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“Much better. Thanks for calling her.”
“Sure. I can’t have you worried about your safety like some woman in a horror story.”
Arden glanced at the dark street. The wind was blowing the trees every which way, casting shadows that shifted so much they looked like arms reaching out to grab something. “It does look kind of creepy out here. Like some chainsaw-wielding maniac could jump from a dark corner and attack us. Well, me anyway. You’re kind of big for someone to mess with.”
Brandon continued driving. “Don’t worry. There’s no one hiding in the shadows or anywhere else. And if someone did try to hurt you, I’d protect you.”
The grateful look she sent him made his chest grow tight and warmed the cold bitterness in his soul. He rubbed his hand across the raised scar near his heart as a reminder to keep his emotional distance. The last time he’d gotten close to a woman he’d ended up in intensive care. It was okay to be friendly—Arden needed that to be at ease. But genial chatter was one thing; an emotional connection was something entirely different.
“My brothers always said I have a vivid imagination. Which is why I never watch scary movies.”
“Never?”
“Not ever. Afterward, I’d be so busy checking under my bed and jumping at every bump in the night that I’d never get any sleep.”
He nodded. “That’s our house right there. Third one on the left.”
Arden leaned back in her seat and sighed. “It looks normal from here.”
“We keep the dragon in the basement.”
“That’s good to know.” She leaned forward and peered out the window at the rising water. “What I really want to know is where you keep the rowboat.”
“Not interested in wading through the water again?”
“No.” She looked down at her ruined sandals. “Once was enough for me. I think I can cross that off my bucket list.”
“Walking through rainwater up to your ankles was on your bucket list?”
She lifted the corner of her mouth in a mischievous grin. “I want to have a wide range of experiences.”
“I’m glad we could oblige,” he said, pulling into the driveway.
* * *
Less than a minute later they were running through the large backyard and racing up a flight of stairs. A woman Arden assumed was Brandon’s sister opened the door and stepped back to let them inside. She had friendly eyes and introduced herself with a bright smile.
“It’s really coming down out there,” Joni said, closing the door against the wind. Arden slipped off her damp and muddy sandals and placed them beside the door so she wouldn’t track mud through the house. Joni led the way through the utility room and into the kitchen. The room was huge, with restaurant-quality appliances. There were miles of glistening marble countertops. A solid wood farmhouse table sat near an unlit stone fireplace. Wonderful aromas floated in the air and Arden’s stomach growled.
“Sorry.” Cheeks burning, Arden placed a hand over her stomach, trying to muffle the sound.
Joni waved away Arden’s apology. “Don’t be. You’re not only soaked to the bone, you’re also hungry. If I were you I’d be grabbing food from the pots with my bare hands.”
Arden laughed, her embarrassment dissipating. She liked Joni.
“I’ve got some dry clothes for you that will fit better than my brother’s jacket. Come on, you can take a quick shower and get warm. You’ll feel a lot better. It’ll be a few minutes before dinner’s ready.”
Warm water and dry clothes sounded wonderful. “Are you sure you don’t mind? I don’t want to put you out.”
“Nonsense. It’s no bother.”
“Thanks.”
“The stairs are this way.”
Joni put her arm around Arden in a sisterly way and led her farther into the house. Although Arden had run as fast as she dared through the slippery yard, she’d still gotten drenched again. She hated dripping onto the beautiful hardwood floor, but she couldn’t strip in the kitchen.
Joni didn’t seem to mind about the mess, and seconds later they were climbing a flight of stairs. Brandon followed them in silence.
“You can use this room,” Joni said, opening a door to a bedroom and stepping through to the en suite. “Brandon had some renovations done to the house when we moved here. He turned a couple of tiny rooms into bathrooms. I didn’t agree with his decision at first, but I totally love it now.”
As she talked, Joni bustled about the room, pulling plush towels out of a linen closet, then stacking them on the marble counter. She grabbed bottles of shampoo and conditioner and several different types of body wash from a cabinet beside the sink. “I’ll be right back.”
Arden nodded, grateful when the other woman returned with a stack of dry clothes.
After Joni left, Arden took one look in the mirror and groaned. Her makeup was completely washed off, but her face was far from clean. Somehow mud had gotten spattered on her cheeks, with one long smear down the side of her face. Her wet hair was wind whipped and going in every direction. She ran her hand through it and discovered a leaf-covered twig had gotten tangled in her mane, completing the puppy-playing-in-a-mud-puddle look. She stripped and stepped into the shower.
A moan of pure pleasure escaped her lips as the hot water began to warm her, slowing the chatter of her teeth. No shower had ever felt this good. If it wasn’t for the fact that her hosts were waiting for her, she’d spend the next hour letting the warm water pound every ache out of her body. As a guest, an unexpected one at that, it would be rude to linger.
She hurriedly poured shampoo into her hands and quickly lathered her hair. Joni used the same brand she did and the familiar scent soothed the last of Arden’s nerves. Her remaining tension disappeared down the drain with the bubbles.
She gathered her wet clothes and placed them on the counter. She would ask Joni where she could launder them later. Joni had left an assortment of clothes and she sorted through them before selecting a long-sleeved cotton top and denim pants. The jeans were a little long, so she rolled them up before pulling on socks and heading downstairs.
When she’d entered the house, she’d been too cold and uncomfortable to give more than a cursory glance at her surroundings. Now, though, she looked carefully. The house was a wonderful blend of old charm and modern convenience. The rooms had wide baseboards and crown molding around the high ceilings. Painted white, they were a nice accent to the darker-colored walls.
The furniture in the living room, while stylish, had clearly been chosen for comfort. With randomly placed pillows and a throw tossed over a leather ottoman, this room was used for living and not just for show.
Arden heard voices coming from the back of the house and followed them to the kitchen. The aromas wafting through the air reminded her that it had been hours since she’d eaten lunch. If scarfing down a hot dog and bag of chips in her car qualified as eating lunch.
“Come sit down. Dinner is just about ready.” Joni pointed to a seat at the table. A small vase of wildflowers was in the center. The curtains were closed so Arden couldn’t see the storm. She could hear it, though. The rain pounded on the windows like it was trying to get in, and the wind howled like an injured animal. This was definitely not a night to be outside. And if it wasn’t for Brandon, she’d be out in this wicked weather.
Arden glanced at Brandon. He’d changed into a gray polo shirt that pulled tight across his barrel chest and loose-fitting jeans that couldn’t disguise his muscular thighs. The man put all the statues she’d studied in her art-history class to shame.
She shook her head. What was wrong with her? She’d seen plenty of handsome men in her life, yet she didn’t gawk at them like some teenager with no home training. “I can’t thank you enough for your hospitality and the clothes, Joni. I’ll return them as soon as possible.”
Joni smiled. “Don’t worry about it. I have way more clothes than I need.” She then fixed her brother with a mock glare. “Don’t say a word.”
“I didn’t open my mouth.”
“Good.”
“But if I had said anything, it would be that you have more clothes than any three people need.” Joni tossed a linen napkin at him. He caught it with ease and dropped it onto the counter. Then he pulled open the oven door for a quick look and nodded with apparent satisfaction.
Arden watched them banter back and forth with a smile on her face. It was clear to her they not only loved each other, they genuinely liked each other. They were friends.
She sighed wistfully. She wished she could say the same of her relationship with her brothers. She knew they loved her. They’d do anything for her. But Blake and Jax were stuck in protective-big-brother mode. To them, she was still the child who got into jams and waited for them to bail her out, which they’d done without fail. She’d grown up, but they hadn’t noticed. Because they didn’t view her as an adult, their relationship hadn’t evolved to the point of friendship.
And the near disaster with Michael-the-sneak wouldn’t help them see her as an equal. Which was why she had told them only that she’d ended the relationship, keeping the disgusting details to herself.
Brandon stirred, then began ladling soup out of a pot into large bowls while Joni placed warm bread on the table.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Arden asked, shoving aside the depressing thoughts.
“Not a thing,” Joni said, taking the bowls from her brother and setting one before Arden. “Just relax.”
Brandon joined them. As he scooted his chair closer to the table, the scent of soap teased her nostrils and her heart began to beat double time. He looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to sample her food before he ate.
Arden picked up a spoon and sipped her soup. Incredible flavors exploded in her mouth. She’d eaten at some of the best restaurants in the world, but nothing compared to this Italian sausage soup. Before she could stop it, a moan of unadulterated pleasure slipped from between her lips.
Brandon stared at her, his dark eyes unreadable. For a moment their gazes locked and time stood still. Her breath caught in her throat. Trapped like a fly in a web, Arden couldn’t look away to save her life.
“My, my,” Joni said with a laugh, looking from Brandon to Arden.
Joni’s voice broke the spell, freeing Arden from Brandon’s hypnotic gaze.
“Sorry.” She looked down at the bowl to hide her embarrassment. What is wrong with me? She looked at Joni. “This soup is the best thing I’ve ever tasted in my life. You’re a great cook.”
Joni shook her head. “Not me. I can’t toast bread without burning it. Brandon is the chef.”
Arden risked a glance at him, warning herself not to get caught in those dark, amazing eyes again. “You made this? Wow. It’s wonderful.”
“Thanks.” His voice sounded strained and low. He’d been charming in the car, but now he seemed more reserved with her. It was as if he regretted their earlier camaraderie.
“Brandon is chef and owner of the most popular restaurant in the state. Heaven on Earth.”
“The name fits,” Arden added, wishing her bowl was larger. She’d just hit bottom when Brandon removed her empty dish. A couple moments later he returned with three plates.
“Be careful,” Brandon said, setting the dishes on the table. “It’s hot.”
“This looks wonderful. What is it?”
“Oven-roasted sea bass with oranges, tomatoes and olives.”
Arden stared at him in amazement. “You made all of this while I was in the shower?”
“No. I prepared it earlier today. Joni put it in the oven when we got home.”
She took a bite and this time managed to stifle the sound of pleasure that threatened to escape. The perfect combination of flavors was unlike anything she had ever experienced, even during the summer after high school she’d spent in France and Italy.
Joni sipped her drink, then looked at Arden. “Where were you headed when your car broke down?”
“Don’t be so nosy,” Brandon said, shaking his head.
Joni waved away his comment like she would a pesky gnat, then looked at Arden expectantly. Ordinarily Arden would be annoyed by such a personal question from a complete stranger. But Joni didn’t feel like a stranger, she felt like a friend. “I’m on my way to Florida.”
“For vacation? A new job?”
Arden shook her head. “Neither. I just need to get away for a while.”
“From what?” Brandon asked, apparently forgetting the no-prying rule.
“I thought we weren’t going to be nosy,” Joni pointed out.
Brandon glared playfully at his sister, then smiled at Arden. “Sorry. Forget I said anything.”
“No, it’s okay. A relationship I was in ended badly. I just needed some space to get my head together. I’m a middle school science teacher, so I’m off for the summer. Since there was nothing holding me in town, I decided to get out while the getting was good.”
“So...what are your plans when you get to Florida?” Joni asked.
Brandon shook his head at his sister but did appear interested in Arden’s answer.
“I don’t really have plans,” Arden confessed. Suddenly, sitting alone in her parents’ home hiding from the world and licking her wounds lost its appeal. It actually sounded pretty pathetic. Was she so fragile that she needed weeks in seclusion because her boyfriend had turned out to be a jerk? Heck, no. Double heck, no. She was stronger than that.
“And now you’re stuck in Sweet Briar.” Brandon finished his meal and pushed his plate into the center of the table. She did the same. “John’s good. He’ll have you back on the road in no time.”
He stood and began clearing the table. Before she or Joni could move, he’d rinsed the plates and bowls and loaded them into the dishwasher. When that task was complete, he excused himself and left the kitchen.
Arden watched him leave, noting once again what a fine specimen of a man he was. He was the definition of masculinity. She might not be in the market for a man, but she wasn’t opposed to window-shopping. Realizing she was gawking at Brandon in front of his sister, she pulled her gaze away and reached for her coffee cup. She stifled her attraction before it could turn into interest or something more. She might not know much, but she knew better than to let her emotions get the upper hand on her common sense. No way. She wasn’t going to open herself up even for a minute and end up getting hurt again.
Thankfully, she wasn’t going to be around long enough to put that theory to the test. As soon as her car was fixed she was out of Sweet Briar.
Chapter Three (#u9b3916be-c81f-5849-bf79-b38554e5c751)
Arden woke to the sound of birds chirping and a dog barking in the distance. Stretching languidly, she smiled and opened her eyes. Momentarily startled by the unfamiliar surroundings, she jerked upright to a sitting position. A heartbeat later she remembered everything: her car breaking down, Brandon rescuing her and bringing her to his home.
Slipping from the bed, Arden crossed the room to the en suite. Not a morning person by nature, she felt unusually refreshed. She credited her vigor to the early hour she’d gone to bed and the fact that she’d slept like the proverbial baby.
She brushed her teeth, washed up and applied some lip gloss. After dressing in the clothes she’d washed last night, she tidied the bathroom and made her bed. When she stepped into the hallway she heard voices, so she knew Brandon and Joni were awake. Following the sound, Arden arrived at the kitchen.
“Good morning,” Joni said from her seat at the table. “Help yourself to some coffee.”
“Thanks.” Arden grabbed a mug from beside the coffeemaker, filled it, and added sugar and amaretto cream.
“Brandon and I were just talking about you.”
“Were you?”
“Yes,” Brandon replied.
Until he spoke, Arden had avoided looking at him. Now, though, she forced her gaze to where he leaned near the window. She’d thought he was to-die-for gorgeous yesterday, but it was nothing compared to the way he looked this morning. His jaw was scraped clean of all stubble and appeared baby-bottom smooth. She curled her hand into a fist to resist the urge to caress his face and find out. His dreadlocks were hanging loose around his shoulders. Dressed in a simple white T-shirt, his denim-clad legs crossed at the ankle, he looked perfectly relaxed.
Although her heart thumped wildly in her chest at the sight of him, she managed to speak normally. “Do I want to know what you were saying, or should I go back upstairs?”
He smiled. “We were discussing your situation.”
His smile momentarily stopped her brain from functioning. “What situation?”
“Your car.”
