4. Cannon
Icould hear Demi in the kitchen, the sound of cabinets opening, dishes clanking, and every now and then her voice quietly singing random lines from a song I didn’t know.
I wanted to smile. I wanted to go out there and join her, to see her move around the kitchen in those sleep shorts she liked to wear paired with an oversized sweater that had a way of slipping over one of her shoulders, exposing her soft skin.
But I didn’t move. I kept my butt in bed, hoping she would eventually go back to her room so I could sneak out of here. The last two mornings she hadn’t been up this early, and it had been easy to leave without risking running into her.
Glancing over at my alarm clock, I knew I didn’t have much time left to wait her out. I wasn’t going to be late to work because I was acting like a pansy.
Last night was proof enough I wasn’t capable of being around her without saying something stupid. I closed my eyes, still frustrated at myself for telling her I didn’t have a single brotherly thought about her. The moment had felt charged, like she was able to see through the facade I constantly put on, pretending I never spared a thought about her.
What had I been thinking?I rubbed my face with both hands, wishing I could go back in time and not make that foolish comment.
The smell of something burnt wafted under my closed door.
She must have been trying to use our toaster. The numbers were all messed up on that thing. West and I had burnt our fair share of toast. For some reason we still hadn’t bothered to get another one.
Pushing back the covers, I swung my legs out and sat on the edge of the bed. Unfortunately, I couldn’t wait any longer. With how late it was, I was going to have to hurry to make it to the office in time. The office where I worked with Demi’s brother. The office where I worked with Demi’s father. Two Vanderhalls who wouldn’t take nicely to me having non-brotherly thoughts about their sister and daughter.
As much as Victor liked me, I was pretty sure there was nothing I could do to make him think I was good enough for his only daughter. It was one thing to take me in and help me be a great venture capitalist. But there was nothing he could do to change my past, to change who my parents were, to change that I wasn’t truly from his world.
I scratched my bare chest, pushing thoughts of my childhood away and focusing on the closet in front of me. Sitting here looking at how Demi had taken over half my closet should have annoyed me, but instead it had me smiling.
No.I hurried to wipe the smile off my lips. I was tempted to slap myself in the face. If I couldn’t even look at a closet with her stuff in it without giving myself away, how in the world was I going to fool anyone else?
Beep, beep, beep!
The smoke detector started blaring, and I bolted for my bedroom door, remembering the burnt smell I’d noticed earlier.
I ran to the kitchen to find a billow of smoke surrounding Demi, who stood near the stove. She had a dish towel and was waving it around in an attempt to dissipate the smoke in the air. Thankfully, there were no flames, just a thick smoke that caused both of us to cough.
I grabbed another dish towel and joined her. I fanned the dish towel as close to the smoke detector as I could, hoping to get it to stop beeping.
Soon the ear-piercing beeping stopped, leaving Demi and I standing next to each other in a hazy fog.
She stood there, motionless, in the kitchen, her eyes glued to me, her lips parted. I couldn’t tell if she was scared, embarrassed, or in shock.
“What?” I asked.
Her gaze didn’t waver. “You don’t have a shirt on.”
I looked down at my bare chest as if to confirm, like I didn’t know I wasn’t wearing a shirt. I always slept shirtless.
“Uh, no, I’m not. I don’t ever sleep in one.”
She swallowed, slowly dragging her eyes up, up, up until she was finally looking me in the eyes. “Oh, yeah, of course.” Her voice still sounded robotic.
Seeing her so flustered had a grin breaking across my face. I watched as she worked hard to keep her eyes on my face, but they kept slipping down to my naked chest. She might have told West she thinks of me as a brother, but she definitely wasn’t looking at my bare torso like I was her brother. Maybe I should walk around shirtless more often.
She blinked a few times, as if trying to get her bearings. “Me too.”
My brows rose, my grin growing wider at her response.
Finally realizing what she’d said, she shook her head vehemently, yanking her gaze from my abs. “Um, no, not me too. I sleep with a shirt on.” Her cheeks were an adorable shade of red. “I don’t sleep with a bra, but definitely a shirt,” she rambled. “But you didn’t need to know that.” She looked down at her feet as she shifted from one bare foot to the other.
I, unfortunately, was well aware that she didn’t wear a bra to sleep, thanks to the bare shoulder of hers on display. She wore a big sweatshirt and pair of sleep shorts, just like I’d known she would.
“Now that we’ve covered what we do and do not wear to sleep,” I said, “would you like to tell me what happened?”
Her cheeks turned red again. “Well, um…” She looked around at the mess she’d made in the kitchen. “I thought I’d try to make breakfast, but it turns out I don’t know how. Living with a chef my whole life didn’t really prepare me to know how to cook on my own.”
I looked in the pan on the stove, not able to discern what was in it.
I pointed to the black blob in the pan. “What was that?”
She bit that full bottom lip of hers. “A pancake?”
I tried to hold in my laugh, but I couldn’t help it.
“Stop it,” she laughed, hitting me with the dish towel still in her hand. “I was planning on surprising you with breakfast as a thank you for letting me stay here.”
“The smoke detector going off was a great wake-up call,” I said, still chuckling.
She pursed her lips and flicked the dish towel at me again. But before it could make contact, I reached out and grabbed it. I had hoped to pull it out of her hands, but she must have had a death grip on it, because when I yanked it back, she came with it, smashing up against my chest.
She let out a gasp as her other hand splayed across one of my pecs in an effort to catch herself. The warmth of her hand seeped through my skin, causing a different heat to spread through my body. Slowly she looked up at me, our faces close enough that I could lean down and kiss her if I wanted to.
And I wanted to.
The dish towel dropped to the floor, and we sprang apart. I wasn’t sure who dropped the towel first, but it was obvious she hadn’t felt comfortable being that close to me. And it was obvious I couldn’t be that close to her without thinking about kissing her. Had she noticed? Is that why she’d jumped back from me like I had burned her? Was she afraid her so-called brother was going to kiss her?
“Sorry about that.” I cleared my throat and ran a hand through my hair. “If you, uh, ever want to learn a couple things to make, I can teach you.” That was my lame attempt at returning the subject to cooking.
“Oh, yeah, that would be great.” Her shoulders and face relaxed at my offer.
“Just not right now or I’ll be late to work.” I walked backwards toward my room. “Unless you want me telling West and your Dad that I’m late because you almost burnt down the apartment,” I teased.
She grabbed the spatula sitting on the counter, pointing it at me. “You do that and you’re going to want to sleep with one eye open, pal.”
I chuckled at her threat. “I’m so scared.”
She used the spatula in her hand to point to the pan behind her. “Did you not see what I did to that pancake?”
I laughed again. “I’m not worried. I saw how you looked at this bod,” I gestured to my abs, giving her a wicked grin. “I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t do anything to ruin this.”
Her jaw dropped.
My flirty side came out naturally, but usually I tried to keep it tamped down around her. I guessed it was only a matter of time before it came out though.
She was quick to compose herself. “I’d like to see how you would act if I came running out here without a shirt on.”
Now it was my turn for my jaw to drop. “That is not the same thing.”
“Maybe. Maybe not,” she shrugged, her face full of fiery determination. “But I guarantee you’d have a hard time keeping your eyes on my face.”
Although there had never been a fire, it felt like my whole body was burning. “Point taken.” I hoped the gravelly sound of my voice wasn’t giving away how much just the thought of what she was saying affected me.
She wasn’t fighting fair, and I had a feeling she knew it.
I wasn’t sure how we’d gotten from her burning breakfast to us talking about her…um…not being fully dressed, but I was not strong enough for this conversation. If I stayed here any longer, I’d show her my cards, and I couldn’t let that happen, so I did the only thing I knew how. I walked away.
Once I was dressed in my suit, my hair combed, and I’d put on a spritz of cologne, I hurried to the kitchen to make some coffee to take with me.
Demi was now seated at the table, sipping from a large mug. She looked comfortable as if our conversation earlier either hadn’t happened or hadn’t affected her. Which made me extremely grateful. I needed to get a grip and get back to how things usually were between us.
“I may not know how to cook, but I do know how to make coffee.” She lifted her mug to me and took another sip.
On the counter was a full to-go cup.
“Is that for me?” Even I could hear the surprise in my voice.
Had she really made me coffee? Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised or pleased at the offer. She’d clearly made coffee for herself and just poured some for me as well. No need to make this into something it wasn’t.
“Yes, of course,” she said simply. “Sorry it’s not pancakes, but it’s the closest thing to a thank you breakfast you’re going to get from me.”
I picked up the coffee. “This is perfect. Thank you.” I took a sip of the hot liquid, enjoying the rich taste.
I needed to get to work, but I felt bad just taking the coffee and leaving. Her life had completely changed, and I got the sense that she was feeling a bit lost despite knowing she wanted to go to hair school. She would probably spend the whole day alone, and the least I could do was take an interest in her day. “What are your plans today? Besides the tour at the cosmetology school.”
She let out a sigh and rested her chin in her hand. “I need to find a job. Not sure what I should look for or who would be willing to hire me, but I need money since, for the first time in my life, I’m broke.”
Her talking about a job reminded me of the “Help Wanted” sign I’d seen at the bar last night. The owner of The Bridger, Robby, was a friend of mine. I wasn’t sure if he’d hire Demi with no work experience, but it couldn’t hurt to try, if she was interested.
“When I was at The Bridger bar last night, I noticed they were hiring. I know the owner. He’s a good guy. If you wanted me to introduce you and get you a job interview, I’d be happy to help.”
She perked up at my offer. “Really? You think I’d be able to get a job as a bartender without having had a job before?”
“With a face like yours, Robby will probably give you an offer on the spot,” I assured her.
Although now that I realized what I’d just said, I wasn’t so sure I wanted her to get a job there. Guys would be hitting on her relentlessly. And I was pretty sure West wouldn’t want his sister working at some bar in the city.
Crap. I hadn’t thought this through.
“Hmm. Maybe,” she mused. “But I think I could learn how to make drinks. It doesn’t sound too hard. As long as I don’t have to cook anything, I should be fine.”
“Okay, then.” I ignored the voice in my head telling me this wasn’t my best idea. “Why don’t we head over there tonight after I get off work, and you can see what you think?”
“Sounds good.”
“All right, well, I’d better get going,” I said. “I’ll see you later tonight.”
“See ya,” she said with a smile that had my eyes lingering on her lips.
I was quickly out the door before she could notice me staring at her mouth. Why I thought spending more time with her tonight was a good idea was beyond me. But there was no way I was letting her go to The Bridger alone.
If she gets a job there, she’ll be going there alone all the time.
Crap. West was going to kill me.
See? This was why I needed to stay away from Demi. My mind didn’t act responsibly when I was with her.
I had only wanted to help, but I was more than positive that when Victor found out his daughter was bartending, he was going to blow a gasket. And when he found out it had been my idea? Yeah, I didn’t want to be there when he found that out.
Maybe we’d go tonight and she’d hate it. Or maybe Robby wouldn’t want to hire someone who wasn’t qualified.
Oh, who was I kidding? He would definitely be willing to put in the time to teach someone who looked like Demi. The number of male customers alone she’d draw in would have Robby seeing dollar signs.
I did spend more nights there than I should, so maybe I could keep tabs on her. Not that I would tell her that, though. She’d probably kick me in the shins.
It was apparent I only had two options here. One, I had to hope she didn’t want to work at a bar. Or two, I’d have to spend every night she worked at The Bridger. I had a feeling it was going to be the latter. I’d single handedly gotten myself into a situation that would have me spending more time with Demi.
I wanted to say it had been random. I wanted to say I hadn’t thought before I’d spoken. I wanted to say I had only been wanting to help. And I really wanted to say I hadn’t done it on purpose.
But I didn’t know if that was the truth.