lifted an eyebrow in Kade’s direction, as if to say “Are you?” He immediately read her question and responded with an inscrutable smile.
Brodie looked around, her eyes falling on the honey blonde surgically attached to Mac’s side. Rory’s look was speculative, bouncing from Quinn to Kade and back again. Brodie recognized her assessing, mischievous look. This was a woman wanting to cause trouble...
Mac’s deep voice broke her train of thought. “Your hands are empty, Brodie. What would you like to drink? Wine? A soda?”
A small glass of wine couldn’t hurt, could it? “I’d love a glass of Tangled Vine Chardonnay.”
Rory tipped her head and looked at Quinn. “Is that the wine you brought over the other night? It was seriously yummy.”
Quinn nodded. “I’ll bring a case over tonight. What’s for supper?”
“Risotto. Troy is joining us tonight,” Rory replied.
Mac looked appalled. “We’re having them for supper again? Troy I don’t mind, but these two? Babe, they are like rats, if you keep feeding them, we are never going to get rid of them.”
“Kade and I are the rats,” Quinn told Brodie, smiling. He lifted a huge shoulder. “What can I say? She’s a good cook.”
Brodie looked into Mac’s eyes and noticed the amusement under his fake scowl. Yeah, he looked hard-ass and a bit scary—they all did—but she could see these men shared a bond that went beyond love. It was too easy to say they loved each other, but it was more than that; there was loyalty here and support, a deep and profound desire to make sure their “brothers” were happy. She couldn’t help feeling envious of their bond despite knowing she’d chosen her solitary state. She’d had friendships like that; bonds with Jay and Chels that couldn’t be broken by anything except death.
She still missed them, every day. She missed the people who could finish her sentences, who got her jokes. She missed the I-know-it’s-after-midnight-but-I-brought-you-pizza conversations. She missed Chelsea, missed those crazy antics—“I’m outside your window and I have a date. Toss down your lucky belt/new shoes/red lipstick/flirty dress.”
She missed Jay, the boy who knew her inside out, the man she’d just been getting to know. His sweet kisses, his endless support, his newly acquired fascination with her body. She still missed the man she thought she’d spend the rest of her life with...
She hadn’t been able to reconnect with people on that level again. She wasn’t prepared to risk heartbreak. Having her heart dented by loss and being left behind without any emotional support sucked. It stung. It burned. It made her cautious and wary. Scared.
She was very okay with being scared. “And I’m sending you a bill for the food we buy,” Mac grumbled. “Spongers.”
“Rory’s a great cook and she likes having us around. Maybe she needs a break from you,” Quinn told Mac as he took the glass of wine Kade had ordered for her off the waiter’s tray and handed it to Brodie, ignoring Kade’s scowl. “I’ll bring the wine.”
Rory grinned. “Excellent. I love that wine.”
“Might I remind you that you won’t be able to drink it for a year or so?” Mac muttered.
Rory frowned and then her expression cleared and a small, tender smile drifted across her face. She touched her stomach and Brodie immediately caught on. It took Mac’s friends seconds longer to catch up. And, judging by Quinn’s and Kade’s stunned faces, that wasn’t news they’d been expecting. But once they realized what Mac had revealed, they swept Rory into their arms for a long, emotional hug. Kade hugged Mac, as did Quinn, and Brodie felt tears prick her eyes at their joy for their friend. She stepped back, feeling she shouldn’t be here, sharing this precious, intimate moment. She half smiled when she noticed Wren doing the same thing.
Weird that Brodie seemed to be present for some of the big, personal Maverick moments. Vernon’s death, Mac’s baby... She was an outsider, on the wrong side of this magical circle, so it didn’t make sense that she was again in the position to hear something deeply personal. This time, at least, it was good news.
“This wasn’t how we planned on telling you,” Rory said, jamming her elbow into Mac’s side.
Brodie looked at Rory, who had her back to Mac’s chest, his big hands on her still very flat stomach. “Congratulations,” she murmured.
“Yeah, huge congratulations,” Kade said, before slanting a sly look at Mac. “Now you’re going to have two children under your feet, Rorks.”
“Ha-ha.” Mac scowled.
“I know, right?” Rory replied, her voice wobbly. “I’m going to be a mommy, Kade.”
“You’ll be great at it,” Kade assured her and tipped his head at Mac. “But he’ll need some training.”
“I’m not old enough to have friends who are about to be parents.” Quinn clapped Mac on the shoulder and nodded to the bar. “We definitely need champagne. I’ll get some.”
Wren shook her head and stepped forward. “As much as I hate to break up the party we have work to do and a lunch to host.”
Quinn wrinkled his nose. “Our head girl has spoken.”
Wren threaded a hand through his arm and pulled him toward the dining area. “C’mon, brat. I’ve put you at a table where you can’t misbehave.”
Brodie felt Kade’s hand on her back and she immediately, subconsciously moved closer to him, her fingers accidentally brushing the outside of his hard thigh.
Kade tipped his head and dropped his voice so only she could hear his words. “It hasn’t gone away, has it?”
Brodie wished she could deny it, dismiss his comment, but she couldn’t lie to him. Or herself. She forced herself to look him in the eye. “No.”
His fingers pushed into her back at her reluctant admission. “So, just to be clear, we’re saying this crazy attraction is still happening?”
“Yep.” One-syllable answers were all she could manage.
“So are we going to do anything about it this time?”
Wren’s efficient voice interrupted their low, intense conversation. “Kade, you’re at the main table up front. Brodie, I’ll show you to your seat.”
Brodie gave Kade a little shrug and followed Wren into the private dining room of Taste. When she tossed a look over her shoulder, she flushed when she noticed Kade was still watching her.
And he didn’t stop looking at her for the next ninety minutes.
* * *
He wanted her. The heated looks they’d exchanged over the three tables that separated them left her in no doubt of that. Jeez, it was a minor miracle the room hadn’t spontaneously combusted from the sparks they were throwing at each other.
He wanted her as much as he had six months ago, possibly more. It was insane; it was exciting.
What
