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Chloe had only been with one other guy since. Almost three years ago. It was a one-night stand with a guy she met at a frat party her freshman year of college. She was drunk. She couldn’t tell you his name. She barely remembered the sex. He was a football player. Did she have a thing for football players? Asshole was a high school quarterback. Mr. One-Night Stand was…something. She didn’t remember, but he played college ball. And Jesse had played wide receiver in the NFL. She giggled.
At least I made it to the pros!
She reminded herself that Jesse wasn’t Danny. Or her father. Not every guy is an asshole. Right?
Chloe hugged the pillow tighter to her body. Jesse might think she was going to be his, but the truth was, in her mind anyway, she’d been his for a long, long time. It was about time he knew it.
It was a beautiful June morning. A perfect morning. And not just because the sun was shining and the breeze was sweet. It was perfect because the taste of Chloe still lingered. Jesse smiled to himself as he got out of his Range Rover and unlocked the service door to Charley’s in the alley. He’d gotten there early since they were expecting their first delivery from a new craft brew distributor he’d found.
He should be tired, yet he wasn’t. He was energized even though he’d barely slept at all after he left Chloe last night. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. Why had he waited so long to find out just how perfect she fit in his arms? Jesse knew why, of course, but he wasn’t going to think about that right now. Last night he finally made the decision to go after what he really wanted. His only hope was that it would all work out in the end.
The perfect morning became even more perfect when Chloe arrived. She sauntered in, tying on her apron, with Linnea following along right behind her. Her glossy waves, the colors of spice—cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves, were piled on top of her head in a messy knot. She made it look effortless, but he knew her well enough to know she’d made every effort to artfully arrange every strand. She didn’t cover her face in a ton of makeup like a lot of girls did, but what she did wear was flawless. Chloe always looked so put-together. Always so beautiful.
Jesse caught her looking his way and the corners of his mouth turned up as he winked at her. She smirked back at him and tossed her head in her cool and unfazed Chloe way, but he knew better. She was just as affected by him as he was by her. He watched her from behind the bar as she bounced from table to table through the restaurant flashing her bubbly, effervescent smile.
Kyan had the wall of glass doors that led from the bar area to the sidewalk patio wide open. He took a seat at the end of the bar to catch the light mild breeze that came in from outside. Dillon took the stool next to his brother just as Jesse pushed the latest addition to their craft beer menu in front of him.
“Thanks, man. It’s a little early for me to start drinking, don’t you think?”
Jesse smirked. “Just thought you’d enjoy a sample, cuz. It’s a new fresh hop IPA from California that we got in this morning’s delivery.”
His cousin grinned, then swirled and sniffed the brew. Jesse watched as he took a long slow sip and swallowed. “That’s beautiful, man!”
Jesse nodded at Dillon. “Told you he’d like it.” But Dillon didn’t seem to hear him. He was watching his brother who was watching Linnea.
“So, brother, why’d you bail on us last night?”
Here we go.
Kyan and Dillon had both been mooning over the pretty little blonde since they opened up Charley’s. Neither one of them ever did anything about it. Instead, they paraded around with their flavor of the week and played at the club, but Jesse was able to observe a lot from behind the bar. He didn’t think Linnea had the slightest clue how either of his cousins felt. Kyan watched that girl from afar like the big bad wolf salivating for his dinner. Dillon’s affection was subtle, but obvious to Jesse nevertheless. He always went out of his way to do little things for her. Always seemed to look out for her.
Idiots.
Like he was any better? He wasn’t. Of the three of them, he was probably the biggest idiot of all. He’d been blatantly flirting with Chloe for months, leading her to believe…yeah.
You’re an asshole, Nolan!
That was going to change starting right now. Maybe he was conflicted, but Jesse had never lied to her. It was just…complicated. He was going to do everything in his power to uncomplicate it. He just wasn’t quite sure how.
Kyan set his beer down in front of him. “I just had something I needed to do. Sorry, bro.”
Sure you did, cousin.
“More like someone he needed to do,” Jesse deadpanned.
“Who was she?” Dillon chuckled.
“Linnie.”
Jesse snapped his head toward the sound of Chloe’s melodic voice. She strolled into the bar wearing an enigmatic smirk, rolled her eyes at him, and took a seat next to Dillon. “He didn’t do her though.”
Her announcement confirmed what he’d suspected all along.
Chloe was ginning at Kyan, tapping her perfectly manicured nails on the polished wood bar top. Jesse pressed his lips together to stifle a smirk. He was having a hard time keeping it to himself as he watched his cousin stare at Kyan with the oddest expression on his face. Dillon obviously wasn’t happy about Chloe’s revelation. At. All.
Sorry, Dill. You snooze, you lose, cousin.
Jesse was only starting to understand that adage. He didn’t lose. Ever. The word wasn’t in his vocabulary.
