by Natalie Ann
“That’s right, she has roommates,” Bode said.
“How many?” his mother asked. “Are they women or men? You know if a man lives there, there might be some hanky-panky going on.”
Oh good grief, he felt like he was in some sixties sitcom right now, but he wasn’t giving them the satisfaction of letting them know Amanda was young. Not that he knew her age. He would check in the office tomorrow and pull her lease. If Bode was smart enough he’d know that information would be on her application.
“All women,” he told his mother.
What his mother didn’t do was comment on if they were women it could still be some hanky-panky. That was a sore subject but no one could really avoid it forever with him.
“That’s good. Now can we change the topic and talk about the auction that is coming up? Bode, I expect you to dress up. I know I don’t have to worry about Coy being presentable.”
“Mom,” he said. “I had a great idea to get higher bids for Bode ”
“Don’t,” Bode said, his fists clenched.
“What is that?” his mother asked.
Coy started to laugh. “If I had a lab coat on and Bode wore a toolbelt. Right, Drew?”
Bode said, “Not happening.”
“It’s a great idea,” his mother said. “But I doubt Grace will wear her chef’s hat. She got pressured by her mother to be in it. And Hailey couldn’t even wear anything to show her as a lawyer. No, it wouldn’t be fair to everyone. A suit and tie are fine.”
Grace Stone was one of their many cousins and she was the executive chef at the Bond Retreat. Grace was as hard as her last name and Drew was shocked she’d agreed to the auction. Even with her mother’s pressure.
“Do you really think Grace is going to put a dress on?” he asked.
“I doubt it,” his mother said. “Grace only agreed if it was put out there that they were buying a cooking lesson. Women could bid if they wanted.”
“Not fair,” Bode said.
“Do you want to have someone bid for work on their house and a man could bid on you?” Drew asked, laughing.
“Well, no,” Bode admitted.
“Then suck it up buttercup,” Coy said, laughing. “I’m not offering dental work. What’s the big deal? It’s one date. Take the person to dinner, pretend to listen, and be on your way. It’s for a good cause.”
“It’s only for a good cause because you’re getting some of the donations,” Bode argued. “That’s why you aren’t putting up a fuss. I’m not getting anything out of it but being put on display like a piece of meat.”
His father started to laugh. “Bode, since when have you cared if a woman looked at you like a piece of meat? Back in school you were all about it.”
“He has you there,” Drew argued.
“I’m not in school anymore. What is wrong with not wanting to be looked at like that?”
Drew started to laugh. “Now you’re just playing with us all. Maybe you’ll get the cougar that will want a hot night of sex. What’s so bad with that?”
His mother put her hands on her hips. “Boys! You are turning a good fundraiser into something trashy. I’m ashamed of all of you.”
She walked out of the room and into the kitchen. The three of them were quiet until their father started to laugh. “You guys are all so gullible. I have to hand it to your mother. She still has a way to shut you up and make you feel guilty at the same time.”
He narrowed his eyes at his father. “Why does she do that?”
“Because she can,” his father said. “Now enough about women and that auction. Let’s talk about business and what’s going on there. You know the minute your mother is in the room she is going to change it back to her agenda.”
“And you let her,” Drew pointed out.
“Happy wife, happy life. You three will learn that one of these days.”
“If we ever get married,” Bode said. “No one is going to want us if they find out we’ve been put up for auction like the runt of the litter to be discarded.”
He was wondering what was really going on with his brother but knew now wasn’t the time to ask.
“Dude, you’ve never been this dramatic before,” Coy said. “Is it that time of the month for you? Are you bloated and need some chocolate?”
“Wow, Coy. Good one,” he said.
“Of course he’d know about PMS and bloat. Remember he’s the crossdresser,” Bode said.
Drew decided to sit back and let his brothers go at it for once.
He picked up his beer and took a long swig, thoughts of Amanda coming back into his head.
A few minutes went by and his father said, “Are you thinking of the cookie lady? You’ve got a big grin on your face.”
Now his father was even calling her that. “Her name is Amanda.”
“And you didn’t answer me.”
“I’m not going to either,” he said.
11
Strained Relationship
Amanda had a hard time trying to figure out what to make since she wasn’t used to being in someone else’s kitchen.
In the end she’d made a pot of sauce and meatballs, built a nice lasagna, and was going to bake it at Drew’s house while the meatballs warmed. There was also a loaf of garlic bread and peanut butter cookies.
Because this was her favorite meal and it was her day even if Drew didn’t know it.
A little after five she pulled down a long driveway that seemed to climb higher than she expected it would. The house couldn’t be seen from the road but now she had a nice view of the newer construction that was facing the Atlantic Ocean.
She shouldn’t have been shocked to see how stunning the house looked from this view and knew the back of it had to be twenty times better.
The front door was swinging wide before she could even open her car door, Drew walking out to help her. “Let me carry some of that in. What do we have?”
“If you want to get that box, it’s got the casserole dish, bread, and cookies. I’ll carry this pot in.”
He picked the box up from her trunk while she got the box with the pot in it. Her BMW might be a few years old, but she wasn’t letting it get food spilled in it.
When they were in his house and at the back where the kitchen was, she was mesmerized by the view out of the wall of windows. The house was well above the beach, looking down to an area that she was sure was private property.
“This is beautiful,” she said.
“Thanks. I like new. I’ve been here about five years and knew I wanted to be on the water but not so close that I could get a lot of storm damage from waves. I like being above it and walking down to the beach.”
“The view is worth it, even if you have to walk a bit to the beach.”
“That was my thought. It’s not like I’m down there often. Maybe someday when I have kids or something, but for now it’s more about the view.”
She ignored the comment about kids. She was surprised to hear him say that. “If you want to turn your oven on at three-fifty, this will be done in about forty minutes and then has to sit for a bit. It’s still warm because I just put it together.”
The minute the dish was in the oven with the foil covering it, he said, “When you said you were going to cook, I expected you to cook here, but it looks like you’ve been working all day at this meal.”
“I like to cook,” she said. The pot was on the stovetop on low. “Lasagna, meatballs, and bread. Cookies for dessert. It seemed like the perfect day for sauce.”
“And cake,” he said.
“What?”
He opened the fridge and pulled out a cake to show her that it said Happy Birthday on it. “I got us dessert even though I figured you’d make something. Happy Birthday, Amanda. Why didn’t you tell me when we made the date?”
She was oddly touched. Sidney, Bri, and Kayla all wished her Happy Birthday today, gave her little gifts and said though they were bummed she had plans and they couldn’t all celebrate tonight, they w
ere happy for her too.
“It seems I didn’t need to. Can I ask why you looked at my application to know that?”
“Well, there is a story behind it,” he said, putting the cake back in the fridge. “Can I get you a glass of wine while dinner is cooking?”
“Wine would be lovely. Just one glass.”
He poured them each a glass and then pulled her to the living room to sit on his massive couch that faced the ocean. “So Bode calls you the cookie lady.”
“Your brother Bode ”
“Yes. I told you he was annoyed I wouldn’t share the cookies, right? Anyway, he called you the cookie lady at my parents’ house yesterday. It was then that everyone was going on and on about if you were older and your age. I never said you were younger. I just let them believe what they wanted.”
She laughed. “But deep down you wanted to know if I was a cougar that had a lot of work done?”
“I knew you weren’t. Imagine my surprise when I saw your birthday was today and that we are both thirty-two.”
“Imagine that,” she said. “And the cake was nice of you. Very considerate. What flavor is it?”
“This is where I wasn’t sure and took a guess. Most women love chocolate and I could have gone that way, but something told me you aren’t like most women.”
“Not really,” she admitted.
“It’s vanilla cake, white buttercream with raspberry filling.”
One of her personal favorites. “I love raspberry. Don’t get me wrong, I can do chocolate just like the next person, but I’d rather have fruit pies or fillings. Even cookies. I brought peanut butter today.”
“My favorite,” he said.
“What do you know? Guess we are both good at guessing.”
“Or we both know the other better than we might want to admit,” he said
Which was almost too scary for her peace of mind. “It could be.”
“My mother would say fate,” he said, laughing. “We had her going pretty good yesterday with the auction. My brother Coy brought up Bode should be in a tool belt and him in a lab coat, but then she got upset with us.”
“I’m not sure what to think about the whole auction thing.”
“Meaning that you’d be jealous if someone ‘bought’ me that night?” he asked, reaching over to lay his hand on hers.
“I’ve never been to that event before nor could I afford to bid if I wanted to. So, that isn’t what is crossing my mind. I guess it might be a tad bit sexist on all sides.”
“I said the same thing. My cousin Grace is the executive chef at the Retreat. She got pressured into it and said she’d only consider it if it was put out there as a cooking lesson for the night. A man or woman could bid on it.”
“Oh, now I wish I had the money. I would totally bid on her.”
“Really?” he asked.
“A cooking lesson from the head chef at the Retreat? I might even have to consider it even though I know it’s way out of my price range.”
“I don’t think you need lessons by the smells coming from the kitchen. Where did you learn to cook? Did your mother teach you? Or a grandparent? You never talk about your family. I don’t even know where you are from or if you’re an only child or not.”
And this was part of the reason she didn’t date much. Now she’d have to give some information.
“I’m self-taught. I have a younger sister, Charlotte. My parents are still married the last I knew. I have a strained relationship with them and haven’t seen them since I left home shortly after my eighteenth birthday.”
He wasn’t sure what to say to that. He wasn’t expecting to hear it.
“I’m sorry. Family can be a pain and put a lot of pressure and stress on each other, but we are all extremely close on the island for the most part.”
“That’s because your family seems pretty forgiving,” she said.
“Not quite. I’m sure since you’ve lived here for a few years you know about some of the myths and legends. The rumors and whatnot.”
“Yes. Malcolm Bond was offered the hand in marriage to Elizabeth Rummer by her mother to save their shipping empire and he had three days to find the island or the offer was going to someone else. He found it on the last day after being lost during a storm.”
“That’s right,” he said. “He swore it was love at first sight and it was fate that the storm sent him to the island rather than away. They had five children. Edward, James, Catherine, Patricia, and William.”
“You’re from the James branch. Hunter the Edward. Is it the same on your side that all businesses have to be passed only to men?” she asked.
“No. Hunter’s Great-great-grandfather James—yes, the names get confusing—was sexist. But it’s not like that on our side. Everyone kind of goes off on their own after what they want. Real estate has always been in the blood though, from agents to rental properties through the years. My father, Scott, went one way building onto the real estate end; my Uncle Mitchell went another way with hotels. Bode and I stayed with the family business. Coy wanted to be a dentist.”
“So he’s the black sheep?” she asked, taking a sip of her wine. “He and I might share that trait.”
“I don’t believe you’re the black sheep at all,” he said, wishing he knew more but suspecting even if he asked he’d push her away. There was no reason to even go there at this point.
“My family would disagree. But I’d say we are all much happier being apart from each other. I know I am.”
“Since it’s your birthday, we won’t talk about the past. Let’s just talk about the future.”
“And what might the future entail?” she asked.
He took her glass out of her hand and put it on the table with his. “How about some of this?” he asked, leaning over and capturing her mouth with his. “A birthday kiss.”’
“I could handle a birthday kiss.”
He wrapped her up in his arms, pressing her into the couch as his body covered hers, her hands going through his hair and holding his head in place.
He started to nibble on her lips. “You like touching my hair, don’t you?”
“I can’t help myself,” she said. “Part of the trade. And it’s so soft.”
“Right now it might be the only part of my body that is soft.”
She laughed. “I can tell.”
Which only made more blood rush to his cock, her hips pressing up. They weren’t going to make it to dinner if he had his way.
“Drew,” she said, her lips moving to his ear.
“Yes.”
“I’m not going to your bedroom.”
It felt as if it was the ice bucket challenge on his head, but he wasn’t shocked to hear the words either. “I didn’t think so. It doesn’t mean we can’t make out like teens.”
“It’s been a long time since I was a teen. I was a foolish one at that. I won’t go back there again.”
That shed some more light on things for him but still not enough to question her. “Weren’t we all foolish as a teen?”
“Some more than others.”
They heard a timer go off in the kitchen. Talk about a mood killer. “I suppose you need to go check on dinner?”
“I do. I just want to turn the pan and then let it cook for another twenty minutes before it rests.”
He moved back to let her stand up, then got up with her, grabbing both of their glasses and going to the kitchen.
When the dish was turned, and the sauce and meatballs stirred, he handed her her glass back. “How about a tour of the house?”
“Sounds good,” she said.
He moved from room to room on the first floor, then up to the second showing the four bedrooms and baths, then down to the lower level basement. “I don’t use this space that much other than to work out in here.”
“This is a lot of space for one person,” she said.
“It’s expected to have kids someday,” he said, grinning.
“But do you want kids? Not what i
s expected of you. No one should do anything because it’s expected but rather what they want.”
Again making him wonder what was in her past. “Yes, I want kids. I won’t say I don’t do things that are expected of me even if I don’t want to. Sometimes you just have to for the bigger picture and it ends up working out in the end.”
“Like losing the coin toss to do the home visits?” she asked, her eyes looking a little lighter now.
“Exactly. It’s working out pretty well if you ask me.”
“I think it is too,” she said, giving him a soft kiss on the lips.
12
Major Points
Now Amanda knew what it was like to feel as if she walked out of a romantic movie.
Even how Kayla felt months ago when she and Hunter walked hand in hand on the beach, the waves lapping over their toes.
While the lasagna was resting, Drew asked if she wanted to go down to the beach and she couldn’t say no to a moonlight walk, then a kiss to put all other kisses to shame.
She actually felt a giggle start to escape like a schoolgirl.
When she was sixteen and met Randall, it’d been love at first sight. He was cute in a nerdy kind of way. And he was so sweet to her.
Sure, he had more money than she’d ever see in her life. Or his family did.
He wasn’t a jock, he wasn’t really in the popular crowd that went out and partied all weekend long.
But he was well liked by many...and loved by her.
They were each other’s firsts. Or so he said. She’d never had any reason to not believe him.
She was planning a life with him. And despite what his mother thought, she didn’t get pregnant on purpose. The condom must have leaked because he always wore one. She wanted him to. The last thing she wanted to do was get pregnant as a teen.
But she had expected he’d stick by her when that became a reality. He even said as scared as he was, they were in it together. She’d encouraged him to go to college and get his degree, thinking she could start working.
