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“Well. Look who it is.”
I follow the direction of Sawyer's gaze to find Brooks dancing with a pretty blonde. “Who is she?”
“That's Zoe. You remember I introduced you to Quinn, Brooks' best friend?”
“The one who runs the seafood restaurant?”
“That's the one. Zoe's his little sister. She moved to New York years ago—I think she was working for a Mompreneur the last I heard.”
“That’s interesting. Does she come home often?”
“This is the first time I've seen her in as long as I can remember.”
It doesn't take long to size up the situation between them. “They don’t look like strangers.” No, in fact, if they get much closer she'll be wearing his clothes. I know what happens to a girl once a Cargill man decides to turn on the charm. She doesn't stand a chance, in other words.
“Oh. Here comes trouble.” All of a sudden Sawyer releases my waist, taking me by the hand and leading me to where Brooks and Zoe tease and flirt. That's not the problem, I realize. It's Quinn, his face red, his eyes narrowed into slits as he approaches from the opposite direction. If I didn't know better, I would think he wanted to kill Brooks.
When Brooks sees us coming, he follows the direction of his brother's troubled gaze to find Quinn storming his way. We're close enough to them that I hear him say, “It looks like I'm keeping you from socializing.” Suddenly he takes his hands off Zoe’s slim waist like she’d burned him.
I feel bad for her obvious confusion, but that quickly evaporates once she spots her brother. The fact that she doesn't look the slightest bit surprised tells a story of its own.
“Hey, Quinn,” Sawyer offers with a tight grin. “Glad you could take a little time away from the restaurant to join us tonight.”
Quinn manages the briefest nod before turning his attention back to Brooks. “What do you think you're doing?”
“What are you talking about?” Brooks asks while Zoe ducks into the crowd, weaving her way through before vanishing.
“You know what I'm talking about. It was nice of Zoe to come out to celebrate tonight, but I didn't think it would mean you'd be feeling her up on the dance floor.”
“Quinn, take it easy.” I have to give Sawyer credit. He's learned how to conceal what he's thinking in public. No way is he anything less than irritated, but he’s the picture of charming hospitality.
Quinn ignores him, too busy glaring at Brooks. “Maybe you can be a man whore with some other guy's sister, but this is my sister we’re talking about.”
Brooks only holds up his hands, chuckling. “Calm down. We were just catching up since it's been a while since we've seen each other.”
Quinn merely scoffs. “That's not what it looked like to me.” Frankly, that's not what it looked like to me, either. But I know better than to insert my opinion.
“Maybe you should get all the facts together before you try to attack your best friend at a party, right?” Brooks slings an arm around his shoulders. “Come on. Let's get a drink.” All we can do is watch them walk away together. It's clear from the tension running through Quinn's body that he's not going to let it go so easily.
“I don't know how you guys do it,” I murmur, watching them walk away.
“How we do what?”
“Keeping your cool in a situation like that. He diffused it so well.”
Sawyer snickers, pulling me close again. “He's had plenty of experience explaining himself to big brothers.”
“You guys sure do get around, don't you?” I pull my head back to look up at him, scowling. “I hope you've gotten that out of your system.”
The arm around my waist tightens, and there is nothing about the way he looks at me that leaves any room for doubt. “Trust me, Willow Anderson. Those days are behind me. As far as I'm concerned, you are the only woman who exists.”
I think I can live with that.
I know I can.
