15. Lindee #2
I nod along, pretending that it doesn’t sting hearing him talk about other women.
I have no claim on him, and frankly, we’ve known each other for less than a week, so really, I shouldn’t be upset that there have been women before me.
There have been men before him. Still, there’s twinge of something inside me knowing that I’m not the only one out there who knows what his arms feel like when he holds them.
“My dad eats his pancakes this way,” Brandt continues, passing me back the syrup. “Why, I have no idea. But he does. So when I was little, I did what he did and didn’t realize it was weird until Milo’s mom made us pancakes after a sleepover in the sixth grade. By that point, it was a habit.”
I nod, soaking in this new knowledge about him. The fun fact that feels like I’m being let in on a secret.
“What else don’t I know about you?”
“Ummmmm…I dunno. Lots? Nothing?” He laughs, taking a big bite of his pancakes. “Whatcha wanna know?”
Good question.
I pull my phone out of my pocket, balancing my plate on my knees, searching for a list of questions. Pinterest to the rescue!
“Favorite swear word?”
“Fuck.” He winks, making me blush again. “You?”
“Shit. Because I can drag it out to a lot of syllables when I want to.”
“I can fuck like that too.”
I swat at him playfully. I know exactly how he fucks. Damn well.
“What’s your most expensive piece of clothing?”
Brandt sits back, pursing his lips side to side as he thinks.
“That’s tough. I brew beer, so I don’t really own anything super pricey.
Either I have no occasion for it or it’s just going to end up messy from the brewhouse.
But I do own a suit, and that thing wasn’t cheap.
So I guess that. You own anything over-the-top expensive? ”
“I own a Stell McGrath.”
“What’s that?”
“A very expensive cocktail dress. Stell McGrath is a high-end brand, right up there with like Gucci and Prada and all them. It’s what I wear every year to the Tinsel Tangle, the holiday party put on by the Ol’ Troublemakers.”
“Never heard of Stell McGrath. Then again, can’t say I’m really up on women’s fashion. Or fashion in general.”
“Fair.”
I scan the list again, trying to find a good one.
“What was the last awkward situation you found yourself in?” I ask, smirking. Pretty sure I already know the answer to this one.
“Well, I walked into a conference room the other day…”
I burst into laughter, the sound cutting him off.
“I like to think I’m pretty laid-back, but that…that caught me on my back feet.”
“Isn’t the expression ‘caught me on the back foot’?”
“Usually. But discovering who you are knocked me straight over. So in this case, it’s feet.”
“I’m not anyone special.” I take a bite of my food, letting the sweet taste take over. Damn, these pancakes are perfect.
“I beg to differ. You’re incredible.”
I lift my shoulders, trying to shrug off the comment, but Brandt won’t let me.
“You created a whole new brand and product. Tapped into an underserved market. That’s a big deal. On top of already having two major brands to manage.”
“Yeah, but no one takes Wink & Shine seriously. You certainly didn’t.”
The words fly out of me so fast I can’t stop them, my subconscious resentment surfacing at the wrong time.
I didn’t mean to try and drag this moment down, but at the same time, I like Brandt.
I want to get to know him. Even if our fling doesn’t have a future, I would like for us to be able to remain friends.
Which means telling him my deeper feelings.
Brandt sits up in a flash, like he’s been struck by lightning, his spine going ramrod straight. Putting his plate down on the patio, silverware clinking together, he slides to the edge of his seat, face turning serious.
“I’m sorry about what I said. I didn’t mean it that way.
It was never, ever about the shine itself.
Honestly, I didn’t know anything about it until someone walked in to Pour Decisions and showed Milo and me the post about ‘party mode activated.’ I was annoyed that our beer name was being used, not that there was a woman-targeted moonshine.
This was never about you or the product. I think Wink & Shine is brilliant.”
Brilliant. He thinks my product is brilliant.
Tears prick at the corner of my eyes, so I blink hard and fast to try and make them disappear. I will not cry. I will not cry.
“Kyra had no idea that there was a beer named Party Mode when she made that post. She wouldn’t have done it if she did.
Or she would have at least contacted y’all to see if you wanted to create some kind of co-campaign.
She was pretty upset with herself when she found out.
But she was loving the whole back and forth with Southern Brothers until—”
“Until I ruined it?” He sits back, scrubbing his face with his hand. “I don’t get upset often. Like I said, I’m pretty laid-back. But when I do, I usually end up stepping in it. Hence my one and only social media comment ever.”
My heart squeezes. The sincerity in his voice takes me hostage, holding me close and threatening to never let go.
This is the man that I got to know the other night.
The one who I thought I could fall for. The one I am falling for, if I’m honest with myself.
Sweet, goofy, and full of bad jokes. Oh, and damn good in bed.
“Wink & Shine does kinda sound like a stripper’s act,” I admit. “There’s real meaning behind it, but out of context, I can see it.”
“Kind of like the bend and snap,” he offers.
I gasp. “Leave Elle Woods out of this!”
Brandt laughs, the deep, warm sound echoing off the trees and burrowing into my chest. The butterflies come to life, dancing in the glittery moonlight now swimming through my veins.
I am in so much trouble.
Reaching over, Brandt grabs my phone from me, running his thumb along the screen to look at the questions.
“My turn.”
He shifts in his chair, draping his long legs over the chair arm, showing off his bare feet. I hold back the urge to tickle him, not sure how he’d take it.
“Tell me, Luna…” A shiver ripples through me as he says my new nickname. “Would you rather visit Middle-earth, Narnia, or somewhere else?”
And just like that, I know I’ve met my match.
If only he weren’t the last man on the planet I could be with.