Page 10 of Fall for You
“Of course!” Ronnie hugged her back. “That’s what big sisters are for.”
Chapter Four
Dallas rested his elbows on the counter in The King’s Inn kitchen, then leaned in close with narrowed eyes. “Is this your best attempt at negotiations?”
The only response was a gurgle.
He leaned in farther. “Oh yeah? Say that again. I dare ya.”
A little chubby fist swatted his cheek, and Dallas pulled back, rubbing his jaw. “So that’s the way you want to play it, huh?”
Brandon’s voice came from behind him, laced with amusement. “That’s what you get for taunting my son.”
“Taunting?” Dallas pretended to be offended. “Who was taunting? I was bonding with my nephew. Besides, it’s never too early to learn the fine art of negotiations.” He turned to Baby Nate. “Isn’t that right?”
On cue, the infant made another gurgling noise in his baby carrier.
Dallas grinned. “See?”
Brandon laughed as he scooped up his son and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. His voice went all high and sappy as he spoke in baby talk. “Did that nasty ol’ Uncle Dallas scare you? Hmm?”
Dallas chuckled.
Brandon turned to him, still smiling. “When’d you get in?”
“Just now. Giselle asked me to keep an eye on Nate until one of you got back from…I don’t know. Whatever it is you guys actually do here.”
Unlike Bailey, Brandon rarely took the bait. And this time was no exception. “Work.” His tone was bland. “The word you’re looking for iswork.”
“Ah, right.”
“Where’d Giselle go?” Brandon asked.
Dallas shrugged. “She didn’t say.”
Brandon hitched Nate up in his arms. “Let’s go find Mommy, huh? What do you say?” He headed toward the swinging kitchen doors before looking at Dallas over his shoulder. “You coming?”
“Nah. I’m good here. I was hoping to chat with Willow.”
Brandon’s eyes scanned the kitchen and his brows hitched like he was surprised to discover she wasn’t there. In all fairness, Willow was typically found in the kitchen. It was, in her words, “my happy place.”
“Huh. I didn’t realize she’d taken off.” Brandon patted Nate’s back when he squirmed. “Can you tell her that the Jensens need a vegetarian option when she gets back?”
Dallas no sooner agreed than Brandon was hurrying out the swinging doors in search of his fiancée.
Dallas was far from offended. From his brief stint here, he’d become familiar with the pace at which everything ran. There was always some task to be done, a message to be relayed, or guests to appease.
He loved this pace. It was so much more interesting than working at the well-oiled machine that was the family business.
Of course, if you asked Bailey, she’d moan about how hard it was. No time to take a day off, always understaffed and behind on the to-do list.
Dallas supposed the downside of a successful new business was it didn’t leave one much time to sit around and revel in the win. There was always too much to do.
Which was why Dallas wasn’t surprised when Bailey’s boyfriend barely slowed down as he passed through, acknowledging Dallas with a big grin and a wave that Dallas returned.
“Good to see you, bro!” Drew called as he darted out the side door.
“You too.” The fact that Dallas meant it was still a little surprising. He’d been ready to despise Drew the first few times they’d met.
