Page 16 of Thanking Her Brother's Best Friends

"So, one night, after work, I went out with some colleagues to The Mirage. It was a different sensory experience—the air was thick with perfume, cologne, and cigar smoke. It intertwined with the clink of glasses and the constant chatter of gamblers. Do you know what living in such a place does to you, Selene?"

"No, but I have a feeling you're about to tell me."

I gave a wry chuckle. "It makes you think you're sharing a bed with Lady Luck, no matter how skewed the relationship is. You keep thinking your fortune can turn each day you wake up, even if you've had a bad run for about a year."

The memory of just the floors, illuminated by the glow of neon lights, was stark in my mind. In particular, I remembered one incident involving a roulette wheel.

My colleague, Anthony, was the man who kept thinking his luck would turn. I'd told him, again and again, to stop before he ended up in a debt collector's office or worse. But he was just that kind of a bloke, as my English ancestors would say. He was the product of generations of endless optimism. Itneverran out.

So, as the relentless spin of roulette wheels filled the room, a chorus of groans and cheers punctuated the casino's air.

"Red twenty-three!" the croupier cried. All of us held our collective breaths as the ball danced around the wheel before settling in a pocket. I'd never forget the shock and subsequent, overwhelming joy in Anthony's eyes. "I told you!" he kept saying. "I told you my luck would turn!"

Of course, he didn't stop there. He moved on to another table where a croupier was shuffling a deck of cards as he dealt a game of blackjack. He won that too.

Then came the craps table. Everywhere he landed on that fateful night, Anthony just won. By the time we came out of the casino, he was screaming, "Winner, winner, chicken dinner!" incoherently.

"So, that night, the colleague I went out with experienced a very lucky turn of events," I said, my eyes looking ahead. "He kept winning everything he touched. It was as if he'd become Midas overnight. And I remembered asking him—what are you gonna do with all this money?"

"I imagine he would have been too excited to say anything sensible?"

"Actually, no. He told me he'd take the money, quit his job, and do what he'd always wanted to do in his life—set up a socks company."

"What?"

I inclined my head toward her and gave her a half-grin. "Crazy, right? But that's how it is with people. And it made me think. Around the same time, Dominic was in Boston, thinking of leaving the kitchen he was working in and setting up his own place. We didn't have a lot to work with. Almost nothing, in fact. But we had a shared love of food. I know you understand how that works."

She smiled softly. "It consumes you. I think, growing up as we did, food brought us together. There was so much violence—gangs, drugs, those rowhouses escaped nothing. But when it was time for dinner, somehow, it meant all of us got to get out of whatever pit of hell we'd dug for ourselves for a little bit."

I nodded. "And that's what drove us. We wanted to create a space where people could visit us and forget the daily noise in their lives. Like a brief interlude, you know? And food can do that to you. It can take you into a whole other journey and open up emotions you never thought existed."

I remembered the first time I'd felt the most sinful, decadent kind of love. It coincided with my first taste of a premium dark chocolate slab. A single bite, and I'd waited for the flavor to melt and settle on my palate.

It enveloped my tongue and the roof of my mouth, not bitter at all. Instead, it reminded me of a rich pine forest, walking barefoot on crunchy ground minutes before a storm, the taste of a beautiful woman's mouth.

It was a crescendo, layer upon layer of complexity unfurling as robust cocoa flooded my palate, married with a subtle tang dancing straight at the edge.

"So, when we made the decision to open our own place, I told the boys I'd take charge of the legal aspect of things."

Selene tilted her head slightly. "So, what does that involve?"

"I navigate all the legal and financial aspects of Harvest and Hearth—ensuring compliance with permits and regulations, handling contracts and licenses, and all that jazz."

"Have you ever had trouble with zoning laws?"

"Never, but then again, we're always on top of all laws, including health and safety and employment practices. I'm also in charge of budgeting, funding, just making sure we're a profitable venture."

"I've been wanting advice on risk management," she replied thoughtfully. "I may just have to seek your help if I don't find anyone better."

"Oh, ha-ha," I replied sarcastically. "I can bet on that."

"Hit me."

"Find a better risk manager in a week, or you have to come down to our restaurant every week."

"Do you guys need lessons in pastry?" she teased. "Because that's all I can do."

"Are you sure about that?" I responded, my tone low and rich. From the corner of my eye, I saw her blush. Fuck, she was perfect. She could feign all the disinterest in the world, but I knew Selene felt something in the narrow air between us.

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