Page 69 of Love Is Brewing

“Is he gone?” he asked Braylon.

“Yep,” Braylon said. “You know you have to bring her now, right? That was pretty much an order, not a request.”

“Heard,” he said.

And when his brother did those things, no one ever said no.

22

SOMETHING FUNNY

“You want me to go to your sister’s wedding,” Phoebe said.

She’d gotten to Elias’s house and was unloading the food she’d brought to make.

Though she loved fancy cuisine, she wasn’t into preparing it herself.

“Too soon?” he asked. “What kind of pan do you need?”

She had a package of steak on the counter and was pulling out broccoli and snow peas along with a jar of teriyaki sauce and a box of instant rice.

“A small pan for the rice, then some kind of wok.”

“A what?” he asked, frowning.

She laughed. “I’m sure you don’t have one. Can I see your pans?”

She walked closer to the cabinet he’d opened and pulled out the drawer full of pans. She picked out the biggest one.

“Making stir fry?” he asked

“I planned on it. Not the same as takeout.”

“Probably better for you,” he said, picking up the jar of sauce. “Or not.”

She shrugged. “It’s easy and the steaks didn’t look that great. It’s probably best for something like this.”

“You didn’t answer my question about moving too fast and my wedding invitation. You can be honest and say no. I understand.”

She turned and laughed. “Do you want to know something funny?”

“Sure,” he said, squinting at her.

“I know you think I’m playing all my attorney games or something, avoiding or redirecting. I can assure you I’m not.”

“If you say so,” he said.

The smirk on his face said he was thinking it and though he could get annoyed he wasn’t. More like he found humor in all of this.

“First off,” she said, “so you don’t think I’m yanking your chain, yes, I’ll go. Or I want to go. I’m positive I can clear my schedule right now and be fine. Nothing lined up that I’d be worried about. Court would be the main thing and that’s not an issue just yet. But if I have notice I can plan around it.”

“Which is why I asked so early,” he said.

“I appreciate it. Do you have a nice sharp knife and I’ll tell you about my funny day and how your question is ironic after it.”

He pulled another drawer open and grabbed a knife in a case and handed it over. “Don’t cut yourself on it. It’s super sharp.”

“I’ll be fine,” she said. “I need these strips thin.”

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