“It went good. Amelia has all the experience I need. We’ll see how her cooking skills measure up when she gets here tonight.”
“I can’t wait. What’s she cooking for us tonight?”
“I don’t have any idea. She wouldn’t let me do any of the shopping, insisting on doing it herself.”
“Really. That’s interesting.”
“She said something about needing to prep stuff in advance and choosing the ingredients herself.”
“What difference does that make?” Barrett asked.
“I have no idea.”
Harmony shifted to face Flynn. “Well, you like to cook, right?”
“Yeah.”
“How important is it to you to be able to choose your own food, your own ingredients?”
She watched as Flynn pondered it for a few seconds, then shrugged. “Not at all. If I walked into a kitchen where the raw ingredients were already there, I could still dig in and cook.”
“Okay, then maybe it’s something that’s important to Amelia. It’s part of her process.”
“I guess so.”
The doorbell rang. Flynn got up to answer it and pulled the door open.
Harmony got up as well and saw a stunning blonde standing at the door with a large roasting pan cradled in her arms.
“Here, take this,” she said. “I have some other things in the car.”
“Barrett,” Flynn said, “come here.”
“I’ve got this,” Harmony said, taking the pan from Flynn. She took it into the kitchen and, since the pan wasn’t hot, laid it on the kitchen counter.
Flynn, Barrett and Amelia walked in with several bags.
“I could have taken you shopping,” Flynn said.
She waved her hand. “I didn’t need you to take me shopping.”
“And what’s this?” Flynn asked, motioning to the pan.
“I’m soaking cedar in apple cider.”
“I could have done that for you as well. Did you buy the roasting pan?”
“I did.”
“I have roasting pans here.”
She lifted her chin. “I have my own methods, and I didn’t mind buying the pan. And if you’re worried about reimbursing me for the pan, don’t bother.”
“Did I say I was worried about reimbursing you? And of course I intend to pay for everything. I’m the one who invited you here to cook.”
She waved her hand at him. “Whatever.” She turned and smiled at Harmony and Barrett. “Hi. I’m Amelia Lawrence.”
Harmony held out her hand. “Harmony Evans.”
“I’m Flynn’s brother Barrett. Nice to meet you, Amelia.”
“We’re so thrilled to have you here tonight to cook for us,” Harmony said, setting her glass of tea on the counter. “I was just about to refill my iced tea. Would you like a glass?”
“I’d love one, Harmony. Thank you.”
She fixed the glasses of tea then handed one off to Amelia, who had already tied her hair back, put on an apron, and was busy opening all of Flynn’s cabinets and pulling out pots, pans, mixers, and generally taking over his kitchen. Flynn, in the meantime, had grabbed another beer and a stool at the kitchen island.
“I think we’ll get out of their way,” Harmony said.
Barrett just shrugged and followed her into the living room.
“Wasn’t that interesting?” she asked as she and Barrett took their seats on the sofa.
“What?”
“The sparks between your brother and Amelia.”
“Really?” Barrett looked into the kitchen, where Amelia was whipping something with a whisk. “I thought it was more like her being snippy, and him being a dick.”
She laughed. “That’s what I mean. Sparks. It wasn’t like he didn’t like her. The chemistry between them is intense.”
“You think so, huh?”
“I definitely think so.”
“I guess you’d know about all the chemistry stuff.”
She shifted her focus away from what was going on in the kitchen and onto Barrett. “Excuse me? What does that mean?”
He picked up a piece of her hair and played with it. “It means, woman, that you have loads of chemistry. It’s why I can’t take my eyes—or my hands—off of you.”
“Oh.” She smiled.
“And what did you think I meant by that? Some sexist remark?”
She laughed. “Actually, yes.”
“There you go, disparaging my gender again.”
“Sorry.” She laid her hand on his knee. “I promise to make it up to you later. When we have some alone time.”
He ran his fingers up her bare leg, making goose bumps break out on her skin.
“Have I mentioned to you how much I’m looking forward to being alone with you?”
“You have not.”
“I was thinking earlier that I wished we had stayed at a hotel. Then I could have you to myself.”
She liked hearing that, and she had to admit she’d had similar thoughts. “But you need to see your brother.”
He let out a laugh. “I see more than enough of him. You, on the other hand, I haven’t seen nearly enough of. In fact, right now, I’d like to pull you onto my lap, lift your dress and rub your * until you start moaning.”
She shifted her gaze to the kitchen, where Flynn was acting as assistant to Amelia, who was barking orders at him. An amusing sight.
Meanwhile, Barrett was distracting her by walking his fingers ever closer to the hem of her dress. When his fingers disappeared, she inched away.