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“You won’t try to hook up with Jane.”
At that moment, a feeling of disappointment quickly spread over Austin. He couldn’t understand why Chris’s request hit him so hard, and so quickly. But it was clear that his brother was telling him to stay away from Jane.
“What?” Austin asked, feeling himself get hot.
“I’m not kidding around with you. She’s a huge asset to The Oxford, and we don’t want anything—or anyone--messing it up,” Chris added.
Austin stared at his brother, speechless for a few moments. “Mom told you, didn’t she?” He knew that this had to be coming from somewhere.
“She may have given me a few details,” Chris admitted. “Come on, Austin. Jane’s a great girl and, believe me, she had the single guys at work buzzing when she first started. Everyone wanted information about her dating status. I know you can’t be immune to her looks, and you’re also working closely with her, so just know your boundaries.”
“She’s not interested in me,” Austin shot back, “so you don’t need to worry.”
“And what about you?” Chris replied, looking at his brother directly.
“I’m not interested either,” Austin answered, but as the words came out of his mouth, he knew it was because he didn’t want his brother picking up on anything different. Austin added, “So how much did mom tell you about Jane in high school? She tell you that Tim Walsh convinced her to ask me out.”
“Maybe,” Chris answered, shaking his head. “The guy was an ass, and still is. I can’t even imagine how embarrassing that had to have been for her, and for all the other girls.”
“I know,” Austin replied. “I don’t know if I would have had the balls to come clean about it after all these years. I give Jane credit for telling me.”
“I guess I can understand why you don't remember her,” Chris said. “She looks much different now. Her twin sister does, too.”
“Geez,” Austin replied. “Mom tell you everything?”
“Nah,” Chris answered. “Mom just mentioned it casually, and she thought I knew about it. I looked in my old yearbooks, too. I was curious to see what she looked like back then. She was a freshman when I was a senior, but she wasn’t bad looking.”
“No, she wasn’t,” Austin said, trying to brush it off and not make it sound like a big deal. “She looked different back then—she had braces and she wore glasses, and her hair was different.”
“So, what does she think about you heading out to L.A.?” Chris asked.
“I’m not sure,” Austin answered, looking over at his brother. “I’m sure she’s fine with it but, to be honest, we didn’t get a chance to discuss it today.”
“Man, I still can’t get over Molly’s behavior. I just hope everything gets ironed out,” Chris said. “I know the time is ticking on this one, and the last thing Jane needs is someone trying to muscle in on her territory.”
“Yeah, not to mention the other things she’s got going on,” Austin replied, shaking his head. “She mentioned The Oxford has non-stop spring and summer events. Believe me, I’m sure the last thing Jane has time for right now is a trip across the country.”
“You think you could handle the trip alone? I know one of our chefs is heading out, too… but could you manage without Jane?”
“Me?” Austin asked, looking at his brother like he was crazy. “Are you crazy? I’m sure I could talk about the place settings and chitchat about the food samplings. I might even be able to talk about flowers but, sweet Jesus, don’t ask me to arrange any of that,” he laughed. “I barely know a soup spoon from a teaspoon.”
“Hey, don’t underestimate yourself,” Chris laughed, realizing it was a dumb idea to even suggest it. “But, I hear you. You better stick to schmoozing.”
Austin tossed a pillow at his brother and laughed. He knew it would be ridiculous to head to L.A. without Jane. But the truth was he wanted to go with her.
