss, and Travis felt his anger rising even further.
“You know we have an audience, don’t you?” Rafa asked quietly. “No, don’t look! I saw a curtain move as we drove up.” He bent his head toward Brooke, who remained motionless. “And now, with my head so close, he thinks I’m kissing you.”
Rafa grinned and unlocked Brooke’s front door. He placed her keys in her hand and backed away down her steps.
“Thank you for a lovely evening, Brooke,” Rafa said a little loudly.
“I had a nice time, Rafa,” Brooke replied.
“I’ll call you, gorgeous!”
And with that, Rafa bounded to his car and drove away. Resisting the urge to look at the house next door, Brooke turned and closed her front door.
Chapter 34
The following morning, Brooke struggled to wake up. She knew with a certainty this plan of Jazz Valenzuela’s was a horrible idea now. There was no way she could keep hours like last night’s late homecoming and still function at work. Besides, she still didn’t like the idea of misleading Travis. She knew Jazz disagreed, but Brooke felt it was deceptive. After Rafa left, she’d decided she’d tell Travis the truth this evening.
Now, she dressed in one of her new pairs of jeans – the ones that actually fit, which still amazed her. She pulled on one of the tunics Jazz had ordered for her, smoothed her hair back into a ponytail and added just a touch of makeup. She hurried out the door and headed to Babycakes.
Brooke had been at work for about four hours when a knock sounded on Travis Cooper’s front door. Nick Rodgers waved Travis back into the seat behind his desk.
“I’ll get it, boss,” he said. “You expecting anybody?”
“Not that I know of,” Travis replied, turning back to the file he and Nick had been reviewing.
A few minutes later, Nick returned carrying a bouquet of long-stemmed pink roses. He eyed Travis curiously.
“Did you send Brooke roses?” he asked.
Travis’ head came up abruptly. He stared at the roses and snapped his fingers at Nick.
“Let me see the card!” he muttered. Nick plucked the small missive from among the greenery and handed it to Travis. Travis didn’t even hesitate before sliding the little card from the envelope; his expression darkened. “They’re from some guy she went out with last night.”
“Brooke had a date?” Nick asked.
“Yes!” Travis growled. “Is that so hard to believe?”
“No, what’s so hard to believe is you’re so bent outta shape over it, Coop,” Nick observed, his dark eyes dancing.
“I just worry about her, that’s all! She’s a sweet kid, and I don’t even know where she met the guy! You should’ve seen him! Showed up in a red Corvette, all swarthy Latin lover looks – including the accent! Then he didn’t bring her home till after two in the morning! A first date, Nick! Then finally, the guy was all over her kissing her goodnight!”
“So you’re just concerned for Brooke’s well-being,” Nick observed evenly.
“Of course, what else would it be?” Travis said, snorting. He looked at Nick. “Look, like I said, she’s a sweet girl. I wouldn’t want to see her hurt or taken advantage of by some slick loser.”
“Oh, sure, sure.” Nick was silent for a moment, then asked, “So you’re saying you haven’t kissed Brooke again since that first time?”
Travis remained silent. He pointed a finger at the roses Nick still held.
“Why don’t you go find something to put those in?” Travis asked pointedly. “I’ll take them over to her place later. I’m taking her to the tree lighting downtown.” At Nick’s look, he rolled his eyes. “Like I might take a kid sister, Nick! Brooke has never been! That’s all!”
“Did I say anything?” Nick asked innocently. He turned quickly to hide his grin and left Travis’ office.
Brooke muddled through her day, wishing she had time for a nap. Riley smirked at her and Jazz both as they continued to yawn.
“You’re going to fall asleep on your date with Travis tonight!” he teased Brooke. “Maybe you should ask him for a rain check.”
“Not on your life!” Brooke said quickly. “But it’s not a date!”
“Whatever you say…Cupcake,” Riley said grinning. “Or wait. Is it Bunny-girl? I can’t keep his pet names for you straight.”
“Don’t you have anything to do?” Brooke muttered.
When she left the bakery, Brooke wondered if she’d have time to take a quick nap before Travis took her to the tree lighting ceremony. He’d not told her what time they’d be leaving. As she turned into her driveway, she saw Nick Rodgers leaving Travis’ house. He grinned and waved at her.
“Hey, Brooke!” he called, walking across Travis’ yard toward her. “How’ve you been?” When he reached her, he squeezed her shoulders in a brief hug. “You look good. In fact, you look great! Have you changed your hair?”
Nick knew very well what was different about Brooke. He’d noticed the first couple of times he saw her that her clothes seemed to swallow her, making her look short and as Will had put it, plump. The jeans she wore now, without being too tight, followed the curve of her hip and thigh. Nick wondered if Travis had seen these jeans.
“I’m good, Nick,” Brooke said cheerfully. “How about you?”
“Good here, too,” he replied, nodding. He smiled. “Well, I hate to be rude, but I’d better get a move on. Oh, before I forget, something was delivered to Coop’s house for you. They had the address wrong.”
“Oh!” Brooke was puzzled. “Well, I’ll just go take it off his hands. I need to talk to him anyway.”
“You do that,” Nick said. He touched the brim of his cowboy hat with a finger. “You take care, Brooke.”
“You too, Nick. It was good to see you.”
Still smiling, Brooke walked across to Travis’ house. She knocked on the front door and it opened almost immediately. Travis looked down at Brooke, a slight frown on his face. Brooke hesitated a moment.
“I, um, Nick said you took a delivery for me,” she said.
“I did,” Tr
avis agreed. “Come on in, I’ll get them.”
“Them?”
“Two dozen of them, to be exact,” he said wryly.
Brooke waited just inside the front door, her curiosity rising. Her eyes widened when Travis returned with the huge bouquet of pink roses. He pressed them into her arms.
“I – who –“ Brooke stammered nervously. She had a feeling she knew exactly who was behind the roses; more specifically, she thought she knew who was behind having the roses sent to the wrong address.
“There’s a card,” Travis said flatly, arms folded across his broad chest.
Brooke slid the little card from its envelope. She felt the color rise in her cheeks and her eyes darted upward to look at Travis.
“An admirer?” he drawled.
“Um, they’re just from Rafa,” Brooke answered awkwardly. She shoved the card in the front pocket of her jeans. “Travis, I wanted to talk to you about tonight. You didn’t mention what time I should be ready.”
“Didn’t I?” he asked. Brooke thought his voice seemed a little cool. “Is seven too early? I couldn’t help noticing you were out pretty late last night; maybe you need a rest?”
“I’m fine,” Brooke said, even though that’s exactly what she’d been thinking only a short time ago. “I’ll be ready at seven.” Her chin went up a notch and she fixed her smile firmly in place. “I’m really looking forward to it, Travis.” Her smile wavered a little. “We never did much for Christmas. The tree lighting sounds really nice.”
“I think you’ll enjoy it,” Travis said, some of his usual warmth returning. He placed a large, warm hand at the back of Brooke’s neck, massaging lightly as he guided her to the door. “I’ll see you in a while, okay? Dress warmly.”
Carrying the roses, Brooke returned to her house. She laid them on the table inside the front door, tossing the card on top of them. Brooke had recognized the name of the florist; it was the same florist Jazz used when she needed fresh flowers for a cake. Apparently, her boss was just adding fuel to the fire. The roses only reinforced Brooke’s decision to tell Travis the truth.
Recalling Travis’ advice to dress warmly, Brooke changed into another of her new pairs of jeans and a black sweater. She shook her hair free from her ponytail and brushed it until it shone. She laced on a pair of old hiking boots and touched up her makeup. She added a bit of perfume from one of the samples the saleswoman had tossed into the bag. Brooke was just heading to the living room when she heard a knock at the front door.
She crossed to the door, realizing she was both nervous and excited about the upcoming evening; she was nervous about telling Travis about Jazz’s little plan to try to make him jealous. For some reason, she just had a feeling the whole thing wouldn’t sit well with him. But she was also excited about the Christmas celebration; as she’d told Travis, she’d never really done much for the holidays. When she was younger, her mother was either working or spending the time with her latest boyfriend. Later, when she lived with her grandfather, he tried, but money was always tight.
“Ready?” Travis asked as Brooke opened the door. His mood seemed to have improved and he smiled down at her. “More new clothes?”
“Jazz made me go shopping with her last weekend,” Brooke admitted, blushing. “She helped me pick out some things.”
“I’m glad she did,” he said, his voice low as he offered his arm. “You look good, Brooke. Really good.”
When they reached the downtown area, Travis pulled into a parking lot. He paid the attendant and parked his Hummer. Once again, he offered his arm to Brooke and they walked with the other pedestrians toward the huge Christmas tree. Travis put his other hand over Brooke’s and smiled down at her.
“I was a little abrupt when you came to my house earlier, Cupcake,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
“Is everything okay?” Brooke asked uncertainly.
Travis grinned sheepishly and said, “Maybe I was a little jealous that I wasn’t the one to send you those roses.”
Brooke blinked at him. She had no idea how to respond. After a moment, she took a deep breath and was about to tell him the truth about Rafa de la Cruz. Before she could say a word, though, he was pulling her along through the crowd, jockeying for position toward the front so Brooke could see.
The tree lighting was supposed to occur at eight o’clock; in the meantime, vendors sold coffee, cappuccino and cocoa. Travis bought each of them a cappuccino and watched as Brooke took a sip; he nearly groaned aloud when she licked the foam from her upper lip. Unaware of his dilemma, Brooke smiled up at Travis, her violet eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Will they do it soon?” she asked, bouncing on her toes.
“Yes, calm down!” Travis laughed. “You’ve really never been to a tree lighting ceremony? Ever?”
“Never!” Brooke answered. Even her memories couldn’t dampen her excitement as she explained. “Mom was always too busy with work or her boyfriends. With Gramps, he tried, but there was just never much money left for things like this, you know?” Her eyes bounced from Travis to the huge tree and back again. “Is it – I mean will there be a lot of lights?”
“Yes, Bunny-girl, lots of lights!” Travis laughed again, shaking his head. He snaked an arm around Brooke’s waist and pulled her against his side. She hesitated just a moment before sliding her own arm around Travis as well. She leaned her head against his shoulder, smiling up at him.
“I can’t wait!” she said, giggling like a child. “I’m so excited I –“
“Brooke,” Travis interrupted suddenly, his voice serious. “Don’t look now, but isn’t that your date from last night?”
Brooke’s gaze swung in the direction in which Travis was looking. Her eyes widened. Only a few feet away, Rafael de la Cruz was kissing his fiancée. Brooke’s mind raced for something to say, but her thoughts were scattered. As if sensing eyes on them, Meghan turned and spotted Brooke. Her mouth fell open.
“You know that woman?” Travis asked, seeing recognition in the other woman’s eyes. “The woman with him?”
“Um, Travis,” Brooke said slowly. “I need to tell you something. I was going to tell you later but….”
Chapter 35
Travis looked down at Brooke, frowning slightly. He could tell she was nervous about whatever she wanted to tell him. After a long moment during which she fidgeted and looked everywhere but at Travis, Brooke finally took a deep breath and looked up at him.
“That woman is Meghan,” Brooke said quietly. Travis had to lean closer to hear her. “His fiancée.”
“I don’t understand, Brooke,” Travis said, still frowning. “You’re dating a man who’s engaged? And you knew about it?”
“I’m not dating Rafa. Not really. It was –“
“Looks like the game is up, huh?” a voice asked.
Brooke and Travis turned to see Rafa and Meghan had moved through the crowd and now stood beside them. Rafa winked at Brooke, his smile white against his swarthy skin. Meghan, next to him, smiled a little less certainly; her eyes were fixed on Travis’ unhappy face.
“Brooke, what is he talking about?” Travis asked, his voice low and even. “What’s going on?”
“Rafa is Jazz’s cousin,” Brooke explained. “I went out with him because…well, Jazz thought it might make you jealous.” Brooke’s words trailed off miserably. This was not how she’d planned this conversation in her head.
“I see.” At the tone of Travis’ voice, Brooke’s head came up again. Ruddy color stained his cheeks. His eyes were like chips of blue ice and his mouth was set in a hard line. “So this was some kind of game then.”
“What?” Brooke began shaking her head. “No, Travis! I didn’t mean – I never wanted to – it was Jazz’s idea and she thought it would – “
“She’s right,” Meghan said quickly. “It was all Jazz’s idea!”
“But nobody forced you to go along with it, did they, Brooke?” Once again, Travis folded his arms across his chest in an angry, closed-of
f stance. “So did you achieve what you wanted? Was making me look and feel like an idiot the prize in your little game?”
“Whoa, Travis, buddy,” Rafa began, only to be cut off by Travis.
“I am not your buddy, de la Cruz,” he bit out.
“Travis, it wasn’t like that!” Brooke cried.
“Really?” he asked sarcastically. “So all the new clothes, the pretty dresses, the tight jeans and sweaters, that wasn’t all for my benefit? Your pretend date with this character?” He jerked a thumb at Rafa. “Where did you go, anyway, Brooke? Where did you go that you didn’t get home till after two this morning?”
“We…were with Riley and Jazz and her family,” Brooke answered. “Meghan was there, too.”
“Does your fiancée know you kissed Brooke?” Travis asked Rafa. “Was that part of the game, too?”
“I kissed her on the cheek,” Rafa said, slowly moving from puzzled bemusement to anger. “At her door I only leaned down to make you think I was kissing her! I knew you were watching!”
“Uh-huh.” Travis shook his head, disgust etched on his handsome features. He began backing away, his hands toward Brooke, palms out. “I can’t believe you lied to me that way, Brooke. After everything I’ve done for you!” He turned and walked away, tossing his last words over his shoulder. “Your little playmates can see you home. I’m done with the game.”
Brooke couldn’t move. She couldn’t speak or breathe. She simply stood there, shaking uncontrollably, watching Travis disappear into the happy crowd. Meghan placed an arm around Brooke’s shoulders, her worried gaze meeting Rafa’s dark eyes over the shorter woman’s head.
“Rafa, we need to get her out of here,” Meghan said.
“I’m on it!” he answered. He pointed. “Wait right over there, I’ll bring the car as close as I can get.”
“Come on, Brooke,” Meghan coaxed gently. With her arm around Brooke’s shoulders, she urged her to the spot Rafa had indicated they should wait. Brooke didn’t resist, but moved slowly, as if she were in great pain. Meghan could feel the younger woman’s trembling growing more pronounced, and Brooke hadn’t said a word or made a sound since Travis Cooper had walked away. Meghan was truly worried.