She sighs.
“Come on. My mother raised me to open doors for women.”
“I can open it myself,” she says leaving her hand in place.
“I know that. Me being a gentleman doesn’t mean you can’t kick my ass.”
Another sigh, but she relents and lets me open the door for her. When we step in, she stops abruptly, and I run into her back. A jolt of need runs through me and I have to force myself to step away from her. Jesus.
I raise my hand to shove it through my hair and notice that it’s shaking.
“Why did you stop?”
“Ed and Harry.” I look at her and notice her attention is fixated on something in front of us. My friends are standing about fifty feet in front of us with frowns. Yippee.
“I think we’re in trouble,” I whisper to her.
“Screw that. You’re on your own.”
I snort. “How dare you? What happened to One for all and All for one?”
“I’m Mexican not French. We know better than to partner with white boys.”
“I am not a boy.”
It’s her turn to snort. “Yeah, if I didn’t know before, I do now.”
“It was my kissing skills, right?”
She blinks up at me, then a seductive curve of her lips holds me mesmerized. That’s why I’m not prepared for her answer. Leaning closer, she says, “No, it was the massive size of your cock.”
I’m so shocked I don’t say anything. Isn’t this woman supposed to be a virgin? Like, never had a man, doesn’t date. She moves away from me, smiling as if she knows exactly how she’s shocked me. She slips off my jacket and hands it to me. “Here.”
“You can keep it.”
She shakes her head. “I’m hot enough in here.”
It is an odd turn of phrase. One look at the heat in her eyes tells me exactly what she meant. The little minx is screwing with me. I take my jacket.
“You’re sure you don’t want me to come home with you?”
She nods. “Family is important, and you hardly see yours. You know they could have stayed at the house.”
I roll my eyes. “They would have driven you crazy. How about you come with us to brunch in the morning? They’re heading back home tomorrow afternoon, but I know my mom wants to get to know you better.”
“You sure?”
It hurts my heart that she has to ask. Her family never would see the soft places. She would never let them. And they made it impossible for her to trust them. That makes me realize that in some sense she trusts me.
“Yeah. Especially after that dance. She’s gonna want to get to know you better.”
Her face flushes and she opens her mouth, but Harry interrupts us.
“Are you two going to stand there ignoring us?”
We both look over at them at the same time and then start laughing.
“Text me the location,” she says as we walk closer. She leans closer to Harry and whispers something that has him frowning, and his face losing a little color. Then, with one last look in my direction, she leaves us alone.
“Do you have something you need to tell us?” Harry says.
“Listen, man, don’t include me in that we. I don’t care what Fritz does. You dragged me out here when I was trying to sneak off with my wife. Your sister. You know, so we could do things that would gross you out.”
“Stop it.”
I laugh. “Say your piece, Harry.”
“What’s going on with you two?”
I shrug. “Nothing.” Yet. Damn, when did I make that decision? I’ve been obsessed with her since she told me she was a virgin. Again, not that she remembers, but still. And it’s so stupid. I don’t care if a woman is a virgin or has been with lots of guys. Well, as long as she uses protection with those guys. What intrigues me about Savannah is the passion I feel bubbling beneath the surface. Chefs have a reputation of being hot under the collar, and I know she gets that way. The fact that she has remained a virgin intrigues me. Like getting to be the one who lets her unleash all that passion, well that will be divine.
Hell, I’ve already decided to seduce her.
Harry snaps his fingers in front of my face. I blink. “What?”
“I said your name three times.”
“That was after you went on a diatribe about him being kind of a whore and Savannah was a nice girl,” Ed says. “Hell, I spaced out a little too.”
Harry tosses Ed a nasty look, then turns his narrowed gaze on me. “She’s not your type.”
I look from him to Ed, then back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“She’s a nice girl.”
Ed is looking anywhere but at me and when I study Harry, I see the truth. “You know.”
Harry blinks. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I roll my eyes. “You know she’s a virgin.”
How did they find out? If either of them even thought of trying anything with her, I will remove their arms from their bodies and beat them over the head with them.
My thoughts came to an abrupt halt. Fuck. When did I get possessive? I’ve never been like that, even when I dated girls in high school. Jealousy is a wasted emotion, and it can poison a good relationship.
“We’ve lost him again,” Ed murmurs.
“How do you know?” I ask.
“Harry was trying to get your attention. Said your name four times.”
I roll my eyes. “No, I meant how do you know about Savannah?” I study them as they shift from foot to foot. Then it hits me. “Your women.”
“Listen, you’re a good guy,” Harry says. “But Savannah is kind of special. She doesn’t need some guy who doesn’t plan on staying around. Also, you live with her. If things go badly, it’ll be awkward, and you might find yourself out of a house.”
My friends are trying to convince me I’m not good enough for her.
“What makes you think it will go wrong?”
They both chuckle and my hackles rise up.
“You don’t stick, Fritz. You move on,” Harry says. “And when you do, it’s no big deal. I assume the women who date you know right up front what they are getting into. The problem is that Savannah isn’t like them. She’s a forever kind of woman.”
“And I’m not good enough for her?” Damn, this hurts more than I thought it would. These two guys are like brothers to me, and the fact that they think I’m not good enough for Savannah hits me right in the chest.
“No, you are good enough,” Harry says as he apparently has been elected the spokesman of the two of them. Of course, he has. Harry likes to jabber on about things. Ed just wants to find Allison and steal her away.
“Then?”
He sighs and opens his mouth to respond, but apparently Ed has had enough.
“Your dick gets bored and you need another woman to screw.”
I blink. “Jesus.”
“It’s true,” Harry says. “I’m not saying don’t get involved. Just be careful. For both your sakes.”
I nod because he’s right. Getting involved with Savannah could be a big mistake and we could both get hurt.
“Okay.”
“Are we done here? Because it’s time for me to leave and take your sister to the hotel so we can have married sex. All the married sex.”
Harry winces. “Ugh, shut up. But yes, we’re done.”
Ed hurries off and I shout out, “When are you flying out?”
He stops and rolls his eyes. “Six in the morning. It was the best price we could get.”
I nod and he goes in search of his Sunshine.
“You know I’m not the only one you have to worry about, right?”
“Yeah,” I say as we walk back to where the reception is. “EJ and Allison will neuter me if I mess up with Savannah.”
Which I know now that I want to have something with Savannah. What, I have no idea. And until I do, I need to be careful.
“Yeah, no. Well, yeah, because EJ has a little of her grandmother in her, t
hat’s for sure. But Savannah has four brothers.”
I snort, but it’s not with humor. It’s with disgust. He stops me.
“What?”
“Do you know that during the last four weeks I’ve been living with her, I haven’t seen one of them stop by? She never mentions that they do anything together.”
“She works with Austin.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell him she doesn’t work with Austin anymore. Instead, I shake my head. “It’s just weird. They have this big family like mine but there’s…” No affection. Seriously, like not at all.
“What?” Harry prods.
I shrug. “You know how crazy my family is. We are always in each other’s business. I find it odd that they don’t seem to communicate at all.”
“Your family is insane.”
I smile. “Yeah.”
“Just remember to be careful. I don’t want to see either of you hurt.”
I nod and follow him back into the room. He’s right. If we get involved, it could go disastrously bad. I better make sure I want to chance our friendship just because I’m attracted to her. At that second, I see Savannah across the room talking to her friends and EJ’s mom, Lillibeth. Our gazes connect and even from that distance in the darkened room, I know she’s blushing.
Yeah, I might just have to take that chance because it may be impossible to resist her. I never thought I’d want a woman who would gut me one moment and then help me the next, but I have a feeling this is one of those once in a lifetime kind of chances, and I am not about to let it pass me by.
Chapter Eighteen
Savannah
The next morning, I find myself overrun with O'Bryans. I know, I know. I said I would go to brunch with them and should have expected it, but Jesus. And it isn’t even all of them. Avery and Liv, two of Fritz’s sisters, came for the wedding. They are both fantastic because they give Fritz shit all the way through brunch. Liv is older by just sixteen months, with long dark hair and Fritz’s eyes. Her husband was in the military with Fritz, but he died on his last deployment. She’s so damned nice, but she continually checks her phone. When I see her do it again, Avery leans closer to me.
“It’s the first time she’s left Sam and Callie overnight while she’s out of town.”
Harry’s youngest sister Avery is kind of geeky in the most adorable way. She has her long brown hair up in two buns on top of her head. She’s a social media manager, and I know she has helped the guys at Camos and Cupcakes a lot with their Instagram page.
“They’re with Cora?” I ask. Their oldest sister has two kids herself and is married.
She nods. “Yeah. I mean, they’ve gone to stay with the other grandparents, but they only live about an hour away. She feels guilty.”
“That’s normal,” I say, although I have no idea. Considering what I know about my family right now, I’m not a good judge of what is normal.
She nods, but I feel Fritz’s hand on my leg. The moment his fingers squeeze my knee, my whole body lights up like River lights at Christmas. Multicolored and just so damned bright you can’t help but feel happy. I turn toward him and try to calm my racing heart. It’s so stupid that I’m giddy like a high school girl with a crush. He’s…well, let’s admit it. He’s out of my league. He’s had tons of women and I’m a virgin with a spotty dating history. But I forget all that when I look at him. When Fritz O’Bryan focuses on a woman, it’s like there is nothing else in the world.
“I would love to know what you’re thinking about.”
I shake my head. “No way.”
He leans closer so he can whisper, “That dirty?”
His breath feathers over my flesh causing a shiver. God, he smells good. Soap mixed with his cologne, it’s amazing.
“No. I don’t want to go on the record just in case there’s an investigation.”
He throws back his head and laughs, pulling a smile from me. Guys rarely get my humor, or if they do, they don’t think I’m funny. Fritz always has.
“So, Savannah, you lived in San Francisco?” Fritz’s mom asks. Mrs. O'Bryan is average in height with short dark hair and those blue eyes all the kids seem to have. She’s as sweet as Mrs. B. However, Mrs. B is still my fav because no one makes a margarita better than her…other than Austin.
The moment I think of my “brother,” the one I am closest to, my stomach roils. Dammit. I have been ignoring most of those feelings all morning, but Austin and I have a different relationship. We’ve always been close. Part of it has to do with our personalities, but also our love of the food business. Everyone works in it, but they don’t love food service like the two of us do. Austin already has his master’s in restaurant management. Yep. You read that right. The man who has more schooling in our business—and more experience than everyone but me—is tending bar.
I feel Fritz’s hand drifting over the fist I have on my lap. I look at him and he’s not even looking at me, but apparently, he sensed something was going on with me. I relax my hand and look at his mother.
“Yes, for a few years after I finished with the CIA.”
“Oh, we have a spy at our table,” Fritz’s father says.
I know he’s joking, and he definitely knows the CIA is for Culinary Institute of America, but he’s a character. I think in thirty years this is probably how Fritz will look. Grey threads his dark hair and there are those smile lines around his mouth and eyes. The only thing different between the two men are their eyes. His father has gray eyes, with hints of blue within their depths.
Fritz’s mom tosses her husband an exasperated look before she centers her attention on me again. “Ignore him. I do when he gets like this.”
“You couldn’t ignore me if you tried.” Oh, yeah, and their personalities match. Fritz might not tell the horrible dad jokes, but there’s that ego busting out. It’s so sweet and, again, reminds me of Allison and Harry’s parents. That connection is deep, and you can easily see the admiration and love.
“I think that would be so cool,” Avery said. “The school is out in Napa, right?”
I nod. “Wasn’t much fun though.”
“No?” she asks sipping her cocktail.
“I was seventeen when I arrived. Napa is kind of known for, ya know, wine. A lot of the people I went to school with were older. I was designated driver most of the time.”
“I didn’t realize you were that young when you went,” Fritz says.
I turn to him and try not to swallow my tongue. Seriously, the man is so pretty. I didn’t know men had such long eyelashes until I met him.
“Yeah. I took my GED and with my uncle’s help, I got in.”
“Uh, I think you got in on your own,” he says.
“I really love La Trinidad,” Liv says. “I love how the Mexican restaurants here have tortillas on the table. I am a carb whore.”
“Yeah, you are,” Avery says with a laugh. She probably weighs about a hundred pounds soaking wet and she’s had three cocktails.
“I dread driving home,” Mr. O'Bryan, or Danny as he told me to call him, winking at me.
“We could just stay here and never leave. I might want to live here in this restaurant for the rest of my life.”
Yeah, Avery is drunk for sure.
“I’ll drive,” Liv says. “You and dad can pass out in the backseat.”
Fritz chuckles. “I’m glad I just have to drive back to our house.”
There is a dip in his tone over the words our house. I know I am probably imagining it. Still, it sets off a bunch of butterflies in my stomach.
“Thank you so much for helping Fritz,” his mother says. “That stupid cat is important to my mother, and I just don’t know what she would do if she couldn’t see him.”
“McLovin is a sweetie,” I say, waving her concern away.
“That cat is an asshole,” Danny says.
“Don’t tell Savannah,” Fritz says. “The asshole loves her.”
I shrug. “He does. I like cats. My abuela had
one. My uncle kept it after she died.”
“Fritz said she lived with your uncle?” Mrs. O'Bryan asks as I see the waiter come to our table with the check. I try and signal him to me but Danny cuts me a look.
“Don’t even try it, little girl,” he says without any heat.
“Savannah?”
I look at Mrs. O'Bryan. “Yeah, she did. Actually, the addition Fritz lives in was built on for her. My uncle was a widower.”
“No kids?” she asks.
I shake my head as the happy butterflies scatter, and a lead weight occupies the space. I push back, trying to get my brain back into play.
“How long does it take you to get back home?” I ask, as I try to forget the mess my mother dropped on me less than a week ago.
“It would be five hours, but Dad refuses to use the toll road to go around Austin.”
And with that, the O'Bryans bicker without any heat and a lot of love. I watch, fascinated again by them. I know they have to have their tense moments, but there is genuine love in this family.
“Hey, they have no idea.” Fritz whisper against my ear.
I turn my head and have to fight back the urge to move back. He’s closer than I thought he was.
“I know.”
He nods, then smiles before picking up his beer and finishing it off.
“We need to stop by and see Grannie Pam again,” Avery says. Fritz told me that the two of them are super close. I know they have spent time with her since they arrived yesterday, but everyone at the table nods. They all want to see her. Of course, they do. They’re normal. They love each other.
What would it be like to have a family like this? I mean, seriously, they are a little warped, but there is a connection, a deeper one than I share with my family. They are still family, but not quite, and I feel at a loss at where I fit in their world now.
Isn’t that what you were afraid of to begin with, Savannah?
Shut up.
Oh, yeah, I am losing it. I am arguing with myself. In my head. While at brunch with Fritz’s family.
“Now I really want to know what you are thinking about,” he whispers, his breath feathering over my ear again. I shiver.
Scrumptious: A Friends to Lovers Romantic Comedy (Camos and Cupcakes Book 3) Page 16
