by Elle Keating
She gorged herself on Raisinets and popcorn and tried to tune him out. He didn’t seem to notice that she had housed the entire tub practically by herself, probably because his eyes never left the screen. He also didn’t try to cozy up or hold her hand, which she was grateful for. Because now that she had spent time with him outside the clinic, she knew that this wasn’t going anywhere. He was a nice guy, but they had zero chemistry.
When the movie was over, she breathed a sigh of relief and wrestled her arms into her coat, all the while trying not to look over at Brennan.
“Did you enjoy it?” Brennan asked.
“Of course she did. It’s Marvel, man!” Jeff said.
“It was great!” Jack exclaimed.
“What was your favorite part, Jack? Mine was when Thor obliterated the king with just one punch!”
Brennan leaned over and asked, “Should we set up a playdate for them? I don’t think my brother and his fiancée would mind.”
Anna chuckled. “Be nice.”
“I am nice,” he said with a wink. “Alright, Jack. Time to head home. I kept you up way past your bedtime… and mine.”
She highly doubted Brennan hit the hay before ten on the weekends… alone.
She couldn’t stop herself. For thinking the worst. It just came naturally for some reason and it wasn’t fair. Look at what he had done today. He had played ball with his soon-to-be nephew, cooked him dinner and finished the night by taking Jack to the movies. But she remained jaded, suspicious even.
“Enjoy the rest of your night,” Brennan said with a wry smile.
Anna knew what awaited her when she left the theater. Absolutely nothing. And so did Brennan. The playdate remark, that wink, that smile… told her that he knew her night had come to an end.
Anna watched Brennan place his hand on Jack’s baseball cap covered head. Jack looked up and smiled at his uncle before he reached out and gave him a fist bump. For some reason that scene stuck with her the entire ride home… as her date gushed about Thor’s unstoppable power.
Chapter Seven
Brennan
“I had the best time! Can we hang out again?” Jack asked, looking up at him.
“I think I’ve been replaced,” Gabe said, giving Brennan a half-hug and a slap on the back.
“Not a chance in he… Not a chance,” Brennan caught himself.
“Thanks again. Devan and I needed that getaway,” Gabe said.
“I’m sure you did,” Brennan said, walking the family of three to his front door. “Jack, we can have a guys’ weekend anytime.”
Jack gave Brennan a fist bump. “Awesome! And maybe we can call your friend and hang out with her dog, Mack. He’s a guy,” Jack said.
“What friend?” Gabe asked.
Shit. They had almost been out the door. “Just a neighbor. She has a dog named Mack. Jack spent some time on the beach with him this past weekend.”
“Neighbor, huh?” Gabe asked.
“Yeah,” Brennan said, avoiding his brother’s gaze. Brennan kissed Devan goodbye, high-fived Jack and the two of them went to the car.
But his brother stayed behind.
“Hey, are you alright, man?”
For a split-second Brennan wished he had his old brother back, the pre-Devan one, the one who minded his own business, didn’t pry, loved his solitude. And then he thought about how happy his brother was now and he felt like an asshole for being such a selfish shithead. “Yeah, I’m good,” he said.
Gabe glanced over at his fiancée and son in the car and then back at Brennan. “Want to go out for a drink? Just you and me?” Gabe was not the going out type, especially since he met Devan. So his offer to hit up a bar told Brennan that Gabe knew.
“Some other time. You haven’t seen your boy in days. I’m sure you want to catch up.”
“Missed him like crazy. Wild how fast I fell in love with that kid.”
“I think I have an idea. Had him under my roof for one weekend. He’s easy to like. You hit the jackpot with them,” Brennan said.
Gabe cocked his head and stared at him. He couldn’t lie to his twin, but he didn’t know what to say, either. His head, his thoughts were a mess. Gabe nodded and then started to walk to the car.
“I’m just… not there yet,” Brennan blurted out.
Gabe stopped mid-stride but didn’t turn around. Brennan swallowed hard and gripped the back of his neck with both hands. “Well, when you are, you know where to find us.” Brennan watched his brother sigh before continuing his trek to the car. As he watched Gabe and his new family leave, he couldn’t help but latch on to the last word Gabe had uttered.
Us.
Gabe and Luke. The only two people on this earth who truly would understand because they had lived it. Brennan stepped back into his home and shut the door. Silence pounded him from all sides. It was so quiet, his home lifeless. For a moment he thought about calling his brother and taking him up on his offer. He could use a drink, maybe find a woman and get lost in her for a few hours. But when he thought about fucking a woman, it was Anna’s face he saw, her body responding to him as he pleasured her. That thought was quickly trampled though by another. Of her and her date. Did she take Mr. Marvel home? He would have bet money that she hadn’t, but he wasn’t completely sure.
Envisioning Anna kissing that dude, he grabbed his keys and rushed out the door. He pulled up to the urgent care and looked around, wondering what car belonged to her. He entered the clinic and checked in. His name was called after several minutes and he was escorted to the same room he had been in before. Fortunately, another nurse, not the one who looked barely legal came in and took his vitals.
“Is Dr. Bowman working today?”
“Yes.”
“Can I request her? Since she was the one who did my stitches, I prefer she be the one to take them out.”
The elderly nurse looked at him and smirked. Brennan flashed her his signature smile, which usually won women over, but this lady just rolled her eyes and said, “I’ll see what I can do.”
Man, he was losing it. His charm. It was depressing.
Brennan watched the feisty nurse leave only to have his attention snagged by something else. He could hear multiple voices coming from the hallway, but it was Anna’s he focused on. Brennan made his way over to the cracked door and peeked out. Sure enough, Anna was in the hallway speaking to a woman and a small child. The woman turned slightly, and Brennan noticed that she was holding a baby in her arms.
Anna squatted so she was eye level with the little girl, who Brennan guessed to be around three or four years old. “You were incredibly brave and for that I think you deserve one of these,” Anna said, holding up a lollipop. The girl’s face lit up and she happily accepted the treat and ripped away the wrapper in two seconds flat. Anna stood and addressed the child’s mother. “Her wound will remain tender for a few days and her arm may be a little sore due to the tetanus shot, so feel free to give her Tylenol for the pain.”
“Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom,” the girl said.
“There’s a bathroom right over there,” Anna said, pointing across the hallway. The mother looked down at her daughter and then at her baby. “I can hold your little one so you can take her to the bathroom.”
“Are you sure? He’s great with strangers, rarely cries,” the woman said, handing her baby off. Anna didn’t even get a chance to answer before finding herself with a blue bundle in her arms. The mother and child quickly disappeared into the bathroom. Anna peered down at the baby and smiled. He flashed her a gummy one and Anna chuckled. Her eyes widened and she made a silly face, immediately invoking more smiles and a full-on belly laugh from the baby.
“You are the absolute cutest,” she said.
Brennan couldn’t take his eyes off them, at how natural she was with him. The bathroom door opened and Brennan retreated back to the exam table, where he thought about Anna and how much he enjoyed watching her let go and have fun with a baby she barely knew. His mind went to a s
trange place and was in the middle of imagining Anna pregnant with a child of her own when she entered his room.
“Where’s your sidekick?” she asked.
“Jack was picked up by his parents a little while ago.” She came over and asked him to sit back on the inclined table. She quickly got to work and began to remove his stitches. “How did the rest of your date go?”
Her hands stilled and she met his gaze. “I think you know how the rest of my night went.” She started on his stiches again.
“That good, huh?”
“Jeff and I are better off as friends.”
“Like us?”
“We’re… neighbors. We barely know each other,” she said with a smile.
“I don’t know about you, but I’ve never let one of my neighbor’s dogs sleep in my bed. I think we’ve taken things to the next level.”
She chuckled. “I still can’t believe Mack did that. He has zero manners.”
“Would you meet me for coffee tonight? Neighbors do that, don’t they? Get together for coffee, gossip, borrow flour from one another.”
“Yes, if we were both housewives and it was 1955.” She dabbed some antiseptic on his brow. “I have a theory. Want to hear it?”
“Of course.”
“The only reason you’re pursuing me is because I’ve turned you down. The moment I cave, agree to a date, this,” she said, motioning to herself, “will lose its luster.”
Anna didn’t have a confidence problem. She was sure about who she was. Which meant only one thing. She didn’t think very highly of him and was certain that he was a one and done kind of guy. “Give me a chance to prove you wrong,” he said. “Meet me at Brew Bayou in town for coffee. Around seven?”
Anna peeled off her gloves and tossed them into the trash can. “7:30. I need to go home, shower and take Mack for a W-A-L-K.”
“Why did you just spell out the work ‘walk’?”
“Force of habit.”
“Anna…”
“Just coffee,” she said, pointing at him before turning and walking toward the door.
“And maybe some cannoli,” he added before she slipped out of the room.
***
Anna
It’s just coffee, in a public place, with lots of people.
Anna stared at herself in the mirror. Mack was lying on her bed, his head tilted to the side. She turned and faced him. “It’s just coffee,” she said with her hands on her hips. She gave her outfit a onceover. She had chosen jeans, a pair of boots and a cream sweater. She looked relaxed but not flopped out on the couch relaxed.
Since the coffee shop was only a few blocks away she decided to walk. The cool air would do her good and hopefully settle her nerves. But the second she spotted Brennan standing outside the coffee shop her anxiety shot through the roof.
“You’re surprised I showed,” he said, not a question, just matter of fact.
A little.
“No,” she lied. He pursed his lips, lips that looked so soft, bitable and she felt her face heat up. “It’s freezing out here. Let’s head in,” she said, brushing past him. They entered and went straight to the counter. She had been here many times, as she couldn’t stay away from their German chocolate coffee. She ordered a medium and Brennan opted for a regular and two cannoli. She had seen them in the case before but had never tried one. She had to admit they looked delicious.
“Best cannoli on the island,” he said, paying for their order.
“Coming from a world-famous chef, that’s saying something.” They found a round table by the window and took a seat. She didn’t waste any time and sipped her coffee.
“Will you have trouble falling asleep… since you’re drinking coffee before bed?” he asked.
“No, I could down an entire carafe and I would still conk out. Built up a tolerance in medical school.”
“What made you want to become a doctor?”
She had been asked this question more times than she could count. And each time she had given the same canned response. But tonight, instead of saying that she enjoyed helping people, she gave him more than she had ever given to anyone.
“One day my family and I went to the beach. My brother and I were building a sandcastle with my dad when he stopped abruptly and looked past me toward the water. I peered over my shoulder and saw a man standing about twenty feet from where we were, near the water’s edge, his hand over his heart. My dad sprang to his feet and raced to the man, who had collapsed to the ground. A crowd formed around them but I made my way through and witnessed my dad pressing on the man’s chest with both hands. My dad saved that man’s life that day. That was the moment I knew what I wanted to do.” Anna took another sip of her coffee. “Your turn. What made you want to become a chef and reality star?”
He winced. “Ex-reality star. My agent thought it was a good move, which it was financially, but I learned quickly that the limelight wasn’t something I wanted to be in for the long haul. I’d rather just cook and run Lucrezia.”
“I like the name.”
“I named it after my mother. Because of her, I don’t know if I would have discovered my love of cooking.”
“How so?”
“Well, when I was fourteen my family and I went to visit my mother’s sister and her family in Italy. We stayed for a month at their winery. If you weren’t working in the fields, going to the docks to buy fresh seafood, then you were cooking or prepping the next meal for anyone who showed up at my aunt and uncle’s door. And did people show up. Cousins, extended family. It felt like a party every night.”
“Your family holidays must be huge!”
“They can be, but sometimes it’s just my three brothers and their other halves, my sister Carina and her husband and my parents.” They were so different. He had family coming out of the woodwork and she had just buried her last immediate family member.
“So is your brother older or younger than you?” he asked.
She hadn’t spoken about Tim in years. Even after all this time it was still painful to think of him. “Tim was nine years younger than me. He and my mom were killed in a car accident when I was twelve.”
His cup was halfway to his lips when he placed it on the table. “I’m so sorry,” he said.
“It was a long time ago,” she said, reaching for a cannoli.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. She looked at him and that flirty glint in his eyes was gone and he stared at her as if he knew what true lost felt like. She needed to change the subject.
“Where are you spending Thanksgiving?” As soon as she asked, she knew what was coming next and she wanted to kick her own ass.
“At my parents.’ How about you?” he asked, eyeing her closely.
“I’m working,” she said as casually as she could. “This cannoli is incredible.” It was but she couldn’t savor it right now, not with him looking at her like he was trying to figure her out.
“The entire night?” he asked.
“Until ten,” she said. “I don’t mind.” She tried to sell it with a shrug of her shoulders, but his furrowed brow told her that he didn’t believe her. “I have to work early tomorrow. I better get going.”
He stood and helped her into her coat. His hand found the small of her back but just briefly as he escorted her to the door. Brisk air smacked her in the face as they stepped outside. “Can I walk you home?”
“You don’t have to. I only live a few blocks from here.”
“Please?”
“But it’s out of your way. You live in the other direction.”
“After downing that cannoli, I could use a walk,” he said, his lips turning at the corners.
“Have to watch that girly figure?” she asked.
“Exactly,” he said with a wink that was both cute and sexy.
They walked along the sidewalk and talked, this time about topics that weren’t so heavy. They exchanged some fun facts about each other. She confessed that swimming pools skeeved her out, she loathed wh
ite chocolate, and she absolutely preferred red wine over white. He shared that he hated the word genre, that there should never have been a sequel to Jaws and that the texture of cottage cheese made his stomach turn. His last admission made her laugh and she agreed with him wholeheartedly. As they drew closer to her house, Brennan told her that his older brother Luke and twin brother Gabe also named their businesses after their mother.
“She must be one incredible woman.”
“She is,” he said with a smile that was so warm, so genuine.
“Well, this is me,” she said, pointing to the house behind her.
“Mack is staring at us from your front window,” he said, peering over her shoulder.
“Yeah, he’s possessive like that.”
“I like him. Wants to make sure I’m behaving myself around his mom.”
Okay, that was adorable.
Anna fished her keys out of her purse. “Well, thanks for coffee… and the cannoli,” she added. He took a step back and put his hands in his pockets. Mack came flying to the front door and almost knocked her over.
“Is he always this happy to see you?”
“Sometimes he knocks me right off my feet. No manners, remember?” His smile faltered for a split second.
“So did I prove your theory wrong?”
She didn’t want to admit that she may have misjudged him. That there was more to this guy, that he didn’t just care about his fancy home, the money… the women. But there was only one way to prove it for sure. She withdrew her phone. “What’s your number?” He gave her his cell number and she quickly texted him a coffee cup emoji. “Now you have my number. If you use it, call me tomorrow, then I’ll admit my theory was wrong.”
He slid his phone in his coat pocket. “Goodnight, Anna.” He flashed her a smile, one that didn’t quite reach his eyes and walked away.
