Only a Millionaire (The Sinclairs #6.5)(7)

The real world just sucked sometimes.





CHAPTER 4

BROOKE



After I left Brew Magic, I ducked into the small candy store on Main Street, happy to see it was still open. There was only one other person in the shop, and I recognized her immediately.

“Hi, Tessa,” I greeted the other patron cordially. I didn’t know Liam’s sister well, but she’d been very nice to me every time we ran into each other or when she was covering in the restaurant.

The pretty blonde turned her head away from the cashier to greet me. “Brooke,” she said with a smile. “It’s great to see you. Are you coming in for a late-night snack, too?”

I grinned back at her. “More like feeding my obsession. I love the toffee almond bark. Please tell me you just bought the last of it so I don’t take a bag home with me.”

She laughed, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “Sorry. I did get some, but there’s still half of a tray left.”

So much for hoping I wouldn’t be able to get my fix. The confection went straight to my hips, but I couldn’t resist the chance to pick some up since the shop was still open. “There’s no hope for me, then. I’ll have to exercise more.”

The small store was filled with the tantalizing scent of chocolate, and my mouth was already watering.

“I think you can afford the extra calories,” Tessa answered. “I really can’t, but Micah and I can get back outside to do our runs now, so it won’t be that bad.”

“Where is Micah?” I questioned. Tessa’s handsome husband was almost always with her.

“Overnight event in North Carolina. His company is hosting the annual extreme-sports event there.”

Tessa finished up paying, and I gave the clerk my order. I expected Tessa to exit when she was done, but she waited until I finished talking to the cashier, and then said, “I saw Liam earlier at the restaurant. He said you wanted to leave.”

I sighed. News traveled fast in Amesport. “It isn’t that I really want to go, but I have a life back in California. It was always a temporary job for me.”

She nodded “Liam told me everything tonight. I wish you were staying. Liam has been a lot happier with you around.”

I smiled. “You mean what I’ve been seeing is Liam’s upbeat mood?”

“I know it sounds strange, but my brother has always been quiet. He never was much of a talker.”

“That I believe.”

“He’s never really opened up that much to me,” Tessa confided. “Maybe he always felt like he needed to take care of me because I was his little sister first, and then I was his deaf little sister.”

“I know what it’s like to have an older brother,” I told her. “I have three of them.”

She shook her head and gave me a sympathetic look. “I can’t imagine having three older brothers. Just Liam is more than enough.”

Noah, Seth, and Aiden weren’t quite as intense as Liam, but Jade and I got bossed around from every direction. “It’s not always bad,” I said. “At least I have a guy around to fix my car when I need it. They’re all pretty mechanical.”

“At least that’s something,” she said skeptically, like there was no way in hell she needed that many overbearing men in her life. “When are you leaving?”

“I just gave Liam my notice. I gave him two weeks to bring in somebody else.”

“I can help him cover, but I know he’s going to miss you. I don’t think he realizes how much he talks about you.”

“He does?” I answered in surprise. “He barely talks to me.”

She studied me carefully, which was a little uncomfortable, before she said, “I was kind of hoping you two might hook up.”

I shrugged. “That wasn’t something Liam was interested in pursuing.”

I saw no reason to bullshit Tessa anymore. I wouldn’t be around much longer.

“He was definitely interested,” she countered. “I’m not sure why he didn’t pursue you.”

I knew why, but I didn’t want to explain all of that to Tessa. Liam had obviously not told her about my so-called boyfriend. “It just never worked out,” I said vaguely. “I guess it’s better that way, since my whole life is on another coast.”

Tessa changed the subject as I paid for my evil snack. “I saw you in the coffee shop with Evan.”

“We’re friends,” I was quick to inform her. “He knows my eldest brother, Noah.”

The last thing anybody would assume was that Evan would ever step out with another love interest when he had a woman he worshipped like he did his wife, Miranda. But I wanted to clarify.

Tessa rolled her eyes. “I know that. Evan would die for Randi. You don’t need to defend having coffee with him. You two just seemed so comfortable. Evan isn’t much of a talker, just like Liam.”

“He talks when he wants to,” I shared, thinking about how he’d just finished grilling me about Liam.

“Most men do,” Tessa said with a smile. “Brooke, I know you won’t be around long, but if you ever need somebody to talk to, I’m a good listener. I wish we would have had more time to get to know each other, but we were always so busy at the restaurant.”