Page 26 of Brooke
Her plan set, she only hoped he wouldn’t wreck it with his magnetic presence when he arrived this afternoon.
As she was lifting the three vases she’d individually wrapped in the fabric he’d sent with the flowers, someone knocked on her bedroom door and opened it a crack.
“I heard you got flowers!” Thea burst into the room, her sweetheart face aglow with happiness. “Madison mentioned she wasn’t sure what they meant, but she says Axel’s notes about the restaurant have momentarily given him a pass. He wasn’t hitting on you, was he?”
“No, of course not!” She pasted a bright smile on her face. “I wouldn’t have kept the flowers if he was inappropriate.”
“Whew!” Thea leaned over to sniff the wine-colored roses and run her fingertips over the lush velvet. “Because I really liked him. Everyone wants you to have a comfortableprofessional working relationship with him so you can achieve your dreams.”
There it was again. The whole professional working relationship schtick. Kyle’s worries were being spread to her roommates, which only made them worm their way further into her mind…
If everyone was concerned about her and Axel maintaining a professional relationship, they wouldn’t be okay with them seeing each other. How could she explain the situation from Axel’s perspective? Sure, Sawyer got it, but he was an artist and a dreamer. He thought and reasoned differently than Kyle and the others would.
Truthfully, she didn’t even know what to call this new and developingthingbetween Axel and her. Was he usually this intense with women? He was an artist at his core, a genius. She’d observed the intensity of such types and their relationships from afar in fashion and art.
But she’d never gone out with one until now.
She was feeling swept away. Carried along on their river of honest insights, passionate emotion, and talk of adventure. In fact, she wanted to box up her common sense for a while and ride down the rapids with him. So not like her. She’d read stories about these kinds of passionate affairs where a perfectly normal woman suddenly lost all common sense. Now she could understand it. But she refused to be a victim of it. Sticking to her professionalism-first plan was the key. Otherwise, people like Giulia Mariani would serve her up with toast points for her readers and anyone who would listen if she made a dumb move.
“Don’t worry, Thea,” Brooke told her. “You know me. I’m Third Course, right?”
“I know, but we all worry about you.” Thea picked up a copy of the magazine that would feature their house and her work with Axel. “It’s a huge relief really. Hey! This is the magazine we’re going to be in! People who know design aregoing to see what you and Axel created. Brooke, I can’t wait to have your edition ofMaison Style.I’m going to insist on buying a coffee table so Jean Luc and I can feature a whole stack of them for guests.”
Brooke had to bite her lip. Sometimes Thea’s sweetness slayed her.
“And when my bakery opens,” Thea continued in that same animated way of hers, “I am totally going to frame the article and put it up on my wall for all my customers to see.”
A lump formed in her throat as she watched Thea set the magazine carefully back in its cherished place. Brooke had been keeping it in sight on her rosewood bureau to remind herself how close she was to having what she wanted.
It had been a long time since Brooke Adams had had what she truly wanted.
Nothing was going to mess that up. On that score, she and Axel were in agreement.
“Is this a girls-only party?” She glanced over to see Dean grinning in the doorway. “I heard someone got flowers from our new interior decorator. I need assurances I don’t have to knock his block off when he arrives today. Because if he’s coming on to you, Brooke, I’ll risk breaking my hand.”
Knock his block off? Honestly…the weirdness was too much. Everything she did in life was to keep her friends happy and content, and right now, she was failing. “That’s really nice of you, Dean, but your hand is safe.”
He kissed it boldly before crossing and bussing her cheeks. “Thank God! Because I really like touchingma belleJacqueline with it. Besides, pain. But I would have done it for you, Brooke.”
She studied her two friends, beaming sunshine at her as they stood in front of her new bed. Both of them were positive people to the core, and she loved them for it. “I know that. Much appreciated. Now…how were your weekends?”
“Sex, wine, and countryside,” Dean answered with a wide grin. “What could be better?”
Thea blushed the same color as her new wool sweater. “The food was incredible too. The local markets featured some incredible breads. And we found some special bottles for Nanine’s and Pairings by Pierre, so it was kinda like a work trip. Brooke, it was wonderful having your dad and Nanine along. Since buying that cave for Nanine’s, he’s become our wine champion. Nanine got caught up in his good spirits, and it was so happy to see.”
“Wait!” She touched Thea’s arm. “My dad and Nanine went along too?”
“Yeah!” Dean brushed off his shoulders with his knuckles. “My idea. I ran into them after I left the house on Friday. There were having a café at Fitzy’s and talking with the locals. When I told them where we were going, your dad got all excited. Suddenly, I was encouraging both him and Nanine to come along. I thought it would be good for them, Nanine especially. And I knew Jacqueline wouldn’t mind.”
She got a little tenderhearted hearing that. “God, that was downright sweet of you, Dean. Now I understand why he didn’t call me back.”
“Yeah, he’s as much a go-getter as you are about wine.” Dean made a sound of something exploding. “I think he and Nanine visited like twelve wineries in a day. Of course, he wanted to find some awesome bottles for the opening. Brooke, your dad is a male version of you.”
“Thank you, Dean,” she said wryly.
“He totally means that as a compliment, Brooke.” Thea fairly bounced in her heels. “I’ve always loved your dad, but I never realized how much heloveswine. He and Nanine and Jacqueline couldn’t talk about it enough when we were at dinner. They were wine crazy, debating this vintner and that vintage.”
“Insane but loveable.” Dean leaned down and kissed hercheek. “Much like you. Of course, I’m on cloud nine after an incredible weekend of countryside sex. I feel like a new man. If I could bottle this feeling and sell it, I’d make a fortune.”
