so far, so a new way was the only way.
His sister-in-law looked at him critically for several moments before she smiled and patted his arm. He’d have paid half his bank account to know what she was thinking when she got that twinkle in her eyes.
“I wouldn’t mind having my best friend be my sister-in-law as a Christmas present,” she finally said. “I think, as a matter of fact, that I’m going to head on over and have lunch.” He’d gained an ally. He wanted to get up and do a dance, he was so happy about it.
The timer on the oven went off, and Sarah left him sitting there alone as she pulled the last pan from the oven and turned it off.
“She might hide from you like she did me when I went in there a few days ago,” he warned.
“Chloe is one of two of my best friends. We never hide from each other,” Sarah insisted. Then she took off her apron and walked back over to him. “Don’t mess this up, or I’ll have your brother pound you. And then when you’re weak, I’ll kick you while you’re down.” She said it with such an innocent smile he couldn’t help but laugh. If only the world knew how tough Sarah truly was.
“I could easily take my brother,” he said with a smile. There was no way he was going to say he could take her, because he knew he couldn’t. There was no chance of winning a battle you refused to fight.
“Isn’t that cute? That’s exactly what he says about you,” she said with a laugh before she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I think you are worthy, Brandon. And I also think you shouldn’t give up.”
He wasn’t sure she could’ve said anything that would’ve shocked him more. But he was more than happy to have her full-blown approval. That would make a huge difference in how Chloe would react to him. One bestie down; one to go, he thought a bit too smugly.
“I love you, sis,” he said, meaning it.
“I love you, too. Now I’m leaving before this magical moment fades,” Sarah said. She bounced away.
Brandon sat in his kitchen for a very long time. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do next, but he wondered how long he was going to be able to hold out before seeing Chloe again. He had a feeling it would be sooner rather than later.
He finished off a pan of cookies and didn’t realize what a mistake that was until he stood, his stomach bloated and cramping. Maybe it wasn’t wise for anyone to bake in his house. He’d get fat and lazy in no time.
Before he was going to do anything else that day, he’d have to lie down. But as he did, he couldn’t help but smile. His cookie binge was 100 percent worth it. He’d gained a new ally on his side and had the best lunch he’d ever eaten. So far his day was a win. Next, he’d have to win the girl. It could be done.
CHAPTER NINE
Chloe was mystified. She liked to continuously be doing something and always have her mind turning, but right now she felt stuck. She couldn’t even begin to figure out Brandon. She wasn’t sure how to respond to him now after their walk.
The man had always seemed like the class clown from the first day she’d met him. She never would’ve guessed he was anything like her—motivated, competitive, and eager to win without hurting anyone in the process. He was so much deeper than she’d imagined he would be. And that wasn’t helping her not like him.
He was like a dang spider, slowly weaving a web that was drawing her in. The more he spun his web, the more she wanted to see how it would be completed.
She wasn’t sure what to do to stop it or even if she could stop it at this point. She sat at her favorite place on a pier overlooking the lake and mountains surrounding her small town of Cranston, and she was a hot mess.
As long as her thoughts were filled with Brandon, she wasn’t concentrating on her restaurant, and she couldn’t concentrate on the veterans project that she was being drawn into. Was that because she wanted to help the community? Or was it because she wanted an excuse to be near Brandon without feeling she was caving? She couldn’t honestly answer the