Chapter 5 – Allegra
5
ALLEGRA
I take my time on my way to Raine’s room. Seriously, how did this happen to me? I’m fake dating one of the most eligible bachelors on the Eastern seaboard. I know there’s more to it than he’s trying to help me out. He wants something from me, and I’m not exactly excited about that.
Still, my brothers can be a pain. And the others aren’t here, but my phone is still blowing up.
Alyx: So you’re dating this Theo? Why didn’t you tell us?
Tyler: I thought you hated that guy.
RaineMan: Yeah.
Sully: Aren’t we all supposed to be working?
Me: Yeah. Go back to work.
Sully: We’ll be checking out this dude.
I roll my eyes and step onto the service elevator, trying to avoid guests. Of course, like the rest of today, it was a bad decision. A couple of the maid services step on after me. I don’t miss the sly smiles. This is not going to go well. I probably need to nip this thing in the bud. I will just tell my brothers to leave me alone about this Devon guy.
I step off the lift onto my brother’s floor, determined to set him straight. I raise my hand to knock, and the door opens. I’m surrounded again in a big hug as he pulls me into the room.
“Ugh, Raine, stop that,” I say, smacking him. He chuckles and lets go of me.
“Missed ya, Five. I hate that you live here.”
“Get used to it. I like my job.”
“And then there’s Theo.”
This is where the years being the sister of four security experts is going to pay off. I can fib to just anyone, except my mother. “Yeah, but that’s new. You know I won’t change my life just because I’m dating someone.”
He eyes me skeptically as I walk further into his room. I made sure he had a good view, even though it’s a rainy day.
“We’re all surprised, that’s all.”
I settle on the couch, and my feet thank me.
“I thought he would come up here with you.”
“Theo’s busy. He has to prep for dinner, and we had a surprise booking that really caused a lot of problems.”
I still feel guilty about that, but there wasn’t much I could do.
“So, what were you doing in DC?”
The resort is only a few hours out of DC.
“You remember General Allen?”
“Yeah. He was friends with Dad. Didn’t you work for him at one time?”
He nods. “Someone is harassing his daughter, and the cops haven’t done a damned thing about it. The guy is doing it through cyber means.”
Which makes sense that Raine is handling it. He’s a nerd in the best sense.
“That’s horrible.”
He nods. “So, I’m going to be out here for a little bit.”
Oh, no. Dammit. I am going to kill Theo.
“So, this Theo…”
“Stop calling him that.”
“What? Theo?”
I smack his arm. “No. This Theo. That’s annoying. And it’s all very casual right now. That’s why we’re keeping it from the staff. He hasn’t even told his family.”
“But he owns the place. I mean, that could be sexual harassment.”
I laugh. “Sorry, but he threatened to quit when I made him agree to teach couples’ classes, and his brother said he would be sad to see him go.”
Raine blinks. “He would just let his brother go? Don’t they get along?”
“They do, although they are night and day with their personalities. No, it’s because he doesn’t want to lose me.”
“You’re that good?”
“Yep, and more importantly, profits are up.”
He opens his mouth when there’s a knock at the door. “That’s got to be Devon.”
He hops off the couch because my brother can’t move like a normal person and rushes to the door.
“Oh, well, I didn’t order this.”
“I believe this is for Ms. Sullivan. By order of Chef.”
I stand up and step forward. Bernard, one of our wait staff, is wheeling in a cart.
“What did Theo do?”
He smiles at me, and I feel my entire body flush. God, this is going to end up being totally embarrassing by the end of the weekend. Bernard gestures for me to sit back down.
“Chef said you skipped lunch, so he made you a little something. He said there was enough for two.”
“Bernard, this is my brother Raine. Bernard is one of our best servers.”
“Thank you, Ms. Sullivan.” He nods his head toward the couch. I sit back down, and my brother joins me but sitting in the chair on the opposite side of the coffee table.
Bernard takes a napkin and places it on my lap. I know he doesn’t do this with all our guests, but I understand wanting to make a good impression. He hands my brother his napkin. Then, he pulls the silver domes off the dishes. The scent of soy sauce and ginger hits me first.
“Chef said he knows you like Japanese food, so he made this up really quick. He explained it wasn’t a full meal but that you’re to eat it all.”
I can remember the horror on his face when he saw me grab that candy bar.
“I promise.”
Bernard nods as he places a plate of yakitori on the table, then a small bowl of miso soup. Oh, my favorite of all time.
He does the same with my brother before giving us each a glass of water.
“Is there anything else, Ms. Sullivan?”
“Thank Theo for this. It smells amazing.”
He nods and then gathers up the domes and rolls the cart out.
“So, he just whipped this up for you?”
I glance up at my brother. “I was going to have a candy bar for lunch. And, well, that would have been my breakfast if you don’t count the coffee I had.”
He groans. All my brothers are health nuts. They had to be while in the Marines, but it also helps in the security work they do now.
“Don’t judge. I have the weekend from hell coming up. It started a day earlier than expected.”
“Gee, I love you so much too, Five.”
I ignore the fact that he uses that stupid nickname again. If I protest, he gets worse about it.
“First of all, it’s just like a Sullivan boy to think everything is about him.”
“Hey, I’m not a boy. I’m all man.” He pounds his chest like an idiot.
I roll my eyes. “It has to do with the wedding we have here this weekend.”
I tell him about all the issues with the Knowles-Burton wedding.
“Damn, I don’t know how you handle people like that.”
“It’s my specialty.” And one day, I will run an entire resort, not just food and beverage.
“So, you and this Theo.”
Before I can answer, there is another knock at the door. I think it will be Devon, but when Raine opens the door, Theo is standing on the other side.
“What are you doing here?” Raine demands.
Raised. In. A. Barn.
I am, without a doubt, going to convey his behavior to my mom. He’ll get his ears boxed when he gets back to Denver.
“Theo,” I say, standing up. His gaze connects with mine and warms just a bit. I squeeze my thighs together, trying to ease the pressure between my legs.
“Hey, there,” he steps past my brother. I swallow a laugh at the expression on Raine’s face. “How is the lunch?” He frowns down at the table. “You haven’t eaten enough. Sit. Eat.”
“She’s not a dog.”
Again, Theo ignores my brother. Only one eyebrow rises, and he waits. I smile and sit down. It would be stupid to argue about eating his delicious food. We all get settled, and he watches me eat.
The first sip of miso soup has my entire body sighing. I love Japanese food, like authentic Japanese food. I was born in Okinawa, and my dad did a stint in Japan when I was in middle school. I love the food and culture. And somewhere along the way, apparently, Theo figured it out.
“That is probably the best miso soup I’ve had outside of Japan.”
He smiles, like truly smiles, dimples and all. It isn’t the calculated smile he uses on people to get what he wants. This is one I have seen only a couple of times and only when he’s with his family. It makes me feel things I don’t like feeling. Like warm and cuddly feelings toward a man that, yes, I have lusted after even knowing that a roll in the sheets with him would be a big mistake.
“Thank you. That’s high praise.”
I chuckle and pick up the yakitori skewer. “You should eat it, Raine, before it gets cold.”
He grumbles something under his breath, but I ignore him.
“So, you just whipped this up with no problem?”
I roll my eyes as Theo finally pays attention to my brother. “I do have a professional kitchen. Kind of easy to do.”
“You have everything for dinner prepped?”
He nods. “Besides, I have a well-trained staff.”
“You just take credit for it.”
That comment wipes the smile from Theo’s gorgeous face. I can see the irritation there, and I know he’s about to destroy my brother. But I can’t let that happen, mainly because my brothers tend to respond physically.
“Just so you know, Theo is one of the most sought-after chefs in the country, if not the world. He has actually developed a multitude of menus for all of the Darling properties. That’s what most of those top chefs do, but he is usually in this kitchen more than ten hours a day, and he runs it without a problem. Believe me, I’ve worked in enough resorts to know that it isn’t always the norm. Besides, do you and the other three idiots we share blood with do all the work behind the scenes? No.”
I blink when I finish, realizing I used the skewer to punctuate every word. My brother smiles and holds his hands up.
“I surrender, Five.”
“Stop. Calling. Me. Five.”
And yes, I still threaten him with the skewer.
“What does that even mean?” Theo asks.
I sigh. “It was a joke in my family. All the boys were about two years apart in age.”
His eyes widen. “Good god.”
“Right.”
“Hey, we weren’t that bad.”
I look at my brother. “Yeah, let’s call Mom and ask her.”
“Then we’ll have to tell her about Theo.”
“I know our family. She already knows.” I turn back to Theo. “Anyway, it was hard to keep up with them. I mean, they all look alike and, yes, the age made a little bit of difference, but still, lots of kids all under the age of seven.”
“Your mother must be a saint.”
“She is, but she’s also a military wife. Order is important to keep things moving smoothly in the chaotic lifestyle we had. So, she started calling them by numbers because they liked it.”
“And you do not?”
“It was fun to be included when I was young, but now, I would like to be called by my first name. Because, you know, we’re adults—at least in age.”
He turns to my brother. “Call her Allegra.”
My brother blinks at Theo’s stern tone and then looks at me. I smile, sipping my miso soup, thinking this might not be a bad thing after all.