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“What’s wrong?” her mother asked.
“Wrong? Nothing’s wrong. What could possibly be wrong? Do you need some help with dinner? How about I set the table? Want me to cook anything for you?”
“Ma belle, you’re babbling.”
She closed her mouth before more idiocy spewed forth. “I am?”
“Yes. Does this have something to do with Brett?”
The sound of a perfectly timed snicker behind her had her blood boiling. Leave it to Shannon to walk in at just the right moment. Or wrong moment.
“You know something,” her mother said, eyeing Shannon suspiciously. “Someone tell me what’s going on.”
“Nothing’s going on,” Kaitlyn said.
“Brett’s painting Kait nude,” Shannon said, kissing her mother on the cheek and turning to wink at Kaitlyn. Shannon’s fiancé, Max, just grinned and walked by without a word.
Max was a smart guy. Even though a newcomer to the family, he knew when to keep his mouth shut and not get involved.
Unfortunately, both Aidan and Lissa took just that moment to step into the kitchen too. Kaitlyn resisted the urge to turn tail and run like hell.
“Wanna run that one by me again?” Aidan said, arms crossed as he leaned against the doorjamb.
“Yeah, in graphic detail, please,” Lissa added with a wide grin, wrapping her arms around Aidan and leaning against him.
“I don’t want to talk about this.” Kaitlyn turned away and busied herself by stirring the rice on the stove. Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment, her mind scrambling for a way out of this mess. She shot Shannon a vicious glare, but her sister only shrugged and grinned. “You can’t keep secrets like that around this family, Kait. You of all people should know that.”
“What secrets?”
Oh, God. Logan. This was not good. Not good at all. So much for them not finding out. Damn Shannon and her big mouth!
“Brett’s painting Kaitlyn nude,” Angelina said.
“Oh, that’s sexy.” Logan’s fiancée, Sophie, would think that. But Sophie was a sensual creature, so Kaitlyn wasn’t surprised.
“Really. How…fascinating,” Logan said, nearly sending the kitchen into a deep freeze with one glare of his icy blue eyes.
She knew Logan well enough to realize the cool tone in his voice meant he wasn’t happy. Too bad. She turned and faced them. “This is none of your business. Stay out of it and for God’s sake leave Brett alone when he gets here.”
Aidan arched a brow. “Brett’s coming for dinner? As your…date?”
She rolled her eyes, seriously thinking about running out the front door and avoiding the mess tonight’s dinner was bound to be.
“No. I invited him this morning. Though I didn’t know you two had grown so…close,” Angelina said, her warm smile not at all comforting to Kaitlyn. When her mother smiled like that, she had something up her sleeve. Like matchmaking.
Maybe Brett would cancel.
“So are you two going out?” Lissa asked, slipping into one of the kitchen chairs.
“No. We’re not going out. I wanted to have my portrait painted and Brett’s a phenomenal artist. So I asked him to do it.”
“And he agreed?” Aidan asked. “That surprises me. He hasn’t painted at all since Amanda died.”
“I had arranged to have someone else paint me, but at the last minute Brett canceled him and said you’d kill him if he allowed someone else to paint me nude.”
Aidan smirked. “He’s right about that.”
“Besides, we’re like brother and sister,” Kaitlyn pronounced, hoping that would put an end to any romantic thoughts her family had about the two of them.
Shannon snorted. “Nobody’s buying that one, honey. There isn’t a soul in this room who hasn’t seen how you look at Brett, who hasn’t felt the energy between you two. So you can knock off the brother/sister act because it’s not gonna fly with us.”
Kaitlyn pulled the spoon from the pot and rested it on the holder, then sank into the nearest chair. “I really wish you all would just leave it alone. It’s my business. I’m an adult. Brett and I do not have a relationship together. I commissioned a painting. He’s the artist. It ends there.”
Or at least that’s how Brett wanted it to end. She wasn’t about to let things lie between them. But she also didn’t need her family interfering. They would only make things worse. She knew if they started pushing Brett about her, he’d back off.
“Face it, sis,” Shannon argued. “You’ve been in love with Brett since you were sixteen years old. And you still are. The question is what are you going to do about it?”
“I’m not going to do anything about anything. And I’m not in love with him.”
Ignoring her statement, Shannon asked, “Well, then what’s Brett going to do about it?”
“Do about what?”
Kaitlyn’s head shot up at the sound of Brett’s voice. He stood at the entrance to the kitchen, a big grin on his face. The room went silent and his smile died as several sets of eyes zoomed in on him.
Merde! Just kill me now! She mentally pleaded for mercy and a quick death. Anything would be preferable to what was about to come.
Brett knew the moment every head turned in his direction that they’d been talking about him. He’d heard the mumble of conversation when he walked through the door and followed the sound, knowing he was always welcome in the Storm kitchen. Then he heard his name.
Now Kaitlyn sat there blushing crimson, and several arched brows and questioning looks were aimed solely at him.
Christ, she hadn’t told them about last night, had she?
“Brett,” Angelina said, stepping forward to wrap her arms around him and give him a tight squeeze. “It’s been too long, cher.”
He hugged her back and then pulled away to look at her. “And you keep getting younger.”
“And you’re still full of blarney,” she said with a wink. “Come, sit down and relax.”
He slid into a chair next to Kaitlyn. “Kait,” he said, trying to sound nonchalant even though he felt anything but. God, just looking at her brought back memories of last night. Her pink sweater molded to her breasts. Color rose high on her cheekbones, her eyes sparkling with intense interest. And embarrassment.
They knew. Shit, somehow they knew. Surely she hadn’t come over here and told them what happened last night? He knew Kaitlyn would want to avoid her family’s involvement at all costs. Though from the color in her face and the warm gold flickering in her eyes, she looked like she’d spent the entire night making love. And he’d like to take her right here and right now, her family be damned.
“Brett.” She gave him an artificial smile that spoke volumes about her current discomfort level.
“Shannon told us you’re painting Kait nude,” Aidan said.
Shit. So much for subtly working that into the topic of conversation. “Yeah. She was rather insistent about that. So I had no choice but to agree. Better me than someone else, right?” He hoped Aidan would see the logic in that.
“I guess so,” was Aidan’s only reply.
“I didn’t exactly twist your arm,” Kait mumbled.
“And how’s that going?” Logan asked, standing near the stove with his arms crossed.
Logan Storm could intimidate the strongest of men with his icy blue eyes and fierce, chilly demeanor. But Brett had known him forever and wasn’t the least bit bothered by it. “We’re just getting started, but it’s going well. Your sister is a beautiful subject to paint.”
“I’ll just bet she is,” Logan replied, sarcasm dripping off every word.
“Logan, quit being an ass,” Sophie piped up. “I think it’s sexy as hell that you’re painting her nude. And Kait, I admire your bravery. I don’t think I could do it. Well, not unless Logan learns to paint.”
Brett laughed. “There’s really nothing sexual about painting a nude. It’s one of the first things they teach in art class. The human body is nothing more than another art form t
o an artist.”
“Brett, can I talk to you for a minute alone?”
Brett looked at Aidan and nodded. “Sure.” He knew what this was about. Aidan was going to do the brotherly thing and look out for his little sister. If he’d had siblings, he’d have done the same thing.
Kaitlyn looked pale. Did she think he was going to talk to Aidan about what they did last night? Hell, he wasn’t dumb. Painting was one thing. Sex was another. He winked at Kait and followed Aidan out the back door and down the steps.
They walked all the way to the boat dock at the end of the property and sat in chairs overlooking the lake. For a few minutes Aidan was quiet, so Brett just let him ponder his thoughts.
“Have you told her yet?” Aidan finally asked.
“About what?”
“About you, your problem, and what really happened the night Amanda died.”
