“Sorry, Mel, I'm not trying to make you angry. I just—”
“See, that's the problem right there,” I say, cutting him off and throwing my arm out. “You just assume all the time. Maybe I want to feel pretty today, maybe I have my period and I feel gross and this dress is making me feel better. Did you ever think of that?”
His eyes widen and I see the discomfort wash over his face. His skin goes white, and he's starting to get fidgety. No guy wants to get into this conversation, especially an older brother with his younger sister.
I know how he feels about Branson. Ryder made it clear. I shouldn't have to hide my personal life. I shouldn't have to pretend at all. But who knows, this whole thing with Bran might end up going nowhere.
Why cause a rift with my brother for nothing?
“I'm sorry,” he says awkwardly.
“Thank you. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going out and I'll be home later.” Yanking open the door, I step outside with a hidden smirk on my face.
One point Melody.
The sun is starting to go down, but there's at least another hour or so of daylight left. Turning up the road to Bran's cabin, my mind is full of curiosity. I'm not sure where he's taking me for our date, and the anticipation is driving me wild.
Following the long, winding dirt driveway up to his house, I park my truck. Sitting inside, I can feel my chest tighten. It's so tight it's almost hard to breathe.
These fucking nerves!
Taking a few slow breaths, I'm looking at his house when he opens the front door and steps outside. I couldn't breathe when I got here, and now this man just stole all the air from my lungs.
Bran is wearing a pair of jeans and a button-up shirt. His hair is wild, but perfect. The deep mahogany is styled yet tousled as if he didn't want to remove the mess my hands made earlier.
He smiles, walking to my door and opening it for me. “Right on time,” he says. Reaching out for me, I give him my hand and he helps me out of the car. With my fingers in his, he takes a step back and looks me up and down. “Wow. You look amazing.”
“Thank you. So do you.”
“I do clean up nice, huh?” Chuckling, he flicks his collar.
“Who knew all this handsomeness was underneath there.” Circling his entire body with my finger, I grin.
Kissing the top of my hand, he starts to pull me toward his house. “I hope you like seafood.”
“I love seafood. Where are we going for dinner? Ocean Mist? The Blue Crab?”
It has to be one or the other, those are the only two seafood restaurants around.
“Neither.”
“You know of another place?” I ask, arching a brow.
“How does Bran's sound?” Pushing his front door open, I almost fall over when I look inside.
He set his table up with candles and a small vase of flowers. There are candles all around the cabin and soft music is playing in the background.
“Bran. . .” His name comes out my mouth as my heart halts in my chest. “You did all this for me?”
Placing his hand on the small of my back, he guides me inside. “I figured that since this town is so small, and we both know how people like to talk, that the best way for us to get to know each other is by not letting other people see us together.”
“You're so right.”
He leads me to the table, pulling out my chair for me to sit. Clearing his throat, he lays a towel over his arm and stands pencil straight.
“For dinner tonight, we have stuffed scrod, with a side of rice and steamed green beans. The green beans are home grown from my garden out back, and the fish is freshly imported from Maine.”
He's using a terrible French accent and I can't help but laugh. “Sounds delicious.” Giggling, he starts to laugh too. “I don't think you're going to win an Oscar for that accent, though.”
“Yeah, it's pretty bad.” Chuckling, he walks to the kitchen and pulls a glass dish out of the stove. Plating our food, he brings both to the table and sets mine down in front of me. “I hope you like it.”
“It smells so good.”
As we eat and talk, I realize I'm falling for this man. The man in front of me isn't anything like the man my brother described. And the longer I'm with him, the less I care what other people think.
But I do care about what Bran thinks. We can be a match made in heaven, but if we have different dreams, then we'll never have a future together.
For now, I'm just going to enjoy this. Dinner with a man who makes me smile and laugh. An evening with a man who holds me in his arms and isn't afraid to take control of me.