Gwen topped off her wine before returning to the living room. Sitting down, she took a sip and wondered whether Brody was a wine guy. She knew he liked the hard stuff. And of course he drank Guinness. But if she had him over for dinner some night, maybe as a thank-you, or maybe just because… She bet he was one of those robust-red guys.
“So Brody, huh. What’s that about?” Ted asked around the handful of nuts he’d tossed in his mouth when she sat down.
It took everything she had not to laugh. Because that was exactly what Brody had told her would happen. So she replied exactly as he’d instructed.
With a small shake of her head and the barest hint of a smile, she shrugged. “I’m not really sure.”
Chapter 5
“This is a pleasant surprise,” Brody said in greeting Tuesday afternoon, wiping his hands on a dish towel as he followed Jill out of the Belfast kitchen. His hair was bound in an elastic, and he was dressed down in faded jeans and a gray Belfast T-shirt that fit so perfectly, Gwen was having a little trouble keeping her eyes above his neck. Wow.
“What brings you in, gorgeous?”
Good question.
She’d been thinking about him all day. Heck, she’d been thinking about him all weekend when she’d been home, and then again when she’d been out with some girlfriends for dinner the night before…and when she got off the train, she’d just found herself heading this way.
“Doing my part to perpetuate the facade.”
Or maybe she’d wanted him to make her laugh before she went home.
“I’m about to make myself a sandwich,” he said, flipping the towel over his shoulder and nodding toward the kitchen. “Come on back, and I’ll make one for you too.”
There were a couple of guys in the gleaming kitchen doing prep for the night, but at shortly after four, Belfast was running on a skeleton crew, and they mostly had the place to themselves.
“How’s grilled chicken with jalapeño chutney on brioche sound?” he asked, stacking jars and bins from the walk-in cooler.
“Like I’m suddenly starved.”
There was that smug smile again. The one that told her he was pleased to get the answer he’d expected.
“Where’d you end up going for dinner last night?” he asked, laying a couple of chicken breasts across the grill before organizing the rest of his ingredients.
“The new place on North you told me about. It was fantastic. The girls send their thanks for the recommendation.” She leaned in to the counter opposite where Brody was working, watching as his chef’s knife blurred against the herbs he was mincing.
His skill and efficiency in the kitchen were mesmerizing. “We were talking about you.”
“That explains the burning ears.” The red onion was next, each translucent slice folding onto the counter as if it were taking a bow.
“Word on the street is you’re a guy who likes to keep things casual.”
“Word on the street?” he asked, brushing something spicy and fragrant over the chicken that made her mouth water.
“Okay, so I was asking about you,” she confessed with a huff of breath. Then playing Brody’s game, she added, “I mean I’m into you, so I’m trying to find out what you’re like. If you’re as good a guy as you seem. You know how it works.”
“Is that right?” he asked, looking supremely satisfied. “And the word is that I’m casual?”
“Actually, there were a lot of words. Girls can’t stop talking about you once they start.”
“We’ve been over this. I’m a good guy.”
That’s what they’d said, pretty much across the board.
“But casual?” He wagged his head, considering, before leaning back in to the counter. “I wouldn’t say that.”
Maybe this was why she’d come to the bar instead of going home, because she was taking a step closer, her focus sharpening. “No? What would you say?”
“I’d say that I’m not a guy who tries to hold on to something when it’s time to let go. But I’ve had plenty of relationships I wouldn’t categorize as casual. Hell, just because something wasn’t meant to go the distance doesn’t mean it doesn’t count.”
“You’ve been in love?” she asked, more curious than she should be.
When he didn’t answer right away, she stepped closer again. “Is that a no?”
He cut her a sidelong look. “I thought I might be in love a couple times when I was younger. Never actually got to the point where I said it, but I’d been testing the words in my head. In retrospect, I’m not sure what I was feeling really measures up to the hype. You know what I mean?” Crossing his arms over his big chest, he frowned down at her. “And before you ask if I’m one of those guys who doesn’t believe in it…I believe. I’ve seen the real thing with my friends, up close and personal. I’ve just never had it for myself.”
Still curious, she asked, “So what was your longest relationship?”
“Why do you care?” he teased, bracing one hand on her right side and his other on her left, effectively boxing her in with his big body. It brought her focus dead center on the width of his powerful chest and the T-shirt that wasn’t leaving a whole lot to the imagination. To see his face, she had to drag her focus up, up, up to where she finally met the sea-green of his eyes. She swallowed, her thoughts scrambling a little because of his proximity.
He smelled really good. How had she missed that before?
God help the girl Brody was actually serious about…because even playing around, the man had serious pull.
“Maybe I’m just thinking about what I’ll say if anyone asks me about you. I should be prepared, right?”
He shook his head, the corner of his mouth hitching higher. She could see his tongue pressed inside the full swell of his bottom lip.
“I don’t think so, gorgeous. You girls are a bunch of romantics. Anybody who’s pumping you for information about me is all about the lingering looks and heavy pauses. They want the butterflies-in-the-stomach stories, not the statistics on my previous relationships. Try again.”
Jabbing her index finger into the center of his chest, she pushed. Being boxed in was too distracting.
“Fine, maybe I’m curious. We’re friends. You know how nosy we girls can be with our friends.”
She was met with a bark of laughter, and then Brody retreated to the counter across from hers. His hands were planted behind him, his long legs crossed casually at the ankle.
“Fine, you win. Longest relationship was just shy of a year, because I remember her talking about our anniversary coming up and that making me think about where we were going and how things had been.”
“A year’s a pretty good while. Was it hard to end it?”
“Not really. I mean, I could tell she was disappointed and hurt, and that feels like shit no matter what. But I think we’d hit our natural breaking point, so it was a lot easier than it might’ve been if we’d tried to make it work.”
Now she was really interested. Because this was a side of Brody she didn’t have any experience with. People were always talking about what great advice he gave and what a down-to-earth perspective he brought, but… “You say that like you think working on a relationship is a bad thing.”
And that didn’t really fit with what she knew about the man.
“I don’t know, Gwen. I guess I just think when a relationship is right, you shouldn’t have to force it. If it starts to feel like work, it’s time to let it go.”
What he was saying made sense to a point, but she’d always believed anything she cared about was worth fighting for. Brody must have seen her skepticism, because then he was pushing off the counter and heading back to the walk-in. “Give me a sec.”
When he returned, he was holding a couple of stalks of asparagus.
“I know this is going to sound nuts, and I’m probably never going to hea
r the end of it, but here’s the deal. I view relationships a lot like these.”
Gwen’s brows rose. “You’re serious?”
“Yeah, yeah, I see that look on your face. But hear me out.” He took a stalk by either end. “Asparagus has a natural breaking point. And when you bow it like this and let it happen, you end up with a perfect break. And what you have is going to be tender and good all the way to the end. But if you try to force things…get every little bit of green you can, chances are, when you cut your stalk, what you’ll be left with is something tough that you’ll want to spit out or have to choke down to swallow. And then instead of finishing your asparagus and thinking it was wonderful, you’ll look back on the experience with bitterness and resentment.”
“That asparagus betrayed you,” she whispered, fighting against the laugh bubbling up in her chest.
Brody nodded sagely. “We could have parted as friends. But now, next time I see asparagus, I’m going to be rehashing that bitter end in my head. It’s going to be ugly.”
Throwing her head back, she laughed. “You’re completely crazy.”
He turned to the grill and pulled off the chicken, adding it to the brioche rolls already stacked with arugula and heaped with the jalapeño chutney and onions. “Maybe, but I’m also on exceptionally good terms with all my old girlfriends…so maybe not so crazy.”
When he slid her plate in front of her and she took her first bite, she moaned her appreciation.
“That good?” he asked, watching her, his sandwich still untouched.
She swallowed, nodding. “So good.”
Then after another bite, she licked her thumb. “I think you’re only on such good terms with those girls because they don’t know you’re comparing them to asparagus.”
* * *
It had only been two days since he’d seen her and probably less than two hours since he’d talked to her, but when Gwen slid onto the stool across the bar from him, that cheeky grin in place and her eyes bright, it felt like it had been forever. It felt like maybe he needed to remind himself of exactly what they were doing together.
Or he could leave it to Gwen, who was doing a bang-up job on her own.
“It’s totally working,” she whispered, leaning forward and coming close enough that he caught a hint of her perfume. “Okay, I already told you how Ted kept teasing me about you on the car ride back on Sunday. But then today, he texted to make sure I’d be here tonight.”
A part of Brody wanted to reach across the bar, take her by the shoulders, and give her a shake. Ask why she looked so delighted about the attention of a guy who needed to be manipulated into giving it. But that’s not what this was about. It was about Gwen getting the chance to see for herself that once she had him, Ted wasn’t the guy she really wanted. That it was time to let him go and let herself move on. Find a guy who would appreciate her from look one. Which meant giving the girl on the other side of the bar a solid thumbs-up over her news.
Getting started on the drink he’d come up with for her the night before, he shot her a stern look. “So now that Ted’s starting to pay attention, you’re going to have to be strong. I know your gut instinct is to go with it and return whatever interest he shows. But you can’t.”
She sat back an inch, tapping her index finger on the bar. “No?”
“Definitely no. If you give him what he’s looking for now, you’re showing him you’re the blanket. That you’ll always be there, and he has nothing to worry about. That all it takes is a text, and whatever else you might have going on gets thrown by the wayside. That’s not what you want Ted to think.” Brody threw up a staying hand, half disgusted that he needed to put the qualifier on there, and added, “Even though I know he would never consciously think that, because he’s such a decent guy and all. But subconsciously? We don’t want to go there.”
Lips pursed, Gwen scanned the crowd and nodded. “That makes sense. So what’s next?” Her brows arched, and her smile brightened. “Are you going to ask me on a date?”
“Not yet. We want to establish the attraction and pull between us before I ask you out, so no one gets the idea this is just you thinking what a nice guy I am and deciding to give me a chance. Ted needs something to worry about.”
“How are we going to do that?” she asked, her eyes going wide as he slid her drink in front of her.
“We’re going to turn up the heat.”
Oh yeah. He definitely had her interest now.
“And by that you mean?”
She lifted the cocktail to her lips, taking a sip of the pink concoction with the peppermint-crusted rim.
Braced on his forearm, Brody rocked forward and caught a bit of Gwen’s hair. He’d always thought it looked like pure temptation, so he was enjoying the freedom to touch this ruse offered. Lowering his gaze to the honeyed shine, he rubbed it between finger and thumb briefly before looking up to meet her eyes again. “I’m going to kiss you.”
Her lips parted on a satisfying breath, and his focus honed in on the stray fleck of candy cane caught on her bottom lip. Ignoring his better judgment, he swiped his thumb across that soft swell, catching the bit of peppermint and bringing it to his mouth. Her eyes were locked on his thumb as he sucked the sweetness away. And perfect timing too. In the next second, Ted wedged himself into the space between Gwen and the person on the stool beside her.
Ted’s eyes locked on Brody, an unsettled look in them. The guy wasn’t sure what to make of what he’d clearly witnessed. Made sense. Gwen had probably been his blanket for as far back as he could remember.
This guy didn’t deserve her attention. But despite the clawing need to tell Ted to go take a hike, Brody did the right thing and asked, “What can I get you, man?”
Seeing Gwen startled to find Ted beside her was damn satisfying. Especially considering the way she’d had that guy on her radar pretty much nonstop since the minute Brody met her.
She laughed, straightened on her stool, and gave Ted a wide smile. But this time when her attention slid away from the man beside her, it landed back on Brody. Twice.
Chew on that, Ted.
The pencil neck pushed an awkward hand back through his neatly trimmed dishwater-blond hair and cleared his throat. “Sounds like they’re playing our song. What do you say, Gwen? Feel like a dance?”
The surprise was evident in her expression. She glanced down at her barely touched drink and then back to Brody, as if she wasn’t sure what to say.
And yeah, no small part of him would’ve liked that look to be about something other than taking instruction on how to get Ted, but he knew better. And he’d be wise not to forget.
Still, for their purposes, that look couldn’t have been more perfect, because he wasn’t the only one who noticed. Now Ted’s eyes were shifting back and forth between the two of them, the grim slash of his mouth suggesting he didn’t care for what he saw.
“Go ahead and dance, Gwen. Have some fun. I’ve got a few things to do in back. I’ll get you another drink whenever you’re ready.” Then flashing a smile at Ted before turning back to her, Brody softened his voice to add, “Just come and find me when you’re ready.”
Gwen’s smile went as wide as Ted’s went flat. But then she was sliding off her stool, and Ted was backing up, resting his hand at the small of her back.
It shouldn’t have bothered him, but Brody bristled at seeing that touch. He told himself it was only about Ted being so unworthy, but part of him knew it wasn’t true. Halfway to the Back Room, where everyone was dancing, Gwen cast a quick smile back at him.
She was getting to him. All those things he’d listed for her and about a hundred more were slowly working their way under his skin. Which was nuts, because he wasn’t one of those guys who got off on unavailable women. And even if this whole game played out exactly the way he saw it, right down to Gwen letting Ted go for good, that’s still what she was.
And now he was going to kiss her.
If he had an ounce of self-preservation at all, he’d be putting some distance between them. Taking a step back from the texts and talks and visits he couldn’t get enough of. But he wouldn’t. And not because he’d made some noble commitment to help her and he felt obligated to follow through.
No, it was because being around her felt so damn good, and no better judgment was going to be able to convince him to give that up.
* * *
Brody was going to kiss her.
Despite the fact that one of her favorite songs was playing and the man she’d been imagining herself with for most of her life had one arm slung low across her back as he moved them to the beat, all she could think about was Brody. What kind of kiss it would be. How much she would like it. Whether he would.
“I always forget how much I like dancing with you,” Ted said close to her ear. Then pulling back, he smiled down at her. “We certainly do move well together.”
Was that a wink? The lights were too low in the Back Room to get a good look at Ted’s eyes, but from the way his hold around her waist tightened, she was pretty sure he was talking about something else. Before she’d agreed to this business with Brody, that kind of encouragement would have been all she needed to move a little closer herself. Slide her hands over his shoulders and her fingers into his hair. Let him know they were on the same page, and she was open to another night together. No big deal.
At least not for Ted. But for her, there had never been a time she hadn’t on some level been searching for a cue that he wanted more.
Only now she couldn’t help think that maybe Brody was right. Ted had seen what was happening with another man, and suddenly, he was there, trying to tempt her back with a dance and a look. Because that was all he thought it would take to pull her back in line.
She didn’t want Brody to be right about this. She didn’t want to think that Ted had been playing this game with her for years.
Decoy Date Page 5