Candy Crush (10 page)

Margie looked startled and focused on
Gabriella as if she was seeing her for the first time. “Oh, hello.
You’re the new candy store owner, right? We met at the Chamber
mixer. I own the consignment shop.”

Gabriella nodded. “Nice to see you
again.”

“You’re having another date?” Margie
inquired. She sounded perplexed.

Gabriella furrowed her brow and wondered at
the woman’s tone.

“Yes. At least I’m trying,” Brandon
snapped.

Margie looked appalled. “Fine,” she said
stiffly. “I’ll put my concerns in an email and send it to you
tomorrow morning. I expect a timely reply.” She turned and walked
away.

“Shit. I think we should get that order to
go. And we’ll have to go out the backdoor so I can snag a few beers
as well.”

“First of all, why did you tell her we’re on
a date? We aren’t dating.”

“Relax, Sweet Pea, I was just trying to get
rid of her.”

Gabriella was only slightly mollified, but
she was more concerned about the flowers. “What happened to all the
flowers?”

Brandon rubbed a hand over his face. “The
nursery we hired to plant them says there was a blight. Not their
fault. But if you drive around to all the other downtown areas
within thirty miles or so, their flowers look spectacular. I know,
because I’ve already done it.”

Gabriella thought about the two large
flowerpots parked in front of her candy store, and the dead weeds
jutting out of them. Maybe they weren’t weeds after all. She
realized that every storefront on the street had one or two
oversized flowerpots next to the front door, and none of them had
live flowers. Hers she could understand, because no one had tended
to them for two years. The rest didn’t make sense.

“And how is this your fault?”

“It’s not necessarily my fault, but it is my
problem. My job is to ensure the main street merchants are happy,
and right now, they aren’t. Hence the shitty day.”

“What happened today to start everyone
talking about it?”

“We have a DDA meeting the second Tuesday of
every month. I had just returned from the meeting when you pulled
up in front of the candy store for the first time. My admin
typically gets the minutes typed and emailed out to all members of
the DDA by the end of the week. She emailed them out shortly after
lunch today. And I’ve been fielding phone calls and visits ever
since. I’m glad you showed up when you did. If I would have stayed
in the office until six, I’d have a line out the door, since that’s
when most of the businesses close on Thursdays.”

Brittney returned with their food and
Brandon said, “I hate to ask, Britt, but can you box it up for us?
We need to get going. And tell Aunt Korina to charge me for a
six-pack. We’re going out the back way.”

Brittney said okay and walked away.

“Come on, let’s get out of here before more
of them realize we’re here.”

Gabriella obediently stood up, unhooked
Butter’s leash from the chair and followed him through the kitchen
doors.

“Brandon!” Aunt Korina stood over a giant
pot, stirring red sauce. “I don’t mind you going out the back way
but I can’t have a dog in my kitchen. The health inspector would
shut me down in an instant.”

She gave Gabriella a wide smile. “Good to
see you again, Gabriella. And with Brandon, no less.”

Gabriella gave the woman a tentative smile
and wondered at her comment about being there with Brandon.

“Sorry Aunt Korina. I won’t bring her
through this way next time. Thanks for the extra, I need it
tonight.”

“I bet. I read the minutes.”

Brandon waved the paper sack Brittney handed
him, and he and Gabriella walked out the back door and into the
alley. They walked south through the alley until they reached the
first cross street, and then they walked west two blocks, and then
north two more blocks to Brandon’s house. When they reached the
front yard, Gabriella unclipped Butter’s leash and she bound up the
steps to the front door.

“Come on, let’s go play house and pretend
the rest of the world doesn’t exist for a little while.”

***

Brandon reheated the lasagna and bread
sticks in the microwave, poured Gabriella a glass of wine and took
the lasagna, two forks and a bottle of beer into the living room.
“Let’s live dangerously and eat on the couch.”

He kicked off his shoes, pulled off his tie
and tossed it onto one of the Lazy Boys and unbuttoned another
button on his shirt. Gabriella pulled off her sweatshirt and
Brandon sucked in a breath as her t-shirt rode up and exposed
several inches of flat, tanned abdomen. She draped the sweatshirt
across the back of a chair and pulled her shirt back down before
sitting down next to him.

“Man, you make things hard on me. And I
didn’t mean that to be a literal statement, although at this
moment, it is.”

Gabriella gave him a sharp look and used her
fork to spear a piece of lasagna. She closed her eyes as she
chewed. After she swallowed that piece, she said, “Wow, that is
amazing. If you could find me a good Tex Mex restaurant, I might
have to consider adjusting my stance on our relationship.”

Was she flirting with him? “You could go to
Detroit with me tomorrow. We could have lunch in Mexican Town and
stop at a hotel for dessert.” He winked.

“Even if you were serious, I can’t.”

“When it comes to having sex with you, I am
always serious.”

She gave him a wry look and explained, “I
plan to start working on that apartment tomorrow, so I know what
needs to be done before your family descends on me Saturday.”

“Take your time on that apartment. I’m in no
hurry for you to move out.”

“That’s considerate.”

“No, it’s selfish. It’s a lot easier to try
to seduce you when you’re sleeping in my house than it is if you’re
living four blocks away. Not that it’s far, but it’s still slightly
less convenient.”

“Half the time I think we should just do it
and get it over with, so you’ll stop harassing me.”

Brandon looked appalled. “Just doing it and
getting it over with is not in my repertoire, Sweet Pea. And when
you succumb, you’ll understand.”

Gabriella snorted.

“I’ve got it bad, because even when you make
obnoxious sounds, I still think you’re hot.”

They fell into a companionable silence as
they shared the platter of lasagna. When it was half gone,
Gabriella declared herself full and Brandon admitted he was
too.

He stood up and said, “Bring your laundry
down and I’ll show you how to use my washing machine.”

***

When she stepped into the laundry room, she
carried a small armload of dirty laundry and wore a pair of pajama
bottoms and a basic, fitted t-shirt. Brandon stood there waiting
for her. As soon as she walked in, she flushed as she remembered
the first kiss they’d shared, and the fact that she’d wanted to do
more, much more. The look in his eye told her he remembered as
well, and vividly.

She dumped the clothes into the washer.
Brandon added detergent, turned it on and closed the lid. Then he
turned and leaned against the washer, observing her through half
closed eyes.

“I’d really like to know what’s keeping you
from what I think we both want to do.”

Gabriella fidgeted and averted her eyes.
“It’s complicated, Brandon. A lot of things happened in Dallas, and
I am just not in the right place right now.”

Brandon reached out and grabbed a fistful of
her t-shirt. He tugged gently, and she took a step closer to him.
“If you were in the right place, would you sleep with me?”

Gabriella swallowed. “Probably. You’re
pretty hard to resist.”

He tugged again and she took another step
closer. She now stood one large step away from him.

“Any chance you will, eventually, be in the
right place?” He stood up straighter. He stared at her face,
unflinching.

“I’m sure of it,” she whispered as her eyes
moved down to stare at his lips.

They stood like that for several heartbeats,
and then Gabriella licked her lips and stepped forward without any
encouragement. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him
into a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and deepened the
kiss. Gabriella twined her hands in Brandon’s hair as his hands
began roaming up and down her back, slipping lower and lower until
he grabbed her backside and pulled her against his erection. She
wiggled her hips and he groaned. His hands slipped under her shirt
and deftly unclasped her bra. When he cupped a hand over her left
breast, she let out a gasp.

Brandon trailed kisses across her cheek to
her ear and after he nibbled on her earlobe, he whispered, “Please
tell me you are in the right place right now.”

Gabriella actually chuckled. “I’m starting
to think we are destined to have sex in this laundry room.”

“Sweet Pea, I’ll do it anywhere you want, as
long as you say yes.” He nibbled on her neck.

She canted her head to the side to give him
better access and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to decide if she
really, truly would go through with this. God knows she wanted to,
but her mind was still questioning whether it was a good or safe or
smart idea. She just needed a yes to at least one of those options,
and she would be good to go.

Gabriella’s cell phone rang.

“Damn it,” Brandon muttered, and Gabriella
stepped away from him to go find her purse and dig out her cell
phone. She answered it just before it dropped into voice mail.

“Hello?”

“Gabby, it’s Emmett.” Gabriella sank onto
the couch and closed her eyes, savoring the warm feeling at hearing
her brother’s voice. Brandon walked into the room and frowned.

“Emmett. It’s so good to hear your
voice.”

“So how are you adjusting? Are you
okay?”

“I’m adjusting well, thank you. The store
was a complete mess when I got here, but I’ve made real progress in
the last two days. Some of the local folks are going to help me on
Saturday. I’m hoping to be open before Halloween.”

“Good. Any word from Miguel?” Gabriella
heard the edge in his voice when he said Miguel’s name. Even her
brother didn’t know the full extent of what happened with Miguel,
although he knew enough to be concerned for her safety.

“None. He won’t find me here.”
I
hope
.

“If he does, call the police. Let them deal
with it. Hey, what are you going to do for Christmas? Should I
start working on mom and dad to come down here to New Orleans?”

Gabriella shook her head, even though Emmett
couldn’t see her. “I can’t, Emmett. It’s just me right now, running
this store on my own. There’s no way I can take time off around
Christmas. Maybe next year.” Gabriella felt tears prick her eyes.
It would be the first Christmas ever that she didn’t spend with her
family.

“We could come to you.”

“No,” Gabriella said more sharply than she
meant. “Mom and dad do not know where I am and I can’t tell them.
I’m not taking the chance that Miguel might be watching them,
trying to get information about me.”

“Okay, okay, relax. It was just a thought.
So do you think you’ll be happy up there?”

Gabriella instinctively turned around and
was surprised to see Brandon lounging against the wall behind her.
His eyes were half closed and he watched her with what she
determined was feigned detachment. Regardless of the look on his
face, she knew he was listening to every word she spoke.

She turned back around and said, “I
certainly hope so. Listen, Emmett, I have to go. I will keep in
touch, I promise. I love you.”

“I love you too, sis. Don’t let anyone up
there mess with you. Bye.”

Brandon walked over and sat down next to
her. “So who’s my competition?”

“My brother.”

CHAPTER FOUR

Brandon tried not to be obvious about the
deep breath he expelled, nor the distinct relief he felt. Her
brother, he could handle that. The affection in her voice made
sense now. It wasn’t some other guy, after all. At least, not one
he had to consider as competition.

“So your parents have no idea where you live
now, and you’re going to miss Christmas, which I’m guessing hasn’t
happened very often before, if ever.” It was a statement, not a
question.

Gabriella nodded.

“Tell me what’s going on, Gabriella.”

Gabriella turned away from him and stared at
the glass of wine that was still sitting on the coffee table.
Brandon inched closer and began massaging her shoulders. She
tensed, but he persisted and after a few minutes, she relaxed under
his ministrations. When she half turned and lifted her arms as if
she meant to embrace him, he tightened his grip on her shoulders
and forced her to turn away.

“Don’t even think about it,” Brandon said,
as if he could read her mind. “Something tells me I can’t have you
completely and wholly until you tell me what the hell you are
running away from.”

“How is it you can practically read my mind
after we’ve only known each other for two days?”

“You’re pretty easy to read, Sweet Pea.”

“Thank God that’s not true, otherwise I
wouldn’t even be here.” She shuddered.

Brandon hadn’t done more than share a few
kisses with her and he felt like his life would not have ever been
complete if she had not walked into it. The thought made him frown,
but Gabriella was still facing away from him, so she did not see
it.

Gabriella picked up the glass of wine and
took a sip. She didn’t speak for so long that Brandon began to
wonder if she would avoid the subject again after all. And then the
floodgates finally opened.

“Miguel and I dated for almost two years. We
met through his brother, who was in charge of landscaping for the
company where I worked. It was nice in the beginning. He showered
me with attention and loved to take me places. Now I realize he
just enjoyed the attention
he
got by having a good-looking
blond on his arm. He is a very self-centered man.”