Tempting Brooke (Big Sky 2.5)

She nods and offers me a brave smile before we end the call.

“I have twenty fucking employees,” I say to Van as I toss the phone down in frustration. “They don’t need me to hold their hand. I like your idea of a partnership, and I’m going to talk to Jay right now.”

“He’d be great at it,” Van affirms, and I nod.

“It makes sense. Now, let’s get this wrapped up so I can go home.”

Chapter Ten

~Brooke~

The shop has been slow this week. With school starting, and the tourists leaving, the busy season is officially over.

And I’m totally okay with that. It was exhausting this year. Of course, it didn’t help that as soon as Brody left, I completely saturated myself with work, staying at the shop late into the night and returning early the next morning, even when there was no need for me to be there that long.

I’ve never been so caught up on the bookkeeping and inventory since I opened my doors three years ago.

It’s a beautiful day outside. Our unbearably hot summer turned into a gorgeous Indian summer, so I have the front door propped open with a brick, letting in the breeze.

“Go home,” Maisey says as she breezes into my shop. She’s been getting her new digs set up next door now that her busy wedding season is also finished. Once Brody decided to rent it to her, the process went incredibly fast.

“I could say the same to you,” I reply as I open my laptop and wake it up. “When do I get to come and see what you’ve done over there?”

“When it’s done,” she says with a grin.

“You do realize that I can already see a lot of it from here.”

“Stop peeking.” She glares at me, then busts out into a dance. “It’s so great, B. Also, I’ve decided on a name.”

“Awesome, what is it?”

“Cake Nation.” She giggles. “I know, it’s not super romantic, but I want it to be neutral, to attract men and women. And I don’t want people to think that it’s just wedding cakes.”

“I think it’s a great name,” I assure her and give her a tight hug. “I can’t wait for you to get settled in, and then we can start to plan our joint events.”

“It’s going to rock,” she agrees, then glances at the screen of my computer. “Why are you looking at real estate? That doesn’t look like here.”

I sigh and return to the computer, paging through listing after listing of storefronts. “It’s in San Francisco.”

She doesn’t say anything, so I glance up to find her scowling and leaning on my countertop.

“What?”

“We just talked about joint events.”

“I know.”

“How are we supposed to have joint events if you’ve moved to San Francisco?”

“I don’t know.” I prop my head in my hands and rub my eyes until I see stars.

“You wanted this shop,” she reminds me. Her voice is firm, but not unkind. “You asked Brody to stay so you could prove that this shop matters.”

“I know that, too.”

“If you were going to just leave and move to San Francisco, what was the point of any of that?”

“I don’t want to move to California. Hell, I can’t afford to move there,” I reply and pace around the table. “I want to be here. I love my shop.”

“I know you do,” she says softly. “He’s been gone a long time.”

“Six weeks, two days, three hours,” I reply and hate myself a little because I could break it down to the minutes if she asked me to. “And I don’t think he’s coming back, Maise.”

“Well, you’re wrong.”

I jump at his voice and turn to find him leaning against the open doorjamb of my shop. I want to run over, jump on him, and kiss him until my lips are bruised.

“Hey, Brody,” Maisey says.

“Maisey.” He doesn’t look away from me. His arms are crossed over his chest, his muscles bulging deliciously against his blue T-shirt.

He’s better looking now than the day he walked out of my house.

“I’m just going to go back over to my new place,” Maisey says, her voice nonchalant and breezy, but she stops in front of Brody and sticks her finger in his chest. “Don’t be a dick.”

She leaves and Brody comes inside, moves the brick, and closes the door behind him. We haven’t taken our eyes off of each other yet.

It’s like we’re playing a super sexy version of chicken.

“Why didn’t you believe that I was coming back?”

“Took you awhile,” I reply when I can find my voice.

“That’s not it,” he says, slowly approaching me. “We’ve never lied to each other, Brooke. Let’s not start now.”

“Because you leave,” I blurt out. “That’s what you do. You left me before without a backwards glance, and I was starting to think that this time would be the same. That you’d get absorbed back into your life in California, and you’d—”