The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2)(36)

"They're not adequate," he admitted. "In traditional floral symbolism, orange or red would have been more appropriate. But it was either these or some lavender ones, and you just don't seem like a purple person."

"Thank you," I said, more firmly this time. As I breathed in the roses' sweet scent on the way to Spencer's, I realized that no one had ever given me flowers before.

We reached the coffee shop soon thereafter. I got out of the car, and in a flash, Brayden was right by my side so that he could shut the door for me. We went inside, and I was almost relieved to see Trey working. His teasing would be a nice return to normality, seeing as my life had just detoured into Crazyland.

Trey didn't even notice us at first. He was speaking intently to someone on the other side of the counter, a guy a little older than us. The guy's tanned skin, black hair, and similar facial features tipped me off pretty quickly that he and Trey were related. Brayden and I waited discreetly behind the guy, and Trey finally looked up, an astonishingly grim expression on his face that was pretty out of character. He looked surprised when he saw us, but then seemed to relax a little.

"Melbourne, Cartwright. Here for a little post-windmill caffeine?"

"You know I never drink caffeine after four," said Brayden. "But Sydney needs something for her teacher."

"Ah," said Trey. "The usual for you and Ms. T?"

"Yeah, but make mine iced this time."

Trey gave me a knowing look. "Need to cool down a little, huh?" I rolled my eyes.

The guy ahead of us was still standing around, and Trey nodded toward him while grabbing two cups. "This is my cousin Chris. Chris, this is Sydney and Brayden." This must have been Trey's "perfect" cousin. At a glance, I saw little that marked him as better than Trey, except maybe his height. Chris was pretty tall. Not Dimitri-tall, but still tall.

Otherwise, they both had similar good looks and an athletic build. Chris even had some of the same bruises and scrapes Trey often sported, making me wonder if there was a family connection to sports as well. Regardless, Chris hardly seemed like anyone Trey should be intimidated by, but then, I was biased by our friendship.

"Where are you here from?" I asked.

"San Francisco," said Chris.

"How long are you in town?" asked Brayden.

Chris gave Brayden a wary look. "Why do you want to know?" Brayden looked surprised, and I didn't blame him. Before either of us could figure out the next move in the small-talk handbook, Trey hurried back over. "Relax, C. They're just being nice. It's not like they work for some spy agency."

Well, Brayden didn't.

"Sorry," said Chris, not actually sounding that sorry. That was a difference between the cousins, I realized. Trey would've laughed off his mistake. He never actually would have made the mistake. There were definitely different levels of friendliness in this family. "A couple weeks."

Neither Brayden nor I dared say anything after that, and mercifully, Chris chose that opportunity to leave, with a promise to call Trey later. When he was gone, Trey shook his head apologetically and set the completed coffees on the counter. I reached for my wallet, but Brayden waved me away and paid.

Trey handed Brayden back his change. "Next week's schedule's already up."

"It is?" Brayden glanced over at me. "Mind if I go in the back room for a second? Figuratively, of course."

"Go ahead," I said. As soon as he was gone, I turned frantically to Trey. "I need your help." Trey's eyebrows rose. "Words I never thought I'd hear from you." That made two of us, but I was at a loss, and Trey was my only source of help right now.

"Brayden got me flowers," I declared. I wasn't going to mention the kiss.

"And?"

"And, why'd he do it?"

"Because he likes you, Melbourne. That's what guys do. They buy dinner and gifts, hoping that in return you'll - um, like them back."

"But I argued with him," I hissed, glancing anxiously at the door Brayden had gone through. "Like, just before he got me the flowers, I gave him this big lecture about how he was wrong about alternative sources of energy."

"Wait, wait," said Trey. "You told... you told Brayden Cartwright he was wrong?" I nodded. "So why'd he react like he did?"

Trey laughed, a big, full laugh that I was certain would draw Brayden back. "People don't tell him he's wrong."

"Yeah, I figured."

"And girls especially don't tell him he's wrong. You're probably the only girl who's ever done it. You're probably the only girl smart enough to do it." I was getting impatient. "I get that. So why the flowers? Why the compliments?" Trey shook his head and looked like he was about to start laughing again. "Melbourne, if you don't know, then I'm not going to tell you."

I was too worried about Brayden returning to comment further on Trey's useless "advice." Instead, I said, "Is Chris the perfect cousin you were talking about?" Trey's smirk faded. "That's the one. Anything I can do, he can do better." I immediately regretted asking. Trey, like Adrian, was one of those people I didn't like seeing troubled. "Well. He didn't seem so perfect to me. Probably I'm biased from being around you all the time. You set the standard for perfection." That brought Trey's smile back. "Sorry about his attitude. He's always been like that. Not the most charming branch of the Juarez family tree. That's me, of course."