“Whatever this is about,” I say, “I don’t want to know.”
“So,” he says, ignoring me. “I heard about the circle thing with Brooke. Sounds like I missed out on one hell of a fundraiser.”
“How do you already know about that?” I take the coffee and bring it to my lips. The first sip is perfect, hot and bitter and exactly what I need.
“It’s Dark River, Dom.” He pulls a croissant from the bag and tears off a piece, popping it into his mouth.”Everyone knows everything within approximately fifteen minutes of it happening.”
I narrow my eyes at him, tapping my fingers against the desk. “How did you really find out?”
He shoves more croissant in his mouth and grins at me. “I stopped by the post office this morning and Marjorie was working the counter. She gave me a very enthusiastic play-by-play while I mailed a package.”
“NowthatI believe,” I mutter, taking another sip of coffee.
“She said Brooke Bennett knocked you out of the circle in front of half the town,” Alex continues, leaning back in his chair. “That she walked right up to you, pressed herself against you, and you just stumbled backward like you forgot how to stand. Said she’d never seen anything like it.”
“She didn’t knock me anywhere.” I take another sip of coffee. “She distracted me by fighting dirty.”
His grin gets wider. “Distracted you how, exactly? Because from what Marjorie described, it sounded like you forgot your own name the second she got close. Not that I blame you. Brooke’s always been…somethingfor you.”
“Yeah,” I say dryly. “A pain in my ass.”
“Do you want to know what I think?” Alex asks.
“Nope, not really.”
“I think,” he continues, as if I hadn’t spoken, “that the reason you’ve been such a committed bachelor all these years is because, for you, Brooke is the one who got away.”
I rub my temple, feeling a headache forming. “Why am I cursed with brothers who can’t mind their own business?”
“Come on, you gotta admit it’s not a bad theory. Listen, I’ve hated some people in my day. Take Jerry Ogilvie, that shady fish vendor who kept trying to sell me rancid halibut.” He waves the croissant for emphasis. “Swore up and down it was fresh off the boat, meanwhile—okay, I need you to picture this fish, Dom. Picture theworstsmelling thing you’ve ever encountered and then imagine it had a baby with a dumpster fire?—“
“Charming image.” I cut him off, blinking at him. “Does this story have a point?”
“Fine, fine, yes.” He tears off another piece of croissant, chewing thoughtfully. “The point is that I hated Jerry. Genuinely couldn’t stand the guy. But I’ll tell you what I didn’t do. Obsess about him for years and eye-fuck him any time he walked into a room. Because Iactuallydisliked him.”
I reach over and steal a piece of his croissant. “You know, you talk so much that I don’t even think you need me here for this conversation.”
“Maybe not, but here’s my point.” He brushes croissant flakes off his fingers. “I suspect that if you stopped being so damn stubborn for five seconds, you’d realize that Brooke has all the qualities you admire in a person. She’s tough, she’s smart,she’s disciplined, she’s obsessed with work the same way you are. Hell, you two even have the same weird interests.”
“Where are you getting this ‘one that got away’ bullshit?” I ask.
Alex laughs. “Emma was watchingThe Notebookwhen I was over at Theo’s last night going over some new menu stuff. I got completely sucked in, and somewhere around the part where Ryan Gosling builds the house, I thought to myself, you know who needs some of my newfound romantic wisdom? Dominic.”
“I’m honored to be the recipient of your Notebook-inspired life advice.”
“You should be.” He’s completely unbothered by my sarcasm. “It’s called love, Dom. I only meddle because I care.”
He points the last piece of croissant at me. “Ryan Gosling built an entire house for that woman. You know what that is? That’s a man who commits. You could learn something.”
“From a fictional character in a movie you watched at your brother’s house?”
“Don’t judge me. Theo made those little bruschetta things that I love. I was trapped.” He shrugs. “Besides, I’m secure enough to admit when a movie gets me. It’s called emotional intelligence, Dom. You should try it sometime.”
“Your two cents are noted and ignored,” I tell him dryly.
He stands, making his way to the doorway. “Well, now that I’ve had my morning entertainment, I’ll get out of your hair and hit the gym. But whatever’s going on with you and Brooke, you should probably figure it out soon.”
“See you tonight at Calvin and Maren’s,” I say. “Now get out of my office.”
