If a woman like Marlowe wanted to marry you, wanted to build a life with you, why would you blow that up?
It didn’t make any sense.
“Hi,” she said, greeting everyone but him, taking a seat in the chair next to him. Then she turned toward him. “Hi.”
“Hi to you too,” he said.
The moment stretched on a little too long, their eyes meeting and holding for more time than they should.
Walker and Lila were looking at them, and there really was no point pretending.
“You could stop that,” he said to them. “If you both know, don’t pretend.”
“Oh, good,” Lila said. “That means I can say – Marlowe, I thought that you were more sensible than this.”
Marlowe looked at Cody and then looked at Lila. “I challenge any woman to be sensible around your brother.”
“Gross,” Lila said.
“If you want to talk about it,” Marlowe said, “we can definitely talk about it. Don’t forget, I’ve been best friends with my sister-in-law for years, which means –”
Marlowe cut herself off, like she realized that she was comparing situations. He hadn’t taken it that way, but he could see that she was concerned that he had.
“Yeah, feel free to harass them both,” Cody said, doing his best to smooth it over.
“I will just tell you,” Marlowe said. “All of the food on the menu is fantastic. You can’t go wrong.”
“Laney cooked some dishes for us as part of her interview, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing what she did with the directive.”
“It’s amazing,” Marlowe said. “I’ve been so spoiled.”
“Hello,” their waitress, Keisha, who had long braids and dark brown eyes, stood there smiling at them, her eyes glittering. “The chef would like to bring out a selection for the table, if that’s all right.”
“That’s more than all right,” Cody said.
And then they were served food that could have kept an entire army going across the plains. There were things that he had never tried before – fried squash blossoms stuffed with cheese – and things he had definitely had before – flank steak – but cooked to perfection and dressed with sauces that were just a little bit different.
It was the best restaurant he’d ever been to, and it was his.
He could feel pride then.
This place was exactly like what he had wanted to make it, and he wasn’t jaded enough to not be able to feel satisfaction at that.
He looked at Marlowe, who was eating with a rapturous expression on her face. “This is incredible.”
“I should go back and kiss the chef,” Walker said.
“You will do no such thing,” Cody growled.
“Onlyyou’reallowed?”
“I think the chef has to kissyou,” Marlowe said, smiling softly. “Otherwise, it’s an HR violation.”
“I really don’t trust either of your takes on that,” Walker said. “Seems self-serving.”
Marlowe smiled so angelically a halo might’ve appeared over her head. “Seems like a you problem.”
She knew how to match energy with everybody, she was more like Walker in that way. Definitely not like him.
