Two to Tangle (A Tangle Valley Romance #2) - Melissa Brayden Page 0,5

the last word and gave her blond hair an innocent toss.

“Maddie?”

Madison grinned. “Always in for chocolate cake. Is there red?”

“There is. Joey restocked me yesterday, which I have to say is a fantastic perk of this job. Free wine? Sign me up.”

“Well, if you’re pairing food, you need to be constantly reminded what you’re working with. The least we can do is keep you drowning in wine.” She straightened. “I’m thinking the dolcetto would be great with the cake.”

“You would be right,” Gabriella said and sliced up three pieces while Joey busied herself pouring the wine.

“So Ryan will be on and off the jobsite for Tangled, supervising her crew. But she has other sites to oversee as well.” Joey paused mid-pour. “God, I really like the sound of that name. Right this way to Tangled,” she said in the most sophisticated of voices. “Have you eaten at Tangled? The food is to die for.”

“Have I eaten at Tangled?” Madison laughed like a snooty rich person might. A guffaw, really. “Only every week, darling.”

The two of them guffawed together, and Gabriella laughed along, in the best of spirits. Not only were her friends funny and warm, but she was on the precipice of something truly exciting, a restaurant that she would usher into the world from day one of construction to selecting the kind of napkins they’d offer their guests.

Joey turned to her. “You realize that you’re going to have to force yourself to meet regularly with Ryan Jacks, devastatingly sexy contractor. She might toss that dark hair around and show off her dimples while she puts in a backsplash. I pity you. So hard on the eyes.”

Gabriella pretended to fan herself. “I’ll have to find some way to survive.” A pause. “So, Ryan is in charge of all the renovations?”

“Yes, we’ve hired her company, which, the way I understand it, is essentially just her. She’s the draw, and she’ll subcontract out the rest of what she needs. She claims she has the best guys, and the reviews are good. She’s right, but they all mention her specifically.”

Gabriella’s interest was piqued. “What does she call her company?”

“Level Up Contracting.”

She grinned. “Clever. I like it when people try.”

Madison tapped a finger in Gabriella’s direction with a knowing grin. “You’ve got such a crush already, and she hasn’t even started work.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Maybe,” Joey said, weighing in. “But that just means you have a pulse because everyone talks about Ryan, drools over her, longs to be in her presence. It’s always been that way.”

“You guys went to school with her?” Gabriella asked.

Joey squinted and looked to Madison for a consult. “Yes and no. She’s around three years younger. Yeah?”

“Sounds about right,” Madison said.

Madison and Joey were both thirty-one, which likely put Ryan in her late twenties. Gabriella, at thirty-four, felt like the wise soul in the room.

“But I’ve heard a few stories,” Madison supplied from behind her wineglass.

Gabriella turned. “Like what?”

“When it comes to women, and that is where she spends her time, she’s said to be hard to pin down.”

“Well, if I looked like her and was in my late twenties, I’d probably be sowing a few oats myself. Wouldn’t you?”

Madison thought on it. “I feel like I came out of the womb a forty-year-old.”

“That’s because you did.” Joey shook her head. “I don’t understand why anyone would prefer to date multiple people when you could be missing the chance to find your one.”

Madison rolled her eyes. “I don’t think hard-core in-love people who spend more time in the bedroom than out of it are allowed to weigh in. Your thoughts are disqualified due to starry-eyed bias. Take a seat, Wilder.”

Gabriella laughed. “Gotta side with Maddie on this one. Take two seats.”

“Fine. I’m lovesick and owning it. Speaking of which”—Joey pushed the last tiny bite of her cake into her mouth—“I’m going to head back to the Big House and see if Becca’s home, so we can be starry-eyed and biased as a twosome.”

“It’s because I alluded to sex, isn’t it?” Madison said. “Now it’s all you can think about.”

Joey balked. “I’ll say hello first,” she said with a grin over her shoulder. “I hope she’s wearing the white dress shirt today. I really like unbuttoning the white dress shirt.”

“Too much information. Get out of here before the place explodes with giant hearts,” Madison called after her.

When they were alone, Madison straightened. “You seem really excited to get things moving on the restaurant.”

Gabriella shook her head. “You have no idea. It’s the reason I’m