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How I’m falling in love with her.
Fuck, how I’malreadyin lovewith her.
The doorbell ringing puts any thoughts of that answer on ice though, because admitting to this woman that I am head over heels in love with her is not something I want to do just as friends are arriving for dinner and we are standing in my bathroom, not even dressed.
So instead, I smile, lean in and kiss her as I say, “Just because.” The doorbell sounds again, and I laugh, knowing Brandon is being an impatient shithead. “I’ll grab that, you get dressed,” I say, giving her another quick kiss, before I head into the bedroom to grab some clothes.
“You should get dressed too!” Zoey calls from the bathroom, making me laugh.
“Well you took your time, I hope we weren’t interrupting anything,” Brandon says, grinning like an idiot on my front doorstep.
Shaking my head, I lean over to kiss Tracy on the cheek before grabbing his hand as though to shake it and instead yanking him inside. “Get in here, you fool,” I reply.
We all walk through to the kitchen and living area, Brandon dropping two bottles of red wine on the counter. “Just the three of us?” he asks, glancing around the open plan space, a huge smile on his face.
Tracy shakes her head, and I can’t help but laugh as I turn and grab a bottle of champagne from the wine fridge and four glasses just as Zoey walks out from the hall leading back to my bedroom. She’s dressed in a pair of fitted jeans and a low-cut top that shows off the necklace I just gave her, her hair loose around her shoulders.
Jesus, she is beautiful.
“What do you think?” I say, watching her walk toward us, reaching for her as she comes into the kitchen, my arm slipping around her waist as I pull her close and press a kiss to her temple.
“Ahh, so this is why we couldn’t stay here this weekend,” Brandon jokes, rocking on his heels, that grin of his only getting wider. “Dirty weekend, huh?”
“Oh my god, babe, leave them alone,” Tracy says, smacking him on the arm before she greets Zoey with a kiss and a hug.
“What?” he says, all mock innocence as he also gives Zoey a kiss on the cheek. “It’s nice to see you again, Zoey,” he adds, smirking because of course when we were in Seattle several weeks ago, he didn’t really see us at all, except as we were leaving at the airport.
“You too,” she says smiling.
“Alright, enough,” I say with a laugh. “You obviously know Zoey and I are together, can we stop acting like this is some big deal or whatever and actually celebrate like we were supposed to be doing,” I say, holding up the bottle of champagne.
“I think that sounds like a great idea,” Tracy chimes in, smacking Brandon on the arm again, before she takes Zoey’s hand and leads her into the living room.
I watch the two of them go and when I turn back to my best friend, he’s laughing a little as he shakes his head at me. “What?” I ask, opening the champagne.
“Man, you’re not just whipped, are you?” he asks.
I pour the champagne, avoiding his look as I say, “What are you talking about?”
Brandon leans closer across the island bench, dropping his voice. “You’re in love with her.”
I pause, the bottle hovering over a half-filled glass as I lift my gaze to his, wondering how the hell he’s been able to work that out within minutes of seeing me with her.
Brandon just grins as he says, “Just worked it out yourself, haven’t you?”
My eyes flick to the living room, before I look back at my best friend and nod in answer,
Brandon laughs. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.”
We carry the now full glasses through to the living room where Tracy and Zoey are seated, handing them each a glass.
“To being business partners again,” Brandon says, holding his glass up. They only flew in this morning to sign the paperwork and be here for when the press release goes out tomorrow.
We all clink glasses before settling back into the large corner couch. “So, you managed to convince the old guy to sell you the lease,” Brandon continues, and I relax a little when I realize he isn’t going to bring up what he worked out back in the kitchen only moments ago.
“Actually, it was Zoey who convinced him,” I say, dropping an arm around her shoulders. “The guy hated me on sight.”
“It just took a local’s touch,” Zoey says, leaning into me with a smile. “And he knew my great grandfather. My granddad too actually,” she continues, taking a sip of champagne. “I just had to convince him that you and Ethan weren’t trying to destroy his legacy, but rather rebrand and improve it. It helped that I promised to convince you two to keep some of the old signage for the place. Which you should seriously consider doing by the way,” she adds, looking from me to Brandon. “It will help with the lower price look you’re going for and also lets the locals know that you aren’t entirely erasing the history from this place. Even if it is a slightly sketchy history,” she says with a smile.
