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She sounded so sincere that I had no choice but to take her at her word.
“It’s not forever, Christopher. It’s only until Luke sets things up with securing a venue for that new bar of his.” She smiled up at me warmly. “And I selfishly thought that it would be fun for us to get to hang out. Maybe spend some time together and get to know each other.” Her smile turned into a smirk. “Just you and how did you put it again? Just you and pretty girl.”
I rolled my eyes at her. I was unable to stay mad at her and I knew that she would pick up on thepretty girlcomment.
“Now give me a kiss to say sorry.” She beamed at me as she pointed to her flawless cheek.
I didn’t even stop to question if she was serious or not. I leaned down and softly kissed her cheek. I let myself believe that she was enjoying having my lips on her but I knew that was most likely me wanting to think that.
“What’s uh…?” I straightened up when Luke decided at that moment to interrupt us. “What’s going on?” I’m not sure who was more embarrassed. Me for having my lips dangerously close to Isobel’s lips or for getting caught and stopped from taking it to where I wanted it to go.
“Nothing.” I stepped away from her and positioned myself behind her a little. I widened my eyes at him, indicating for him to drop it or to change the subject. “Just thanking Isobel here.”
He grinned at me with a cocky smirk on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Thanking her for what?”
“I got Christopher a job.” She bounced a little on the spot as she mockingly clapped her hands together excitedly. “He’s going to work in finance with Del. Isn’t that amazing?”
Luke glanced at me in surprise and I nodded my head at him to agree. I didn’t need him causing a fuss. Especially not when it made her so happy to have helped me in her own way.
“It’s not forever,” she added. She began removing her coat and my eyes were drawn down to her ass in that pinafore dress. “Just long enough to keep him busy until you get the bar up and running.” She placed her coat on the sofa. “So, where is Freddie?”
“I’ll go and grab him.” Luke paused to look at me. “Chris? You want to come and help me in the kitchen?” He didn’t give me time to answer before he was directing his next question to Isobel. “You fancy joining us?”
“I’d like that.” She stepped aside and let me pass. “I’ll have red with my dinner.” She gave us a cheeky smile as I followed Luke from the room.
“You’re fucking lucky it was me catching you putting the moves on Isobel and not her surrogate big brother,” he teased.
“Shut it,” I muttered, causing Luke to laugh. “I wasn’t putting the moves on her. I was just thanking her.”
He laughed again and reached up, patting me on the shoulder. “You keep telling yourself that, man.”
* * *
“Are you nervous?”
I turned around and stared at Freddie standing in the doorway to my room. “Is it that obvious?” I tightened the knot of my tie before I dropped my hands. “How do I look?” I was dressed in a navy suit for my interview with Del and to say that I was nervous would be an understatement.
He narrowed his eyes at me as he walked closer. “Not sure that a yellow tie is the best match for a navy suit.”
I chuckled as he approached me and reached for the tie. “Luke let me borrow it,” I replied
He rolled his eyes at that. “Of course he did.” He quickly untied the knot and after freeing it from my collar, threw it on the bed before he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded navy tie. “Let’s not go too crazy.” He unwound the tie and slipped it beneath the collar of my shirt. I watched as he narrowed his eyes in concentration as he measured the lengths on each side. “Try and relax,” he said in a quiet tone as he began to slowly knot the tie. “Del is a nice guy.”
“Mr. Granbler,” I stated. I had to keep it formal in my head. If I went in there calling him Del, I’d have no chance. “Isobel worked her magic for me. I don’t want to let her down.”
He smiled at me as he fastened the knot. “Isobel can be difficult sometimes.” I frowned at him as he ran his hand down over my tie before he straightened the lapels on my jacket. “I don’t mean that badly,” he continued, obviously reading the thoughts that were undoubtedly showing on my face. “She doesn’t realize it but sometimes, she can put too much pressure on people.”
“She’s trying to help me, I guess,” I muttered.
He narrowed his eyes at me in thought and I wondered what he could be thinking.
“I don’t think you need as much help as she thinks you do.” He smiled at me and I knew that he meant it in a supportive way. “You’ll be okay, Christopher.”
“Of course he will,” Luke said from behind him as he entered the room. “You ready?” he asked, directing his question to me. He waited for me to answer and as I nodded my head, he leaned over and kissed Freddie. “Thank you,” he whispered.
I knew that he was thanking him for helping me with the tie. A part of me was cringing that I needed help with tie selections but I was also grateful. I was a bit apprehensive with Freddie in the beginning. Especially when I saw the wreck that Luke was when he first touched down in Britain before Lucie was born but after spending time with them both back in London and seeing how happy they were together, I knew that being with Freddie was exactly where Luke belonged.
We left the apartment and Luke clapped his hand down on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “You’ve got this, my brother.”
