He might actually have a knack for this cooking thing. If nothing else, he’d eat a lot less take-out food. And that wasn’t a bad thing.
He had everything washed, dried and put away when the doorbell rang. It was Aubry, holding two bags of groceries.
“There’s more in the car,” she said. “If you’d like to go get those, I’ll start putting these away.”
“Okay.” He went out and grabbed the rest of the bags, shut the trunk of her car and came back inside.
“I’m making guesses as to where you want this stuff,” she said as he laid the bags on the island.
“Wherever you want to put things is fine.”
They unloaded all the bags, then Aubry leaned against the island.
“Okay. I got amazing salmon steaks. I’m already hungry just thinking about it.”
“Me, too.”
“When do your brothers get in?”
He grabbed his phone and checked the time. “They should be here soon.”
“I also bought beer. Like, lots of beer. You said the guys like beer.”
He laughed. “Yeah, I noticed the beer. I already had some, but they drink like fish. I think we’ll have plenty.”
“I got wine, too, which is chilling in the fridge. I should probably start the marinade for the salmon.”
She started toward the fridge, but he grabbed her hand. “There’s no hurry on that, Aubry. You should open the wine, pour yourself a glass and relax.”
She looked at him like he’d just sprouted two heads. “Relax? We’re cooking for your brothers tonight. How am I supposed to relax? I’m still a novice at this cooking thing, Tucker.”
“And my brothers eat hot dogs from the microwave. They’re hardly culinary connoisseurs. So . . . chill, okay?”
She took a deep breath, then let it out. “Clearly, I’m slightly nervous about this. You and I playing in the kitchen together is one thing. Cooking for someone else is different.”
He pulled her toward him, brushing his fingers against her hand. “They’re not someone else. They’re my brothers. You could fix them a bowl of cereal and they’d be happy. Just relax.”
“Fine. I’m opening the wine.”
He smiled, shook his head and grabbed a beer as she went for the wine. Just then, the doorbell rang.
“Get your wine. I’ll get the door.”
He opened the door to his brothers Barrett and Flynn.
“Hey, asshole,” Barrett said, but then hugged him as he stepped inside.
“Hey yourself, dickhead.”
“I don’t smell anything, other than you,” Flynn said, hugging him. “Is dinner ready yet?”
He hugged Flynn. “We haven’t started yet. Waiting for you to pitch in.”
They laid their bags inside the front door.
“I can cook a masterpiece of a meal for you with hot dogs and a cucumber,” Flynn said. “Let me at your kitchen.”
Barrett snorted. “I’d rather go for fast food than eat something you’ve cooked, Flynn.”
“You’ve obviously never eaten my cooking,” Flynn said, he and Barrett following Tucker into the kitchen. “I’m good at this shit.”
Aubry was leaning against the counter, glass of wine in her hand. “Aubry, you met Barrett before. This is my brother Flynn.”
She pushed off the counter and shook Flynn’s hand. “Nice to meet you, Flynn.”
“You too, Aubry. I hear you and my brother have become master chefs.”
She laughed. “Hardly. I hope Tucker didn’t set your expectations too high for this meal. We’re very new at cooking.” She turned to Tucker. “Maybe I should have bought hot dogs as a backup, just in case.”
“Don’t worry, honey,” Barrett said. “We’re here to help pitch in.”
“Yeah, if we were nuking hot dogs,” Tucker said. “Which we aren’t.”
Barrett glared at Tucker. “Screw you. I can cook.”
“No, you can make hot dogs, Barrett. I can cook,” Flynn said.
“Neither of you can cook.” Tucker went to the fridge and grabbed three beers, handing two over to his brothers and keeping one for himself. “Aubry and I are in charge of this meal tonight.”
“So Barrett and I will just hang out and look pretty,” Flynn said.
“That’s what you two are good at,” Tucker said. “The hanging out part. Not the pretty part.”
Aubry hid her smirk as she followed the three brothers into the living room. If nothing else, this evening should be entertaining. When she’d met Grant and Barrett a while back, she’d been in work mode, treating Tucker for an injury, so she hadn’t had much time or focus to truly capture the camaraderie among the brothers. Now, though, and despite a little trepidation about the upcoming dinner she and Tucker were cooking, she intended to relax and enjoy this.
She slid into a spot on the sofa next to Tucker. “Tucker tells me you’re in town for one of the kid’s school events? Grant’s girlfriend’s brother, if I recall?”
“Yeah,” Flynn said. “Leo plays football, but right now he’s playing baseball. His team is in the championships, so we decided since we were both traveling, we’d head over here and catch the championship games.”