My One and Only: Book 1 in the Love and Weddings Trilogy (4 page)

              “Well, I know Taryn
and
I know Meredith and if you ask me, they could be twins,” Cleo said as she patted her lips with a napkin.

              Tai laughed and put his arm around Cleo’s waist. “Honey, are you feeling alright? I could swear you just said Meredith and Taryn could be twins. Those two are polar opposites and should be kept that far apart,” Tai said, glancing at Pule who nodded his head in complete agreement.

              Cleo shook her head and frowned at Tai. “Actually I think they’d make good friends. Look at them, they’re both feisty, strong and smart,” she said, smiling kindly at Meredith.

              Meredith smiled at Cleo, thankful she had someone in her life who would always have her back.

              Asher nodded. “Don’t forget, they’re both gorgeous, too.”

              Meredith turned her head and stared at Asher. He had been kind of flirty lately. Well,
a lot
flirty. And he had kissed her a few times over the past couple of months, but she hadn’t known that he thought she was gorgeous. She blushed and lowered her eyes, not sure how to take this sudden intensity coming from him.

              Pule sighed and took a donut out of the box. “I guess you’re right, Cleo. Two women who are strong willed, smart, feisty and beautiful. Yeah, I’m sure that one time they got into a fight was just an anomaly. If they hung out, I’m sure they’d get along perfectly,” he said dryly as a small smile lifted his mouth.

              Meredith threw the rest of her cupcake at Pule, hitting him squarely in the nose. Pule sputtered, laughing as he wiped chocolate off his face and Cleo and Tai stared at her with twin grins. Asher pulled her into his arms and kissed her on the cheek.

              “I’ve just decided that we better keep you and Taryn apart,” he said and let her go to grab a dishrag and hand it to Pule.

              “I’m going to get you back for that,” Pule said, narrowing his eyes at her dangerously.

              Meredith rolled her eyes and took a napkin and walked over to wipe a smear of chocolate off his chin that he’d missed. “You and what army?” she asked with an impish smile.

              Pule surprised her and picked her up in his arms and ran with her into the family room where he dumped her on the couch and began tickling her mercilessly while she screamed and begged for mercy.

              “
Stop!
Pule, you better stop right this second,” she squealed as she fell off the couch and onto the floor as she attempted to crawl to safety.

              Pule just reached over and pulled her back, as he continued to tickle her. “That’ll teach you to throw cupcakes at people. If you dish it out, you better be able to take it,” he said, growling at her.

              Meredith wiggled out of his arms and was grateful when Asher pulled her up and out of Pule’s reach. “Thank you,” she said breathlessly as she grinned at Pule and stuck her tongue out at him. “Nice to know there are still men who will rescue a poor, innocent woman from the clutches of evil.”

              Pule grinned slowly at her. “Until next time then.”

              Meredith laughed and glanced at Asher who was frowning darkly at Pule. She blinked in surprise but when she looked again, he was smiling and helping Pule up from the floor. She must have imagined it. True, Pule and Asher hadn’t gotten along in the beginning but in the last couple of months they’d clicked and even hung out now. No way would Asher be mad at Pule for tickling her.
Would he?

              Meredith went back into the kitchen and cleaned up the rest of the scattered crumbs from the demolished cupcake.

              “I’m meeting up with the band tonight to go over some new material so I’m going to take off,” Asher said, as he stood in the kitchen and watched her. “I wanted to hang out with you and talk business and throw around more ideas about the company but I forgot I’d promised Ivy I’d be there tonight. Can we get together tomorrow?”

              Meredith nodded and smiled as she dumped the crumbs in the trash. “Of course. I’m so glad the band is back together. I remember the first time I heard you play. You guys sound better than anything I’ve heard on the radio lately.”

              Asher smiled at her and crossed his arms over his chest. “Thanks. Having Ivy back as the lead singer definitely helps.”

              Meredith frowned and walked over, putting a hand on Asher’s arm. “It’s gotta be hard though being around a woman you used to love. Are you okay?” she asked, feeling compassion for him. She knew what it was like to still have feelings for someone who had moved on to someone else. It wasn’t fun.

              Asher shrugged and grabbed her hand off his arm, holding it in his. “I’m fine. I’m not sure my feelings for Ivy were ever really that substantial. I think I was more in love with the idea of her than her, if that makes sense.”

              Meredith nodded her head. “It does. But if you ever need to talk, you know I’m here for you. It was hard for me to get over Kam, but now that I am, I can look back and see how far I’ve come.”

              Asher’s eyes sharpened and he stepped closer to her. “
So you are?
Really over Kam, I mean.”

              Meredith shrugged and played with the cuff on his shirt. “Yeah, I’ve been over him for a while now. Sometimes I’ll look at him and remember all of the feelings I used to have for him and my heart will ache, but I’m happy for him. Bailey’s the cutest little pregnant woman I’ve ever seen and when I see the way he looks at her and touches her stomach, it’s the sweetest thing in the world. No, he’s right where he needs to be and with who he needs to be with and I’m good with that.”

              Asher nodded his head and played with a ring on her finger. “And where does that leave you? Do you think you’re ready to love again now?”

              Meredith pursed her lips and thought about it. Was she ready to love a man again? She’d gotten burned last time and she was still tender.

              “I think so. Which brings up something I wanted to talk to you about. To get our website up and going we need numbers. We need faces and profiles. Pule already agreed to be our first customer but you and I need to sign up too. I’m not saying we need to even date anyone from the site and we probably shouldn’t, but we’re going to have to put up profiles. Are you good with that?”

              Asher frowned and stared at her hand for a moment. “I see what you mean about numbers and profiles but I’d feel weird dating anyone since I’m going to be part owner.”

              Meredith smiled. “You never know, Ash. You might meet the girl of your dreams,” she said and pulled her hand out of his.

              Asher closed his eyes for a second as if he had a headache and then smiled before looking at her. “The girl of my dreams, huh? I don’t know, my dreams have been pretty specific lately,” he said in a low voice as he looked at her.

              Meredith blinked slowly as her heart sped up.
Why was he looking at her like that?
Like he was going to pull her into his arms and . . .

              “Hey, Ash, can I get a ride with you over to The Iron Skillet? Kam wanted to talk to me and I don’t have my car,” Pule said from right behind her.

              Meredith let out a slow breath and wasn’t sure if she was relieved or disappointed as she turned and smiled at Pule while stepping away from Asher. “He’s all yours,” she said with a bright smile and walked into the family room. She waved at Pule and Asher as they walked out a moment later but had a hard time meeting their eyes.

              Something had just happened, but she wasn’t sure what. But whatever it was, it made her heart beat fast.

              Pule stared at Asher’s profile from the passenger seat and frowned. He could see why Meredith would find him attractive. He looked like a grown woman’s Ken Doll. Pule sneered and looked away.
What was he doing?
Was he seriously jealous that he’d walked into the kitchen and caught Asher holding Meredith’s hand while looking deeply into her eyes?

              Pule blew out an exasperated breath and closed his eyes. Meredith was just a friend.
Just. A. Friend
. Plus, she’d dated his older brother, Kam. That right there put her way off limits. Whenever Kam had talked about Meredith, he could tell that it had never been that serious. At least from Kam’s point of view. From Meredith’s? Yeah,
very
serious. The woman had gone crazy and attacked Bailey at The Iron Skillet. And he’d been right there watching it the whole time. Of course, he’d been thinking throughout the fight how nice it would be to have a woman like Meredith so passionate about him that she’d fight for him.

              And now she was moving on to Asher Murphy. Pule glanced at him again and felt like punching him in his pretty face. Asher was okay. He’d changed in the last couple of months but then so had he. Seeing Cleo come close to dying had brought everyone closer together and had made them all realize what the important things in life were. Family, friends and love. Ever since Cleo had been taken, he couldn’t be the same old Pule anymore. He’d changed and he couldn’t go back.

              Not only had he put off his shallow,
live for the fun
life, he’d signed up for the Police Academy and would graduate in a few months. Tate had already promised him a job when he graduated. It was nice coming home at night and seeing how proud his mom and dad were of him. When Meredith had found out he had started at the academy she’d thrown her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek.

              And now, she was all he could think about. Tickling her on the floor had been too much fun. And by Asher’s face, he hadn’t liked it one bit.

              “Why so quiet? Tired from all the training at the academy today?” Asher asked as he flipped through the radio stations.

              Pule sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. He was friends with Asher now. Just because they liked the same woman, he couldn’t let their friendship be ruined.

              “It was okay. Nah, I just have a lot on my mind,” he said, trying to deflect Asher’s attention.

              Asher glanced at him again before coming to a stop at the light. “Worried about signing up for our dating website? I think you’ll be impressed. You haven’t been socializing as much as you used to lately. That’s about to change. You’re going to have women sending you messages every day wanting to meet you. Trust me, you’ll be on top of your game again.”

              Pule rolled his eyes and looked out his window. “Yippee,” he said quietly thinking about how cute Meredith looked in her skirt and button down shirt.

              Asher frowned and began driving again. “Hey, if you really don’t want to do it, I’ll tell Meredith. She can be overpowering sometimes and you can find yourself doing things you don’t want to do,” he said with an amused smile.

              Pule laughed. “Don’t I know it? Just last week she had me re-painting her bathroom and I still don’t know how that happened.”

              Asher laughed and pulled into The Iron Skillet parking lot. “Sucker. Well, here you go. See you later,” he said.

              Pule saluted him and stepped out of the car, walking into the warmth of the restaurant and heading back to the kitchen where his brother was chef. He pushed through the door and smiled at Candice and Antonio. He caught sight of Kam standing at the stove and grabbed a sourdough roll before walking over and standing next to him.

              “So what’s the emergency?” Pule asked before taking a bite of his roll. It looked like Kam was in the middle of making braised short ribs. They smelled incredible.

              Kam glanced at him and grinned, punching him the shoulder automatically. Pule only winced a little and knew Kam must be in a good mood because he’d pulled his punch.

              “Hey, Man. I want to hear all about the Police academy. Mom and dad told me you’ve been going for a while. When were you going to tell me?”

              Pule grinned and shoved the rest of the roll in his mouth. “I wanted to make sure it was a good fit before I started telling everyone. But it is. Kam, I gotta tell you, this is what I want to do.
I love it
. I’m the best shot on the range and I guess wrestling with you prepared me well for the police force because the hand to hand combat is a breeze. There’s a lot of studying, but I don’t mind that either. Kam, I’m top of my class.”

              Kam smiled, his brown eyes glowing warmly. “I’m proud of you, Pule. I just want you to know that.”

              Pule looked down, more touched than he thought he could be to have earned his big brother’s approval. “Thanks, Kam. I know I’ve been a screw up in the past and I’ve been a pain in your butt, but I just want you to know, I’m doing the very best I can. I really want this.”

              Kam put his spatula down and pulled Pule into his arms, hugging him so hard, he lost all the breath out of his lungs. Pule pounded Kam on the back and sniffed back some emotion at the same time as Kam wiped a tear from his cheek.

              “You’re staying for dinner tonight. I’m going to make you something delicious. How about braised short ribs? Sound good?”

              Pule licked his lips as he stared at the perfectly seared ribs. “Sounds perfect.”

              Pule spent the rest of the evening hanging out in the kitchen and keeping Kam company while he cooked. Pule gave a helping hand and helped everyone clean up and then let Kam give him a ride home.

              “How’s Bailey doing? Is she feeling any better?” Pule asked as Kam drove them through the quiet streets of Tacoma.

              “She’s doing a lot better. Those first few months just about killed her she was so sick. She hasn’t thrown up in a few days so I’m hoping the worst is over. We find out in a few weeks if we’re having a boy or a girl,” Kam said with a tired grin.

              Pule smiled at his brother and pictured him as a father. He felt bad for anyone who dared to mess with Kam’s kids.

              “What do you want? A boy or a girl?” Pule asked

              “Either, Pule. There’s just something about loving a woman so much and then knowing that you created a new life with her. I hope someday you meet a woman that takes your breath away,” Kam said with a smile and glanced at him.

              Pule tried to smile back but ended up grimacing. “Yeah, well I can’t picture fatherhood happening anytime soon for me.”

              Kam laughed and pulled into the driveway. “Me either, but it might be time to start looking for the right girl. Mom says you’ve been staying home from the clubs lately. Anything going on I need to know about?” Kam asked, sounding concerned.

              Pule shook his head and smiled for real. Kam was the most protective person he’d ever met. He’d never had any trouble with bullies growing up because Kam could sniff out a bully a mile away. He’d let everyone know up front that no one messed with his little brothers or sisters and no one ever had.

              “I’m good, Kam. I promise. It’s just that after Cleo was hurt and everything went down a couple months ago, I can’t look at life the same way, you know? Life is precious. Just thinking about how close Cleo came to dying and seeing the agony Tai was in . . . I can’t go back to the superficial life I had. I want meaning, Kam. I want a real life that makes a difference and I want a woman by my side that I can love and trust and build a family with.
I don’t know
…,” he said on a sigh.

              Kam stared at him silently for a moment and squeezed his shoulder. “You know. You know, Pule. But now that you do know, it’s time to do something about it. You’re going to be a great police officer and do our family proud. Now you just need the right woman you can love and bring home to mom and dad. Anybody fit that description in your life right now?”

              Pule looked away from his brother and shook his head as he smiled cynically.
What would Kam say if he told him the girl he wanted to bring home was Meredith?
Yeah, he’d be keeping that to himself.

              “Well, Meredith, Asher and Brogan are starting this dating website for this area and they want me as their first client,” he said feeling slightly uneasy about it.

              Kam frowned and sat back against his seat as he tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. “A Matafeo using an online dating website?
Hmmm
.”

              Pule reddened and was glad it was dark so Kam couldn’t see his embarrassment. “Meredith swears she can find me good girls who have my standards but who like to go out and dance and have fun.”

              Kam blew out a breath. “I don’t know. You know Mom has a list of twenty girls she could set you up with right now. Good girls who love to dance too. There’s no need to go online.”

              Pule shook his head quickly in the negative. “Dude, I’ve known all those girls since I was a baby. Don’t you think I would have figured it out by now if I was interested in any of them?”

              Kam laughed. “I know, I know. Mom had the same problem with me. Fine, let’s see how the dating goes. Keep me in the loop though. Better yet, bring your dates to The Iron Skillet so I can give you my approval.”

              Pule grinned and opened the door. “I’ll think about it. Thanks for the ride and dinner, Kam. See you Saturday at rugby.”

              Kam waved and backed out of the driveway. Pule watched him drive away and wished he could have confided in Kam about his feelings for Meredith. But Kam was the one person he couldn’t confide in. What kind of brother would date his beloved, older brother’s ex-girlfriend? Not a good one, that’s for sure.

              Pule groaned and put a hand over his heart to cover the ache as he walked in the house and locked up. Better to keep his feelings to himself and hope that Meredith could find someone to keep his mind off of her.