Page 14 of The Brothers Next Door

“Would you like a soda, or water…”

“Soda, Coke if you have it.”

“Coming up,” she replied, smiling, the first smile I’d seen since arriving. I’d take that as a good sign. She disappeared, and a moment later reappeared, passing me a can of Coke as she sat down next to me and began eating the sandwich.

“This is amazing. It tastes even better than it smells,” she said, the smile reappearing as she finished off the last bite of sandwich and began to dig into the French fries.

“Told ya.”

“I wish you hadn’t told me about this place.”

“Why?”

“Its going to be hard to not get fat eating there everyday. My cooking is subpar at best. Trust me on that.”

“Believe it or not, I happen to be a good cook.”

“You don’t say.” Her eyes raced up and down my body. “Are you talking protein drinks and tuna sandwiches?”

Laughing, I shrugged. “Nope. I meant actual food, smartass. I will take that as a compliment though.”

“Mmm.” She crinkled up her nose as she looked at me. “So, did you really drop by my old place or were you just saying that?”

“I did. Wasn’t sure how I’d be received, but as it would seem you weren’t there to find out.”

“You didn’t leave on the best of terms. All that was missing was the twenty-dollar bill on the nightstand.”

“Ouch. Yeah, I didn’t mean for it to come off quite as badly as that. But in my defense, I had thought I’d been quite clear on....”

“You didn’t have to be so rude the past week.”

I eyed her, confused. What the hell? I didn’t know where she was. I’d explained I hadn’t had her number. I was tempted to challenge her on it, but decided against it. She had her opinion on the situation and I had mine, why argue semantics and ruin the chance to get to know her?

“I apologize for that.”

She looked at me hard and slowly nodded. “All right.”

“I was also wondering if you wanted to go on an actual date.”

“Actual date?” she parroted.

“You know, dinner, maybe a movie. If I’m lucky, a good night kiss at the door when I drop you off.”

Her expression remained stony for a moment, making me second guess my approach. But then her lips formed into a wide grin, humour in her gaze. “Wouldn’t a good night kiss at the door be a step back from our last time together? Need I remind you that you’ve been in my ass.”

I was left speechless for a moment, not expecting her crass comment, but also finding it amusing. At least she had a sense of humour about it. “We could just skip the date and get to the good stuff, hell, we could do it right now if you like.” I stood and reached for my belt. “I’m game.” I wasn’t sure how she’d react, but was betting she’d take it as it was meant to be, flirtatious teasing.

“Presumptuous?” she asked, raising a brow at me.

“Very,” I agreed, releasing my belt and sitting back down next to her. “Though, I certainly wouldn’t turn it down.”

“I’m sure.”

My smile faded and I looked at her with a serious expression. “Though I am quite serious in starting fresh.”

“Okay, so when were you thinking for this date?”

“How about tomorrow night?”

“Wow, a weekend night date. This is serious.” The teasing returned to her tone and her smile returned.

“I am extremely serious.” Grabbing the sandwich, I finished it off, along with the drink. “And considering the hour, I think I should be going.” Standing, she quickly followed suit, leading me to the door. She opened the door and stood there, her hand on the knob. “So, say seven o’clock?”

“That would be great.” My entire plan was to not kiss her, to be the gentleman, but she was so damned sexy standing there I couldn’t resist myself. Just one taste. Slipping a hand to the back of her head, I leaned down and brushed my lips across hers. She made an audible sigh against my lips as she responded. I wanted to deepen the kiss, pull her into my arms and ravish her like I’d done less than a week ago, but I pulled myself together and forced myself to release the grip on her neck and pull back.

“I’ll be seeing you later then.” Walking past her and into the hallway, I was about to take another step away when I couldn’t help myself. I turned back and gave her one final kiss—quick and unassuming. “Bye.”

“Bye,” I heard her murmur behind me, causing a large smile to appear on my lips.

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