CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Finn
second we locked Bee's shop behind us, Jackson made a beeline for the kitchen. All afternoon I'd sat in my office and listened to the banging of pots and pans, his muttering and his occasional shouting, as aromas both seductive and strange wafted into the front.
It was midafternoon, almost close to dinner time, when he emerged from the kitchen with a tired but triumphant smile on his face. "I've got something," he announced.
"No shit?" I asked, rising from my chair. The excitement on his face made my heart beat wildly. "A menu? For real? You decided on something?"
He nodded slowly, lost in thought. "It needs tweaking," he hedged. "But it's something. You'll see." He gestured for me to follow him back to the kitchen.
The instant I stepped back there, into his world, I knew it. He did it. Whatever mental block he'd built up in his head had crumbled away. I looked at the beautifully plated food arrayed out in front of me. Kyle appeared from somewhere in the back, craning his neck excitedly, but I barely took note of him as I looked down the line.
"Holy crap," I exhaled. "They're beautiful."
Jackson grinned.
"Great job, chef!" Kyle interjected. "I'm going to go down and start working on the wine pairings."
"Yeah, sure," Jackson said, both of us too wound up to really give a shit what Kyle was up to.
Already I was mentally taking pictures for the website. Each plate looked like a little piece of artwork. One plate I'm pretty sure was artwork, with a strange skewer embedded in the center. This was nothing like the rustic cooking he'd been putting in front of us at family meal.
"This is it," I told him, breathless. "I don't even need to taste it to tell you that. This is the shit I knew you were capable of way back when I first met you." I was so excited I whirled around and grabbed him by the upper arms and shook him. "This is the shit you can do that's going to make us fucking rich," I crowed.
He grinned proudly even as his molars clacked together with the force of my embrace. "Sounds good," he declared, extricating himself and extending his hand. "Something we need to talk about though."
I looked down at his hand and back up again. He tilted his head slightly to the right.
In the direction of Bee's shop.
Fucker. He knew how to play me so well. I was proud of him, ready for us to be a team again and stop this petty sniping. And he was capitalizing on it.
"We good?" he pressed.
I hesitated.
Then, with a deep breath, I closed my hand in his.
When I shook it, something passed between us, a conversation that went by entirely unspoken. I'm not sure how I knew we were okay all of a sudden, other than I just knew.
"It's on now, isn't it?" I asked.
He nodded slowly. "Think so."
Understanding swept through me. Not competing for women? That was the old agreement. Those were the old rules and they applied to the old women, the ones we used to meet up with in bars and take home without ever getting their names.
The old rules didn't apply to a woman like Bee. Fuck, she was like no one else. A jumble of the wildest and most maddening contradictions. Feisty and sweet, smart and stubborn. She was innocent, I could see it in her eyes, but saucy as hell and that temper of hers... She had had no idea how sexy she was. She had no idea I was already imagining how her moans sounded when I jerked myself alone at night. Best friend code or not, there was no way I was going to back down from pursuing her until she told me to.
This handshake? This was like tapping gloves before a boxing match began.
"Thought we were gonna see what happens," I teased.
"Yeah, I'm done with that," he declared. "You holding back for my sake? Me holding back for yours?"
"Not working," I nodded.
"Right."
"You're going for it?" I clarified.
"Yup."
"I am too."
His eyes flashed. "Good."
"Good," I nodded, holding his gaze. "Game on then."
"Game on."
Whoever won, the loser would still be a good sport. Jackson and I were teammates, not rivals. If I managed to convince Bee to be with me, I wasn't going to drop him in the process. He'd still be Jackson Nye, my business partner and best friend.
And if he got her instead? Well fine, they'd have to deal with me sticking around too. I'd be a thorn in their side in the best possible way.
"And may the best man win," I added.
"As I'm clearly the best man here," Jackson said as squeezed my hand a little harder. "You're gonna lose." He smirked.
I tightened my grip. "I don't know what that word means," I grinned back.
All at once the front door banged open. "Jackson!" Bee's voice rang out. She sounded furious. "Finn! Where are you?"
I looked at Jackson. "Let the games begin," I grinned. He had an eager smile on his face that I'm sure mirrored my own. "Ready, set..."
He laughed as he shoulder-checked me on his way past. "Go!"