“Yeah, well…how would you like taking orders from a five-year-old?”
“Huh?”
“That’s how they still see me. That five-year-old brat who used to run amuck through Dad’s office. They can’t respect me and refuse to even try.”
Tyler was quiet a second before he murmured, “Does Dad know how they’re treating you?”
“No, and you will say
nothing
about this to him. He already has enough to deal with. Besides, I need to find a way on my own to gain their loyalty.”
And nearly screwing Lenna Davenport blind was not the way. Unfortunately.
As if he knew Brax was thinking about her, Ty asked, “So what’s the deal with Davenport’s daughter?”
Braxton flashed him a hard look. How had he known to ask about her? “Nothing. Why?”
“You totally paused when he told you to say how pretty she was. She a dog or what?”
“No.” He shook his head slightly. “No. She’s not a dog.”
Not by a long shot.
“A bitch then?”
Braxton glared at him, wanting to hurt him for even suggesting that about her. “No,” he growled.
“Is she—”
“She’s amazing,
alright
. Sweet, light-hearted, great sense of humor, fun to talk to, and so freaking gorgeous it makes your mouth go dry just to look at her. And fucking Davenport acted like he wanted to take my head off after I had a single, innocent conversation with her.”
Tyler blinked, confusion skirting his features until his eyes popped open wide. “Holy shit. You like her.”
Groaning out his misery, Braxton yanked his hands through his hair. “You know what; how about
you
run the company.
I’ll
take the girl.”
“Damn,” Tyler breathed unable to stop gaping. “You
really
like her.”
Braxton didn’t answer. Spotting a restaurant straight ahead that served plenty of alcohol, he strode with purpose toward Renneys.
His brother hurried after him. “So, are you this pissy because none of your employees like you or because you can’t have the girl you want without causing more conflict with Dad’s personnel?”
“Neither,” Braxton immediately denied, then just as quickly confessed, “Both.
I don’t know.
Hell. My whole life pretty much sucks right now, okay?”
Tyler stared at him before shrugging. “Okay.” He followed Braxton into the restaurant and thankfully kept his trap shut for the next few minutes.
Since it was deep into the lunch-hour rush, the place was busy. After a five-minute wait, the greeter showed them to their table. Braxton slumped down and immediately began to drum his fingers on the ecru tablecloth, beyond ready to order a double of whatever liquor they had handy.
“So, I’m guessing it’d totally piss you off if I actually let Davenport set me up with his daughter, huh?”
If glares could kill, Braxton would’ve murdered his brother on the spot.
Ty snickered, way too amused.
Lifting his menu up so he couldn’t see the asswipe’s smug expression, Braxton turned to their mixed drink list, bypassing the lunch special.
“I’m so sorry for the wait, gentleman,” a familiar voice spoke beside him, jarring him alert. “My name is Lenna, and I’ll be your server today. I promise to take excellent care of you. So can I start you two off with a drink or appetizer?”
Disbelieving what he heard, Braxton slowly lowered his menu to look, because no way was she actually—
Shit.
Lenna had turned her attention to Tyler first for his reply. She looked adorable in her black pants, white blouse, and snug-fitting Renneys vest. The red bowtie snapped to her collar reminded him of a cherry topping his favorite dessert. And Braxton did love his dessert.
Her mouth fell open as she met Tyler’s instantly enamored gaze. “Oh my God.” She jerked a startled step back. “You look just like—”
Whipping her attention to Braxton, she gasped as their eyes met. When her order pad slid listlessly from her fingers and fell to the floor, he returned to reality.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded, flinching at how harsh he sounded.
She narrowed her eyes and straightened. “I’m working. What does it look like? What the hell are
you
doing here?”
Braxton moaned and slapped his elbows onto the table so he could bury his face into his hands. “No, no, no. This is
wrong
. I distinctly remember your father saying you worked at the Rockford Lounge. Not Renneys.”
With a heavy sigh, Lenna rolled her eyes. “I did. For a like a week. But I’ve been here since forever. My dad
always
gets the two places mixed up.”
Closing his eyes, he shook his head. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I swear to God, I’m not stalking you. I had no idea you worked here.”
“Hey,” Tyler cut in. “Little behind over here. What am I missing? You two know each other, obviously. So, why is it so awful to cross paths?”
Braxton opened his eyes to scowl at his brother while Lenna blushed and quickly bent to retrieve her order pad.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, pushing a blond lock of hair behind her ear. “You must be Tyler. You look just like your brother. Except younger.”
Ty’s mouth fell open. He turned to Braxton and whispered, “The goddess knows my name.”
And Braxton was going to pop him in the jaw if he kept looking at
the goddess
as if he wanted her for the main course. “This is Lenna,” he introduced from between clenched teeth. When his brother stared blankly, he added, “Davenport.”
Tyler’s eyes bugged. “Holy shit.” He looked back up at Lenna. “Wow. You know, I just saw your dad at the office when I picked Brax up for lunch. And he totally tried to marry you off to me. He gave us five years before wedding bells start ringing.” Grinning, he nodded. “I could totally dig that.”
Lenna turned slowly toward Braxton. “Is he serious?”
Braxton slumped deep into his chair and sighed. “Unfortunately.”
She shook her head. “So…you didn’t tell your brother about us then?”
“Us?” Tyler repeated, winging up his eyebrows. “What us? You mean…
you-two
us?”
Ignoring him, Braxton squinted at her. “What exactly was I supposed to tell him?”
She cringed. “Good point.”
“Wait, wait, wait.” Tyler waved his hands and broke into the conversation. “Are you two…hooking up behind her dad’s back?”
Braxton sighed and rubbed his forehead. “No.”
“But we keep running into each other,” Lenna said, turning a pleading glance to Tyler as if she wanted him to solve her heartache. “And every time we do…”
When her words trailed off, Braxton’s gaze met hers and a novel-full of emotions passed between them.
“Yeah,” Tyler said. “I see now that you’re as crazy about him as he is about you.”
Her eyes flared with surprise. “What makes you think he’s crazy about me?”
Tyler rolled his eyes. “Let’s see. How did he word it. Oh, right. He said you were amazing, sweet, light-hearted, great sense of humor, fun to talk to, and so freaking gorgeous it made his mouth go dry just to look at you.”
Lenna glanced at Braxton, her green eyes wide with surprise. Looking at her made his guts clench...and his mouth go dry.
“Did you really say that about me?”
He sighed. “I really hate my brother’s photographic memory sometimes.”
When she smiled, however, her entire face brightened with pleasure. He was actually glad Tyler had remembered what he’d said, word for word. He loved her smile.
“Oh, that’s it,” Ty announced. “You two totally have to hook up behind her dad’s back. There’s just no way around it.”
Braxton guiltily jerked his gaze off the piece of forbidden fruit in front of him and scowled at his brother. “What are we? Thirteen? We’re not going to sneak around, you idiot.”
Or were they?
Lenna remained tactfully quiet, and kind of pale, while Tyler squawked, “I think you
have to
. No way can you publically date her right now. Not with Mr. Davenport hating on you the way he does. But no way can you
ignore
this attraction either, not after I watched you two stare at each other like you did.”
Setting his hand over his heart, he gifted Lenna with a charming smile. “Being the romantic that I am, I’m willing to help you out once. But after that, you two kids are on your own. Got it?”
Braxton frowned. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Okay.” Tyler lifted his hands as if he had an idea to beat all ideas. “Brax and I will tell dear old dad we ran into Lenna at lunch and that she and I agreed to go out this Friday. That should appease him for a while and throw off the scent.”
With a glance at Lenna, he winced. “Sadly our love affair won’t go happily ever after as your daddy planned. I’m just too immature for you. Or whatever. Bottom line, we were doomed to fail. Meanwhile, you’ll
really
being with big brother, getting your secret rendezvous on, while he tries to charm your dad back into his good graces, and
voilà
, once Tom loves him again, you guys can live
your
happily ever after.”
Lenna and Braxton stared at him with equal expressions of perplexity before Braxton said, “The way your mind works is truly odd.”
“But you two are still totally going to go with my plan, aren’t you?” Tyler sat back and grinned knowingly. “Because you just can’t resist each other.”
Lenna couldn’t believe she was on a date with Braxton Farris. Even as he knocked on her door to pick her up, she kept telling herself to back out and put a stop to this crazy idea.
They couldn’t date. Her dad hated him. And he could end her father’s career in a heartbeat if anything bad happened between them.
But when she opened the door to tell him she’d changed her mind, she took one look into his anxious blue eyes, and her resolve slipped. He looked as uncertain, guilty, and totally excited as she felt.
Then his lips curved with reticent amusement. “Hello, my name is…” with a roll of his eyes, he muttered, “
Tyler
. Are you ready for our first date?”
Oh, boy, was she?
So, here they were. On their first official date, while her dad thought she was off with his brother.
“I hope you like Italian,” he asked as he pulled to a stop in front of one of the nicest restaurants in town.
Lenna’s eyes widened as she glanced out his Land Rover’s passenger side window. Dear Lord, he’d taken her to Georgina’s. Georgina’s put a place like Renneys to shame.
Still gaping, she was startled to realize a valet driver had come forward to open her door for her. She blinked at the man. Whoa, this place even had valet service. By the time she shook herself back to the present and exited the vehicle, Braxton had already come around to her side. He grinned at her and took her hand to escort her to the front door.
“Oh, Braxton,” she murmured, moving bashfully closer, afraid to let him know how intimidated she’d grown. Chunky heels, a jean skirt, and sleeveless Lycra top might've been a great outfit for some tucked-away pizza parlor, but it certainly wasn’t the outfit she would’ve chosen for a place like Georgina’s. “You shouldn’t have.”
His fingers tightened around hers. “I wanted to.”
She couldn't stop gawking. Inside the expansive foyer, a two-story waterfall trickled into a fountain with plants and vegetation blooming around the base.
Further into the restaurant, a violinist serenaded a table for two. The décor of Old Italy abounded with arches and stone molding at each turn. Lenna once again felt like a princess.
Glancing at her Prince Charming, she caught him watching her. She blushed and looked away, remembering their night together last weekend... which, in turn, reminded her of her pact she’d made with herself right before he’d picked her up: she would not to sleep with him tonight—no matter how amazing of a restaurant he brought her to.
A waiter came and took their drink orders, leaving them each with a menu. Hers didn’t have prices listed.
Oh, God.
She would not to sleep with him tonight. She would not to sleep with him tonight. she would not to sleep with him.
Braxton glanced through his. “Do you know what you want?”
“I don’t want to sleep with you tonight,” she blurted out, unable to contain her firm stand on the issue a moment longer.
Braxton’s head came up. His surprised blue eyes landed on her, and he stared a moment before saying, “I don’t...I don’t think that was on the menu anyway.”
Lenna blushed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that—oh, God.” She lifted her hands and pressed them against her hot cheeks. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what I’m doing. I just...I’ve never gone behind my dad’s back like this before, and it’s bothering me more than I thought it would.”
The concern on his face made her bite the inside of her lip. “Do you want me to take you home?”
“Hell no! I mean...” She wasn’t willing to go quite that far. She loved talking to Braxton, and being with him, and looking at him. But abstinence might help ease her guilty conscience to some degree. “I just don’t want to sleep with you.” She bit her lip and winced. “Okay?”
Braxton bobbed his head. “O-Okay. I mean—” He glanced around blindly for a second. “You know that’s not why I brought you here, right? I wasn’t trying to make you feel obligated. I don’t expect you to fall into bed with me every time—I mean, sex isn’t...sure, it’s important but...” He floundered for a second before meeting her gaze. “I’m not certain what I’m trying to say,” he finally confessed.
“Well...I hope you’re trying to say you’re willing to take this as slowly as I need us to.”
“Of course I am,” he agreed. He reached across the table for her hand. She willingly gave it to him. His warm fingers latched onto hers with the added bonus of swift reassurance.
“Lenna,” he started, “I don’t want to push you into
anything
. We can go at a turtle’s pace if that’s what you need. For now, I am more than satisfied just to be in your presence.”
Lenna’s chest filled with glee. “Thank you.” She blew out a relieved breath. “That’s exactly how I feel too.”