Unexpected Rush (Play-By-Play #11) (20 page)

“And now we’re not?”

This was not coming out like she intended. “No, that’s not what I meant. Now we’ve had sex. So I assumed with you and my brother and you and me and sex, you’d want distance.”

He leaned back in his chair. “Okay, now I’m confused. First, how about we not talk about you and me and sex and your brother in the same sentence ever again, okay?”

She tried not to smile at that. “Okay.”

“Second, sex with you isn’t a one-time thing. That’s not how I saw it, anyway. Did you?”

“Well, that’s not how I wanted it. I just assumed—”

“You assumed wrong. I want you. I wanted you before last night, and I wanted you this morning. I still want you. Which means I’m going to continue to want to have sex with you—a lot. If you’re not okay with that, you need to tell me now.”

Now she did smile. “Oh, I’m totally okay with that.”

“Good.” He picked up a piece of bacon. “Then we’re going to San Francisco this weekend.”

It wasn’t exactly a declaration of love, and they weren’t having a relationship. They were having sex. And according to Barrett, there was going to be a lot of it.

Since she didn’t want either love or a relationship, but she sure as hell wanted more of Barrett, this arrangement worked for her.

For now. And all she wanted was “for now.”

So she was going to go to San Francisco this weekend.

And have sex. A lot of it.

Awesome.

The weather was chilly when they landed in San Francisco. But she was so happy to be here.

She’d caught up on work the past day, had met with clients and had checked on the status of Barrett’s home renovation. Everything was going smoothly and she had nothing on her list that had to be handled right away.

She’d been up late last night sending Rosalie e-mails and a to-do list. Rosalie was probably going to hate her. Then again, Rosalie was competent as hell, so she’d likely have everything on the list done by the time Harmony came back to the office on Monday.

She’d also texted Alyssa to let her know she’d be out of town. She and Alyssa were always in touch, and she hadn’t had a spare second to fill her in on what had been going on with Barrett. She’d tell Alyssa all about it when she got back from her trip.

But she was exhausted by the time the flight took off this morning. Barrett was reading a book on his tablet. She read a book and
enjoyed the breakfast that was served in first class, but after that she leaned her chair back and fell asleep while Barrett watched the movie. He nudged her when the plane was preparing for landing. Despite the long flight, she’d slept soundly and undisturbed. No doubt she had Barrett to thank for that.

Barrett rented a car for them, so they got into the car and he headed off to the city.

Along the way, Harmony enjoyed the spectacular view of San Francisco, from its incredibly bustling freeway system to the gorgeous bridges and stunning skyline. As they went over the Bay Bridge, she wished they could stop in the middle so she could snap some pictures. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.

“I hope we have some time to tour the city while we’re here,” she said.

Barrett looked over at her and smiled. “Sure. It’s a great city. Incredible architecture and history. Amazing food. We’ll get out and wander around.”

She looked forward to that. Before she left town she’d made a list of places she wanted to see, like Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square, Haight-Ashbury, Coit Tower. She also wanted to ride on a cable car, drive down the world’s crookedest street, see Golden Gate Park, Alcatraz . . .

Okay, so she had a long list and maybe they wouldn’t be able to hit everything in a short weekend.

They pulled onto a street filled with beautiful, quaint houses. Barrett pulled into the driveway and Harmony gasped.

“This is it?” she asked.

Barrett turned off the engine. “This is it.”

She got out and walked around the front of the most adorable Craftsman house.

“I hadn’t expected Flynn to have a house, let alone one like this.”

The front yard was charming, with a nice grassy area, beautiful landscaping and an adorable front porch. She walked up the steps to see two chairs and a table on the porch. The front door was painted a dark blue, the rest of the house a lighter shade of blue with pale trim. White shutters framed the picture window.

Barrett joined her. “Yeah, he liked the old place and had it remodeled, inside and out, about a year and a half ago.”

“I can’t wait to see inside.” The interior designer in her vibrated with excitement.

Barrett rang the bell. A few seconds later, the door opened and Flynn was there.

She’d met all the Cassidy brothers because they’d all come to visit Barrett in Tampa over the years.

Flynn was definite eye candy. Tall and imposing like all the Cassidys, Flynn was built like a solid wall of muscle and had amazing arm tattoos.

So. Sexy.

He smiled at Harmony and brought her in for a hug. She had to admit, she liked all of Barrett’s brothers. Besides being incredibly hot, they were all really nice guys. But her attraction had always been to Barrett.

“Barrett told me he was dragging you along,” Flynn said. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me, too. Thanks for letting me come.”

“Hey, I’m always happy to see you.” Flynn moved away from Harmony and hugged his brother. “Good trip?”

“Long damn flight.”

Flynn stood aside so they could walk in. “Tell me about it. Why do you have to live so far away?”

“Why do you?” Barrett asked, as they stepped in.

While the two brothers argued, Harmony took in the amazing
original wood floors, the open, expansive living area and the charming features of the home. It had built-in shelving on either side of the brick fireplace, and wood beams on the ceiling.

“Feel free to look around,” Flynn said.

“Thanks.” She moved into the kitchen, which had been completely renovated and now had black and white cabinets and a beautiful gray stone countertop. And awe-inspiring appliances that would make any chef green with envy.

She wandered into the butler’s pantry, marveling at the original woodwork. Some of the features had been refinished and kept as is, while others had been modernized.

Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous.

“But training camp should be solid. Looking forward to seeing what the rookies have got,” Flynn said, as he and Barrett wandered into the kitchen.

He looked over at her and smiled. “The verdict?”

“It’s perfect. You’ve kept enough of the original style that you haven’t lost the charm of the old house, yet you’ve modernized it and decorated it beautifully.”

“I don’t take any credit for that. I had a good designer. But there were a few things I wanted kept as is. Fortunately, the previous owners had the place carpeted, so the original wood floors were in great shape. All we had to do was refinish them.”

“That’s amazing.”

“Yeah. But the kitchen was old and outdated, so it had to go.”

“Understandable, especially if you like to cook.”

Flynn grinned. “I do like to cook.”

They wandered upstairs. The house had three bedrooms upstairs, as well as two bathrooms. There was also an office with a balcony.

“It’s wonderful, Flynn,” she said, as he led her back down the stairs. “You’ve managed to keep the original beauty of the home, but you’ve modernized the areas that needed it.”

“Thanks. I like the place a lot. Come on, I’ll take you across the yard to the guesthouse.”

They walked out onto the back deck. He had a nice deck with a grill and plenty of seating, a fire pit in a separate gravel area, and a tiled path that led to what used to be a garage but was now a beautiful guest cottage with a small living area, bedroom and bath.

“No kitchen in here, but there’s a mini fridge and drinks are stocked.”

“It’s perfect.”

Barrett came into the cottage with their bags.

“Staying together?” Flynn asked with a raised brow.

“We are.” Barrett brushed past him without another word to set their bags down in the bedroom.

She and Barrett hadn’t discussed the sleeping arrangements for the trip. She wasn’t sure how much of what was going on with them he wanted his brother to know about. She supposed that question had been answered, and she was glad it would be in this cottage, and not a room next door to Flynn.

Flynn turned to her. “So when did you and Barrett become a thing?”

“Mind your own business, Flynn,” Barrett said. “How about a beer?”

“Sure.”

She was glad Barrett had jumped in on that conversation, because she had no idea how she would have answered.

They weren’t really a “thing.” They weren’t anything, actually, other than two people who knew each other and were having sex.

They defied a relational descriptive. They weren’t dating, they weren’t a couple and she absolutely would not define herself as Barrett’s booty call. It was nothing like that.

It was . . . well, she had no idea what it was. And now, thanks to Barrett, she wouldn’t have to label it.

She followed them back into the house.

“What would you like to drink, Harmony?” Flynn asked. “I have wine, beer, or I can make you something harder.”

“Actually, it’s a little early for alcohol for me.”

“Never too early for alcohol,” Barrett said, shooting a grin to his brother, who grinned back.

“I also have iced tea,” Flynn said.

“That works.”

He poured her a glass of iced tea, including slicing a lemon for her, which Harmony said wasn’t necessary. Flynn ignored her and they took a seat at the table.

“Where’s Tess?” Barrett asked.

Flynn shook his head. “We broke up.”

“Oh, sorry man,” Barrett said. “I thought things were going well between you two.”

Flynn shrugged. “So did I.”

Harmony wasn’t going to ask. “I’m sorry, too.”

“Thanks.”

“I recently broke up with someone, too. It sucks.”

“Oh, so Barrett is your rebound, huh?” Flynn asked with a smirk.

“Hey. Fuck off. I am not.”

Flynn leaned back and took a long swallow of beer.

“Uh-huh.”

“Really, he’s not,” Harmony said. “And you might be deflecting to get off the topic of your own breakup?”

“Ohhh, she burned you, Brother.” Barrett slid a sly grin in Harmony’s direction.

Flynn narrowed his gaze at Harmony. “Fine. Topics of relationships are off the table for now.”

“Agreed. How’s the restaurant coming along?” Barrett asked.

“Finalized the purchase of the property, gutted it, and they’re already starting construction on the place.”

“Have you come up with a name for your new restaurant?” Harmony asked.

“Yeah. Ninety-Two.”

Barrett’s lips ticked up. “Your jersey number?”

“Yup. It was my college jersey number and my pro number. So far it’s been lucky for me. And this way the restaurant doesn’t have my name on it.”

Harmony took a sip of tea, then set her glass on the table. “Why don’t you want your restaurant to bear your name?”

Flynn shrugged. “First, I don’t have that big an ego. Second, I think it’s better to be subtle. The food should speak for itself. I want people to come in because they like the food and the ambiance, not because they think I might be in there—which frankly, I probably won’t be. My goal is to let the talented people run the place.”

“But you’ll have some say-so on who runs the place, such as chefs and management, right?” Harmony asked.

“Yes. I’ve already hired someone to manage the place, but he and I will work together on the rest of the hires. I’m no world-class chef, but I know food and I know what I want as far as people cooking for me.”

“So you have some ideas on chefs?”

“I have a few ideas.”

“In other words, you plan to steal from your competition?” Harmony asked.

“I didn’t say that.”

“But you implied it.”

“Maybe.” He gave her a devilish smile and put the bottle of beer to his lips, tilted it back and finished it off.

“Now I’m very curious. And I’d love to see your restaurant.”

“It’s mainly just a shell right now. But we’ll do a drive-by. And I’m interviewing for a head chef this afternoon.”