You're The One: BWWM Romance (Brothers From Money Book 12)

by Shanade White

  Shrugging off the encounter, she started helping her staff clean up the kitchen. A lot of carters found it too demeaning to help with the cleanup, but she’d found it useful to listen to them chitter chatter as they cleaned. Tonight, she was so relieved that things had gone exactly as planned that she simply zoned out as she cleared plates and loaded them in the dishwasher.

  As was her usual custom when all the clean-up was finished, she sent her staff home and made a final sweep of the community room before leaving. She’d learned on her very first job that stacks of dirty dishes had a way of accumulating in the strangest places, it had cost her that time and she’d never made that mistake again. The overhead lights in the main room had been turned down so it was quite dark in the room so she pulled her pen light out of her pocket and began exploring the back corners, sweeping them with the light before moving on.

  Her mind really wasn’t on what she was doing so when her light flashed on a figure sitting in a chair back in one corner. She screamed, dropped the light and moved back a few steps. The figure immediately jumped up from the chair and began coming toward her scaring her even more, but then he spoke and she knew immediately who it was.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Owen said, his sexy accent sending shivers down her spine.

  “Umm, that’s okay. I’m sorry I disturbed you. I was just looking for dirty dishes.” Tabitha stammered.

  Owen was just as surprised by Tabitha’s presence as she was by his; he’d thought that everyone had gone home leaving him alone to brood over the turn his life had taken over the last year. But here she was again and he felt the odd pull he’d felt earlier when he’d been talking to her. It was both uncomfortable and strangely exciting, a feeling he’d never experienced before. He wanted to resist it and this woman, but he couldn’t seem to walk away.

  “I’m Owen Montgomery.” He said, sticking out his hand.

  Tabitha hesitated for a second, still thrown off balance by the instant attraction she felt for him. “I’m Tabitha Swenson. It’s nice to meet you.” She finally said, shaking his hand.

  “So, this whole deal was your doing?” He asked, shocked to find himself making idle conversation with Tabitha.

  “Yeah, this was my big chance to impress you all.” She managed to say.

  “Impress us?” He asked, not sure what she was talking about.

  Tabitha looked at him, not sure if he was teasing her, then realized that he didn’t know what she was talking about. “I have the chance to run the restaurant in Cedar Ridge and this was kind of a test.” She explained gesturing to the room.

  Owen thought about that for a second, then understood. “Sorry, I’m not really that involved in anything in the park except the sheep.”

  “You and your brothers brought your sheep over from Australia. I read about it on the website.” She said, telling him something he already knew but at a loss for anything else to say.

  “It wasn’t my idea, but you have to support family right.” Owen’s words were right, but the tone of voice he’d used didn’t match.

  “Can I assume that you weren’t in favor of the move?” She asked, shocked that she’d asked such a personal question, but unable to stop herself.

  “That’s a bit of an understatement.” Owen said, wryly.

  “I’m sorry to hear that, it seems like such a wonderful place, but I guess it’s a lot different than home.” Tabitha just couldn’t seem to stop herself.

  “I wasn’t planning to stay, but I’m not sure that I want to go home anymore.” Owen said, shocked that he’d just told a perfect stranger something he hadn’t told anyone else, not even his brothers, so he quickly added, “Sorry I didn’t mean to put that on you.”

  “That’s okay; sometimes it’s easier to talk to a perfect stranger than those you’re closest to.” Tabitha said, then added, “But I probably should get going. It’s a long drive back to LA.”

  “Let me walk you to your car.” Owen offered, even as bad as he was feeling about Sarah, he didn’t want this woman to walk away from him.

  Chapter 2

  Tabitha felt like she couldn’t refuse his offer, so she shrugged her shoulders and started for the kitchen. “I have a few things left to carry to the car.” She said as she led the way to the kitchen.

  Thanks to Owen’s help, her two trips were reduced to one, each of them carrying a stack of boxes out the back door and to her car. She popped the back of the SUV open and began securing the boxes in the back amidst the other supplies she’d loaded earlier. Owen slid his boxes next to hers then stood back and watched while she moved things around until she was satisfied that nothing would shift on the curvy road down the mountain.

  Again, he found himself experiencing a wave of desire, although Tabitha looked nothing like Sarah, who was thin and tall, he was still attracted to her. Even though he’d only ever dated Sarah, he knew that his taste in woman tended to run to the tall blonde women of his home town, but then again, he’d never really been exposed to anything else. That he’d be attracted to a black woman had come as a bit of a shock earlier this evening, but Tabitha’s generous curves and sleek black hair had been in the back of his mind for the rest of the night.

  When she’d appeared in the community room, it had been a bit of a shock to see her standing there and the desire he’d felt earlier had immediately returned. He’d been able to cover it thanks to the fact that he’d scared her, but then he’d begun a conversation with her, the whole time thinking that he should make a quick exit. Then, before he’d even thought about what he was doing, he’d offered to walk her to her car.

  Now he was standing in the moonlight watching her shift boxes in the back of her car and trying to figure out a way to keep her there, which made absolutely no sense since he didn’t even know her. He was frantically searching for something to say when Tabitha finally emerged from the back of the SUV and dusted her hands off on her pants.

  “Thanks for your help, I’m all set.” She said, reaching up to close the hatch.

  Owen was by her side in two strides and easily closed the back of the SUV before she could. “It was no problem.” He said, looking down into her eyes for the first time.

  Tabitha wasn’t quite sure what to make of this strange man who had shown up in the dark of the community room. She wasn’t even sure which of the brothers she was with, the youngest or the middle one, but one thing was very clear, he’d been hurt and recently. He had that look of someone who was still in shock from very bad news and her heart went out to him. But she had a very long trip back to LA that night and she was anxious to get on the road, but then his eyes met hers and desire ripped through her making her suck in a breath of shock.

  As much as she wanted to break the connection between them and back away, she just couldn’t seem to do it. In fact, the longer she looked into the man’s eyes the deeper that connection seemed to grow. Frightened, she started to turn away but Owen grabbed her and pulled her into his arms and brought his mouth down on hers. The kiss was like nothing she’d ever experienced and only that kept her from pushing him away the moment his lips touched hers.

  Instead she let him kiss her until his hands began to roam and she came back to reality and finally pushed him away. They stood only inches apart, both breathing heavily from the kiss, until Owen shocked to realize what he’d just done said, “I shouldn’t have done that.”

  When she only nodded her head, he turned and strode back into the community center and shut the door, leaving her standing open mouthed in the parking lot. She should have been outraged, but instead she was grinning from ear to ear by the time she put the SUV in gear and pulled out of the lot. Nothing like that had ever happened to her before, men came on to her all the time, but none of them had ever been able to elicit that kind of response in her before. It was both exciting and frightening.

  But by the time she reached the main road, she’d managed to rationalize what had happened. It wasn’t uncom
mon for people to hook up at weddings and that was what had just happened to her. She’d been propositioned many times after a wedding celebration. This really hadn’t been that different, and the man had obviously been hurting and she’d been a convenient way to make himself feel better. Still she wasn’t sorry that he’d kissed her; it would be a memory she could enjoy for a long time to come.

  Tabitha had never been very lucky in love as most of her relationships had evolved by mutual need, usually the need to share the rent with someone. None of them had been especially exciting, certainly not the like the stuff in the romance novels she that were her secret passion. In fact, most of the time she’d parted on good terms with those men, each of them going their own way when the time came to move on.

  She’d long ago decided that romance was just something in books, that the real thing just didn’t exist. Men and women might be attracted to one another to begin with but lasting love just wasn’t real, the divorce rate was evidence enough of that. Even her parents were evidence of the fickleness of love, although they were still together she knew that they hadn’t been in love for a long time. She’d always dreamed of having kids of her own one day, but over the last few years she’d decided that if she was going to be a mother, she’d probably have to do it on her own. Plenty of single parents raised kids on their own and everyone was just fine.

  The intensity of the kiss gradually faded from her mind over the next two weeks as she waited to hear from the park about the restaurant, each day convincing her that they’d decided she wasn’t the right person for the job. But the phone call she’d been waiting for finally came and she was on her way to a new and exciting career.

  She’d known that once she was given the restaurant that things would progress quickly so she’d only booked herself enough jobs to pay the bills, hoping that she wouldn’t even need them. Most of her jobs were easy so it was no problem to get on the phone and find other carters to take them over. She’d lose some money in the process, but that wasn’t important anymore. Once she’d cleared her schedule, her next task was to hire the staff that would help her run the restaurant.

  Most of the support staff wouldn’t be that hard to hire, but she needed someone as her assistant manager who could handle the front of the house and she knew only one person she wanted for the job. The only problem would be convincing him to move up to the mountains. Joe had always loved the city and all it had to offer, but he’d been with her since she’d started her own company and he was the only one she wanted by her side.

  She’d been keeping her bid for the restaurant in Cedar Ridge a closely guarded secret so instead of just calling Joe, she decided that taking him out for sushi might be the perfect way to soften him up. Joe, who never turned down a free meal, was more than happy to meet her later that night which gave her the rest of the day to prepare herself to convince a city boy to move up to the mountains miles from the nearest nightclub or bar.

  When they met in front of the restaurant, Joe knew that something was up immediately, but waited until they were seated and had placed their order before asking, “What’s up? I can tell by your face that you’ve got big news. Spill it.”

  Tabitha had come prepared so she reached into her bag and pulled out a folder and slid it across the table to Joe. “I’ve been keeping this a secret, but I’m going to be moving to open my own restaurant.”

  Joe’s face fell at her words. It was the last thing he expected her to say, not only was she his main employer, but she was one of his best friends. “Moving where?”

  “It’s all right there. I want you to go with me.” She said, pointing to the folder.

  Joe looked at her in shock, then opened the folder and began to shuffle though the pictures she’d compiled of Coldwater Canyon. He was silent as their food was served, looking through the pictures a second time as they ate their first round of sushi. Tabitha could hardly sit still in her chair. Joe’s face was giving away nothing. Finally, he looked up at her and then back down at the pictures.

  “I’ve heard of this place. Eco-tourism is becoming a huge thing. Reservations to visit are almost impossible to get. How did you manage this?” Joe couldn’t hide his excitement.

  Tabitha released the breath that she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding and launched into the story of how she’d gotten the restaurant. When she’d finished, she could tell that Joe was seriously considering joining her in the park, so she slid another sheet of paper over to him. When he saw the figure listed as his salary, his eyes practically bugged out of his head.

  “Is this correct?”

  “Yep, we have a generous labor budget and don’t forget that you won’t be paying any rent or utilities.” She said, knowing that Joe would be moving up to the canyon with her when he asked for a pen and signed the employment contract.

  Three days later they arrived in the canyon, the back of Tabitha’s SUV filled to the brim with their belongings. Joe had decided to sell his car since it was old and would never stand up to the demands of driving in the mountains. He planned to get one eventually, but since most of their travel in the park would be done on four-wheelers, a car wasn’t really all that useful. Marissa met them outside Honey Hills and knowing they were anxious to get unpacked immediately assigned them four-wheelers and they were on their way once again.

  When they finally reached Cedar Ridge and their new homes, they were both speechless, pictures couldn’t even begin to do the town justice. As they drove down Main Street neither could put into words what they were feeling, but it included an immediate love for the little town they’d become a part of. Even better, once they’d parked in front of the restaurant, one by one the other people of the town came out to welcome them.

  But best of all was the moment they opened the front door of the restaurant to find a fully restored 1930’s diner, complete with a long counter with comfortable looking stools that would encourage people to stick around for that second cup of coffee, instead of rushing them on their way. The table and booths scattered around the room were big and spaced far apart, nothing like today’s cramped seating designed to hurry diners though their dinner.

  They stood in the center of the room looking around, then Tabitha headed to the kitchen not quite sure what to expect, but pleased when she saw new appliances lined up against the wall. Everything she would need was there, including a few things she’d only dreamed about owning. Cooking in this kitchen would be a breeze and the best part was that everything was powered by solar power, she’d seen the panels on the roof when they’d come into town.

  When she went back out to the dining room, she had to laugh at Joe who was sitting in chair in the center of the room still in shock. “Glad you decided to come with me?” She asked, taking the chair next to him.

  “It’s like stepping back in time.” He said, gesturing to the room.

  “Until you walk into the kitchen, everything in there is modern, although there is an old stove in there that looks like it’s been well used.”

  “Let’s go see our apartments.” Joe said, getting to his feet and heading for the stairs that could be seen through a set of open doors.

  The apartments above the restaurant that would be theirs were the same mix of modern and historical, and the best part was the big windows in both the living room and the bedroom that gave them a perfect view of the mountains. Tabitha felt tears coming to her eyes as she wandered around the empty rooms; this was better than she could have ever dreamed. It wasn’t going to be an easy job to run the restaurant, but standing by the window, looking out at the blue mountains, she suddenly felt like she’d come home.

  It took two weeks to get the restaurant ready to open. Most of that time, Tabitha spent visiting the farms where she’d be getting her most of the food for the restaurant. Naturally, there were things that she couldn’t source from the park like coffee and spices, but most of the food would come from only a few miles away. What she couldn’t find in the park, she found in the
surrounding countryside through contacts that Marissa had already made. So, by the time the restaurant was ready to open, she’d met most of the people who lived in the canyon.

  Joe hired the rest of the crew, a combination of temporary summer help and several people who had been willing to sign two-year contracts. Tabitha knew them all and was happy with his choices, they’d have a strong crew capable of handling even the biggest crowds, although Marissa had assured her that large crowds wouldn’t be an issue. Tabitha hoped she was wrong.

  On opening day, Marissa invited the entire park to a barbeque, footing the bill for all the food. It was such a success that Tabitha was sure that she’d have more customers than she’d know what to do with. As she went to bed that night, she thought about the man who’d kissed her the night of the wedding, she now knew that it was Owen Montgomery, the youngest of the brothers at 26, but much to her relief he hadn’t shown up to the grand opening.

  She hadn’t forgotten the kiss they shared that night, but it had faded to a pleasant memory that she could pull out when the nights got long. Loneliness had never been a problem for her, working with the public made it a treat to go home at night and enjoy solitude, but occasionally, she wished that she had someone to share life with, someone to have the family she always dreamed about with. Her mother had always told her that love would find her when she least expected it, but she found that hard to believe on those dark nights alone in bed.

  Owen rode into Cedar Ridge tired to the bones, his two-week trip to the upper pasture had helped him clear his head, but living rough could be exhausting and he’d gotten up with the sun this morning anxious for the first time to be home. He’d spent his time in the mountains coming to terms with Sarah’s marriage to Mike and all that it meant to him. He’d concluded that he wasn’t meant to be with anyone, his avoidance of committing to the one woman he’d always loved a clear message that he was destined to be alone.