Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Aria
I climbed into my car and turned on the heater. It had been a hectic day at the café. Linda felt sorry for herself after having to cover most of the dining room the day before, so she’d called in sick. It was Terry’s turn to complain about having to serve so many tables. I helped in between flipping eggs and bacon and omelets. It was the same story every year. The regulars would stuff themselves silly with pumpkin pancakes the first day they were on the menu and then they’d switch back to their regular orders for the rest of the week.
I felt bad that the last thing I wanted to do after a long day of work was shower, change and head over to Kellan’s apartment, even if he had promised to pamper me for the rest of the evening. He sent a meme of an Egyptian woman stretched out on a lounge while one servant fanned her with a palm frond and another hand-fed her grapes. I let him know that I drew the line at being hand-fed grapes, or anything, for that matter.
A light drizzle fell to make the road wet and slick. I’d been too busy to replace the crummy wipers on my car. With every swish, they left a nice rainbow of streaks across the windshield. I used the sleeve of my sweater to clear the condensation off the window. The defroster in my old car was no better than someone blowing hot air against the muggy windshield.
My feet and back ached. Flannel pajamas and a few strategically placed heating pads sounded much better than being pampered. That was mostly because we were still at that early stage of the relationship where I had to look pretty in my pampering. I’d pulled on tight jeans and a cobalt blue sweater that looked great with my hair and complexion but that felt just a bit too tight and itchy for a relaxing evening.
The heater was one thing in my car that worked well, a little too well. My car was an instant sauna. I reached forward to turn it down and noticed that my hand was dry and chapped. I’d put lotion on after my shower, but between cooking, cleaning and prepping for the next day, my hands couldn’t catch a break.
I desperately needed to find a cook. My sisters had pestered me for the rest of the night, telling me I should give Dex a chance. I had to remind them that a fine pair of eyes and a nicely chiseled jaw were not qualifications for a cook job. Ava was the first to agree with me. “It’s Aria’s business. We have to respect her decision, even if she might be making a big mistake.” She’d almost agreed with me anyhow. Her comment was far more supportive than the joint statement from Ella and Layla that I was just being mean. Isla was less vocal with her thoughts because she knew that she, too, would be experiencing plenty of the same problems once she opened her bakery.
Kellan owned a beautiful three-bedroom apartment on the sixth floor of a very nice building in the center of town. I personally thought it was a little too modern and full of steel and glass, but it did have a nice city view at night. Of course, a city view was nothing compared to the view I grew up with.
I’d forgotten an umbrella, so I used my purse as shelter as I hurried to the entrance. Sleekness was prioritized over convenience when the building was designed, so I had to stand very close to the wall as I pushed the intercom.
“Is that my princess?” Kellan asked. He had a few too many sugary nicknames for me.
“A very wet princess,” I said back.
“Oops. Sorry.” The door buzzed, and I pushed inside.
The nighttime security guard, Roy, was eating potato chips and reading the paper. “Hello Aria. Not a great night to be out, eh?”
I shook off my purse. “So true.”
“Stay dry,” he called to me as I stepped into the elevator.
I closed my eyes and rested my head back against the elevator wall. I nearly fell asleep standing, but the elevator ding woke me. I glanced up to make sure I was getting out on the sixth floor. I could hear low music humming behind Kellan’s door.
He pulled it open before I could knock. “Poor baby. I didn’t realize it was raining. Come in. I have a glass of wine waiting for you.”
I stepped inside and heard the sound of running water through the music. I glanced toward the shiny white kitchen. The sink was off. “Kellan, did you leave the shower running?”
His smile vanished, and his jaw tightened. “My brother asked to use my shower. And boy, did he need it.” He shook his head. “Told you he was a loser. I told him to shower and get out. He’ll be gone soon. In the meantime, cheese and crackers?” He waved his hand toward a platter of cheese and crackers and a glass of wine on the counter.
“This looks wonderful, Kellan. Thank you.” I made myself a cracker with cheese and picked up the glass of wine. I walked to his big front window and looked out. The drizzle was thick, causing the streetlights below to form rainbows in their glow. Those same prisms of color reflected off the windows of the neighboring buildings and the wet, oily roads running between them.
Kellan came up behind me and put an arm around my waist. I rested my head back against his shoulder. “This is nice after such a long day.”
“Still no luck on the cook?” he asked.
I turned my head side to side without lifting it from his shoulder. “This just isn’t the best time of year to hire someone, but I haven’t given up.”
We both turned at the sound of footsteps.
“Hey, Kel, I put the towel—” He stopped mid-sentence when our gazes clashed. Something that seemed to happen every time we met. He was shirtless. A pair of faded jeans hung low on his hips. Every inch of him was muscle. A lion’s face, fangs and all, was tattooed on his forearm. The lion moved every time the muscles in his forearm bunched. “This day just keeps getting worse,” Dex muttered. His jaw was set in anger.
It took me a moment to respond. “Thanks. Couldn’t agree more.”
Kellan stepped away to get a better look at me. “Do you two know each other?”
“Only because of a string of bad luck,” I said.
“Not so sure it was all bad.” Dex’s jaw was still set hard, but he managed to be cocky anyway.
Kellan laughed dryly. “Can one of you please explain what’s going on?” Before I could explain, he continued. “There you are again, Declan, trying to ruin my life. Put on a darn shirt, and get out of here. And leave town, would ya? You are always such a thorn in my side.”
My shock was starting to wear off. “Dex is your brother?” I asked.
Kellan had this unattractive habit of pulling his lips thin and straight when he was angry. “Yes, and I think I’m owed an explanation about why you two know each other,” he said sharply.
“Well, I was about to explain, but you took off on your tirade.” It seemed I’d landed in the middle of “irritating man world,” and the annoyance was coming from both sides of the room. Once again, my explanation was interrupted before I could utter the first words.
“Gus made her fall off the dock, into the water.” Dex gazed only at me, even though he was talking to his brother. “She still hasn’t forgiven me for it.”
“Gus? Who the hell is Gus?” Kellan asked.
Dex finally looked at him. I’d never seen so much distance between two people who were standing in the same room. “You really never open my texts, do you?”
“I don’t have time to hear about your ridiculous existence. The bits that I know are hard enough to absorb.”
“Yeah, Quinn’s still not doin’ great. Thanks for asking.” Dex’s green eyes were mere slits as he looked at Kellan.
“Why would I care to ask? Quinn has been a mess his whole life, and the best thing you could do for yourself is sever all ties.”
Dex stared at him for a long, cold moment. Emotion pulsed around him, and every muscle in his body was tight. “Not all of us can just sever connections like that.” It was obvious there was a much deeper meaning to his words, and while I was on the outside of that meaning, Kellan understood.
“Don’t you see? I had to cut ties,” Kellan blurted. “I wanted more in my life, and you were always there trying to mess things up.”
Dex smiled weakly as he raked his fingers through his wet hair. “Losing Breanna was all your fault. I stepped in to lay that jerk flat because you let him grab her. She was scared, but you were more afraid of losing your precious scholarship. I took the suspension for something you should have taken care of yourself. She walked away because of your inaction. It had nothing to do with me.”
“Just get out. You’ve already mooched off me enough. Don’t come back.”
“Just gonna get my shirt.” His gaze swept over and caught mine again. There was a long, silent moment between us that made me feel as if the floor was moving beneath my feet. I could see his Adam’s apple move up and down as he swallowed. “You’re perfect for each other. Uptight and sensible. Thought there was a wild spark hidden in there somewhere, but I was wrong.” He left the room. His words shouldn’t have felt like a stinging slap, but I was breathless from their impact.
Kellan placed a proprietary hand on my back coaxing me toward the kitchen. I felt dizzy, breathless, and I badly wanted to be back at home. Kellan forced lightness into his tone, but he was clearly angry and stressed after the last few minutes. I managed to sit on the counter stool, but the crackers and cheese no longer looked tempting. I sipped my wine and kept listening for his footsteps. My whole body reacted like a case of nerves laced with adrenaline as his heavy steps marched down the hallway and out the door. I should have been relieved he was gone, but I would have been more relieved to be at home alone; then this whole distressing scene would never have happened.
“I’ve got a tray of enchiladas in the oven. Drink your wine and we’ll have some dinner, put on a movie.” Kellan was still trying to erase the last few minutes, and he’d gone through a lot of trouble to make a nice night. I could see his point about Dex ruining things. And what was he up to in Whisper Cove? Last night, he sat through dinner, endlessly charming my sisters, but he never told us why he was down on the dark cove.
“Who is Quinn?” I asked.
Kellan straightened from leaning down to look in the oven. “Who? Oh, him,” he said with disgust. “Declan and Quinn have been best friends since middle school—inseparable. They both joined the army together after high school, and my parents and I thought that might straighten the two of them out. But no, they were still just as wild and reckless as ever. Declan would do anything for Quinn and vice versa.”
“Maybe Quinn was a brother to him, a relationship he didn’t have with his real brother.”
Kellan looked up sharply from pouring a glass of wine. “Sounds like you’re taking his side.”
I sat up defensively. “You told me that yourself, right after I found out that you had a brother. Something it took you six months to mention.”
Kellan drank a few gulps of wine. “I didn’t mention him because Declan and I haven’t been in each other’s lives for a long time.”
“Sounds like he sends you texts, but you don’t bother to respond.”
He put his glass down hard. “So, you are taking his side. Story of my life when it comes to Declan.”
“I’m not taking any sides. There is no side in this discussion. I hardly know your brother. I mostly know him through what you’ve told me about him. So, he’s here to help Quinn?”
“I guess Quinn’s in the hospital.” He smiled, suddenly. “Got beat up in jail. So, what do you think of that?”
“Sounds dreadful. Poor man. Why does it make you smile?”
He pushed the smile down. “I’m sure he was asking for it. Can’t tell you how many times Declan had to step in to keep Quinn from getting beat up because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”
He was spilling it all gladly, as if he thought it would help me see how terrible his brother was, but it only put Dex in a better light. Protecting a friend, no matter the reason, was admirable. And it seemed Quinn wasn’t the only person Dex had stepped in to protect. During their heated conversation, something came up that sounded as if it might have been the catalyst to destroy their brotherhood for good.
“Was Breanna a high school sweetheart?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Let’s change the subject. Earlier we were talking about the cook job at your café. I’ve put out a few feelers, and I think I’ve found someone. I talked to the woman in a video chat, and she’s very qualified.”
I stared at him over my glass of wine. “That’s my job, not yours. It’s my café, and believe it or not, I’m good at running my business.”
“Except that you’re running yourself ragged because you can’t fill the cook position. You’re too tired to get together?—”
“I told you I was having dinner with my sisters last night.” I decided it was best to leave out the part about the unexpected dinner guest. “You might not have any interest in being part of your brother’s life, but I’m very much a part of my sisters’ lives.”
“You’ve told me, yourself, they count on you too much. You’re all adults now. Let them take care of their own problems.”
“That was me having a bad day and needing someone to listen to my complaints. That’s what a good partner does, right? I wouldn’t give up being their big sister for anything, and frankly, I’m a pretty darn good problem solver. And I can solve my own business problems, too.”
Kellan put down the wine and walked around the kitchen island to put his arms around me. I didn’t lean into him like I usually did. It felt like what we had was fraying. “I wanted this to be a relaxing night for you, baby. Let’s eat and then we can sit down for a movie. Forget all about this whole conversation.”
“I’m sorry, Kellan. I know you put a lot of work into this evening, but I’m not very hungry.”
He stepped back. There was more anger than hurt in his expression. His short temper was something he’d kept hidden from me the first few months, but I was seeing more of it each time we met. “I don’t understand. Everything was fine until Declan?—”
“No, that’s not it.” I said it with conviction as if I actually believed it. I sighed. “I’m tired.”
He nodded curtly. “Yes, I know. You had a long day. I’ve been hearing about your long days for a month, but you won’t let me help you fill that position.”
“No, don’t you see? It’s my business. I’m the one who has to work with the person every day. I’m the one who has to be their boss and their coworker. I need to know if I’m compatible with the person before I can hire them.” I got up from the stool. “I’m sorry, Kellan. I just need to go home and fall in bed. We’ll talk tomorrow. Thank you for this. I really am sorry.”
“Fine. Whatever.”
He didn’t see me out. I looked back, but he didn’t even look my way. Was it over? Possibly. I got in the elevator, and I pulled my coat close around me as if it was there not just to keep out the cold but to keep me from falling completely apart.
“Leaving so soon?” Roy asked as he opened the door for me.
I smiled and nodded and hurried down the sidewalk to my car. I climbed inside. The tears that had been sitting there, waiting to break free, did just that. I allowed myself a good five-minute sob. The windshield fogged up. I wiped it clean with the sleeve of my coat and started the car. I glanced up and caught a glimpse of my red eyes in the rearview mirror. And that was when it all hit me—like a ton of bricks. The tears had nothing to do with Kellan and everything to do with Dex.