by MJ Duncan
“Whatever. Have fun painting, Picasso. I’ve got to go play a round with some clients.”
Bryn chuckled. “Try not to beat them too badly.”
“I can’t,” Kendall groaned, sounding genuinely aggrieved. “It’s bad for business.”
“Poor baby.”
Kendall laughed. “Yes, well, at least I’ll have Jen waiting at home to kiss me and make it all better when I’m done.” She sighed. “I gotta go. Our group’s up on the first tee. Have fun painting. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Bye,” Bryn said into an already dead line as she climbed out of her car. She slipped her phone and keys into her purse, and slung it over her shoulder as she stepped up onto the sidewalk.
“Hey! You made it!” Anna called.
Bryn smiled and nodded. “I did.”
“You rock for doing this,” Anna said as Bryn made her way up the front walk. “Di will be swinging by later, but Holloway totally flaked.”
“I’m sure he has a perfectly acceptable excuse,” Bryn said.
“Yeah, that his dog ate something funky and he had to rush him to the vet.”
Bryn frowned. “You don’t think that’s a valid excuse?”
Anna rolled her eyes. “He doesn’t even have a dog.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.” Anna chuckled and shook her head. “Really, it’s classic Holloway. I’ll get him back later.”
“I am afraid to ask how,” Bryn muttered.
“Better you don’t know.” Anna smirked. “Plausible deniability and all that.”
“Right,” Bryn drawled. She dropped her purse onto the grass, and looked at the cans of paint that were lined up along the edge of the walk. The idea of painting Anna’s porch suddenly seemed much more daunting when she was faced with gallons of paint, brushes, and other random painting supplies. “So, how do we do this?”
“Put the paint on the brush and smear it onto the wood,” Anna replied drolly as her eyes swept up and down Bryn’s body. “Those are really the junkiest clothes you have?”
Bryn looked down at herself and shrugged. Whereas Anna’s shorts were paint-splattered and her navy blue shirt so threadbare that Bryn could see the shadow of her bra underneath it, Bryn’s black running shorts and red T-shirt looked like they could have been brand new. Which they basically were—she had only bought them the month before, and this was the first time she had ever worn them. “Yeah. They are.”
“Do you want to borrow something of mine?” Anna offered, her forehead wrinkling with concern. “So you don’t ruin those?”
“Thank you,” Bryn murmured. She smiled and shook her head. “But I’m not particularly attached to these clothes. If they get paint on them, they get paint on them. It won’t be a big deal.”
Anna did not look convinced, but she nodded and handed Bryn a paintbrush. “Okay then. If you want to take this and start with the lower railings, I’ll get up on the ladder and roll the posts, and we’ll finish by doing the floorboards.”
Bryn spun the paintbrush in her hand and nodded. “You’re the boss.”
Anna winked at her and knelt over one of the cans of paint. She pried the top off with an large flathead screwdriver that was splattered with equal amounts of rust and paint, and filled a large plastic cup with bright white paint. “Here you go.”
“You’re sure you trust me to help?” Bryn asked as she took the cup. It was heavier than she expected, and she held it away from herself in case she spilled.
“Of course. It’s just paint—it’s not like it’s a bilateral hip replacement or something.” Anna waved a hand at the porch. “After you, my dear. You want some music while we work?”
“Sure.”
“Any requests?” Anna asked as she balanced her paint tray on the stepladder’s shelf.
Bryn smiled over her shoulder as she dipped her brush into her paint cup. “Not really. Surprise me.”
“Ah, the gauntlet has been thrown,” Anna drawled, rubbing her hands together mischievously and winking at Bryn as she ducked into the house.
Bryn had just put her brush to the first railing when the first notes of Livin’ on a Prayer drifted through the open windows. She smiled as she bobbed her head with the beat, and even sang along softly with the opening stanza.
“Good?” Anna asked as she stepped back out onto the porch.
“Very good.” Just because she preferred classical music did not mean that she could not appreciate a little Bon Jovi every once in a while.
“Awesome.” Anna picked up her tray and roller, and climbed the three shorts steps on the ladder. “So, how’s everything at Spectrum?”
Bryn filled Anna in on what had been happening at the vineyard, and she listened interestedly as Anna shared the latest gossip from the hospital. The music pouring through the open windows occasionally interrupted their conversation as the urge to sing along with an old favorite trumped idle chatter, and Bryn’s eyes widened in surprise when she looked at the work yet to be done and realized that she was already finished.
“Good job, Nakamura,” Anna said, giving Bryn a one-armed hug when Bryn pushed herself to her feet with a soft groan. She was getting too old to spend so much time moving around in a half-crouch. “I think I’ll keep you.”
Bryn leaned into Anna’s side and laughed. “I’m honored.”
“You should be. I’m quite the catch.”
“And modest to boot,” Bryn replied dryly, her cheek rubbing against Anna’s shoulder as she turned to look at her.
“You know it.” Anna sighed as she gave Bryn’s shoulders a light squeeze before dropping her arm and starting down the steps to the front lawn. “You ready to try rolling some floorboards?” she asked as she picked up what looked like a wooden broom handle and began twirling her roller onto the end of it.
Bryn hiked an incredulous brow. “Is that really something you need my help with?”
“Of course. Or…” Anna’s voice trailed off as a light blue Prius rolled to a silent stop behind Bryn’s Range Rover. She waited until Diana was out of her car before she said loudly, “We can always try and con Di into doing it.”
“Con Di into doing what?” Diana asked with a laugh as she skipped up onto the sidewalk. She glowered at Anna for a moment before she smiled at Bryn. “Hiya, Bryn.”
Bryn smiled and waved. “Hello.”
“You, my gorgeous friend,” Anna began with a smile as she held the now long-handled roller out for Diana, “have been nominated to roll the floorboards.”
“I have, have I?” Di skeptically eyed the roller in Anna’s hand. “Nominated by whom, exactly?”
“Bryn,” Anna said.
Bryn chuckled and shook her head. “Hardly.”
Di laughed. “Yeah, somehow I doubt it was her. Where’s Mitch?”
“He needed to rush his dog to the vet,” Anna said.
“Ah, yes. The old sick dog excuse. I considered that one, but decided that helping you paint was better than balancing the books for Jitters.”
“Don’t you have an accountant?” Bryn asked in surprise.
“For taxes and stuff, yes. But I keep the weekly books. I was an actuary before Thom and I bought the shop two years ago, so I’m more than capable of crunching the numbers myself.”
Bryn nodded. “I keep my own books for Spectrum, as well.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever, math geeks,” Anna grumbled, shaking her head. “I can calculate the rate of exchange in five different currencies…” She continued in a mocking falsetto.
Di grinned at Bryn and hiked a thumb in Anna’s direction. “Somebody’s still bitter that she needed my help to pass calc two.”
“Whatever,” Anna scoffed. “Numbers are for wimps. Cutting people open, on the other hand…”
Di dipped two fingers into the cup of paint Bryn was still holding and then flicked them at Anna. She laughed as paint splattered all over Anna’s face. “You have a little something on your face there, Fitz.”
Bryn’s eyebrows sho
t up on her head in surprise as she looked from Diana, who was smirking at Anna, to Anna, who was dragging her middle finger through the paint on her cheek and smearing it over her skin.
Anna looked at her finger and then at Di, and then she chuckled dangerously as she leaned down to dip the fingers of her right hand into the open paint can. “You’re gonna regret that one, Chang,” she threatened as she took a step toward Diana.
Diana nodded. “Probably,” she admitted with a laugh as she pulled Bryn between them.
“Hey, now,” Bryn protested. The paint that was still on Di’s fingers was cool against her sun-warmed skin, and if she were not so concerned about taking the brunt of Anna’s retaliation, she might have admitted that it actually felt good.
Anna clucked her tongue and shook her head. “You’re really using Bryn as a shield? Come on, Di. You’re better than that.”
“I’m really not,” Di quipped as she ducked behind Bryn.
Bryn shook her head when Anna’s gaze locked onto her. “Anna.”
“Bryn,” Anna replied with a mischievous grin, “duck.”
Bryn did not need to be told twice. She wrenched her arms free of Di’s grasp and ducked just as Anna lunged for Di, who took off with a yelp toward the far side of the front lawn. Bryn watched as Anna chased after Di, both of them laughing maniacally as they circled the grass.
“Accept your fate, Chang!” Anna hollered at Di as she got to within a few steps of her.
“Never!”
Bryn watched them circle the yard, both amused by their antics and grateful that she was not the target of Anna’s attack.
“I gotcha!” Anna crowed as she launched herself at Di. She wrapped her arms around Diana’s waist and pulled her to the ground. “Now you’re gonna have paint on your face!”
Di squirmed away from Anna’s hand that was hovering above her, and screamed when Anna’s fingers raked over her face from forehead to chin. “You suck!”
“You started it. You should really know better by now than to start things you can’t finish. Besides, now you look like you’ve been working all morning just like us,” Anna said, laughing as she rolled onto her back beside Di.
Bryn knew she was in trouble the moment Anna’s gaze locked onto her, and she shook her head. “Don’t you dare.”
“Don’t I dare…what?” Anna asked with a dangerously sweet smile.
“You know what,” Bryn said, taking a small step backwards. “I was not the one who flung paint at you.”
“That is true,” Anna conceded. “But you were holding the cup she got it from. And, really, it isn’t fair that we’re both covered in paint and you’re standing there looking like a million bucks.”
Bryn smiled at the compliment but held up a hand to try and halt Anna’s progress. “Ms. Fitzpatrick.”
Anna grinned. “Yes, Ms. Nakamura?”
“I will never help you paint again if you do what you’re planning on doing,” Bryn threatened, trying to exude the powerful confidence she had channeled whenever she was facing a boardroom full of angry investors or defiant employees back at her father’s firm.
“Get her!” Di goaded Anna from her spot on the grass.
“Thanks, Di,” Bryn drawled, shooting Diana a disbelieving look. “So much for solidarity.”
“This is solidarity,” Anna explained. “I have paint on me. Di has paint on her…”
Bryn gave Anna her most threatening glare. “Don’t.”
“What?”
“Anna…”
“Bryn.”
Bryn sighed and took another small step back—just far enough to keep her out of arm’s reach. “Anna,” she warned again.
Anna seemed to find her warning the most amusing thing ever as she continued to stalk toward her with an ear-splitting grin. Bryn would have found her utterly adorable were it not for the fact that she knew it meant that she was about to get the same treatment Diana had.
“Bryn,” Anna sing-songed.
Because Anna was between her and the front porch, Bryn took off to her left, ducking away from Anna’s outstretched hand as she made for the driveway. She smiled at the yelp of surprise Anna let out before she began to give chase, and Diana’s sidesplitting laughter spurred her forward, her legs pumping as she sprinted down the driveway toward the back yard, hoping to put some space between herself and Anna. If she could just get inside the house…
Strong arms wrapped around Bryn’s waist and pulled her up short before she got within ten feet of the back porch, lifting her in the air as Anna laughed gleefully in her ear. “Gotcha.”
Bryn knew just from the way Anna was holding her that her shirt now had Anna-sized fingerprints staining the fabric above her left hip, and she groaned as she relaxed in her arms. She should have known better than to think she could escape. Anna’s hold loosened to a playful embrace, and she sighed as she let herself be held. It actually felt nice to be held, even she was now covered in paint, and she leaned her head back on Anna’s shoulder so she could look her in the eye. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Anna confirmed. She smiled and bumped her forehead against Bryn’s before she let her go.
Bryn shook her head as she took a step away from Anna and looked down at her shirt. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“Why?” Anna asked, her smile light and carefree as she pressed a slightly damp finger to Bryn’s nose.
Bryn wiped at the spot and groaned when she saw the paint on her finger. “Honestly, Ms. Fitzpatrick?” she asked, and felt instantly guilty for the bite in her tone as Anna’s smile disappeared.
“Are you mad?”
Bryn shook her head. The chase had been thrilling and she had enjoyed the way Anna just held her after she had been caught. If she were mad at anyone, it was herself for not being able to just cut loose and enjoy a carefree moment like Anna and Di seemed to have no trouble doing. “I’m not mad.” She smiled as she dipped her index finger in the wet paint on the side of her shirt and touched it to the tip of Anna’s nose. “Now we match.”
“We do,” Anna murmured.
Bryn watched the way Anna’s pulse pounded in her throat, and felt her stomach tighten at the way Anna’s tongue swept slowly over her lips. She looked away, her brow furrowing as she focused on her shoes instead. She could feel Anna’s eyes on her, and her breath caught when Anna’s fingertips dragged lightly down her forearm. She lifted her eyes meet Anna’s gaze, which was more serious than it had been all afternoon, dark with something that was both exhilarating and terrifying. “Anna?”
Anna blinked hard, and took a deep breath as her gaze darted toward the front yard where Di was waiting for them. She sighed and shook her head as she looked back at Bryn. “Sorry.”
The darkness in Anna’s eyes was gone, replaced with an almost gentle sadness, and Bryn cocked her head as she wondered what in the world was going on inside that beautiful head of hers. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Anna nodded. “Anyway, I think Di totally deserves to finish painting all on her own now.”
It was clear that Anna did not want to talk about whatever was bothering her, so Bryn just cocked her head and murmured teasingly, “Good luck trying to convince her of that.”
Anna hiked her brows and shrugged. “Oh, I can be pretty persuasive.” She nodded at the driveway. “Shall we go tell her the good news?”
“Of course.” Bryn stared at Anna, wishing she knew what it was that was happening between them at moments like this. There were no answers to be found in Anna’s expression, however, and Bryn sighed as she started toward the driveway. “I can’t wait to see you convince her to finish the job on her own.”
Anna jogged after her and bumped her with her shoulder once they were side by side, her playful smile firmly back in place. “You don’t think I can do it.”
Bryn bumped Anna with her shoulder and smiled. “No, I don’t.”
“Wanna bet on it?”
“I’m sorry?”
“If I can’t manage to
talk her into finishing the painting on her own, I’ll make you dinner. But if I do…”
Bryn laughed, one brow arched in playful disbelief. “You forgot to go grocery shopping again, I take it?”
Anna grinned. “Maybe, maybe not,” she drawled. “Maybe I just like your cooking.”
“Ms. Fitzpatrick,” Bryn murmured with affectionate roll of her eyes.
“Ms. Nakamura,” Anna retorted, her voice carrying the same gentle warmth as Bryn’s. “So…deal?”
Bryn looked at Diana, who was lying on the grass with her legs crossed at the ankle and her hands clasped behind her head, and nodded. “Deal.”
Twenty
“You’re done grooming them both already? I totally would have helped,” Kendall said as she sauntered into the barn.
“Yes, well, somebody—” Bryn gave Kendall a pointed look as she slipped the curry comb from her hand and dropped it into her grooming bag, “—decided that she had an urgent phone call that took far longer than the ‘couple of minutes’ you said it would…”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Kendall groaned. “My client is freaking out about his trial that starts on Monday, and I had to talk him down. It took longer than I thought. Really though, thanks.”
“It wasn’t a big deal,” Bryn said, shaking her head. “Morgana is saddled and ready to go, I just have to saddle Figgy, here, and we’ll be good to go.”
“Figgy?” Kendall chuckled. “Why in the world are you calling my horse Figgy?”
“It’s what Anna calls her.”
Kendall’s brow pinched in disbelief as she turned to Figment. “You really let her get away with calling you that?” she chided as she smoothed a hand down the stripe on Figment’s forehead.
Figment whinnied and tossed her head as if answering in the affirmative, and Bryn laughed. “I told you. Anna is stealing her away from you.”
Kendall rolled her eyes. “If you say so. How is the fine doctor doing lately?”
Before Bryn could answer, the cell phone in her back pocket began to ring. She smiled at the familiar tone and shook her head. “Speak of the devil,” she murmured as she pulled the phone from her pocket and lifted it to her ear. “Hey, you. Were your ears burning?”
