10

Taylor scowled at the toilet she was cleaning and silently cursed Christian again for the third time that day. “He will die by my hands,” she muttered to herself while she scrubbed it for the last time and flipped the seat down.

“Who’s that?” Someone said teasingly from behind her.

She yelled out in surprise and whipped around, accidentally slapping the person’s face with the scrub brush.

Christian jerked back, cheek wet with toilet water. “Taylor!”

Taylor’s eyes widened, as the brush slipped through her fingers to make a soft thud on the ground. A bubble of laughter rippled through her and she fought it hard as she watched water drip from Christian’s face. One corner of her mouth tugged up and she quickly covered it with her hand.

“Taylor,” he growled, stepping towards her menacingly.

“Christian,” she said lifting her hands innocently, “let’s talk about this like adults...” She ducked under his arm and booked it out of the bathroom as fast as she could. “Tomorrow!” she yelled as the door swung shut behind her.

She dashed through the cafe, passing George, who was ringing a customer through and Carson, who was delivering large cappuccinos to two teenage girls and up the stairs to the break room. Once there, she let the laughter overtake her. She hadn’t meant to hit Christian with the toilet brush, but wasn’t that just poetic justice at work?

It wasn’t long before she heard his footsteps pounding up the stairs. She backed away from the door and waited.

He appeared at the threshold, his eyes narrowed as he watched her. “You did that on purpose.”

Taylor shook her head, biting her lip to hold back her smile. “Of course, I didn’t.”

He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. She shifted backwards.

“This is payback for me putting you on bathroom duty all week.” He was getting closer.

She inched backwards. “Man, you are paranoid. You should do something about that.”

Her back hit the wall and she winced. There was nowhere left to go now. She watched him close the gap between them until he was right in front of her.

He yanked her towards him. “You,” he began, locking her head underneath his arm, “are a dead man.”

She wiggled, trying to get out of his grasp but it was no use. He made a fist with his right hand and she gasped. He wasn’t going to punch her was he? The knuckles of his fist began to rub against her head. “A noogie? Really? ...OW!”

She heard him chuckle and she rolled her eyes as he continued to rub. “Damn it—ow! Will you stop that?”

“What the hell is going on here and most importantly why wasn’t I invited?”

Christian turned with Taylor still locked in his hold, and raised both brows at a grinning Carson and a frowning Isabel.

“We heard yelling so we thought something was wrong,” Isabel said, her eyes going back and forth between the two.

“Something is wrong,” Taylor replied, sending them a pleading look. “A little help here.”

Carson shook his head. “I learned a long time ago never to step in between a lover’s spat.”

Isabel’s eyes flew to Christian’s face, her eyes narrowing, and Taylor almost laughed at her intense gaze. Isabel didn’t actually think that they were together, did she? Taylor’s heart leapt at the thought but she smothered it quickly.

She looked up just in time to catch Christian shoot a look at Carson before he finally released her. She stumbled out of his grasp and touched her neck delicately. “I can’t believe you’re twenty-six.”

He shrugged. “An eye for an eye.”

“Real mature, toilet face,” she said, eyes sparkling mischievously.

“What did you call me?” He took a step towards her and she jumped back. She pivoted around, squeezed between Carson and Isabel, and dashed out of the room.

She paused on the staircase waiting to see if he would follow her. She heard him mutter, “That brat,” laughter clear in his voice and she grinned to herself. She liked the way he made the word “brat” sound like an endearment.

“Toilet face? Do I even want to know?” Carson asked.

There was a slight pause.

“No,” was the abrupt response.

...

Alana walked into the shop a few minutes before closing time. Taylor looked up from counting her till to wave at her. “Hey Alana.”

“Hey Taylor!”she said with a smile.

She looked lovely as usual, Taylor thought. Fresh and pretty as ever in high boots and a tailored white coat. She made Taylor feel gross and dumpy in her creased and coffee stained work clothes.

“Alana.” Christian stepped from behind the counter to greet her. “What are you doing here?” He gave her a one-armed hugged before ushering her to a stool.

“I came by because I have a proposition for you,” she said, her brown eyes twinkling up at him.

“Uh oh,” Carson said, as he stepped out of the kitchen to greet her.

She ignored her brother and continued. “I know things have been kind of slow for you guys lately and I thought there must be something we can do to get butts into seats. And then I figured it out.”

Christian waited for her to continue, a patient smile on his face.

“How about you hold events here after hours?” She got up from her seat and walked around the empty room. “You have loads of room inside and outside, right? It’s such a great space that I think you should consider holding cool functions here. And I have the perfect event!”

“Oh really?” he said with a grin.

“A couple of my friends want to do an art auction to raise money for Art 4 Us; you know that charity that helps raise money so that kids can learn art? I told them that this would be the perfect venue to hold the event.”

She raised both hands towards a far wall. “Line up artwork on these walls. Set a band in the corner for some live music and serve food and your amazing coffee and it’s the art shindig of the year! The Brew House will be in every paper and blog by morning. What do you think?”

Carson looked at Alana with astonishment. “You thought this up all by yourself? That’s not a half bad plan, squirt.”

“Oh, shut up,” she said, keeping her eyes on Christian. “Christian?”

Christian continued to smile at her, but now a look of approval gleamed in his eyes. “Unlike this idiot, you got the best parts of your gene pool. It’s a great idea, kiddo.” He gently rubbed her hair and Taylor looked away at the sight.

Taylor hated that she begrudged the way Christian treated Alana but she couldn't help herself. Christian was always so caring and attentive where Alana was concerned and it made her want to roll her eyes. Alana wasn’t a kid or a puppy, yet he treated her with the kind of sweet delicacy that made Taylor’s teeth grind.

“What do you think, Taylor?” Alana asked turning to look at her.

Taylor shut the till, mentally shaking away her irritated feelings, and looked up with a smile. “I agree that it’s a great idea. It’s better than anything these dummies could have come up with on their own anyway,” she said dryly.

“With these looks, who needs brains?” Carson said with a wink.

She started to laugh but was cut off by Christian grabbing her around the neck in a loose chokehold.

“Will you stop that?”

“Nah,” Christian responded as he turned back to a suddenly fascinated looking Alana. “When do you want to do the auction?”

“Uh,” Alana looked away from Christian’s arm around Taylor’s neck to look up at his face. “Next weekend?”

“Alright,” he said with a nod. “We’ll book it for then. Give me a few minutes to clean up and I’ll drive you home.” He moved towards the stairs, dragging Taylor along with him who was alternating between laughing and cursing at him the entire way.

Alana watched them go up the stairs until they disappeared. She whipped around to look at Carson who had also been watching the pair. “Do I want to know what’s going on between those two?” she asked bemusedly.

Carson shrugged but then started to whistle a few bars of “Can you feel the love tonight?” as he made his way back to the kitchen.

Alana put her hands on her hips, her eyes swinging from the kitchen door to the staircase and finally back to the kitchen door. “Is that a no?”

...

Live upbeat music and laughter filled the Brew House as people dressed in various ensembles of black, white and red – the colors of the Art 4 Us logo – moved easily through the space.

A few tables and lounging chairs were scattered around the room but most were removed to create a movable space so that art lovers could peruse the works of art on the walls or walk around the sculptures in the room.

Christian, wearing a tailored black jacket, a red gingham shirt, dark denim, and black Vans, was working the coffee bar. A flash went off and he looked over by the fireplace to see Alana and Carson taking a picture with Amelia Bayle of the society papers.

His mouth quirked up at the sight as he went back to making the signature chocolate and coffee martinis he’d thought up for the party.  

Taylor walked up to the bar, dressed in the black corduroy blazer that he’d bought for him when they’d first met, a white tee, and dark jeans, and placed his tray down on the counter. Christian was so used to seeing him in his work uniform or baggy sportswear that it was a shock to his system to see him dressed that way. He’d almost forgotten that Taylor was kind of ... good-looking. For a dude.

“Christian!” Taylor yelled over the noise.

“What is it, Mooreland?”

“Great party, huh?” he said with a grin.

Christian smirked. “You don’t get out much, do you?”

Taylor rolled his eyes. “Shut up and get me another round of the house special, okay?”

Christian laughed. He didn’t know why he got off on teasing Taylor but he did. From the very beginning he’d done it but the inclination had gotten even worse lately. He enjoyed how quickly Taylor got annoyed, like he’d never been teased before, and how his good-naturedness eventually would get the better of him and he’d end up cracking up too.

Ever since they’d had that talk at his house, Christian felt a certain closeness with Taylor. He normally didn’t open up about his family with anyone but talking to Taylor about his dad had felt right. Taylor was low maintenance and uncomplicated and he made Christian feel an easiness that he only felt with people he’d known forever. Something inside him warned him not to get too close too fast, but he had to admit that it was probably too late for that.

Taylor’s fingers were tapping rhythmically against the countertop and Christian noticed how slim they were. His hands looked small enough to fit easily into his own. Why had he never noticed that Taye’s hands were so delicate looking before?

Christian glanced at his face. Taylor was looking back at the room, his head bopping to the music, a small smile playing on his lips. There was something about the way the light was hitting his profile that did something to Christian’s insides. The way it softened the sharp angles of his cheeks, making his neck look long and delicate, making him look ... Beautiful, Christian realized with a pang.

Christian stumbled a little at the thought. Taylor wasn’t beautiful. Taylor was Taylor - his funny, sometimes surprising, little buddy. Nothing more. What the hell was wrong with him?

“Here,” he barked, pushing the new batch of martinis towards him. He avoided Taylor’s eyes, making a show of pouring more martinis.

Taylor said something but he ignored it, instead he looked out into the crowd to take stock of the women in the room. It had clearly been too long since he’d last been with a woman if he was finding Taylor of all people beautiful. Isabel walked into his sight line wearing a short, tight dress and fire engine red lipstick. He’d kept away from her after he’d mistakenly led her on the night of the renovation party but she never hid the fact that she was attracted to him and looking for a good time. Why shouldn’t he take what she was offering?

She stopped at the bar, sliding her tray towards him.

“Ready for another round?” he asked.

She caught his eyes with hers. “Always ready,” she said, her lips curving up slowly, the suggestion in her eyes unmistakable.

He felt Taylor’s gaze on his profile, as if he was waiting for Christian’s response and a rebellious part of him reacted instinctively. He gave Isabel a sensual smile, languid like hot, thick caramel. “Is that a promise?”

She dropped her gaze to his lips as her tongue glided over her own. “It can be,” she purred.

“It will be,” he countered, his eyes catching hers for a few hot seconds before he placed the drinks on the tray and slid it back to her.

He heard a choking noise coming from Taylor’s direction. He ignored it. Someone called him from the other side of the bar and after giving Isabel another slow smile, he walked away.

He could feel Taylor’s gaze on his back and his chest tightened.

He flexed his shoulders as if to shake it off. If he wanted to hook up with Isabel on his own time that was his own damn business. What right did Taylor have to judge him?

And why did he suddenly feel so hollow?

...

Taylor stared at Christian’s back in disbelief, her cheeks slightly burning at the performance she’d just witnessed.

It will be? She sputtered out an incredulous laugh. Give me a break. Isabel turned slightly at the sound and looked over at her.

“Oh. It’s you. Didn’t see you there,” she said, her voice dripping with disdain.

Taylor mentally pulled back at the tone. Where had that come from? Isabel tended to get pretty nasty when it came to women who threatened her “relationship” with Christian but Isabel had nothing to fear from her, so why the attitude?

Isabel pursed her lips and gave the tray of drinks in front of Taylor a long look. “Shouldn’t you be handing those out?”

“Shouldn’t you?” she retorted, looking at Isabel’s tray, and then instantly regretted it. Why was she engaging in this pettiness? It wasn’t like her at all.

Isabel lifted her chin stubbornly. “I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I like Christian and want some alone time with him. And I’m pretty sure he’s into me too.” Her eyes narrowed as she gave Taylor a long once-over. “So, what’s your excuse?”

Taylor looked away from Isabel’s cold stare suddenly feeling transparent and vulnerable. She picked up her tray. “Relax,” she said with a short laugh, ignoring the way her heart was racing. “I was just resting my feet. Have at 'im.” She turned her back to Isabel, keeping the stiff smile on her face as she walked away.

The tingling feeling at the back of her neck told her that Isabel was staring at her, so she straightened her back even further. She wasn’t going to give herself away, especially not to Isabel of all people. She had to get this inconsequential, little thing she had for Christian under control before it betrayed her.

Two partygoers took drinks from her tray and she smiled at them. When they were gone, she looked back towards the coffee bar to see that Christian had returned to Isabel. Isabel said something to him that made him smile and Taylor felt the sharp stab of jealousy pierce through her.

Taking a shaky breath, she turned her back on the two and made her way through the throng of people, missing the fact that Christian’s eyes snapped back to her as soon as she looked away.