Page 54 of Rainbow Kisses

“Yeah, kid.” His gaze slid to the side and his grin turned soft. “You hungry? Let’s get something to eat.”

Maddy’s head tilted to the side, her gaze bouncing between Brian and me, before she nodded. “Sure. I can eat.”

“Good, ’cause I’m starving. See you later, Rain.”

I almost said, “See you tomorrow,” but stopped myself just in time. Instead, I waved and tried to contain the smile that wanted to hijack my expression.

“Sooo, there’s nothing going on between you and Brian, right?”

“That’s right.” I didn’t even bother to turn around to see Tressy, who must be in stealth mode. “We were just talking.”

“Uh-huh. Well, when that just talking turns to not just talking, you know you can trust me if you need to discuss.”

“Nothing to discuss.” I grabbed my tote, gave Krista a hug, patted Tressy on the shoulder, and headed for the door

I’d toldDad I was working at home this morning, which wasn’t unusual on the Monday after a game.

The team had the day off from practice, though they were encouraged to work out or take a yoga class at the only gym in town. Some of them even opted for ballet, which I thought was amazing for flexibility.

And while I did do a few work-related things, including updating our socials and banking a few posts for the rest of the week because I didn’t want to have to work Wednesday or Thursday, mostly I got ready for my not-a-date with Brian. We were just two friends meeting for lunch to discuss…something. Not sure what that something was, but I didn’t really care. Brian and I would be alone to discuss anything we wanted.

I’d have him all to myself. No brothers, no niece, no prying neighbors or landlords or friends or townspeople who loved to gossip or would tell my brothers I was having lunch with a man. It was part of the reason I’d bought this house across town. I loved my family, but growing up as a girl with three brothers, I also loved my space.

I’m not a great cook, not like my mom or Rowdy. Damn him, he’d inherited the good-cook gene from my mom. But I’d spent enough time in the kitchen with my mom, and I was pretty… Well, I was decent.

And I liked to cook. When I had the time. Which wasn’t often. I had a few signature dishes that I could pull out when I had friends over, but this was just lunch.

So, a good hearty soup and thick roast beef sandwiches were on the menu. I whipped up a potato soup loaded with cheese and bacon and chives, because really, who didn’t like bacon and cheese and potatoes. And the roast I’d put in the crockpot last night before bed was now fall-apart soft and going to be yummy. I even made homemade rolls, although I cheated with the bread machine.

When Brian knocked on the door at twelve-thirty, the house smelled amazing, and I couldn’t stop smiling when I saw him standing there.

“Hi.” I waved him in and shut the door against the cold wind whipping through the valley today. “It’s bitter out there.”

“Yeah. Forgot how cold it can get here.” He shuffled his feet across the welcome mat as I shut the door behind him. “Damn, Rain, what’s that smell? It’s amazing.”

My face was going to hurt if I kept smiling like this. “Lunch. I hope you’re hungry.”

“I’m starving, so I hope you made a lot.”

I motioned for him to follow me back to the kitchen, where I’d set us up at the table by the window.

“I’m used to making much more than I should because my brothers almost always drop by for some reason, and they’re always hungry. Especially Reb?—”

Dammit, I hadn’t wanted to bring him up, not already, even though I knew I was going to ask Brian about what had happened between him and my brother. But first I wanted a little bit of time to just talk.

“You can say his name.” Brian gave a wry huff. “It’s not like we’re mortal enemies or anything.”

“I know that. I just didn’t want to start off on that note.”

“So what do you want to talk about?”

Now that he was here and watching me with those intense eyes with his arms crossed over his broad chest, I was luckywe didn’t have an audience. Because anyone with eyes would be able to read my emotions.

“Why don’t we get lunch first?”

He didn’t answer right away, just stared at me, like he was trying to read my mind. If he could, would he run? Was this attraction one-sided? Was I seeing something that wasn’t there?

Then I thought back to the other night when we’d fallen asleep on the couch and the way he’d looked at me. No, I wasn’t wrong. I knew what I’d seen, and I wasn’t wrong.

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