Page 49 of Flirting with Trouble

“I can’t speak for Seth, but I didn’t see a reason to mention it until he and I were sure we were moving forward with it.”

I guess that makes sense. “When did you guys start talking about this?”

“The morning after you and I got together at the bar. I met with him to pick his brain about opening a business here, and that’s when he brought up the idea of partnering. I had to be honest and tell him I was interested in you, but I did not tell him we hooked up. I just said I was into you, and I hoped you’d give me the chance to get to know you better, and if that was a problem, then we shouldn’t even discuss partnering.”

You’d give up a business opportunity on the off chance that I’d want to get to know you better? As that sinks in, I remember that Seth said Wells was all wrong for me. “What did Seth say to that?”

“He said he didn’t get involved in your personal life and that whatever did or didn’t happen between you and me wouldn’t affect our business relationship. I’m sorry if I overstepped, but I couldn’t talk about partnering without being honest with him.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t overstep. I’m just surprised neither of you mentioned it to me. But I think I’m the one who overstepped,” I say apologetically.

“What do you mean?”

“Seth has always been my confidant, and I was sort of freaking out when I left your hotel that first night and I called him.”

Wells’s brows slant. “He knew we’d gotten together?”

“Yes.” I nod, unsure if I should be amused by the situation or irritated at my brother. But if anyone has a right to be annoyed, it’s Wells. I demanded he keep this between us, and I spilled the beans. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. He’s a loyal brother. He never let on that he knew.”

“He’s good at keeping secrets.” Apparently too good. “Does he know we got together after the birthday party or that we’re going to see a band tonight?”

“He doesn’t know about after the party, but he invited me to dinner tonight, and I told him I’d heard about a band that I thought you should see and that we were going to check it out. He seemed happy that you were interested in scouting again.”

“Yeah. It’s been a while.”

I glance out the window, wondering why Seth hasn’t called me, given all that he knows. Maybe Seth doesn’t think anything of my friendship with Wells, since he believes Wells is all wrong for me. I thought he was, too, but he’s been surprising me at every turn, showing up at the party, sending me sushi, talking for hours, watching the sunset, playing games, sending pictures, and now, taking me to do something else I haven’t done in years.

As I turn my attention back to Wells, I catch a glimpse out the front of the car and realize we’re heading out of the city. “Wells, where are we going to see this band?”

“To a park in Baltimore,” he says casually, as if he said Greenwich Village.

“Baltimore, Maryland? That’s hours away.”

“Not for us. Tessa Remington is a pilot. She’s meeting us at Teterboro Airport and flying us there. There will be a car waiting to take us to the event when we land.”

Shock and elation bubble up inside me. “Who are you?”

He cocks a grin. “Just a guy who thinks you shouldn’t give up your passions and likes to see you smile.”

He is so wrong. He isn’t just anything.

After everything I’ve heard about Wells from his friends about being a player who doesn’t take anything but his restaurant seriously, it makes me wonder if they really know him at all—and if Seth and I were both wrong, too.

Chapter Eleven

Wells

The Battle of the Bands is everything I hoped it would be for Victory. We grabbed burgers from a food truck and found a spot among the crowd in the grass. Hundreds of people are milling about, singing, dancing, eating, playing air guitars, and beating invisible drums as another band rocks out onstage. Thumping bass and screeching guitar riffs blast through massive speakers, electrifying the air and reverberating in my chest as we dance.

Seeing Victory this happy and relaxed is like watching a butterfly emerge from its cocoon. Gone are her professional demeanor and sleek, styled waves, replaced with a new carefree energy and a wild mane that bounces over her shoulders as she moves to the beat. It’s hard to imagine how she reins in all this energy on a daily basis to be the woman she wants the world to see. What’s even more curious is why she wants to.

As the song comes to an end, the crowd explodes into applause and cheers, and Victory’s hands shoot up as she joins in, sending beer sloshing over the side of her plastic cup and drenching the front of my shirt.

She gasps. “Sorry!”

We both crack up as she swipes at my chest. I grab her hand, and her smile lights up the night as I pull her into a kiss. “I’m onto you Braden,” I say against those temptingly sweet lips. “If you want me to take my shirt off, all you have to do is ask.”