Candy Crush

by Tami Lund

  He continued to hold her and stroke her hair, and Gabriella managed to get her breathing and heart rate under control. Everything felt so right when she was in Brandon’s arms. He turned her and marched her back into the candy store.

  She started shivering, because she recalled why she’d run outside in the first place. “Oh God, Brandon, somebody broke into the candy store yesterday.”

  He automatically looked around, but nothing looked out of place. “How do you know?”

  “Back here,” she said and gestured for him to follow.

  They walked back to the storeroom and Brandon let out a low whistle when he saw the graffiti. He pulled out his cell phone and punched 9-1-1.

  “I really hope they send a different cop this time.”

  They didn’t.

  Daniel strode through the front door of the candy store five minutes later, followed by a much younger police officer carrying a high-end digital camera in his hand. Daniel looked at the graffiti and the tracks out back and left the other officer in the storeroom to take pictures and secure the scene, while he stepped into the front of the store to talk to Gabriella and Brandon.

  He took their statements, asked a hundred questions that all centered around: did you see anything suspicious yesterday? Gabriella had been in the apartment all day. Someone could have broken in during the middle of the day for all she had been aware.

  “I thought you were going to be more observant, Gabriella?” Daniel asked.

  Gabriella did not miss the condescending tone in his voice.

  He closed his notebook. “I hate to be the one to suggest this, but maybe you want to heed those warnings. Somebody doesn’t want this candy store occupied. We’ve got no leads, no witnesses, no suspects. “You may want to consider putting it back on the market and moving on.”

  ***

  Brandon’s temper had been barely contained the entire time Daniel was in the room. Gabriella was obviously shocked and scared, they still hadn’t made up, his least favorite cop in town was always the one to show up and question her, and now he was suggesting Gabriella should get out of town, and Brandon was afraid that after everything that happened, she just might follow his advice.

  “Are you done yet?” he snapped, glaring at Daniel.

  Daniel looked back, his expression mild. “Yes. I think we have everything we need right now. I’ll go check on Barry to make sure. That storeroom is a crime scene again, so you can’t go in there until we’re done. Think about what I said, Gabriella.” He touched his hat and walked through the storeroom door.

  When he was gone, Brandon used the graffiti as an excuse to pull Gabriella back into his arms. Everything felt better when she was in his arms, even as everything seemed to be crumbling around them. He had to figure out a way to keep her there. If that meant he never got married, then so be it. His family would just have to figure out a way to deal.

  He was about to open his mouth, speak his thoughts out loud, when Gabriella spoke first, and put voice to his worst fear.

  “I’m beginning to think I should follow his advice.”

  His arms tightened around her as a band constricted around his heart. He forced himself to put his hands on her forearms and held her at arms’ length. “You want to leave?”

  It wasn’t his choice, not really. If she wanted to leave, there was not a damn thing he could do about it.

  “No, I don’t want to, but…”

  “Then don’t,” Brandon said firmly. He didn’t want Gabriella to be afraid or in danger, but more than that, he didn’t want her to leave his life.

  “Stay here with me. You can close up the candy store if you want, but don’t leave me.” The words tumbled out of his mouth. He wasn’t sure he would have stopped them if he had the opportunity.

  Gabriella’s curious look morphed into one of fear. “I’m so tired of running scared,” she whispered. Brandon pulled her tight against him again.

  “We’ll figure this out. It’s a small town. Somebody has to have seen something. I can’t believe Daniel hasn’t found any leads yet. We’ll just close up the candy store until he solves this. Just as long as you stay in town.” He rested his chin on her head and breathed in the scent of her. He was pretty sure he would not be able to function if she left him.

  “I’m going to have to find a job. I have to support myself.”

  “I can take care of you. You don’t have to worry about money.” Gabriella stepped out of his embrace and Brandon said, “Shit. Now what did I say?”

  “I’m not a kept woman. And” – she held up a hand, palm out and hurried to speak before he had a chance —“I don’t want to get married. I want to be my own person. I haven’t been my own person in two years, Brandon. I need to be self-sufficient.”

  Her voice hitched at the end. Her eyes begged him to understand. Once again, Brandon pulled her back into his arms, mostly because he just wanted to touch her. He hated the fact that she slept across the hall last night. He spent the entire night trying to convince himself not to walk down the hall and drag her back to his bed. But he figured if she wanted to sleep with him, she would have gone to sleep in his bed, not the guest bed. The thought was not a little depressing.

  “Okay, okay, I get it. Just don’t get mad at me. I can’t deal with that right now. I swear, I won’t talk about marriage again, okay?”

  “Brandon, it isn’t just” –

  He shook his head and cut her off. “No, you don’t have to explain. You’ve had a rough time of it this last two years. I get it. Trust me, I’m not in a hurry to walk down the aisle either. Hell, I’ve never even joked about it with a girl before you. Can we just agree to – to just be?”

  “Just be?” She sounded dubious.

  “Just be us.” He stroked her hair, kissed her temple. “We’re pretty good together, without putting any labels on it, don’t you think? I mean, I don’t mean to be conceited, but those orgasms of yours are pretty damn intense, if I do say so myself.”

  She let out a half laugh, half sob. “You think that’s all your doing?”

  “Oh hell yes I do.”

  “What about you? What about your orgasms? Are they always so – so” –

  “Insane? Explosive? Extreme? Powerful?”

  She laughed, minus the sob this time.

  “Absolutely not,” he assured her. “Never.” He suddenly pushed her away again. “I have an idea.”

  “Go back to your house and get naked?”

  He laughed. “No. But I like that you look disappointed right now. Let’s make up later. Right now, let’s do something that will help you in a different way.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Let’s go to the house and you get changed into a suit.” He glanced at his watch. “I have a meeting in forty-five minutes. Think we can be back to the DDA office by then?”

  “I guess.”

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  Brandon led her to the door to the storeroom and stuck his head inside. After getting permission from Barry – Daniel wanted them to walk around the block, which Brandon suspected was simply out of spite – they walked through the room and out to Gabriella’s car.

  Once they were at his house, Brandon lounged on the bed while Gabriella changed clothes and fixed her makeup and hair. This led to a lot of heavy petting and foreplay and would have ultimately resulted in makeup sex, but Gabriella pointed out that he would be late for his meeting and Brandon grumpily released her and let her finish getting dressed.

  Thirty-five minutes later they parked Gabriella’s car in front of the DDA office and rushed through the rain and inside. Amanda greeted them as they walked in. Brandon hung their coats on the coat tree next to the front door and guided Gabriella through the door that said Holly Chamber of Commerce.

  “Aunt Constance just lost her assistant and she’s drowning, because she can barely turn on a computer, let alone make it do anything. Let’s see if you can help.”

  As it turned out, Constance was thrilled with the
idea, and shooed Brandon away almost immediately. He gave Gabriella a quick kiss on the lips and his lips quirked as she blushed, since the kiss was in front of Constance, and then he left for his meeting.

  Brandon returned to the office two hours later and wandered into the Chamber of Commerce office to see how Aunt Constance and Gabriella were fairing.

  “That is absolutely ridiculous,” he heard Aunt Constance say.

  “It is not; it’s logical. Nothing in this office makes any sense. Who did your filing before now, a three year old?” That was Gabriella’s voice.

  “For your information, I did the filing.”

  “Well, you file like a three-year-old. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. How could anyone else possibly find anything?”

  Brandon hurried through the door. By the tone of their voices, he was afraid they might come to blows at any moment. Maybe the Chamber of Commerce job hadn’t been a good idea.

  But when he rounded the corner, Gabriella was kneeling in front of a filing cabinet and Constance was perched on a chair, leaning over her shoulder and both women looked perfectly content.

  Hovering in the doorway, half afraid to enter the office, Brandon tentatively asked if everything was okay.

  Both women simultaneously looked up at him, faces registering surprise and then warmth, as they each smiled in turn.

  “Brandon, your girlfriend is a genius. I hate to say this in front of her, but I’m glad she’s having problems with that candy store. God knows where I’d be without her, and she’s only been here a couple hours.” Constance beamed at Gabriella who rolled her eyes.

  “Oh for heaven’s sake; anyone with half a brain could do this job. The problem is whoever you had doing it before me didn’t even have that half a brain.”

  They fell to bickering again, so Brandon backed out of the office and turned and went into his own office. Apparently, they were fine.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Gabriella’s cell phone rang just as she pulled into the driveway ahead of Brandon’s truck, after work on Wednesday. She glanced at the caller ID and saw her brother’s name.

  “Hi Emmett,” she said warmly as she turned off the engine and climbed out of her car. “What’s up?”

  “I’m sitting in a rental car at Detroit Metro Airport and I need an address to punch into my GPS.”

  “What?”

  “Surprise,” he said and then he chuckled. “I did a little maneuvering and got myself put on a job in Detroit. It starts Monday and will probably last for at least a month. I figured I’d spend the next few days with you, make sure you’re settling in okay.”

  Emmett was a project manager for a company based in New Orleans. When other companies re-organized, for financial reasons or as a result of bankruptcy proceedings, they paid Emmett’s company to send him to teach the remaining employees the new system. He generally flew in on Sunday evenings or Monday mornings, and went home on Fridays, and his assignments lasted anywhere from one week to six months, depending on the extent of the reorganization and how much the company was willing to pay.

  Gabriella was torn. She was thrilled at the idea of seeing her brother. She wasn’t so thrilled at the idea of bringing him into a situation where she has been threatened on at least three different occasions over the course of one week. Not to mention, how would she explain the fact that she was living with Brandon? These were issues she was sure she would have worked out before she had to face anyone in her family.

  “Well, you’re managing to contain your enthusiasm quite well,” Emmett commented.

  “Sorry, I’m just shocked, that’s all. This is some surprise.”

  “Yes, and I’ve been on a plane for four hours and I’m ready to get out of this car and find food and a beer. Direct me, sis.”

  “Okay, hang on. I’m going to put someone else on the line.” Gabriella turned to Brandon, who had walked up to stand beside her. She handed him the phone. “Will you please direct my brother from the airport to the Pizza Parlor?” Brandon looked at her quizzically but he took the pro-offered phone.

  “Hello?” Brandon said into the receiver.

  “Who is this?” Emmett demanded.

  “Brandon Sarantos.”

  “And who are you to my sister?”

  “Her boyfriend.”

  Emmett was silent for several heartbeats. And then he said, “Are you fucking kidding me? She’s there for a week and you’ve already laid claim? I can’t wait to meet you, buddy. Get me there from the airport.”

  Brandon gave him directions to the Pizza Parlor, hung up the phone and turned to Gabriella. “Who’s older, you or him?”

  “Me. He’s twenty-eight, I’m thirty. But he’s bigger.”

  “Bigger than me?”

  Gabriella eyed his person. “About the same. You might have a couple inches on him.”

  “Good to know,” Brandon said. “We’re meeting him at the Pizza Parlor in an hour.”

  Main Street Pizza Parlor was busy with the typical Wednesday evening crowd: a combination of Main Street merchants, families and assorted business professionals stopping in for dinner or a beer on their way home from work. Brandon managed to snag what she presumed must be his favorite booth next to the jukebox. Gabriella began to wonder if, whenever he wasn’t around, there wasn’t a reserved for Brandon sign on the table.

  Brittney was working. Brandon ordered a beer for himself, a merlot for Gabriella and bread sticks and two pizzas, BBQ chicken and Hawaiian. Emmett walked in the door ten minutes later.

  Every head in the restaurant turned toward the door. He was a stranger, a handsome man, and he was clearly not a Sarantos. He had straw-colored blond hair, cut short with a tuft that dropped roguishly over his left eyebrow. His eyes were the same sparkling blue as Gabriella’s, and his skin was tanned several shades darker. He stood a solid six feet tall, which made him four inches taller than Gabriella and two inches shorter than Brandon. He wore a black t-shirt under a brown leather bomber jacket and blue jeans. As he walked by, eyes dropped to admire the backside.

  Emmett scanned the room, his eyes found Gabriella, and he strode purposely toward her, ignoring the stares and the women who were fanning themselves in his wake. He walked straight up to his sister, pulled her out of her chair and into a bear hug. She giggled, Brandon frowned, and Butter was having an apoplectic fit at his feet.

  With a chuckle, Emmett released Gabriella and bent over to give the dog a vigorous rubdown. Brittney materialized next to him, batting her eyelashes, licking her lips and asking what he’d like to drink.

  “Dos Equis, in a bottle,” he said in a deep baritone voice. Brittney batted her eyelashes some more and rushed to get his beer.

  He slid into the chair next to Gabriella and studied Brandon. Brandon sat across from him, studying him back.

  “So you are Brandon Sarantos, Gabriella’s boyfriend.” It was a statement, not a question.

  Gabriella wondered at what point he’d moved to boyfriend status. Considering they were sleeping together and she had all but moved into his house, she didn’t particularly mind, but she thought they ought to have a conversation about it at some point.

  “Yes. And you are Emmett Hadley, Gabriella’s baby brother.” He put just the tiniest bit of emphasis on the word baby.

  “Regardless of who’s older, I’ve been protecting her from guys like you since she started dating.”

  “A lot longer than that,” Gabriella commented. “I didn’t even start dating until I graduated from high school, because you always scared everyone off.”

  Emmett grinned, unabashed. Gabriella rolled her eyes.

  Brittney placed a bottle of beer in front of Emmett and asked if he needed anything else. Emmett turned and gave her a sparkling smile and said, “Thank you, sweetheart, I’m all set.”

  Brittney simpered and walked away on wobbly legs. Brandon chuckled.

  “Hot damn, Sweet Pea, you didn’t tell me your brother was a player.”

  “Sweet Pea?” Emmett asked as
he narrowed his eyes.

  “Yeah. It’s a flower, from the Mediterranean region. It’s beautiful, smells great and makes me think of southern belles,” Brandon said, his tone challenging.

  “So makes you think about my sister.”

  Brandon simply sat back in his seat and took a swig from his beer.

  Emmett turned to Gabriella. “Are you dating a player?”

  Gabriella felt bewildered. She had no idea how to respond, or how to stop the pissing contest that appeared to be waging between Brandon and Emmett.

  Brittney, followed by Aunt Korina, brought their pizzas. No one spoke while the two women set up the pie stands and pizzas, and set up their plates, napkins and forks. Aunt Korina flirted with Emmett before she left the table.

  “I gave it up,” Brandon said when Aunt Korina and Brittney left. “When I met your sister.”

  Gabriella stared at him, Emmett studied him, and Brandon seemingly casually served the pizza.

  “There seems to be a lot of good looking women in this town,” Emmett finally remarked as he watched Brandon.

  Brandon shrugged. “Sure. If you see someone you’re interested in, I can probably give you the 4-1-1.”

  “Do you have a sister?”

  Brandon instantly bristled. “Stay away from my sister,” he snarled.

  “Why? You’re fucking my sister.”

  Gabriella gasped and Brandon snapped, “I’m not fucking your sister.”

  “You said she’s your girlfriend.”

  “Yeah, big difference from fucking, don’t you think?”

  Emmett looked back blandly, taking a bite of pizza as he did so. Then he grinned. “I like him,” he declared, looking at Gabriella.

  “What?” she asked weakly.

  “He’s got it bad. Although I’d still like to meet his sister. And damn, this is good pizza.”

  ***

  Despite Brandon’s annoyance at the action, Gabriella slid into the rental car with Emmett, and directed him to follow Brandon home. “I thought the candy store came with an apartment?” Emmett asked as they drove.

  “Yes, well, there’ve been some problems with the candy store. It wasn’t exactly in good shape when I got here. Brandon offered his guest room and I took it.”