Chapter 2 - Max

Of course, I was going to accept an invitation to dinner at Aleks and Katie’s. My sister-in-law was among the top five cooks I knew, and I was always happy to have one of her delicious meals. What I wasn’t expecting was for it to come with strings attached.

“I’m pretty sure nothing will happen,” Katie said, pulling me aside as soon as I arrived that evening. “But Aleks is being tight-lipped about how he’s going to deal with your stupid brother.”

The stupid brother in question was Lev, who’d managed to marry Katie’s kid sister without her or Aleks finding out about it, and word in the family was that Aleks was still fuming and looking to take at least one swing at Lev.

“It was bad enough that things blew up with Jenna at Christmas,” Katie continued pleading. “Poor Brooke already had to get dragged back home then. I’d really like it if the next time she’s here, a fight doesn’t break out in front of her.”

I perked up at hearing Brooke’s name. I would have liked to say I hadn’t given her a single thought since I missed the chance to get to know her better in the winter, but that would have been a lie. The truth was, she hadn’t left my mind much at all in the past months, always popping up at the most inopportune times.

“What’s this about Brooke?” I asked, pretending to search my memory while Katie twisted her apron.

My newest niece was babbling away in her baby chair, gumming on the safety strap and being about the cutest thing in the world. I pretended to think about it as Katie went on to ask me to take Brooke out for a drive.

“Just until I’m sure Aleks isn’t going to go ballistic on Lev. He shouldn’t. I mean, there’s no reason to since I don’t want to bash his head in anymore, but you know Aleks.”

I did, and I also didn’t think there’d be a fight. But this was a prime chance to get Brooke to myself for a bit. I was blindsided by the news that she’d be spending a week down here in LA, and I hoped it would be for real this time. While I’d been up in the San Francisco area plenty since our first meeting, I was so busy with the problems with Lev’s territory that there was no time to seek her out.

But would it be worth it to rekindle the flame that barely got lit in the first place? Hadn’t that wildly attractive woman been maddeningly reticent and almost immune to my charm? I never could let a loss go easily.

“Hmmm,” I said, waving one of the toys attached to little Alina’s chair.

She kicked her feet and laughed, softening the anxiety in Katie’s eyes as she looked at her daughter. I didn’t think there’d be any punches thrown, but I yearned to see Brooke again. It would be nice to put this bizarre attraction to bed once and for all so that she’ll stop haunting my dreams. Or if the attraction didn’t wane, take her to bed and keep her there.

“Please,” Katie said. “I’ll give you all the lunches you want for the rest of the year.”

“What is my wife begging you for, and why are you making her beg?” Aleks grumbled, coming into the kitchen with a sour expression.

It slid off his face as he lifted Alina from her chair and held her up, making her squeal with delight. Katie gave me one last look, and then their butler announced that their guests had arrived and were pulling up the drive.

With Aleks looking at me like I’d be getting the beating he really wanted to give to Lev and Katie promising me all the gourmet lunches I could eat, there was nothing I could do but agree. After all, I didn’t want a poor, innocent stranger to have to watch my brothers possibly come to blows. Outsiders didn’t understand that we mostly thrived off that shit, gaining life from doling out a good punch to the face as well as getting one—if it was deserved.

“Thank you,” Katie said as she shoved me toward the door to whisk Brooke away before she even got in the house.

I kept pretending that I was being coerced to do it until I stepped out onto the front porch and saw her again. The attraction dancing around the edges of my subconsciousness for the last few months wasn’t just back; it was stronger than ever.

She was the first to get out of the chauffeured car, and Katie hurried to her side to whisper the plan to her. Brooke seemed to have a glow about her, bathed in the bright afternoon sunshine so that the golden strands stood out in her glossy chestnut hair. It was up in a high ponytail that I itched to wrap around my hand to tug her head back and kiss my way down her smooth throat. Her lush pink lips parted in a confused smile as she tried to take in Katie, offering me up to give her a tour of Hollywood, like it was all a fun plan and not an attempt to shield her from the violence that followed us everywhere, even in our own homes.

There was just something about her that told me she could handle it. As beautiful as any rose, Brooke was no delicate flower. I had a gut feeling about that, which only added to my intrigue. I had to know every last detail about her. There was no way I was letting her slip away this time. If that meant showing her around town while my stubborn brothers bashed things out, I was more than happy to oblige.

I was never more glad that I decided to take the Maserati from my custom car collection this morning. Brooke was going to look amazing with the wind whipping through all that silky hair. I stepped past her after shaking her hand, wanting nothing more than to keep a hold of those delicate fingers, and opened the door of my favorite convertible for her.

She seemed a bit flustered but pleased when I asked her if she was ready for this. My family disappeared into the house, leaving us alone at last. With blushing cheeks, she looked me straight in the eye and nodded.

“I think so,” she said, almost a question.

I wonder how much Jenna filled her in to get her to agree to come out with me, or if she was as excited for this second chance as I was. “My family can be a bit much at times,” I said as we headed out.

“Oh, I know all about crazy families,” she said, shaking out her ponytail as we picked up speed. Here I was, trying to impress her again.

“Oh yeah?” I asked. “You’ll have to tell me all about yours.”

“Which one?” she asked, laughing grimly.

Not quite sure how to take that, and not wanting to pry, I only smiled over at her as she smoothly changed the subject to Hollywood landmarks. I promised to take her to my diner, but it was too early for that, so I asked her what she wanted to see.

She reeled off a list of LA's most tourist-worthy, tacky places, and I headed toward Grauman’s Chinese Theater, which was first on her list. She was dying to get out and look at the hands and footprints, and for once, the idea of being surrounded by selfie-taking crowds didn’t annoy me. I only wanted to keep making her smile.

Surprisingly, she didn’t take a single selfie, only snapping a few pictures of the area with her phone. She shyly asked if I’d take one with her, and we got one of the actors hanging around to take one of us in front of the theater columns.

“Are you really having fun?” I asked.

She bit her lip. “You’re not,” she said. “You hate this.”

I shook my head. Any other person would have been spot on, but her happiness and exuberance were infectious for some reason. “Come on, back in the car. There’s so much more to see.”

I drove her around, fascinated by her excitement. Since it was still early and my diner didn’t really get hopping until after dark, we ended up at the Santa Monica pier.

“This place is amazing,” she said. “You know, I’ve never been to a carnival.”

“What the hell?” I asked, making her laugh in that somewhat dark way she had.

“Never, not once.”

“Well, we better make up for that, then,” I said. “What do you want to do first?”

“All of it, I can’t decide,” she breathed, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the line for the Ferris wheel.

She squealed as innocently and adorably as baby Alina as we went to the top and grew silent with awe as we took in the vast ocean and the beach skyline up and down the coast. Next, we ran around like kids, playing every game and getting a bit competitive.

“You really like to win, don’t you?” I asked, amazed at her tenacity to get a specific, giant pink bear.

“It’s not so much that,” she said, then burst out laughing at herself. “I just really hate losing.”

“I’m right there with you,” I told her, handing over more money so we could both keep throwing darts.

When the bear was finally hers, she jumped up and down and then threw her arms around me in thanks for pooling my tickets with hers to attain it. She jumped away before I could slide my hands down her back and yank her body close to mine. Her cheeks were blazing red as she looked at the bear the game's attendant finally handed over.

“Oh my God, now we have to carry it,” she said.

“What do you mean, we?” I asked, tossing the thing that was half her size at her.

I let her carry it for about ten feet, grinning at her determination, and then took it from her. We got some sodas and popcorn and settled onto a bench to watch the crowds flow past us. As we engaged in idle chit-chat, she was overcome by a huge yawn.

“Sorry,” she said, slapping her hand over her mouth. “I admit my actual plan was to take a nap for ten hours as soon as I got to Katie’s.”

I stifled a groan, having forgotten all about them. Brooke peered up at me over the top of her bear’s pink, fluffy head, and her brows furrowed.

“Was something going on they didn’t want me to know about?” she asked.

“You’re very astute,” I said.

“You remember I said I had a crazy family? You learn to notice when things are off.”

I didn’t want our day to end, but I told her I’d call and check in, and see if it was safe to go back, only after she dragged the story of Lev possibly getting his ass kicked by Aleks for marrying Jenna out of me.

“He kind of deserved at least one punch,” she said, surprising the hell out of me and delighting me to the point I told a little fib after I hung up with Katie.

“Things are still tense,” I lied. Katie had told me there was no fight. It was all a practical joke Aleks had played on her, Lev, and Jenna, and we could return whenever we wanted.

Well, I didn’t want to. Not yet. But Brooke failed to stifle another yawn, so I suggested we move onto the beach and relax until dinner time. Ducking into a beach shop, I bought a few towels and some more cold drinks, and we set up near the pier. Within ten minutes, Brooke was sprawled out on the towels, fast asleep.

I sat there, unable to believe how perfectly content I was to hang out on the beach when there were a dozen other things I could have been doing, and, indeed, should have been doing. And with a sleeping woman, no less. An hour passed by like a minute as I watched over Brooke, and soon enough, she popped up, as refreshed as if she got a full night’s sleep.

“Can I finally see this diner of yours you can’t seem to shut up about?” she teased, standing up and brushing sand off her clothes. I was distracted by her curves as she twisted around, shaking out her top and smoothing her hands down her legs. “You shouldn’t have let me sleep so long. You must have been dying of boredom.”

“On the contrary,” I said. “I’m having the time of my life.”

Yes, I’d been flirting with her throughout the day. I was completely shameless about it, and she blew that truthful statement off as just another bit of bluster. We counted down as the sun dipped below the horizon, then she grabbed my hand and tried to haul me to the valet lot where I’d left my car.

“Come on, I’m starving,” she said. “And I need to see this place you’ve been bragging about all day.” She peered up at me with mischief in her eyes, and all I could do was grin down at her.

This was the most fun I’d had in a long time. Doing foolish things, I would have balked at with anyone else. Hell, anyone else and I would have told them where to get off.

“Well, my dear,” I said. “It’s Friday night, and just about time for the Hustle to be getting started. Do you think you’re ready?”

She rolled her eyes, bright and clear from her nap, and just then rivaling the dusky gray-blue of the evening sky. “I think you probably oversold this place of yours, but I’m ready to eat for sure.”

While waiting for the valet to bring the car around, she kept teasing me for bragging about my diner. “I’m sure it’s fine, but how amazing can a diner be?”

I leaned close, close enough that her eyes flew wide.

“Brooke?” I said, close enough to nip her lush lower lip if I didn’t have a firm grip on my restraint.

“Yes?” she squeaked, surprising me yet again by not backing away.

“Just you wait and see.”