by L. J. Fine
“Yes, that’s my name.” Emma smiled but felt her eyebrow arch. “Have we met?”
The woman blushed and gave a soft chuckle. “I’m sorry. I’m Mina. I work here and am a friend of Chloe’s. I recognize you from some of the pictures she’s shown me. This is my boyfriend, Tyler,” she said gesturing to the man beside her.
Emma’s gaze moved to Tyler and he smiled and extended his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Emma.”
“Finally?” She asked and shook Tyler’s hand. “I guess Chloe’s been talking about me a lot.”
“All good things,” Tyler said with a wink.
“Oh I’m sure.” Emma rolled her eyes with a smile.
Mina laughed and started moving their little group closer to the entrance of the bookstore. “Chloe’s been talking about you nonstop since you called and said you were coming to visit. I haven’t seen her so excited about anything in a long time. She’s going to be thrilled that you’re finally here.”
Tyler reached for the door and as the little bell jingled, he motioned for the women to enter the store. Once inside, Emma spotted Chloe’s blonde head ducked beneath the counter over by the registers.
Feeling an eager smile tilt her lips, Emma walked over and propped her elbows up on the counter, waiting for Chloe to resurface. As she finally came back up, she gave a startled jump when she saw Emma. A broad smile broke out onto her face.
“Emma!” Squealing happily, Chloe ran out from behind the counter to wrap her in a bear hug. “I thought you weren’t supposed to get into town for another hour or so.”
Squeezing her friend tightly for a few seconds, Emma pulled back to look at her. “Eh, traffic was light and the drive didn’t take as long as I thought it would. I knew you’d still be at work so I thought I’d come surprise you.”
Chloe’s eyes danced as she smiled. “I’m glad you did.” Then her blue gaze shifted over Emma’s shoulder to Tyler and Mina. “Oh hey, guys. I take it you met my friend, Emma.”
“Yes, we bumped into her outside,” Mina said shrugging her jacket off and putting it behind the counter.
“It seems my reputation precedes me,” Emma said.
Chloe rolled her eyes. “Excuse me if I was excited. Did you find the place okay?”
Squinting, she cocked her head to the side. “Well, seeing as how this is the only bookstore within a ten-mile radius of this town, no I didn’t have any problems.”
“Oh, you’re such a big city girl, smartass.” Chloe laughed and just like that Emma felt as if they were right back in college. She had missed their teasing banter, and the familiar good feeling brought a smile to her face.
Just as Emma was about to reply, the little bell above the front door once again jingled, announcing the arrival of two of the most ridiculously handsome men she had ever seen. The resemblance between them and Tyler was so striking that they had to be brothers. All were tall and muscular with dark hair and eyes but these two newcomers had to be twins as the only visible difference between them was that one of them had long hair that fell to his shoulders.
“Here come Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum,” Tyler said. “Emma, I’d like you to meet my brothers. The one who seriously needs a haircut is Adam and the other douche-nozzle is Ben.”
“Wow. What an eloquent introduction, man. I’m so flattered,” Adam said tossing his brother a sardonic glare.
Not bothering to respond, Tyler turned to Mina and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her to him. “Gotta go, baby. I’ll see you at home tonight,” he murmured before taking her mouth in a sweet kiss.
Emma didn’t know either of them, but there was something about the way he held Mina, the way she responded to his nearness that made an untouched part of Emma’s heart ache. That right there was the kind of thing she had always dreamed of. It was like the whole world melted away until just the two of them existed.
Or at least it was until Adam interrupted them with a long-suffering groan. “For fuck’s sake, Tyler. We’re in a public place with people around. Can’t you control yourself until you get her alone?”
Tyler pulled back from Mina’s embrace, shot his brother a lopsided grin and said simply, “Nope.”
“Seriously, Mina. Why do you put up with him groping you all the time?”
Before Mina could answer, Tyler spoke. “Sometimes she’s just as bad and you’re the ones who decided it would be a good idea to come pick me up when I told you I was going to visit my girl at work.”
“That’s because I needed to get out of that bar before Brandon and his girl drove me up the wall. I don’t know what his excuse is.” Adam jerked a thumb in Ben’s direction.
Ben had been quiet up until that point and when Emma turned to look at him, she found him staring at her. His gaze held substance, an intense focus as if he found her presence intriguing. But there was also an unexpected heat there that felt weighed down and sent tingles down her nerve endings in a way that she couldn’t define.
The chatter around them had stopped and everyone was looking at them expectantly as though a response was required of one of them. Ben licked his full lips then turned to his twin before muttering, “What?”
Adam cleared his throat and turned to Emma. “Anyway, all this bickering probably isn’t a great first impression. Sorry about that.”
Emma’s gaze shifted to Ben, who was no longer paying attention. Instead, he was scrolling through his cell phone with a frown. She felt her own mouth tilt downward until she remembered that Adam had spoken to her. Shaking herself out of it, she smiled. “No worries. Actually, your bickering makes me a little homesick. Reminds me of my brother.”
“Ah, so you know what it’s like to have a live-in pain in the ass then,” Tyler said, earning a scowl from Adam. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed that Ben gave no reaction, just continued to ignore them all.
“Ha, you could definitely say my little brother is a pain in the ass.” She looked at Adam and smiled. “Though loveable.”
A broad grin stretched across Adam’s handsome face. Though it was nice, it didn’t have the same effect as Ben’s intense stare. Not that she had enjoyed it or anything. Because she hadn’t.
“So, you’re visiting from out of town?” Adam asked, then pointed a glare at Tyler. “Note the subject change. And I’m the older brother, just FYI.”
Tyler flipped him off.
She decided right then that this trip had been a good idea. If nothing else happened, at least she was getting to meet some new, interesting people. And she had to laugh at their antics. Once the sound left her lips, she felt that heavy, weighted feeling again and she knew Ben was staring again. This time she didn’t turn to acknowledge it.
“Yes, I came to visit Chloe for a few weeks, get out of the city for a bit. I just got here a little while ago.”
“Sweet, did you tell her about the bonfire?” Adam asked Chloe.
Chloe bit her lip. “No, I’m sorry. I forgot to mention it on the phone. Tyler and Mina are having a bonfire tonight at their house and Brian and I are invited.”
“I didn’t realize you’d be here tonight, but you’re more than welcome to come,” Mina said.
“Thanks.” Emma smiled. “Sounds like fun.”
“Oh, it will be,” Adam said with a sensuous tilt to his lips. “And let me just tell you right now that I make awesome s’mores.”
“Yeah, it’ll be a good time as long as you don’t bring Captain Weenie with you,” Tyler interjected.
Captain Weenie?
“Hey, leave my dog out of this. I can’t help it if he’s deaf and stupid. It’s what’s inside that counts. I love him just the way he is.”
“And on that note, we’re leaving,” Tyler said ushering his brothers toward the door.“ It was nice to meet you, Emma.”
“Yes, very nice to meet you.” Adam flashed her that charming smile once again.
“Likewise, boys,” Emma said with a grin of her own.
As they filed out of the store, Ben surprised
her by turning toward her and giving her one of the sexiest little smirks she’d ever seen, though it barely passed for a smile. “See you later, Emma.”
And with those four words he sauntered out of the store leaving a breathless Emma behind. What was wrong with her? He’d hardly spoken to her at all. In fact, his twin had been the flirtatious one and all it took was a lopsided grin followed by a simple sentence to get her panties wet?
A thrill of excitement flew up her spine at the thought of seeing him later. Maybe she could get him to speak a few sentences together. Watch out, because Lord knows what will happen then, she thought with a roll of her eyes.
Typically, she found his type of behavior rude. He’d made no effort to engage her in conversation after they’d been introduced. Even a simple “hi” would have been nice. But no. All she’d gotten was a heated look that burned intensely for half a second before he’d completely dismissed her to find something more attention grabbing on his phone.
If anything, she should be put off by him, the hell with how hot he was. A guy like that didn’t even rate on her list and…
“Hello, Emma.” Chloe gently knocked on the top of her head. “Anyone in there?”
“Sorry.” She could feel her cheeks heating. “I was lost in my head for a minute. You know how I get.”
Chloe laughed. “Yeah, the Serano brothers will do that to you. I remember the first time I saw them all grown up.” She let out a low whistle. “That much sexy testosterone in one room is enough to scramble any woman’s brains. Am I right?”
Mina let out a dreamy sigh. “Oh yeah. That is a fact, my friend. But anyway, I have to get some things straightened out in the back room before we close. It was nice to meet you, Emma. I’ll see you tonight.”
“I can’t wait,” Emma said with a smile then waited until Mina was out of earshot before she turned to Chloe.
“That’s not where my mind was,” Emma snapped, instantly defensive. She didn’t want Chloe to think that the brothers had affected her like that. Even though they clearly had. Well, not all of them. Just Ben.
“Mm hmm.” Chloe folded her arms across her chest. “You might want to wipe that little bit of drool off the corner of your mouth, there.”
Emma scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Can we please talk about something else? Like, I dunno, maybe the fact that I haven’t seen you in a thousand years?”
“Well, that would eventually bring us to why you came to visit, which would bring us right back around to the Serano brothers anyway. Same subject,” Chloe tossed over her shoulder as she ducked back behind the counter.
Inwardly, Emma groaned. It had probably been a mistake to tell Chloe her exact reasons for needing a vacation. But at the time she’d been thinking Chloe could help, not shove her in the wrong direction. “What do they have to do with why I’m here?”
“Oh please.” Chloe gave her a level look. “They have everything to do with why you’re here and tonight is the perfect opportunity to get started on your mission.”
“You mean with Adam?” The other option just wasn’t, well, an option.
The grin that graced Chloe’s face then could only be described as evil. Pure and simple. “I was thinking more along the lines of the quiet one.”
She felt her stomach bottom out at just the concept being mentioned out loud. “No, absolutely not.” When all the response she got was a shit-eating grin, she added, “Chloe, he doesn’t fit anywhere on my list. And he wasn’t exactly clamoring for my attention.”
Rolling her eyes, Chloe waved Emma’s words away. “You and that stupid-ass list. You aren’t going to marry him. You’re going to fuck him. And you forget. I know him way better than you do and I can tell when he’s interested. You just leave it to me.”
This time, Emma didn’t even bother to hide her groan. “I can’t talk you out of this, can I?” She knew Chloe. When the woman had her mind set on something, there was no changing it. And she loved to play matchmaker.
When Chloe smiled sweetly and said, “Nope,” she knew arguing was moot.
“Just don’t embarrass me, please? And when he turns you down, don’t badger him or try to trick him.”
“Don’t worry, he won’t turn me down. And really.” Chloe shot her an exasperated look. “When have I ever embarrassed you?”
Chapter Three
There were so many cars in the driveway and along the road that Emma didn’t have to look down at the paper Mina gave her to know that this was the right address. How many people had been invited to this “small” gathering anyway? Nervous jitters clattered away in her stomach at all the possibilities that lay behind that door. Especially as she had no idea what Chloe had planned. With that girl it could be anything.
Once she found a parking spot, she squared her shoulders and tried to calm her anxiety as she made her way up to the two-story brick house. It doesn’t matter what Chloe’s plans are, she thought defiantly, they aren’t going to come to fruition. She would pick her own man to work out her plan with, thank you very much. A man who would certainly be more interested in her than Ben Serano was.
She had just raised her fist to knock on the door when it swung open and she was almost plowed over by a mountain of a man. As it was, he bumped into her, knocking her slightly off balance. Large hands reached out to steady her and a shock close to static electricity, only with a warm aftereffect, burst over her skin at the point of contact.
Immediately, the hands dropped away and she looked up to find Ben staring at her almost in bewilderment. “Sorry,” he rumbled, the low, gravelly tone playing havoc with her nervous system.
Shaking herself out of her stupor, she managed a small smile. “It’s okay. Partly my fault, too.”
To that, it seemed, he had no response. Just looked awkwardly toward the house then back to her. “You going in?” he barked out and was it impatiently?
As she stepped back from him, she could feel her eyebrows reach toward her hairline. “I was planning on it.” Her eyes narrowed. “Unless you have a reason I shouldn’t?”
“Emma!” Chloe’s enthusiastic shout from inside the house drew Emma’s reluctant attention away from Ben. “I wondered what had taken you so long. I thought you weren’t going to make it.”
The smile that graced her face then was genuine. Chloe was always giving her a hard time for her perpetual lack of respect for punctuality. Most of the time, Emma was late on purpose just to goad her. “You know me, always like to be fashionably late.”
Chloe laughed. “Yeah, I don’t know about the fashionable part. C’mon, I want to introduce you to everybody.”
“Okay, give me a minute.” She turned back toward Ben only to find that he had already walked away, moving toward a truck at the end of the driveway.
Facing Chloe once more, she threw her friend a pointed look. “I rest my case.”
Shaking her head, Chloe waved that away as she grabbled Emma’s arm and pulled her into the house. “Don’t take that personally. He sucks with people. Doesn’t mean I’m not right.”
“If you say so.” She laughed, refusing to feel slighted by someone she didn’t know.
They hung a right immediately after the main hallway and found themselves in the kitchen. There were bottles of alcohol lined up on the counter with bowls of chips and pretzels close by. Tyler was standing by the sink talking to a blond man Emma didn’t recognize.
“Emma.” The lopsided smile Tyler gave her surely must have broken more than a few hearts. “I’m glad you made it. Want a drink?”
“Thank you,” she said returning his smile. “Red wine?”
“Sure.” He nodded and moved to pull a glass from the cupboard.
“Ah, so you’re Emma,” the blond said with dancing blue eyes as he extended his hand. “Chloe’s told me a lot about you. I’m Brian.”
“Ah, so you’re Brian.” Emma laughed and shook his hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you as well.” And some of it is downright seedy.
He chuckled. “I
can tell by the look on your face exactly what kinds of things you’ve heard. Don’t worry, surprise is a common reaction.” He winked and right then she decided that she liked him.
“Well, I have to say, I was sort of expecting a hulked-out meathead with sleeve tattoos and maybe a scar on your cheek just for flavor.” While that was slightly exaggerated, she hadn’t been expecting this personable, almost preppy-boy with his washed jeans and striped polo shirt.
“You know,” he said and clicked his tongue, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that exact thing. Maybe I need to toughen up my image. What do you think, babe?” He looked at Chloe.
“I can help you with the scar part,” Tyler offered with a grin as he handed Emma her wine.
The feminine growl filling the room made Emma laugh. “Don’t you dare, or I’ll give you one to match,” Chloe spat. “Then Mina would never speak to me again and it’d be your fault.”
There was a pause as he pretended to think about it. “Actually, that might make my life a little easier.”
Folding her arms over her chest, Chloe narrowed her eyes at Tyler then rolled them over to Emma. “You see what I’ve been putting up with since I saw you last?”
Emma smiled. “Yes and I know you love every minute of it.”
Brian laughed and pulled Chloe’s hand into his. “I like her. She calls you on your shit, babe.”
Chloe playfully punched him then tugged him toward the kitchen door, which led to the backyard. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go sit by the fire.”
The backyard, Emma found, was where all the people who belonged to all those cars were, gathered around the fire pit. Ben, she was surprised to see, was part of the crowd. He must have only gone out to his truck for a few seconds before coming back to the party through the door in the privacy fence that surrounded the property. Though, to say that he was part of it might have been too generous. More like he was there but was decidedly separate from everyone else.
A prompt introduction to the remaining Serano brother, Brandon, and his lovely, curvy and petite wife, Kim, forced her attention from Ben and she was grateful. Brandon, not surprisingly, bore a striking resemblance to his brothers. There were some seriously awesome genes running around in that family and they weren’t just in the looks department. It didn’t take Emma long to see that Brandon doted on Kim much the same way Tyler did Mina. It was in the way he looked after her, making sure her cup was always filled and the considerate way he listened to her when she spoke. It was with a new understanding that she thought of Adam’s earlier complaints about how mushy in love they were. Only, unlike him, she found herself envious of their affection, rather than annoyed by it.
