Page 48 of The Wedding Engagement

“Thanks,” she said quietly, sinking down into her seat and staying silent for the rest of the short journey home.

—

“You’re kidding,” Liv said, staringat Brodie open-mouthed. “There’s no way anyone could be that dense.”

He shook his head as he sipped his espresso martini. “Nope. True story. I told her that her ski jacket wasn’t from our chain of stores, so unfortunately, I couldn’t give her a refund. She put in a formal complaint about me.”

“That is absolutely mental,” Liv said, shaking her head. “Theaudacity.”

He nodded, a solemn expression on his face. “The barefaced, brazenaudacity.”

Something about his tone tickled her and she couldn’t stop laughing, drawing Brodie in with her.

He shook his head. “That’s the service industry for you. There’re plenty of unreasonable types around.”

“Yeah, same,” she replied, leaning forward. “We get a load of nonsense from some of the parents we deal with.”

Brodie rolled his eyes. “Ugh. I can imagine. All teachers deserve a pay rise, in my opinion. And a huge fuck-off medal.”

She laughed. “Excellent idea. You should run for first minister. I’d vote for you.”

He winked. “Thank you. Maybe I will.”

Being around Brodie was really easy; no wonder Maya and Sam were such good friends with him. It would have been unfortunate that there was no chemistry if she’d actually been interested in this as a “real” date. But as she wasn’t, the fact that there was only friendship blossoming between them was perfect. She lifted her glass,taking a sip of her French martini. “Does Glenavie feel like home for you now? Hasn’t it been around eighteen months?”

“That’s right. And yes, I love it, thanks. The turning point was getting involved with skiing and meeting Maya, and Sam.” He grinned. “After I backed off from Maya and Sam realized I wasn’t a threat, that is.”

Liv laughed. “Sorry about that. He was going through a bit of a tough patch back then.”

“So I heard. I had nothing but sympathy when he explained it all.” Brodie smiled. “Anyway, it’s not your place to apologize for him. He did that himself.”

She shrugged. “I know. It’s just a twin tendency.”

“I’m glad the two of them worked things out. It’s apparent to anyone that they belong together.”

Her heart warmed a few degrees. “Totally. I always knew there was something between them.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Twin tendency.”

Liv winked. “Precisely.”

He fiddled with the stem of his cocktail glass. “Speaking of breakups et cetera, how’s Ben doing? I heard he and Derek split.”

Liv nodded. “Sam and Maya say he’s okay, just a little grumpy to work under at the ski resort. Apparently it had been in the cards for a while, but it’s difficult to get used to being on your own after a long relationship.” She said that like she knew the feeling, even though she had no idea what coming out of a long relationship was like. She would have to have been involved in something for more than two minutes to appreciate that.Nico Hadid, eat your heart out.

Brodie cleared his throat. “Listen, I feel like I need to say something at this stage. I’m really enjoying this, and I hope you and I can be friends. But—”

Liv held up her hand. “Say no more. I agree. We get along well, but there’s no chemistry.”

Brodie’s face relaxed into a smile. “We’re on the same wavelength.”

Liv lifted her glass to clink it with his. “That we are, my friend.”

He sipped his cocktail, then eyed her carefully before leaning in. “I haven’t told anyone this yet, but there’s someone I’m interested in. I think that’s kind of why I’m not really on the lookout for anyone else at the moment.”

She arched a brow. “Intriguing. Tell me more. Who is she?”

Brodie laughed. “Well.” He cleared his throat. “It’s actually a guy.”

---