Wright folded his arms across his chest, wide-eyeing Dev.
“Don’t pay her any attention. It’s not you. She’s mad at me because I wouldn’t tell her what the secret weapon was. When she gets crabby like this, I like to remind people she’s adopted.”
She flipped him off without looking back, but she’d harbor no real anger at Dev’s remark. He was the only person on earth who could give her a hard time about being the redheaded stepchild, and she knew he meant it with love.
The truth was, Sophie was normally the jovial, levelheaded one. The calming glue that kept the siblings from tearing apart. But every now and again, if something got her riled, she’d live up to the stereotype of the fiery redhead and the whole world better duck and run.
Wright shook his head. “Yeah, I was going to say, she was in a great mood this morning. What happened?”
“I guess Beau happened.” Dev held out the other piece of bacon, waiting for an appearance. He lowered his voice and spoke from the side of his mouth. “Plus I think her date for tonight called and ditched her. And she’s pissed, but don’t tell her I told you.”
Concern flickered across Wright’s face, gone in an instant. “Then I don’t blame her for being pissed. She’s been talking about it for a couple of days now. Some guys are such assholes.”
The sound of galloping feet came from around the inn. Beau was close.
“Yep. Single life can be rough.” Not for him at the moment; but normally, being Devlin Bradley, and half the town would rather die than let their daughter, sister, or niece go out with you, it was tough going. “But you don’t have to worry about sweating the single status anymore.” He swatted Wright on the arm with the back of his hand.
“You make it sound like I’ve settled down and gotten married. We’ve dated a couple of months.”
Dev crouched down as Beau took off across the parking lot but then turned, a streak of brown coming down the homestretch. “That is settled down, in my book, but the point being, you aren’t out there dating at random anymore. You have a girlfriend. I know you wanted one, so I’m assuming that’s a good thing.”
“Yeah.” Wright didn’t sound all that convinced.
Regardless of what he thought, Wright was one of those guys who always seemed to have a girlfriend. He was what most would consider a catch. Good family—even if they were stuck-up—stable and steady, outgoing, and nice looking—Dev guessed. And the guy could flat out cook. He wasn’t their gourmet chef for no reason.
Toss in the fact that he was the most loyal friend Dev had, and one hell of a nice guy—Wright was every mother’s dream son-in-law.
Why he’d stayed friends with Dev all these years was still a mystery.
Wright unfolded his arms and shifted on his feet. “It is a good thing, but I’m not proposing next week or anything. That’s all I’m saying.”
Dev frowned. “Why are you acting weird?”
“I’m not.”
Beau barked and bolted down the road leading to the cabins, and a female yelp seized Dev’s full attention. “Beau!” He took off after the dog, who was headed straight for Anna.
He wouldn’t hurt her of course, but she didn’t know that, and that was a whole lot of dog barreling toward her.
“Beau!” he yelled again.
“Beau!” both Sophie and Wright called, right behind him.
Anna froze in place, arms out in front of her as the dog swerved at the last second, and ran around her in bouncy counterclockwise circles.
“Oh my god, that dog scared the crap out of me.” Anna held her hand over her heart.
As soon as they got close, Beau caught scent of the bacon. Dev had his full attention then, feeding him as Sophie hooked the leash onto his collar.
“Gotcha, you little escape artist.”
“Sorry about that.” Dev’s gaze met Anna’s. “He’s a little high on dog life today and he loves new people.”
“That’s okay. I’m awake now at least.”
He scratched the top of Beau’s head before stepping away. Now was the time to play things cool. Anna was like any other guest, so long as Sophie and Wright were around. His reaction and behavior toward her needed to reflect that.
“We still have fresh coffee in the great room, if you’d like some.”
Anna blinked, and then seemed to catch what he was doing, giving him an impartial smile. “Thank you, but I was thinking more along the lines of lunch.”
“We’re already serving in the restaurant,” Wright chimed in.
“Oh. Thank you, but . . . I might go into town or something.”
“Speaking of lunch, I better get back to check on the new mac and cheese I’m trying out. Gouda, man. Gouda.” Wright swatted Dev twice as hard as he’d done earlier. “Nice meeting you. Hope to see you in the restaurant.” He gave Anna a quick wave and barely made eye contact with Sophie.
Wright would not be seeing Anna at lunch. Dev already had the perfect place in mind.
Sophie looked back and forth between Dev and Anna. “So, do you two know each other?” she asked, as soon as Wright was gone.
Dev had to school his expression so his shock didn’t show. How the hell did his sister do that? “Not exactly. Anna, this is my sister, Sophie. Soph, Anna. I had to fix the fan in Anna’s cabin the other day.”
The two shook hands, which only made him more nervous. More time around Soph meant more opportunity for her to sniff out the truth.
“How are you liking Honeywilde?” she asked, seemingly innocent.
“It’s wonderful.” Anna smiled. “I’m here from Atlanta, and this is exactly the change of scenery I needed.”
“Atlanta.” Sophie shuddered. “Too big for me.”
“Me too. Sometimes. But big cities are great for advertising.”
“You’re in advertising? That’s so—”
“Okay, we better let you get to lunch.” Dev hurried his sister up. Otherwise she’d stand there and chitchat for hours.
“Yeah, I should head back.” Sophie jerked on Beau’s leash. “Time for Trevor to manage his dog. Sorry again if he scared you.”
“Just a bit.” Anna slowly reached for Beau, receiving nuzzles and a lick in reward. “Mostly startled me. For a second all I could think was bear.”
Sophie cackled, then clamped a hand over her mouth. “I guess he could look like a bear. Maybe.”
“Better get him back before Trev starts wondering where he is.” Dev hurried her along again.
Sophie dragged Beau away, giving him the stink-eye without saying a word.
Once his sister was gone, Dev dropped the act.
“You okay?” He moved closer, touching her elbow.
“Fine. I only screamed because—”
“You didn’t seriously think Beau was a bear.”
“All I saw was something furry and brown, running toward me.”
She scowled and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Come on; let’s get out of here while we still can.”
They got away from the resort and into Newton in record time.
“Why aren’t we going into Windamere? There were so many cute little restaurants.”
“Too many people know me in town. I don’t want gossip getting back to my brother that I was on a date, and then he’d want to know who, and believe me, there would be gossip. Better to avoid all that.”
He played off his choice of location like it was all about keeping him from getting busted for being with her, but an even bigger motivator was how many people only saw trouble when they saw him coming.
How he was going to get those very same people to believe he could bring back the Blueberry Festival, he had no idea.
On the side street next to the soda shop, he parked his SUV, and hopped out to help Anna.
She’d worn pants today, not jeans. Still black, and still hugging her curves like a dream, with a cream-colored blouse that scooped low enough to be a constant cause of frustration.
“This is the place?” She smiled at the
red and white awning across the front, the white metal bistro tables and chairs on the sidewalk out front.
They were late enough to miss most of the lunch crowd, and the tables and counter inside were empty except for two gray-haired fellows, sipping milkshakes.
“It’s a legitimate soda shop?” Anna clapped her hands.
“I thought this might be a change from the trendy Atlanta restaurant. Hand-dipped ice cream, root beer floats, the works. And the best burgers in town. Don’t tell Wright I said that. You like burgers?”
“Love them.” They chose a table near the windows and Anna grabbed one of the menus tucked in by the napkin dispenser, holding it close, like a cherished book. “This is like something from Grease. It’s so cute.”
A waitress came right over, and they ordered two teas, neither saying much else until she brought over their drinks and disappeared.
“How long do you have until you’re missed?” Anna fiddled with the straw in her glass. “Until you have to get back.”
“Hour or two. Roark wants me to be on a call with him and our account manager at the bank, but that’s not until three this afternoon. Plenty of time for lunch.”
“That’s good though, right? Him wanting you to participate in calls with the bank.”
Dev cocked an eyebrow. Roark including him was a big step in the right direction, compared to a year of menial responsibilities. But she’d only know he was making progress if she’d overheard more than a word or two of their conversation at breakfast yesterday.
“It’s a small step in the right direction, but sitting in on a phone call isn’t giving me more involvement. Hell might freeze over before he’d trust me to handle something on my own.”
“Something like that festival?”
“You heard more than a little of our conversation.”
She held her menu a little higher, peeking over the top. “Maybe? I might’ve heard all of it. I was trying not to, but I heard enough to know you want to sponsor this festival more than he does.”
“Gross. Understatement. He hates the idea and refuses. I’ve tried for weeks now and everything I suggest gets shot down.”
And he needed to keep his big mouth shut. As nice as it was to get that off his chest and have a third, unbiased party to listen, Anna was here on vacation. She’d want to relax, not hear him gripe about work.
Anna leaned over her menu, her voice low. “I don’t know your brother, obviously, but I’ve gotten very good at telling whether or not people are going to buy. From what I could tell, your brother doesn’t hate the idea of the festival, but it will take a lot to get him on board. He needs convincing.”
“Yeah. No joke.” He stabbed his straw angrily at the innocent ice cubes. “I don’t know why I’m bothering. This festival has been a Windamere tradition for decades, but Roark is dead set against doing anything that might cost Honeywilde some money, besides the basic little upgrades.”
“Sometimes you have to spend money to make money.”
He held his hand out toward her. “Exactly. But try telling Roark that.”
Once the waitress came and went again, taking their order for two cheeseburgers all the way, and a large order of sweet potato fries, Dev sat, drumming his fingers on the menu. Stewing.
“Anyway. We don’t have to talk about all that.” He shoved the menus back in their slots.
Anna studied him, her dark eyes unnervingly aware. “But I think maybe you want to.”
He did and he didn’t. Talking about himself, his problems, simply wasn’t his style. All moping ever did was bring people down.
With Anna, he definitely didn’t want to talk about stuff that made him long in the mouth. They went through the trouble of sneaking away to have lunch together. They should be laughing and having fun.
“Have you given up on bringing the festival back for now or . . . ?” Anna sipped her tea, eyebrows raised as she scoped for details again.
He wasn’t going to sit there and grumble about not getting his way though. He’d rather hear about her.
“What would you suggest I do?”
She sat up straight, the straw falling from her lips. “What do you mean?”
“Should I give up on trying to bring this festival back, or keep trying? I want to know what you think.”
“I don’t . . . I don’t think anything about it.”
“Sure you do.” Less than two days may have gone by, but he already knew enough about Anna to know she’d have some thoughts on the matter.
“What would you do, if you were me?” Dev asked. Plain and simple. “Give up now or keep going, see what happens?”
Her gaze drifted out the window, to the empty sidewalk beside them. There wasn’t much to see besides the brick wall of the building across from them, but she was focused on something.
“I doubt I’d give up.” Her gaze swung back to him. “I can be a little too persistent for that. As you may have noticed.”
He had noticed, and he liked it. “Okay, then I keep trying. How do I convince my brother the idea won’t be the biggest disaster to ever befall Windamere?”
She laughed, coughing over a sip of tea. “I’m sure Roark doesn’t think that.”
“You don’t know him like I know him. In that big brain of his, he’s worrying about acts of God and insurance claims. I guarantee it. How do I get a doubting Thomas to take a chance on something new?”
With a shrug, she pinched her lips together.
“Hey, you’re the one who said he didn’t hate the idea, just needs convincing. And I know you’re on vacation, but all I want is your opinion. How do I convince my brother?”
“I can’t guarantee my ideas will be the best.”
His mouth fell open. “Are you kidding? You can’t be top dog at some highfalutin ad agency unless you have the great ideas.”
That at least made her smile. “I never said I was top dog.”
“You didn’t have to. And even if you’re low dog, I’m willing to risk that your ideas are better than mine. Now, what’ve you got? Hit me with them.”
After a brief pause, she set her tea away and focused on him. “Fine. Tell me a little about the festival first. Give me some framework.”
Anna was in, he could tell by the spark in her eyes.
He leaned forward, ready to talk about something other than how he felt. “For ages, Windamere has had the Blueberry Festival near the end of June. The whole thing takes place over a long weekend, but it’s the biggest event for our town, and a huge source of money for the businesses. They block off Main Street, set up vendor tents, there’s food and shopping, usually some music. We get tourists from all over. It’s awesome. But for the last few years, the town stopped organizing it. They say it costs too much with no return. No organizer, no festival.”
“And your brother believes there’s no return?”
“Yep. Because that’s what the tourism board says.”
“But you don’t agree.”
“I don’t see how. Maybe the organizers break even, or lose a little money at most, but think of the publicity, the public relations for making Windamere’s favorite event happen again.”
“It’d be a feather in Honeywilde’s cap.”
He held his hand out again. “That’s what I’m saying.” Anna got it; why couldn’t his brother?
Dev leaned back in his chair, satisfied he was at least making sense to someone. He stretched out his leg, the inside of his calf and knee bumping against hers.
She didn’t move, didn’t pull her leg away, maybe even shifted to press against him more. Awareness still sparkled in her eyes, but of a whole different kind.
Flashes from yesterday flew through his mind. The way she felt in his arms drove him wild. Firm or supple in the perfect places, the softness of her lips, the way she opened so sweetly. And holy hell, the needy noises she’d made.
Dev shifted in the hard chair, careful not to move his leg from where it touched her.
The waitress delivered their fo
od and they ate the first half of their meal that way, neither of them pulling away. Until Anna uncrossed her legs, the movement rubbing her knee along the inside of his thigh.
Dev swallowed a bite of his burger, practically whole.
She went on eating, her knee against him, the friction of her occasionally tapping her foot under the table enough to make it the most enticing lunch he’d ever had.
Finished with his meal, he cocked an eyebrow. “You know, eventually, I’ve got to get up and walk out of here. Get on back to work.”
“So?”
“So. I can’t do that with our legs all tangled together.”
“You’re the one with the long legs. I’m over here on my side of the table.”
“Right. Because you’re totally innocent here.” He slid back, giving himself a little room. Not because he wanted to, but because he was afraid if they kept going this way, he’d be stuck at the table for about an hour while his jets cooled.
When moving didn’t help much, he clenched his back teeth, talking through the frustration. “You never did tell me your idea on how to convince my brother.”
She pointed at him with the fry she was about to eat. “I think you need to get the financials on the event from the last few years, like Roark asked.”
Well, hell, she really had heard it all. “But how? Walk into the tourism board’s offices and ask them to give me all of their information?”
“If it’s a government office, their books should be public record. It sounded like the money was the biggest hurdle for your brother. Show him that the event is profitable, or at least not a total loss, and I bet you could sell him on organizing the festival.” She popped the fry in her mouth.
Her suggestion was the same as Roark’s, and they both made good sense. But their logic wasn’t the problem; he was.
Inquiring about financial records meant he, Devlin Bradley, former town delinquent, would have to roll up into the local government offices, and ask some buttoned-up snot in a bow tie to do him a favor.
Windamere was a small town and people didn’t leave. Without question, the chair of tourism would know all about Devlin’s reputation.
A Date with Desire Page 8
