by E. L. Todd
He grabbed a glass from the cabinet then filled it up with water from the refrigerator. It was a miracle he was drinking that instead of scotch. “Do you want to help?” He took a long drink, his throat shifting as he got the water down. When he was finished, he wiped his mouth with the back of his forearm.
“Well…no. But it would have been nice to be asked.”
He came to my side and set down the glass. “Alright. You wanna help me move?”
“No.”
“There we go.” He took another drink again then looked at Pepper. “I’m cooking dinner tomorrow night. Join us.”
She’d stopped eating the second he walked into the room, so now her attention was completely focused on him. “I would love to, but I already have dinners plans with Jax…” She lowered her gaze back to her spaghetti.
Finn kept up his stare, but it somehow turned darker, more intense. He didn’t just seem disappointed with that answer, but furious with it. “Bring him along.”
Okay, maybe he wasn’t mad.
“Really?” she asked, turning back to him with surprise.
“Yeah,” he said. “As a thank-you for helping me with the house.”
“Wow.” Since it was late in the evening, her makeup was already gone and her hair was pulled back in a loose bun. She wore a loose-fitting sweater and black leggings, looking ready for a yoga class. Whether she was dressed up to hit the town or dressed for a night in, she always looked pretty. “That’s generous. I was gonna help you for nothing.” Not only was she easy on the eyes, but she was the easiest person in the world to talk to. I could tell her anything. Even when I broke her heart and told her I wanted a divorce, she was selfless and understanding. That’s what I thought every time I looked at her, that she was the perfect woman.
“I’d like to do something for you anyway,” Finn said. “After all, you’ve put up with my brother all this time. Now you’re putting up with me.”
“There’s nothing to put up with. You guys are both wonderful.” She finished her food then placed the dishes in the sink. “Finn, don’t touch these. This is Colton’s problem.” She poked me in the shoulder before she left the kitchen. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“Night,” I called after her.
Finn watched her go, his eyes following her closely until the door was shut behind her.
“So what are you making for dinner?”
Finn kept staring at the door, like it might open again and Pepper would return. “Is it serious?”
I glanced at the door then turned back to him, having no idea what he was talking about. “The dinner? It can be casual. It doesn’t need to be—”
“Pepper and Jax. Is it serious?”
“Uh…I don’t think so. She wants to keep it casual, but he keeps trying to make it more serious. He seems pretty into her.”
“And is she into him?” Finn turned back to me, his stare hostile and his body language cold.
Finn rarely expressed interest in anything, so this conversation was even more peculiar. “Why?”
“Just curious.”
This still was completely unusual. I had an assumption in my head, but it seemed so crazy, I almost didn’t voice it. “You don’t…have a thing for Pepper…do you?” That would be the most uncomfortable situation in the world, having my brother hook up with my ex-wife. I wasn’t jealous of her with Jax, but I certainly wouldn’t like to imagine my brother being in places that used to be mine. Plus, he was the kind of man you wanted to have stay away from the woman you loved, not get closer to her. I held my breath as I waited for the answer, praying my brother wouldn’t turn my world upside down by crossing a line that should never be crossed. There were millions of beautiful women out there. She was the one woman off-limits. “Finn?”
He finally answered. “No. But I respect her a great deal. She’s been through a lot and deserves a great man, not some dipshit pussy.”
“Well, he seems nice to me.”
“Women aren’t looking for nice. They’re looking for a man—a real man.” He dismissed the conversation by walking away and heading back down the hallway. Even his walk was full of aggression. I couldn’t see his face, but I imagined it looked similar to his body—pissed off.
12
Pepper
As soon as Jax walked inside, he scooped his hand under my hair and kissed me softly on the mouth, greeting me like it’d been a long time since we’d seen each other. We hadn’t spoken in four days, and that was because I was busy working and researching furniture for Finn. But I was also avoiding Jax because of the last conversation we’d had.
He wanted to skip the condoms.
If we were both clean, I didn’t have a problem with that. But then that would make us monogamous, and monogamy in any form was serious. Serious was the last thing I was looking for. It seemed like he was trying to rush me into a relationship indirectly.
He rubbed his nose against mine before he pulled away. “I started to get worried there.”
“That I dropped you?”
“Yes.”
“If I did, I would have the courtesy to tell you.”
“Well, that’s a relief…I guess.” His hands gripped my hips as he stood in jeans and a long-sleeved maroon shirt. The fabric fit his sculpted body well, covering him like a glove. “But I hope you never have to tell me at all.” He looked into my eyes with his green ones, his affectionate words heavy with their implication. “My question didn’t scare you off?”
“No. But I do have my answer.”
“Please be yes…” He closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, he grinned.
“My answer is no.” I didn’t want to put him down, but I didn’t want to mislead him either. He couldn’t be upset with me when I’d been forward about my demands from the beginning.
He sighed in disappointment.
“That would mean we were monogamous. Monogamy is too serious for me right now.”
“I’m not sleeping with anyone else, and neither are you.”
“Be that as it may…”
“Do you want to sleep with someone else?” he asked. “Because I think I’m doing a pretty good job in there.” He nodded toward the bedroom. “So you could keep being satisfied by me until you’re ready for something new. In the meantime…we could make it more enjoyable.”
I hated condoms as much as the next person, but I believed in my principles too much. “I’m sorry.”
Instead of showing his disappointment again, he let the conversation die. “Alright. So, where are we having dinner?”
“Colton’s place.”
“And his brother is making us dinner?”
“Yeah. I’ve been helping him decorate his new home. It’s his way of saying thank you.”
“Well, that’s nice of him. Where does he live?”
“He’s staying with Colton until his place is ready.”
“Alright. I like Colton, so it’ll be nice to see him again.”
“As long as you’re with me, you’re going to be seeing a lot of him.” Like every day. I walked out of my apartment, and Jax came with me. When we stood side by side, he grabbed my hand and held it during the immensely short walk across the hall.
I tapped my knuckles against the door before we stepped inside.
Finn stood in the kitchen as he worked over the stove. Hot pans were sizzling, and a delectable smell wafted our way. His back was turned to us, and surprisingly, he had a shirt on. It might have been the only time I’d ever witnessed him clothed in the apartment.
Colton was on the couch, so he stood up to greet us. “Hey, babe.” He hugged me then kissed me on the cheek. “You look really nice. I like this dress on you.” He referred to the olive-green sweater dress I wore. It had sleeves and reached to a spot right above my knees. I wore black pantyhose underneath with my black boots. A black scarf was around my throat even though we weren’t going outside.
“Thanks, Colt.” He used to say things like that to me every day wh
en we were married. It was one of the reasons I never figured out he wanted to sleep with men instead of me. Now I realized he was just being affectionate, admiring my clothes more than the way they fit my body.
“She looks great in everything she wears,” Jax said. “And doesn’t wear.”
I slapped him on the wrist playfully. “Jax.”
“What?” he said with a laugh. “You do.”
Colton made an awkward face, probably because he had seen me naked, but Jax had no idea. “Finn won’t let me help in the kitchen, but he must be doing fine because it smells great.”
“It does smell good.” I crossed the living room and ventured into the kitchen where Finn was working. There were spices in the air, along with the scent of tender meat cooking on the stove. “I hope it’s not going to be much longer because I don’t think I can wait.”
Finn washed his hands then dried them with a towel. He turned to me first, but instead of giving me a hug the way Colton had, he just looked at me. We’d never embraced each other with more than a handshake. For some reason, the idea of touching felt inappropriate.
He looked at Jax next, and his inviting gaze quickly clouded over. “Finn.” He extended his hand to shake Jax’s.
“Jax.” Jax took it, and with his real estate agent persona, he smiled and shook Finn’s hand. “Thanks for having us over. I’m glad Pepper is helping you with your house. I get a free meal out of her hard labor.”
I smiled at the joke. “I guess dating me comes with serious perks.”
“A lot of perks.” Jax smiled at me, exchanging an inside joke that wasn’t difficult for everyone else to decipher.
Finn abruptly dropped his hand. “Hope you like tacos.”
“Are you kidding me?” Jax said. “We have taco Tuesday every week at the office. I wish every day was taco Tuesday.”
Finn seemed to get bored with Jax and turned to me. “What can I get you to drink?”
“Water is fine.”
Finn didn’t look at Jax when he addressed him. “What about you?”
“Beer is good with me,” Jax answered.
Finn poured the glasses and handed them over. “Just a few more minutes.”
Jax and I moved to the kitchen table and sat down with Colton. I sipped my water and watched the guys drink their beer. They fell into a conversation about Jax’s job as a real estate agent. I studied Finn for a while, watching him move around the kitchen and prepare everything.
“I’m gonna ask if he needs a hand.” I excused myself from the table.
The guys kept talking about an apartment that sold in Seattle for a whopping twelve million bucks.
“Can I help with anything?” I spotted the sliced limes on the cutting board, the hot tortillas in the bowl, and the garnish he already had ready to go. There was homemade guacamole, along with rice and beans. “Damn, this looks really good.”
Finn flipped the steak in the pan before he grabbed the plates from the cabinet. “Do you actually want to help me? Or are you just coming in here to sneak a bite?” His tone was much more playful than it had been a second ago, so I knew he was teasing me.
“Both?”
He gave me a faint smile before he set the plates on the counter. “Put four tortillas on each plate and add the side garnish. I’ll bring the steak in a second.”
I scooped the rice and beans onto each plate before I set the tortillas on one side.
Finn came back a moment later with the diced meat and scooped it into every tortilla. “You know what to do next.”
I put the cheese, salsa, sour cream, and guacamole on each one, along with a pinch of lime.
Finn placed the hot pans and dishes in the sink before he washed his hands again. “You want to serve the plates? I’ll be there in a second.”
I carried two plates to Jax and Colton.
Colton’s tongue practically fell out of his mouth. “Holy shit, Finn can make this? He’s been living here for a week and didn’t bring this up until now? I’ve been cooking every night when I could have been eating like a king?”
“I wouldn’t have cooked for you anyway.” Finn carried the last two plates into the kitchen, setting them down at our chairs. “I made this for Pepper.”
“Even though I let you live here rent-free?” Colton challenged. “Let you bring a bunch of babes to my apartment?”
Finn had a glass of scotch with him, the only drink he ever seemed to enjoy. The arguments his brother made didn’t appear to affect him. “I can just take those tacos back, if that’s what you prefer. I’m sure Pepper will eat them.”
“I’m on it.” I grabbed Colton’s plate and started to drag it toward me.
“Whoa, let’s take it down a notch.” Colton took it and put it back in front of him. “You won’t be able to fit into your dress if you eat these.”
Jax waggled his eyebrows. “That works for me.”
Finn’s mood dived noticeably. His eyebrows furrowed, and he stared at Jax with annoyance.
“I can’t believe I didn’t know you could cook like this,” Colton said. “You continue to surprise me.”
“You haven’t tried it yet,” Finn said. “So you may be disappointed.”
Colton picked up a single taco, placed it into his mouth, and took a big bite. He chewed slowly, and after the flavor exploded in his mouth, his eyes rolled to the back of his head. “Shit, this is good.”
“Yeah, I know.” An arrogant smile emerged on Finn’s lips.
“Is this how you score chicks all the time?” Colton asked.
Finn took a bite of his food and never answered the question. He didn’t even look at his brother as he chewed, looking at me across the table instead. “Any selections yet?”
“Actually, yes.” I pulled out my phone and pulled up the pictures I’d saved on Pinterest. “What do you think of this?” Since he smelled like pine needles, I found a line of furniture that had earthy tones and an outdoor feeling. It didn’t resemble something you would find in a cabin, but it was still pregnant with the outdoors. Finn seemed like a manly man, someone who liked to hike outside and be close to nature. His home was near the bay, along with the trees and the quiet. Seemed like the perfect design. I slid the phone toward him.
He picked it up and flipped through the pictures. His eyes were focused, and he ignored his food as he swiped through. He was impossible to read, so I couldn’t tell if he liked anything or hated everything.
Colton kept eating, seeming to forgive his brother for ignoring him.
Jax addressed Finn. “Where’s your new place?”
Finn didn’t take his eyes off the phone. “Near the bay. Off Clover.”
“No way,” Jax said. “I live just down the street from you. What a coincidence.”
Finn lifted his gaze, but he didn’t share Jax’s enthusiasm. He turned back to the phone then handed it back to me. “I like it.”
“Really?” I asked, not expecting to solve this problem so quickly. I had spent a lot of time thinking about what he might like. There were a lot of different themes he could have used in that house, but I tried to find something that reflected his personality as closely as possible.
“Yes,” Finn answered. “We should order it soon since it’ll take a few weeks to get here.”
“Good idea,” I said. “We can do that after dinner.” Hopefully, he had a big enough credit card for us to order all this stuff. He’d bought a large house, which meant we needed a lot of furniture to fill it.
Jax had inhaled two of his tacos while Finn and I spoke. “Damn, these are good. Where’d you learn to cook?”
Finn shrugged. “With experience.”
“So, what do you do for a living?” Jax followed up with another question, barely taking a break from his food to ask it.
“I’m a doctor.” Unlike when Finn spoke to me, he hardly made eye contact with Jax, like he was just some annoying person he had to deal with. Finn wasn’t the warmest person in the world, but he seemed to be putting Jax at a distance
on purpose.
“Cool,” Jax said. “What kind of medicine do you practice?”
“Emergency medicine,” Finn answered as he picked up another taco. “I work at the hospital down the road from here.” With both arms on the table, he kept eating, his large hands working to hold his food as he ate. It was strange to see him stretching his shirt as he moved because I was used to seeing him without a shirt on. Now it was just strange to see him completely clothed. “I did my medical training in the military. I was just recently honorably discharged so now I’m pursuing a career in medicine.”
“You were in the military?” Jax asked in surprise. “That’s awesome.”
Finn turned cold instantly, just like any other time this topic was mentioned. He hated talking about his time serving in the armed forces. It was surprising he’d mentioned it to me at all.
“How long were you in for?” Jax asked. “What branch did you serve? What was the—”
“Finn doesn’t like to talk about it.” Now that I understood Finn better, I knew he was emotionally scarred by his experiences. He never actually said it, but I knew he’d seen war firsthand. He was a strong man who carried himself with pride, but his demons clearly ate at him every single day. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about it like it wasn’t a big deal.
Finn’s eyes softened slightly as he looked at me. Then he gave a slight nod in my direction.
It seemed like we had our own connection, our own relationship.
Jax backed off. “Sorry, man. I should have been more sensitive.”
Finn didn’t accept his apology. “What do you do?”
“I’m a Realtor,” Jax said. “I’ve been in the business for ten years. I know pretty much everything about all the homes in Seattle. Makes me friends with almost everyone. What Realtor did you use?”
“Tim Coonce,” Finn answered.
“He’s good,” Jax said. “He’s an honest guy. Some Realtors are two-timers, will bring you to an overpriced house just to make you think about raising your bid on a different house. But in reality, that first house is purposely overinflated and not really on the market.”
