Recipe For Seduction (A Madewood Brothers Novel) (Entangled Brazen) (7 page)

Veronica nodded. “I appreciate your advice, but Finn isn’t The One. Not for me. He’s just not. I…” Gosh. She needed to stop talking. Right now.

Sterling smiled and tilted her head to the side. “Maybe it’s not Finn, but someone.”

She returned her sweet gesture. “I hope so.”

If only that someone would make himself known, so she could get over Finn once and for all.

Do you hear that, man of my dreams? Show the hell up, already!

Until then, she had a promise to fulfill with Finn.

Chapter Five

Finn had been summoned to Bistro for an emergency foundation meeting a few days later.

The Vivian Madewood Foundation had been founded more than a year ago, initiated by his brother Jack. The foundation raised funds for various charities, the most important being the Cooking for the Future program.

When Finn arrived, the group had already gathered at its usual booth at the back of the dining room. Neil sat at a table alone across the aisle, dressed in his usual business suit, straddling a chair. Jack and Gloria York, the foundation’s vice-chair and their late mother’s best friend, sat on one side of the booth. She patted his hand gently with a smile. Cole paced the small distance between the booth and the table. By the look on his face, Finn knew this was going to be an intense meeting.

“Morning,” Finn said as he approached.

“We’re all here now, can we get started?” Cole asked. He fisted his hands at his sides and the tendons in his neck rippled with his anxiety.

As soon as Finn had squeezed into the opposite side of the booth from Jack and Gloria, Cole began. “I assume you’ve all heard one of the kids in my program has passed away.”

Gloria gasped. “I had no idea.”

“That’s exactly the reaction you should have, Gloria.” Cole thrust his finger at the petite, older woman. “And what’s worse, he was stabbed on the street and left to die, all because he was dared to steal something.”

“It’s awful, Cole,” Neil said, “but what does that have to do with the foundation? We have no liability.” Neil was always the best at keeping the conversation on track.

“We can try to stop it from happening again.” Cole rustled through a stack of papers and handed them out.

It was a makeshift proposal. Numbers were written all over the page. It was like a serial killer’s version of a business deal.

“Cole, dear…” Gloria laid her hand on his arm as he placed the papers back on the table, but he jerked it away when he stepped back to hand a copy to Neil. “How do you expect
us
to stop kids from being victims of crimes?” Gloria had a family of her own—a husband, two sons, and five grandchildren. Finn used to keep them occupied whenever Gloria came over to visit their mother. And despite the occasional offhand remarks about Vivian’s decision to take in four stray teenage boys, Gloria had always been by her side, her staunchest friend and supporter.

“By establishing the Madewood Boys and Girls Club.”

They all stared silently at their brother. No one even dared make eye contact with each other for fear of Cole flying off the handle. He tended to do that sometimes, when he felt they were siding against him. But in this case, it wasn’t siding against him, it was doing what was best for the family and the foundation.

“The Madewood Boys and Girls Club?” Neil was the first to cautiously speak.

“These kids need somewhere to go. They need activities to keep them occupied. And—” Cole straightened and stuck out his chin. “It’s all going to be free of cost.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Neil scoffed. “It’s one thing to give our time and donate food, but this…you’ll need buildings, staff, equipment. Where are you going to get the money for all that?”

Cole looked over at Jack.

Jack recoiled in his seat. “You want the foundation to pay for this?”

“Come on. These kids need us. Half of them can’t even read a recipe. And it’s not like the words are difficult.”

The recipes they used in the program were simple and reformatted to an eighth-grade reading level. Fancy cooking terms like chiffonade and rémoulade were never used. So, the fact that some of the kids couldn’t read them was a big problem. But reading and building recreation facilities were two entirely different things.

“We can’t save the world, Cole.” Neil was always the last to get on board with an idea—unless it was his own. Then he worked balls to the wall until the idea became a reality.

“Why not? Someone saved us. Why can’t we save others? It’s our turn to give back.”

No matter how much good they did, it would never be enough. Not for Cole.

“We may be fortunate, but we can’t do everything.” Jack folded Cole’s poor excuse for a proposal in half and laid it on the table.

Cole glared at Neil. “We certainly seemed to move forward with your monstrosity of a restaurant.” Just a few weeks ago they’d held the grand opening of the Madewood Farm project, which had been almost two years in the making. “Why is there money for that and no money for a good cause?”

“You know exactly why. Those funds were from the business and not the foundation,” Neil ground out. “It’s different.”

“Then where am I supposed to get the money from?” Cole was becoming increasingly agitated with each word he spoke. The more Jack and Neil challenged him, the more passionate he became. They all had a soft spot for kids in need. Not only because they knew firsthand about the challenges those kids faced, but because their mother made sure they never forgot how lucky they were—and how, if you have the means to change someone’s life for the better, you should do it.

Cole looked up from the table right at Finn. The usual brooding mien that masked his brother’s every move had been replaced with a desperation unlike he’d ever seen before. This murder had hit Cole hard. To the very core of his being.

“Let’s take some time,” Finn said.
Mr. Mediator to the rescue
.
Again
. “Let’s get some proposals together.”

“Hell. Even Jack was more prepared than this,” Neil said with a grunt.

Finn glared across the table at him. He wasn’t helping. Neil nodded in acknowledgment. He’d shut up now.

Jack had transformed immensely over the last year. Thanks to his bride-to-be, Sterling, of course. But he’d also come a long way all on his own, and had solidified his place as the fund-raiser of the group. Which was probably why Cole was so angry.

“Why don’t you get Penn to help you brainstorm some new fund-raisers and get a business proposal ready that Jack can take back to the lawyers and the accountant?” Finn suggested. This was all moving too fast for his liking. He couldn’t get on board with an idea born out of emotional distress. He peered over at Jack, who hadn’t lifted his gaze from the floor for the last two minutes. “Jack, are you willing to do that?”

Jack nodded. “Yeah.”

“I already have the start-up costs covered.” Cole dropped his papers on the table with a
thunk
.

“You’re going to use your own money for this?” Neil’s expression gave away his distaste.

“Why not? Mom left us with enough money to live ten lifetimes.”

“How much money are you willing to give up to make this happen?” Finn asked.

Without hesitation, Cole answered, “As much as it takes.”

His answer told Finn everything they needed to know. Cole was desperate and not thinking clearly.

“Fool.” Neil leaned forward, kicking out one leg in front of him and letting his chest rest on the chair back.

Gloria just sat there in shock. She’d probably never seen them so tense with one another. She’d no doubt never seen Cole so…passionate about a topic, either.

And this discussion had the potential to erupt to a level even Finn wouldn’t be able to control.

Time for Mr. Mediator to rein them all in. “We’re tabling this idea for now. Meanwhile, let’s all think seriously about how we can make it happen.”

“Whatever.” Cole grunted, swiped up his documents, and stormed out of the room.

Jack stood, but Neil put his hand on his arm to keep him from following. When Cole got into one of his moods it was best to leave him alone. All four brothers carried guilt. They all wrestled with similar demons. But Cole’s seemed to be the darkest and most haunting.

The back door banged shut after him, and they all cringed.

“He’s not going to let this go, is he?” Jack asked.

“Just let him cool down for a couple of days,” Finn said.

“I’ll text Penn and let her know to expect a ranting phone call or visit.” Neil pulled his phone out of the inner pocket of his suit.

“Good idea,” Finn answered.

For some reason, Penn was one of the few people who could talk him down off a cliff. That Cole was smitten was utterly obvious to everyone but himself. The man had issues. Hell, who didn’t?

Gloria rustled inside her purse. “I expected this meeting to be civil, and I am reluctant to bring this up without Cole here, but the news is just too big to keep a secret.”

She smiled wide and laid a piece of paper on the table. “The National Philanthropy Association has honored our Jack with the Young Philanthropists Award.”

“You’re not serious,” Jack said. He picked up the letter and read it over. “Me? A philanthropy award?”

Neil stood and patted Jack on the back. “Good boy, Jackie. You’ve worked really hard this year. You deserve it.”

“Wow. This is going to bring really big attention to the foundation and to the Cooking for the Future program. Awesome.”

“Congratulations, Jack,” Finn said. He knew how important an award like this could be for the foundation. But he couldn’t help feeling a spurt of impatience. His brothers valued the public accolades far more than he did. And okay, maybe there was a tiny twinge of envy, too. Everyone seemed to be recognized for their good deeds except for Finn. It would be nice if his hard work were acknowledged just once. But hell, there were more important things than awards…like family and friends.

Speak of the devil. He looked up as Mark walked into the dining room dressed in jeans and button-down shirt. It was one of only a few times since their early twenties that Finn had seen him not wearing a suit. “Sorry I’m late. I got stuck waiting for the train.”

Mark peeked around Jack and smiled, “Hello, Gloria.”

She returned his greeting with a tiny wave of her fingers.

Like Neil, Mark was a businessman to the core. But unlike Neil, Mark was truly corporate. He worked for an advertising agency in Vancouver, specializing in fashion.

Jack acknowledged Mark with a shake of his head. “What are you doing here?”

“Cole sent me a text. He said he needed my advertising expertise.” Mark rocked back on his heels and his eyes darted from one person to another. “Where is he? I don’t have much time. We’re dropping Ali off at school this afternoon.”

“That boy is getting way ahead of himself.” Neil gripped the back of the chair he was still straddling. “He’s already thinking about advertising.”

“Did I miss something?” Mark asked hesitantly.

Jack fiddled with the paper evidence that Cole had just visited Crazy Town. “Just Cole flying off the rails.”

Mark blew out a long breath. “Haven’t seen one of those in a while.”

Jack shook his head. “It wasn’t pretty.”

Finn’s stomach growled. The loud sort of growl that caused Neil to look over and snicker. “Since we’re here, why don’t we have a celebratory breakfast?” He smiled at Jack.

“But Cole left.” Jack eyed the exit to the back door.

Cole clearly wasn’t coming back. Not anytime soon. And since it was still midmorning, they wouldn’t be in the way of Cole’s staff. “Bistro has a kitchen full of food and I’m starving,” Finn said.

Neil grinned. “What else is new?”

“Besides, I think we should ditch the drama and talk instead about organizing a bachelor party for this fool.” He poked a finger at Jack.

Gloria rose. “You boys have fun. I have a few errands to run.”

Once Gloria had left, the four men assembled in the kitchen and Finn barked out orders. “Neil, you’re in charge of bacon. Jack, hash browns. I’ll make the eggs.”

“What should I do?” Mark asked.

He looked over at Neil and Jack, who both averted their heads to hide their fits of laughter. Mark, just like his sister, was a disaster in the kitchen.

“How about you go find some fruit?”

Mark’s face lit up and he jogged to the walk-in fridge.

“No running in the kitchen,” Neil called sternly.

Mark stopped abruptly and turned with a frown. The brothers all laughed.

“You guys are assholes.” Shaking his head, Mark disappeared into the fridge.

Neil placed an entire pound of bacon on the flat-top grill. “So Ali’s off to school today?”

“We leave in a couple of hours,” Mark called back. “The kid’s all packed. Hell, she’s been packed since June.”

“Remember when we dropped you off at college, Neil?” Jack said. The stainless steel knife he held sliced through a baked potato, cutting it into small cubes. “You had six girls’ phone numbers written down before Mom even made your bed.”

“It was eight.” Neil smiled, glancing up at the ceiling remembering the good old days. “And I got three more before she left to drive home.”

Mark reemerged with an armful of fruit. “Maybe I should start street racing like you. Get me some more chicks.”

Jack laughed while he slid a pile of diced onions off the knife into a pan. His hand came up to defend himself when a piece of uncooked bacon hit him in the shoulder.

“Not funny.” Neil glared at Jack. It was only a few weeks ago he’d done time in the hospital because he’d crashed his bike.

Finn added some milk to a bowl where he’d cracked eight eggs. He seasoned the mixture, whipped it a bit, then poured it into a pan. “Or you could put out a sex tape,” Finn suggested. He couldn’t resist giving his oldest brother a hard time.

Prior to the opening of their flagship restaurant, the Madewood Farm, Neil had been the victim of a sex tape scandal. He and his then-employee and now steady girlfriend, Carson Kelly, had…christened…the new restaurant—and not by breaking in a new appliance. But they’d had an audience. It had gotten 2.2 million views on a gossip blog before they’d managed to have it taken down.

“Hey! You could give him pointers, couldn’t you, King?” Jack drawled.