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I thought about those kisses, on her mouth and all over the rest of her, and that definitely wasn’t the reason neither of us had pulled the trigger. But what was Brenna’s reason?
“Well, it wasn’t bad kisses based on that look,” Liam said with another laugh.
“Did either of you need something?” If I let them continue to speculate, they would eventually get the truth out of me and I wasn’t ready to share.
“Nope, I just came to see what you did to piss off Eva.”
“I need something,” Miles’ smile was wide, but there was suddenly tension in his shoulders. “From both of you.”
Liam and I groaned simultaneously. “What is it?”
“Nothing big, just my engagement party. I need some help.”
“Help?” Liam and I spoke at the same time. “What kind of help? Because I don’t do balloons or streams or whatever.”
Miles barked out a laugh. “We’re two adults starting a family, there won’t be any balloons, Liam. At least, I don’t think so.” He sighed. “Honestly I have no clue what the hell goes into planning an engagement party, but Shannon wants one, and she’s too pregnant to do it all on her own.”
“Been there,” Liam grumbled. “Still living it every damn day.”
“Maybe stop getting your wife pregnant every ten months?” He rewarded me with a middle finger of friendship.
“Maybe stop being afraid to call a pretty woman, and then I’ll take relationship advice from you.”
Ouch. “So Miles, about this party?”
Liam snickered.
Miles glared at Liam and let out a slow breath. “Planning meeting tonight. I’ll provide the food, but bring your own booze. My backyard at eight.” With that Miles walked out, probably off to sign up a bazillion more clients to come to Pilgrim and get put through physical hell.
“I guess we have plans tonight. Think he’ll bring tacos?”
Liam stood and shrugged. “Maybe someone should see if Shannon is in the mood for tacos tonight?”
I smiled. “Excellent idea.”
“And while you’re at it, you can pump her for information on Brenna.”
“Dick,” I growled and tossed my stylus at him, but his quick reflexes meant it sailed right into the hallway. I reached for my phone the moment it pinged with a message. I groaned. It was Eva.
Reservations at Tomahawk Sushi. Tomorrow night. Eight-thirty. Make sure Brenna is available. And interested.
Brenna
“Sushi? You brought me to a sushi joint?” I didn’t mean to sound so horrified, really I didn’t, but raw fish? On a date? Or period? It was literally, the worst date I could imagine, which was really a letdown after the first one.
“You don’t like sushi? Who doesn’t like sushi?”
“Me! I don’t even like raw vegetables and you expect me to eat raw fish and other sea creatures?” I sounded shrill, I knew that, but the idea of eating octopus tentacles or some other weird shit was really causing me to panic. I shook my head, hoping the force of the motion would propel the car to any other place where there was food.
Grant laughed beside me and dropped a hand on my leg, but not even the feel of his strong grip on my thigh could get me moving. “Come on, Brenna, just give it a try.”
“I have. Once upon a time I dated a guy, one of those cosmopolitan types, you know? Anyway he convinced me to try sushi and against my better judgment, I did. You know what happened, Grant? Do you?”
“What?”
“I tossed my cookies. Right there in the dining room of the restaurant, I let it all go. It was mortifyin’!” I don’t know which was worse, the puke or the texture of raw fish.
When he started to laugh, I lifted my head and glared at him. “I’m not laughing at you, I swear. It’s just…wow.”
“Yeah, I know! Now you see why I can’t go in there.”
“I don’t see that at all. Come on.” Before I could repeat my objections, the handsome jerk got out of the car and jogged around the front until he stood outside the passenger door. “I promise you’ll like it and if you hate it, there’s plenty of cooked dishes. I already checked.”
That stopped me in my tracks. “You did?”
“Yep. There’s miso soup and tempura veggies, they even have like four types of teriyaki. So, are we going inside?”
How could I say no now, when he went through the effort of making sure the menu was versatile just in case his date was a head case? I nodded. “Yeah, okay. We’re going inside.” I put my hand in his and smiled. “Lead the way.”
The restaurant had a funky vibe to it, very much a sushi joint in the heart of Texas. There were tomahawks and cowboy hats hanging on the wall, and what I suspected was country music in Japanese blasting through the speakers. “First impressions?”
“Colorful. Eclectic.”
“Quirky enough for you to give this place a proper chance?”
