by Easton, Meg
This was not the hallway lined with office doors that he had been imagining. This was a modern, beautiful, open space with conversation areas, conference rooms with glass walls, and a view that rivaled their hotel’s.
Brooke’s dad came out to meet them and he and Brooke hugged. If Cole thought he was intimidating in jeans and a button-down, he should’ve guessed how much more intimidating he’d be in a suit and a power tie. This was a big deal. And right now, he knew he really didn’t belong in this world.
“You remember my friend Cole from Back Porch Grill?”
Cole reached out and shook Mr. McClellan’s hand. “Nice to see you again.”
“And this is his daughter, Samantha.”
Samantha shook his hand, too, and then said, “I really like your building. It’s super pretty. Especially that plant over there.”
Benton McClellan turned to glance at the plant and then said, “Why thank you. I’m charmed to meet you.”
Brooke’s dad led them into one of the conference rooms, where a buffet along one wall was loaded with food. He handed them each a plate, then started loading up his own, so they each followed suit and then sat down at the conference table.
“I’m guessing you’ve been pretty busy preparing for your Van Zandt presentation. Congratulations again on making the top five. I’m super proud of you.”
The shock hit Cole. Her presentation was to Van Zandt? He might not know a lot about the fashion world, but he knew enough to know that having Van Zandt consider carrying your clothing line was huge. No wonder she had been working so many hours. He was feeling more and more out of her league by the moment. He looked down at the sweet and sour pork and spring rolls on his plate and didn’t think he’d be able to take a single bite.
“Thanks, Dad. We’re pretty excited about it.”
“How’s business? Have you gotten any business offers lately?”
“It’s good, and just one.”
“Are they bigger or smaller than you?”
“Same size.”
“You’re not accepting the offer, right?”
“I’ve already told him no.”
“That’s my girl.”
“You don’t usually bring people from home when you visit.” He pointed his chopsticks between Brooke and Cole and Samantha. “Tell me the story.”
Brooke reached out and put her hand in Cole’s. “Cole and I recently started dating, and I wanted to introduce him to this side of things a bit.”
“Then I’m very glad to meet you officially. How long have you two been dating?”
The question was directed at Cole, so he answered, “Um, four days.”
Mr. McClellan raised both eyebrows and turned to Brooke. “Four days. So I guess you’re moving pretty fast then, if you’re already taking him with you on a business trip.”
Brooke squeezed Cole’s hand and chuckled. “Dad, we’ve been best friends for nearly three years. If anything, I’d say we’re moving pretty slow.”
“So.” Mr. McClellan took a bite of his General Tso’s chicken. “Tell me why you’re good enough to date my daughter.”
Cole had been asking himself the same question since boarding the plane last night, so his answer came quickly. “I’m fairly certain I am not.” He probably should’ve sold himself to Benton McClellan, and Brooke’s dad would probably think he was taking the easy way out by not, but right then, Cole couldn’t think of a single reason he could tell him.
Brooke’s dad let out a booming laugh. He clapped Cole on the back and said, “I’m glad you understand that right from the start.”
* * *
Back at the hotel, Brooke handed both him and Samantha a garment bag and told them to go get ready. The suit in his was very nice. And, as he knew to expect, fit him perfectly.
He may not belong in this world, but he was sure looking good in it this afternoon. Really good. He kept turning from side to side in his full-length mirror and wondered where he could get away with wearing a suit like this. He’d be willing to wear it pretty much anywhere. Like to work. Or grocery shopping. Or to take his turn being the crossing guard at Nestled Hollow Elementary.
“We’re almost ready,” Brooke called out from her room where she was helping Sam with her hair.
Cole walked into the living area from his room and leaned against the doorway like he was a celebrity on a magazine cover, ready to blow Brooke away with how great he looked.
And then she walked out of her room, and his shoulder slipped off the doorframe and he had to catch himself before falling face first into it. “Wow. You...wow. Brooke. You look incredible.”
Her dress was a deep green and shimmered in the light. The top only went over one shoulder, leaving the other bare, and the rest was form-fitted down to her hips before it went more wavy, shorter on one side and nearly to her ankle on the other. She looked elegant. Like royalty.
“I would like to present...Princess Samantha!”
Samantha strutted out of the room just then, wearing the dress that Brooke had made, her hair up on top with lots of curls all around. She struck a pose with her hand on her hip and a smile spread all the way across her face. “Aren’t I beautiful?”
“As the stars in heaven,” Cole said.
“And look at Brooke—she’s as beautiful as I am!”
“That she is.”
When they arrived at the building for the fashion show, Cole and Brooke walked arm-in-arm, Sam holding his other hand, and he felt much more confident than he had when walking into Brooke’s father’s offices. Maybe he should’ve gone to meet him wearing this suit.
But the confidence that came with the suit waned a bit when they entered the chaos that apparently exploded backstage at a fashion show an hour before people would begin to arrive. Cole clutched Sam’s hand as models—mostly men—hair and make-up artists, and assistants hurried everywhere they went, shouting instructions and bringing up issues, and using lingo he had never heard before.
“Brooke,” a tall, thin, impeccably-dressed man said as he hurried to them. He gave her a hug, and said, “How was your flight? Please tell me fabulous. And did you think any more about joining forces with me? All these men in finely tailored suits sure would look good walking on stage with a woman in a finely tailored dress next to them.”
“Your suits are so well designed that they don’t need anything else to look good. Ian Bancroft, I would like you to meet Cole Iverson and his daughter, Samantha. Cole and I have recently started dating.”
The two men shook hands and Ian looked at Brooke. “Dating, as in exclusive?”
She nodded, and Ian took a better look at Cole. “Well, it’s a pleasure to meet the man who managed to get Brooke McClellan to agree to a partnership.” Ian turned to Sam and put both hands over his mouth as he gasped. “My goodness, this might be the most radiant girl I’ve ever seen. Brooke, did you design this dress?” When Brooke nodded, he said, “How do you feel about a pre-show walk down the runway to get people excited about seeing some fancy clothes?”
“Are you serious?” Sam asked. “I can go out there and let everyone see me in my beautiful dress? For reals?”
Ian looked to both Cole and Brooke for confirmation, then to Sam. “For real.”
For the next hour, Cole stood by himself, feeling awkward and out-of-place, as one of the assistants taught Sam how to walk the runway and Brooke went from person to person who were each having problem after problem, fixing things and leaving a calm easiness in her wake.
She was so at home here, and was so good at what she did, and was so adored by everyone around her that he could see why this was such a powerful draw to her. No wonder she went out of town so often. She got love and adoration on a grand scale here.
It wasn’t simply that Brooke was out of his league. It was that he had grown up in a world where the sport she played didn’t even exist. Even offering her all he had, he couldn’t give her what this world was giving her. He couldn’t compete with this.
Chapter
Fourteen
The thrill, the excitement, the energy of the show coursed through Brooke. For as much as she had been dreading that this trip was going to take away from her prep time for the Van Zandt presentation, she realized this was exactly what she needed in order to refuel herself.
As the crowds entered the building and mingled in the ballroom as they found their seats, Brooke sought out Cole, who was leaning against a wall, watching all the action going on backstage. In a room filled with male models in suits—men whose actual job description was to look incredible in a suit—Cole still stood out as the most attractive. His suit perfectly accented his broad shoulders and a physique made strong by his days spent in near constant movement.
But the kindness in his eyes and the genuine concern he had for people that seemed to emanate from him set him apart from everyone else. His actions and his generosity in not only the way he treated others, but in the way he saw others, showed through every feature and had truly made his face the most beautiful she had ever seen.
She grabbed his lapels and grinned as she moved in close. “You, sir, are looking mighty fine. How would you feel about walking down the runway? That suit you’re wearing is actually one Ian designed.”
The look of alarm that crossed Cole’s face made her joking question completely worth it. “Raine did a great job teaching Sam how to pose. I bet she would come teach you, too.”
Cole laughed nervously, his eyes darting around the room. “Uh...I don’t think that’s such a great idea.”
“You’re right.” She sighed and glanced at the men in suits, then let her eyes fall on the beautiful man in front of her. “You probably shouldn’t. Then everyone wouldn’t be able to take their eyes off you, and that wouldn’t be fair to the men who came here to model.”
She smiled when she saw the smile it put on his face. He seemed less overwhelmed by the goings-on backstage, especially since things quieted down when guests started arriving. “Are you game for doing some mingling with the press before we find our seats?”
They checked on Sam, who seemed thrilled to be backstage and not at all nervous about the runway. They let her know that they would be watching from the audience and headed out to meet and greet.
Brooke always liked to socialize with the press, buyers, and others in the fashion world who attended. These were people who chose to promote fashion, and she was grateful for every one of them. She had met many of the people who were in attendance at other events, and it was fun to see them again. As they went from person to person, though, she noticed that Cole wasn’t saying much, and she could tell that he was feeling out of place.
Ian’s announcer, Silas, stepped up to the microphone at the side of the stage and everyone took that as their cue to find their seats. Once Brooke had let Ian know she was bringing two guests, he had provided her with a couple of prime seats right at the end of the runway.
Once Cole and Brooke and everyone else was seated and quieted, Silas said, “As a pre-show bonus to get you in the mood to see some incredible suits, I am pleased to announce that we’ve got a special guest to warm you up. I would like to introduce nine-year-old Samantha, wearing a one-of-a-kind, By the Brooke original.”
Sam stepped onto the runway just then and Cole grabbed Brooke’s hand. He didn’t need to be nervous for her, though, because Sam strutted onto the raised platform, looking every bit as confident as seasoned veterans, and showing way more personality than any of them ever did. She reached the end of the runway, put one hand on a cocked hip and the fingertips on her other hand by her ear, elbows out, looking up in the air.
The crowd responded with cheers—something she rarely saw when a model came out—and everyone took pictures. Then Sam held out two thumbs-up, blew the crowd a kiss, then turned and strode back to the other end of the runway and off the stage.
The crowd ate it up. She’d never seen a group so primed to see the designs about to take stage as this group was. Brooke turned and smiled at Cole. “You’ve managed to raise an incredibly confident little girl at a time when that isn’t always so easy.”
He looked deeply into her eyes, searching, and then said, “Thank you for giving her this. She’s going to remember it forever.”
“It was definitely my pleasure. I’ll go get her so you can tell her how great she did and the two of you can watch the show together while I help backstage.”
By the time the show had finished, Brooke was still buzzing with energy. Ian had called her on stage at the end, and she smiled extra big when she saw Cole beaming at her and Sam waving wildly.
When the show ended and all the models made it backstage again, Ian turned to her. “You’re coming to the afterparty, right?”
“Not this time. I think we’ve probably worn Sam completely out, especially since we came from a different time zone.”
Ian pouted. “But that’s when I was planning to talk you into being my business partner.”
Brooke laughed and put an arm on his shoulder. “Ian, even if you tried the whole time, tonight’s party wouldn’t be enough to talk me in to a merger. Lone wolf, remember?”
“I’m not giving up.” He nodded the direction of the guests in the ballroom. “You may be a lone wolf, but you also said you’d never date anyone exclusively. Things change.”
Brooke glanced that direction as well, even though they couldn’t actually see into the ballroom.
“How’s it going with your man?”
Brooke sighed. “Good. But we haven’t been dating long, and I think this trip might’ve been too soon. I wanted him to know what he’s getting into, but I don’t know. I get the sense that he’s not liking what he’s seeing. They say that opposites attract, and that’s probably what made us become friends. But maybe we’re too different for a relationship to work.”
“I hope not. Because you two are as beautiful together as silk and a man’s tie.”
* * *
Sam had been so exhausted that she’d fallen asleep while Cole had been reading to her. He crept out of the room and shut the door quietly.
“There’s an old zombie movie on that we haven’t seen before,” Brooke said from where she’d curled up on the couch, remote in hand. “Want to play ‘What happens next?’ The hotel left a basket of snacks, including microwave popcorn,” she held up the bowl, “which I’ve already made. I figured when we pause for the first ‘What happens next,’ whoever is wrong has to eat popcorn until round two using these.” She picked up the chopsticks from their dinner the night before. “And then in round two, whoever is wrong has to dip their popcorn in this concoction I made out of coffee creamer, sugar, and soy sauce.”
An amused smile was playing on Cole’s face as he listened, then he nodded. “Okay, but only if, for round three, whoever is wrong has to eat popcorn while dancing, Pulp Fiction-style.”
They sat down to watch the movie like they had dozens of times in the past, but this time, she nestled into Cole’s side and laid her head on his shoulder.
She knew that she was risking all of the fun traditions of their friendship by dating him, when things could potentially go very wrong. But right now, she didn’t care. Right now, all she could think about was how much she enjoyed snuggling into him, and how she wasn’t the least bit sad that she hadn’t gone to the after party.
* * *
After taking Cole and Sam along to two more meetings with boutique owners the next morning, they got back in the car and she handed the driver a paper with the address to the refugee center she’d first visited a few years ago.
“One last stop,” Brooke said, “then we’ll get some lunch before heading to the airport.”
When they pulled up to the building and got out of the car, Sam looked at the sign on the building and cocked her head to the side. “What’s a refugee?”
“It’s someone who had to leave their country,” Cole said, “usually because of war or something else that has made it where it’s not safe to live there anymore.”
Brooke nodded.
“Many of the people who come here as refugees don’t have anything and often don’t even speak English. This is a place I found where people can come and get help.”
“And today we’re going to help them?” Sam asked.
“We are.” Brooke pushed the door open. “Sometimes when I come here, I’ll help teach English. Other times, I’ll help people find clothing to wear to a job interview, or help them to fill out some forms, or help match them up with some services they need. It’s a surprise every time.”
They checked in with Sema, a woman who was frequently there when Brooke came and was currently helping a man fill out a form. “Brooke, I’m so glad you stopped in today. All my volunteers are busy, and there’s a couple over there who could use some help.” Sema nodded to the computer area, where a husband and wife were trying to work on something with three little kids climbing on them and trying to push buttons. “Before having to flee their home, they ran a restaurant together. They’re trying to write a resume to get a job here.”
Cole immediately perked up. “I’ll help them.”
Brooke smiled. “Sam and I will keep the kids entertained while you do.”
Her and Sam went behind the counter where she knew they kept the toys and pulled out some building blocks, toy cars, and Little People. They set up the toys on the floor in view of the computers so the kids had no problem running to them to play. They helped the three little kids—girls who looked like they were five or six and a boy who was about three—build practically an entire city for the people to live in and the cars to drive around in.
“This reminds me of the shelter in Mountain Springs,” Sam said.
Brooke looked at Sam as she walked one of the Little People next to the person one of the little girls was walking. “The homeless shelter?”
