Sweet in Love (8 page)

Brooke sighed. “It’s Pete Monroe. Amandine’s younger brother.”

“Oh my gosh,
that
Pete?” Sandy’s dark eyes widened. “Seriously? You’re so…big!”

He gave her a friendly smile.

“I had no idea you were still in L.A. I thought you went to work for some really famous bank in New York. Goldreich Stanley or something.”

“I decided to stay close to my sister.”

“Really? That’s so sweet. So what do you do?”

Oh jeez
.
Here comes the interrogation
. “Sandy,” Brooke said quickly, “I’m sure you had a reason for coming over…?”

“Oh yes. Sorry, just got a little distracted.” Sandy took another long look at Pete, then said to Brooke, “Don’t forget church and the family dinner this Sunday. I’ve been trying to call, but could only reach the voice mail, and you’re so bad about returning my calls.”

Only when you try to drag me into another matchmaking scheme
. “What dinner?”

“Dad’s birthday? I mentioned it to you a few weeks ago?”

“Ah, yeah…” To be honest, the only thing Brooke remembered about her father’s birthday was that Sandy had decided to take care of it.

“He wants a big family dinner, so we’re hosting it at our place. Sunday at six thirty.”

“Okay. I’ll be there.”

Sandy turned to Pete and gave him her sweetest smile. “You’re welcome to come too if you want. I’m sure Dad would love to see you again.”

“So would I. He was always so nice to me and my sister.”

Brooke frowned. “I thought it was supposed to be a
family
dinner.”

“Looks like Pete’s practically family already.” With that parting remark and a broad wink, Sandy walked out, closing the door and leaving Brooke speechless.

“She looks like she’s doing well,” Pete observed.

Brooke glared at the door. “She didn’t even ask if you were busy.”

“I can manage.”

“Don’t feel like you have to. It’s your weekend.”

“And I’d love to spend part of it with your folks. Your father was more of a dad to me than mine ever was.”

“You really didn’t like him, did you?”

“Norman?” Pete barked a laugh. “He was irresponsible and a total failure.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a little hard on him? He was just following his dreams.”

“Geez, you sound like Amandine. But then you guys are tight. Listen, Dad’s only dream was to avoid having any responsibilities. He never wanted to do anything unpleasant or hard. His grand vision of life was to have lots of money—without having to work for it. He always used us—his family—to justify his ridiculous schemes. ‘I want to provide for my family.’ ‘I love my family.’ Yada yada. But whenever he had an opportunity for a job that would actually pay him enough to get us a place of our own or anything, there’d always be some reason for him to turn it down. Especially if there was some ‘get rich quick’ scheme presenting itself instead. Trust me. That’s not a dream. That’s being entitled and lazy.”

Brooke processed it. Amandine always spoke of Norman like he had been the most loving and amazing father ever. It was interesting to get Pete’s perspective on it, and why he despised his father so much.

“Anyway, forget about my dad,” he said. “I’d much rather get back to doing this.”

He came forward and kissed her until she couldn’t remember what they’d been discussing. Then he carried her to bed, licking her earlobe along the way, making her shiver.

She let him undress her, then undress himself. Maybe she should worry about how easy it was to have him in her life, like he was the most natural thing ever.

He kissed her body all over, his warm hands wrapped greedily around her curves. It didn’t matter that they had slept together every night since their first time. Electric pleasure danced across her skin, and every breath she drew seemed to be filled with exquisite sweetness.

She wrapped her hand around his thickness. He was hard and throbbing. A low groan lodged deep in his throat as he closed his eyes and savored what her fingers were doing to him. The tip of his cock was slick with need, and she parted her thighs, desperate to have him inside her.

He surged into her, and as her inner muscles clenched around him, she couldn’t help but think that maybe this was how intimacy was meant to be, how her life
should
be, and the fact that Pete was her best friend’s younger brother was just an asterisk in their relationship, nothing more.

* * *

“You know you don’t have to come to the service,” Brooke said one more time as she ran between her bedroom, closet and bathroom like the proverbial headless yardbird. “You aren’t going to understand a word. It’s all in Korean.”

“I don’t mind.” He’d just fantasize about her and wait for lightning to strike him down.

“Hah. You say that now.” She eyed Pete as he put a mini-tablet into his jacket pocket. “And you can’t play with your gadget during the sermon. The Hags will complain.”

“The Hags?”

“Old ladies who have nothing to do except spy on everyone and gossip and complain. They’re awful. You can’t even sneeze in church without them talking about it.”

He raised his right hand, palm forward. “I won’t embarrass you, I promise.”

She looked skeptical. “I think it’s better if you stay here and chill, then meet me at Sandy’s later.”

“And leave you for some enterprising single doctor or lawyer to steal away? Fat chance.”

“I thought you didn’t care.”

“Of course I care. I didn’t wait eight years just to lose you to some physician with a guilt complex. Just let me be the chest-pounding caveman who guards his woman, okay?”

Her eyes widened a bit, then she turned to the mirror and busied herself with her hair. It was growing out some, but still fairly short. Pete had never thought he’d like short hair on a woman, but he loved hers. Actually there was nothing about her that he didn’t adore.

She dabbed some floral perfume on her wrists. “Ready?”

“Waitin’ on you, baby.”

Brooke wore a black dress. Surprising, since he didn’t think she owned anything that wasn’t riotously colorful. The last time he’d seen her in black was when she’d lost her mother in high school, thanks to a drugged out driver who thought he was hot shit because of some movie deal he’d signed. He’d had the gall to claim innocence, blaming Brooke’s mother for the accident, then he’d finally tried to weasel out of going to court by offering money, like it could ever be enough to make up for Brooke and her family’s loss. Karmic justice had ensured the movie had failed spectacularly, and the loser vanished without a trace.

The somber dress seemed to mute her personality somehow, and she was quiet during their drive to church. He’d insisted on taking his car; the competitive and possessive side of him wanted those single doctors and lawyers to see that he was more than qualified to be with Brooke.

The church was a large red brick building with thin vertical windows and a giant steeple. He parked in the shadow of the cross and helped her out, smoothing the folds of his Armani suit jacket, making sure everything looked good. Brooke had said she didn’t go to church regularly, but her sister and brother-in-law did.

You never get a second chance to make a first impression
.

The experience at the church was interesting, especially given that it was his first time at any religious establishment. Many of the older people there didn’t speak English all that well, though they did their best to welcome him. He was offered coffee five times before the service, all by different people. Several people spoke to Brooke in rapid Korean, and she responded in the same language, her voice low and polite. She bowed to almost all the older men and women, so when she introduced him to a few people, he did the same.

The service was about an hour long. The only thing he understood were the frequent
amen
s that peppered the sermon. None of the rumored single doctors or lawyers came sniffing around.

While the minister droned on, Pete mentally went over all the things he needed to do in the coming week. He had way too many meetings scheduled, and there was a business trip at the end of the following month. Which reminded him… He should schedule a two-week long vacation to Tahiti or something before Amandine had her baby. Brooke would enjoy the water, and everybody loved Tahiti.

Someone sat down next to him, and he saw that it was Sandy with a sturdy looking Korean guy who she introduced as “Eugene, my husband.” Then she leaned over and whispered, “What are you doing here?”

“Appearing to be a good Christian,” he said. “You?”

She chuckled softly. “The same. Do you understand anything out of the minister’s mouth?”

“No, but you shouldn’t tempt me into conversation while he’s lecturing about the state of our souls. Or…something. Brooke said the Hags would talk.”

“Oh jeez. She cares about what they say way too much. They’re a gaggle of old ladies with no life. Never happy unless they’re making somebody else feel like crap.”

“Sounds like a pleasant bunch. Very Christian, too.”

“Don’t worry. If they come after you, I’m sure Brooke can defend you.”

Pete raised a skeptical eyebrow. So far this morning he’d seen a very different side of Brooke: meek and polite. He wasn’t sure what Sandy was thinking, but he wasn’t sure if Brooke would suddenly change into someone fierce and scary just for him…though the idea definitely had possibilities.

* * *

After the sermon ended—finally!—Brooke waited in line with Pete, Sandy and Eugene to get cold and spicy noodles for lunch. The church always served lunch after the morning service, and older ladies’ groups took turns preparing the meals. Almost everyone stayed for lunch since it was free and gave people another chance to socialize.

Brooke wasn’t all that interested in catching up with people she wasn’t that close to, but she didn’t feel like making anything for lunch, and the cold noodles would be super fast and keep her satisfied through the afternoon.

“Uh-oh. Incoming,” Sandy whispered into Brooke’s ear.

It was Mrs. Han, the Lead Hag. In her mid-fifties, she had short graying hair teased into the shape of a nimbus around her soft, round face. She had pretty eyes, black and almond-shaped, behind horn-rimmed glasses, but her lips were almost nonexistent, so the red lipstick she habitually wore looked like smeared ketchup.

“Hello, Brooke. Long time no see!” Mrs. Han said.

Brooke’s antenna immediately went up. Mrs. Han was never this friendly unless she wanted something. “Hello. How are you?”

“I’m doing well, thank you, my dear. And who is this handsome man? So tall too. Your fiancé?”

She clenched her jaw. The old bat knew she didn’t have a fiancé. “No. He’s a friend.”

“Ah.
Friend
.”

Mrs. Han’s tone put her teeth on edge.

“It’s just surprising to see somebody like him here,” the older lady continued. “It’s not like our church has a lot of non-Koreans.”

Brooke pulled her lips in what she hoped she could pass off as a friendly smile. “Since you speak English so well, maybe you can help him get introduced and all.”

“Oh, nonsense. You tease me so.” She cackled in protest. “What does he do?”

“He’s an analyst at an investment advisor firm.”

“He must be doing well for himself.” It was a question.

“I’m sure he is.” Brooke would have bet a year’s pay that Mrs. Han had heard about Pete’s Mercedes already.

“How old is he? He looks quite young. Are you two the same age?”

“He’s a little younger.”

“Really? By how much?”

“Three years.”

“Ah, then that makes him at least five years younger than you. Mentally I mean. You know men stay immature for so long. That’s why we women usually go for ones who are at least a couple of years older. Otherwise it’s like trying to live with a child in an adult’s body.”

Brooke couldn’t believe the woman’s gall. “That’s not true of all men. Pete’s much more mature than I am.”

Mrs. Han’s voice rose to a grating falsetto. “I was just saying…well, based on my experience…you know.”

“Ah yes, your husband
is
a bit older, isn’t he? And you have two sons after all. But your family can’t speak for the whole male gender. A little unfair to other men, don’t you think?”

The older woman’s eyes almost bugged out. Brooke felt Sandy cover her mouth with her hand. Eugene looked slightly stunned.

Mrs. Han cleared her throat. “I see how it is then. I think somebody’s calling me. Please excuse me.”

Brooke watched the woman go, feeling a little breathless. Sandy giggled. “I had no idea you had that in you.”

“Neither did I.” Brooke took Pete’s hand. “Let’s go,” she said in English.

“But we’re about to get our noodles,” he said.

“I’m suddenly not in the mood for Korean. How about a Big Mac? You don’t mind, do you?”

Pete took one look at her face and shook his head. “No problem. But if you want a burger, we can do a lot better than Mickey D’s.”

PETE TOOK BROOKE to a hole-in-the-wall local brewery that had killer burgers and spicy curly fries that would make you sell your mother. The hostess recognized him—he was a regular—and took them to a table for two by a large window that overlooked the microbrewery setup.

“Hey, you okay?” he asked after they sat down. Brooke hadn’t said anything, and a dark frown creased her brow.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” She covered her face with her hands. “I can’t believe I told Mrs. Han what I told her.”

“Did something happen? I, ah, couldn’t quite follow.”

At that moment their waiter came. He ordered the house specialty burger with fries and a dark raspberry beer, and she did the same without bothering to glance at the menu.

When the waiter disappeared, Brooke said, “Mrs. Han was trying to worm out some information about you. She’s the Lead Hag, and she doesn’t really like me. She once tried to set me up with her younger son, and I turned her down.”

Pete chuckled.

“Don’t laugh. She thinks her sons can do no wrong, and she still believes she was doing me a favor. Her pride couldn’t handle it that I said no.”