Page 33 of Bragg's Match

“Whoa. Slow down.” Eden grasps my shoulder before I fall off the chair. She’s exaggerating. I’m a teensy weensy bit wobbly. Nothing more.

“What is Brody doing here anyway?” I mutter. “He doesn’t own a business.”

“I don’t?”

Crap. How is Brody standing right behind me? Did he sprint across the room?

“Why are sneaking up on me?” I snap at him.

“I wasn’t sneaking but if you want me to be sneaky, I can be.” He waggles his eyebrows.

The last thing I need is for Brody to be sneaky. I need for him to stay firmly on the outside of the walls I’ve erected around my heart, especially for him. I put signs up and everything.Brody stay out!

I put on a sigh. “Always acting the child.”

Pain flashes in his eyes. Damnit. I’m a bitch. I swear I’m usually a nice person. But when Brody’s around ‘normal’ Soleil takes a hike.

I search for a change of subject as the rest of the Bragg brothers join us.

“Don’t you need to get this meeting started?” I ask Moon as she’s currently the acting mayor.

“I’ll be glad when this gig is over,” she grumbles as she gets to her feet.

“Ha!” Eden snorts. “Now you understand why I didn’t want to be mayor.”

Moon rolls her eyes. “You didn’t want to be mayor because you were having your whole foreplay spat with Miller.”

Eden shrugs. “It worked out in the end.”

She makes it sound as if her argument with Miller was no big deal. She wishes. Miller and Eden staged verbal combat against each other for more than a year. The argument was supposedly about how the expansion of Miller’s brewery would ruin the gardens behind her plant shop,Eden’s Gardens.

But really, they just wanted each other and were fighting it because of stupid reasons. They finally managed to get over their issues. They’re now blissfully happy together and apparently trying for a baby. Another thing I refuse to be jealous of.

Moon walks to the front of the room to oversee the meeting and the Bragg brothers sit behind us.

Ashlyn hands me a beer. “Here. Today’s word is bed.”

I purse my lips. “A business meeting is not the place for a drinking game.”

“And yet. Here we are.”

There’s no arguing with the crazy woman. I accept the beer, but I won’t be playing her game. I never do. Someone has to be the adult in this friendship.

“I now call the July business meeting for Winter Falls to order.” Moon bangs her gavel on the table. “The first item on the agenda is the Lammas festival.”

Ashlyn’s sister, Lilac, stands next to Moon. She’s the comptroller for Winter Falls despite no longer living in town since she met and married the man of her dreams.

I sigh. Why is everyone finding the man of their dreams and I’m not? At thirty-eight, I’m the oldest of the single ladies. I should be married with a couple of kids already.

A hand squeezes my shoulder. “Are you okay?” Brody whispers in my ear.

I inhale a deep breath to center myself to stop the full body shiver threatening to occur at the feel of his breath against my neck.

“I believe we should discuss the profit for the Litha festival first,” Lilac says.

“You have everything under control,” Sage shouts from the rear of the room.

“Thank—”

---