Page 17 of Brooke's Bliss
“We respect Mrs.Harper and her marriage very much,” Shanetried.
A brow arched over Sawyer’s eyes.“Do you?Would you do itagain?”
“Absolutely not,” Shane began.
“Oh, yeah.”Bay might not always pick up on social cues, buthe felt like Sawyer might be his people.“Max is an asshole.I would do itagain in a heartbeat, but my brother thinks we probably shouldn’t flirt withBrooke’s sister-in-law since we’re into her.Miss Rachel is nice and lovely,but it was always Brooke.”
A smile broke out over Sawyer’s face.“You are going todrive Max crazy.I approve.”
He wasn’t sure what Sawyer’s approval meant, but he waswilling to use it to test some boundaries.“So you grew up with Brooke?”
“I was a few years older,” Sawyer said, relaxing against thebar.“I always kind of felt for her.Not that I have feelings, per se, but itmust have been hard on Brooke since she was the only kid in town.Ty lived inBliss.River was closer to Creede.Lucy and I lived on this side of themountain, but honestly, even if we had been in the valley, she was yearsyounger than us.She was a freshman when we were in our senior year.All of herfriends were at school, and she was alone during the summers.”
He didn’t like the thought of that.He and Shane had beenalone a lot since his mom didn’t like having anyone in her home.But they’d hadeach other.He looked toward the party room.Brooke seemed like the life of theparty.She was laughing at something a ridiculously handsome guy said.Hestudied the man for a moment and then relaxed.That dude was gay.He’d been inthe art world long enough to recognize the signs.Well dressed, perfectlygroomed, and he was not looking at her chest.Also, he’d briefly held handswith another guy as he passed him a glass of wine.“She looks like she hasfriends now.”
Sawyer glanced behind him.“Oh, I think she’s about todiscover her old friend Cleo is in a bit of a bind.Wyatt overheard themtalking about how the costume designer for this season up and quit two days agobecause she fell in love with… It was either asquatcheror the big guy himself.Wyatt needs to learn to listen better if he’s going togossip.”
Shane sat forward.“That sounds like she’s hanging aroundfor a while.”
“I heard she was here for a couple of weeks.She’s on somekind of sabbatical with that job of hers, but I’m not so sure that’s going towork out.”Sawyer nodded to his waitress and started pouring out a beer.“I’veseen her a couple of times since she started there.She and Lucy have gotten tobe good friends since she graduated from college.River, too.It’s funny howthat small age gap that meant she was left out of most things as a kid doesn’tmean that much now.We’re all on the same playing field, if you know what Imean.I think those three get along because they’re invested in their careers.”
“Why do you think it’s not going to work out?”Bay asked,trying to keep Sawyer on track since for a dude who didn’t talk much, he waschatty as hell this evening.Normally he preferred companionable silence, butthey were talking about the one thing he liked to hear.Brooke Harper.
Sawyer passed the waitress the glass and began fillinganother.“She doesn’t seem like she’s happy.Even when she’s here she’s alwayscalling back to the office.From what Lucy can tell she doesn’t have friends inNew York.She works all the time, and she doesn’t feel like she’s gettinganywhere.If I was a betting man, she’s stuck and doesn’t know how to get out.”
“So no boyfriend?”Shane asked.
They had come to that conclusion back at Christmastime, butit had been months and she could have met someone.
“Not that she’s mentioned to the girls,” Sawyer replied,finishing up the order, and then his whole face lit up.“Hey there, Teach.”
Sabrina Leal slapped her bag on the bar and hauled herselfonto the stool next to Shane.She was a pretty woman in a yellow dress and amatching cardigan, her dark hair in a bun.She was the quintessentialschoolteacher, if one forgave the whole engaged to two men thing.“Weddingplanning with my sister is going to drive me insane.I need tequila.”
Sawyer winked her way.“I told you.We should go to Vegas.”
“No Vegas.”Wyatt had walked in after Sabrina.He gave Bayand his brother a wave.“Hello, Bay.Shane.You two doing okay?”
“If we went to Vegas, you wouldn’t have to wear a tux,”Sawyer insisted.“I kinda thought we would be able to outvote Teach here sinceI can’t imagine Van or Hale in a monkey suit.”
“I think a tuxedo is appropriate, and so does Van.”Wyattmanaged to sound oddly prim for a dude who used to run with one percenters.“It’s Elisa who thinks she should be able to get married in her deputyuniform.”
Sabrina laughed at the idea.“She’s joking.I mean not aboutwearing a frilly dress, but about the polyester uniform as wedding wear.Mysister is not as into elegance as I am.”
“She called her bougie,” Wyatt explained.
“Well, you know there’s a dress designer in town right now.Like a real New York City, works-for-a-design-house designer,” Shane pointedout.
Oh, his brother was smart.If Sawyer was right and shewasn’t happy in the city, maybe working some Bliss jobs would show her how niceit was here.
The city was a problem.He’d never felt comfortable in acity as big and cramped as New York.It wasn’t like Stef hadn’t tried.Somehowwhen he got surrounded by all that concrete and metal, he couldn’t breathe,much less work.He found his peace in the simple things.The mountains andpines.Soft grass under his feet.The sound of the river rushing by.
But he would try it if it meant being close to her.
Of course, it would be way better if she decided to stayhere in Bliss.
“Seriously?”Sabrina had perked up.“Because Alamosa is theclosest place with an actual wedding shop, and it doesn’t have much.Teeny canorder a lot of what we want, but I want some work done on my dress.It’s theright silhouette but it needs some…oomph, if you know what I mean.”
He did not, but he was going with it.“You should askBrooke.”
