Page 44 of Perfect Pairing
“Who delivered it?”
“FedEx driver. Seemed like a nice kid, though awfully young to have that job.”
“Can you please just open it and tell me what’s in it?” I said, nodding at my meal prep. “I’m kinda busy.”
Dad moved around the kitchen, absently pulling open drawers until he located the scissors, and I couldn’t help but laugh.We’d finished renovations on the space a few weeks ago, and both of us were still navigating the new configuration. Sometimes, it took me several tries to remember where I’d decided to store the measuring cups.
I knew we’d get used to it eventually, and it was satisfying to walk in and see the manifestation of our hard work. It was my dream kitchen, perfectly functional and, according to Brie, very pretty.
I scoffed at the memory, and my dad shot me a questioning look. Just because it was bright white, with grey-veined marble for countertops, top-of-the-line, stainless steel appliances, and pale wood cabinets that my dad had spent nearly the entire months of January and February custom building didn’t mean it waspretty.
To my male eyes, it was simply a kitchen. Functional. The perfect place to feed our three-man family.
As if my dad could read my mind, he withdrew a card from the box first and held it out. “It’s from Brie.”
I cursed low, quickly rinsing my hands and drying them. “That little shit.”
Dad reached both hands into the box and lifted a squat Styrofoam carton out as I opened the card. Before he even pried the lid off, I knew what we’d find inside.
“She didn’t.”
“Who didn’t what?” Dad asked.
I nodded at the box. “There are cupcakes inside.”
Dad quirked a brow then opened the box. From this angle, I couldn’t see inside, but the way he glanced between it and me in question told me I was right. He picked it up and moved itaround to my side of the island, and I gasped as I took in what rested inside.
A dozen cupcakes, each decorated differently.
I turned to the card I had yet to open and read aloud.
“Since you apparently don’t have a favorite dessert, I gave you twelve options. Maybe now you’ll figure it out. Happy birthday, Chef. XO, Brie.”
My dad barked out a laugh, and I glared at him. “What’s so funny?”
He shrugged. “She’s got you pegged. What’s going on there?”
I sighed, lifting a hand to scrub it over my face. “I don’t know, Dad,” I said, exasperated. “There’s something there. That day we cooked together at the winery, we—”
He cut me off with a raised hand before I could go further. “I don’t need the details of your sex life, Ez. Just…be smart.” I resisted the urge to squirm under that dark gaze, hating how easily he’d guessed what happened. He glanced pointedly between me and my son. “There’s more at stake here than just your heart.”
“We’re just friends,” I replied lamely.
Dad hummed like he didn’t quite believe me then walked into the living room and scooped Hansen up. “Come on, bud. Let’s go play in your room so your dad can make a phone call.”
The truth was, telling myself Brie and I were just friends was getting old and losing all its luster. I wanted so much more from her, but so many things held me back.
How did I tell her that after she’d been the one to pump the brakes on New Year’s Day? Could I shuffle my priorities to include her? Was I capable of giving my heart away to someone again, knowing they could break it? Despite how angry I waswith her, Ihadloved Shannon. Falling out of that love happened so slowly but so completely. I often wondered, in those days and weeks and months before the accident, when I felt things fraying between us, if it was ever real. But I knew it was—the devastation I’d experienced in the wake of her infidelity proved that.
Brie was Shannon’s complete opposite in every way. Yes, her family had money, but you’d never know it by looking at or interacting with her. Leon and Lena had raised those girls right, to work hard for the things they wanted. Each of them was humble and dedicated to carving their own path.
Brie was loyal, unfailingly kind, funny, sweet, and incredibly sexy. Conversation between us flowed so easily, it wasn’t uncommon for three or more hours to pass in the blink of an eye. But if I couldn’t keep a woman like Shannon around—worldly, yes, but someone my age and who, I thought, wanted the same things out of life—what could I possibly offer Brie? How did I know she wouldn’t change her mind in a few years when she’d settled back into Apple Blossom Bay, was running her business, and simply had more life experience?
I didn’t think Brie was the kind of girl who’d be so wishy-washy, but I also had never been a twenty-two-year-old girl. I didn’t know how their minds worked, and I didn’t think I could risk Brie growing out of her feelings for me.
I heaved a world-weary sigh and called her.
“You little minx,” I said when she answered. “How’d you even get my address?”
