The Mitchell Brothers Collection: A Feel-Good Romance Box Set Read online

  Taking his hands out of his jeans pockets, he holds them up. “Sorry. I wasn’t planning on being sneaky.”

  “Sooooo…” Monica’s voice surprises me as she draws out the word. “You’re the famous Gabe, huh?”

  For a moment, I actually forgot about my best friend.

  Oops.

  Her eyes move around, and I know she’s checking out Gabe. “Nice.”

  At this point, she’s almost purring.

  Oh boy. I know what that means.

  She’s found a new target, and I’m not sure how I feel about that. Since I can’t say anything about it right now, though, I’ll file it away for later. “Mo, this is Gabe. Gabe, this is my best friend, Monica.”

  He stares at the screen, lifting his right hand a little. I don’t know him well enough yet to read him, but to me, it almost looks like he’s mesmerized.

  Interesting.

  Monica’s beaming at him. Despite not wearing any makeup, she’s as stunning as always. “So, Gabe, do you also live in Brooksville, or are you just there for a visit?”

  Gabe chuckles, scratching the back of his head.

  I can’t believe these two.

  What is this? Chuckling and beaming-at-each-other central?

  Sticking his hands back into his front pockets, he takes a small step closer. “Actually, I just moved back to town last year. I tried living in Los Angeles for a while but I missed my family and the tranquility of this place. There’s nothing like it.”

  She nods as if she completely understands what he’s talking about. “That makes sense. And it’s perfect too, since I’ll be in town sometime in the next few weeks.”

  “Oh really? For a visit?”

  “For now, yes.”

  What on earth is happening? For now? What does she even mean by that? I’m so surprised by her answer, that I hold up both of my hands before either one of them can say another word. “All right, you two chatterboxes, you can talk more when she gets here.” I remember something and turn back to Monica. “Before I forget it, have you checked into the hotel you told me about?”

  She shakes her head. “Not yet. I’m waiting until after my doctor’s appointment at the end of the week, so I know the correct dates.”

  At that, Gabe’s head whips around, and he looks at me. “She’s not staying with you guys?”

  I shrug my shoulders. “Nope. Hudson said it wasn’t a problem, but Mo declined.”

  An awful noise comes from the laptop when Mo moves hers around, and I flinch.

  “Hey. Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing. I just don’t want to be the third wheel, that’s all. Nothing wrong about that.”

  Gabe is quiet for a few moments before he looks at my best friend. “I have a little guest house, if you’re interested. I don’t live far from Hudson, so it’s probably more convenient than a hotel anyway. It’s yours if you want it.”

  “Really?” Both Mo and I say at the same time, staring at Gabe.

  “Really.” He gives her a small smile, and I’m oddly fascinated by this whole exchange.

  Sometimes in life, you realize you meet people that are different than others. There’s just something about them that makes them special. By now, I think it’s safe to say the Mitchell family has hit the jackpot in that area. And by some lucky star, I’m fortunate enough to be surrounded by them.

  Mo has a hard time containing the excitement in her voice, and maybe there’s a hint of eagerness too. “Deal.”

  They stare at each other silently for what feels like forever. The urge to clear my throat is so strong, tickling in the back of my throat, I make myself cough in the process. Time to wrap this up before they throw me out of my own bakery, so they can keep staring at each other.

  I focus on my best friend first. “All right, we’ll figure out the details when you know more. I know your therapist appointment is coming up, so I’m gonna let you go.”

  She picks up her phone from somewhere beside her and looks at the screen. “You’re right, looks like it’s time to meet the slave driver.” She points a finger at me. “Don’t let Hudson walk all over you when he gets back, or I’ll have his balls.” Her gaze shifts to Gabe, and she gives him a dazzling smile. “Sorry, I know he’s your brother, but I have to watch out for my loved ones first. Thank you again for your generous offer, Gabe. I really appreciate it, and I’ll see you soon. Charlie can give you my phone number, so we can arrange things for my arrival.”

  She blows me a kiss, and then she’s gone.

  At least, I think the kiss was for me.

  I chuckle nervously. “Mo is something else. Do I need to apologize for her already?”

  His shoulders shake with laughter when he turns around. “Being different is good, and I’m more than happy to help.” He leans back against the work table. “The guest house will be a lot better for her than some boring hotel room.”

  I nod. “I agree. I didn’t want her in a hotel room either, but she can be stubborn. So, thank you. That was very sweet of you to offer.”

  “No problem at all.”

  “Ready for that phone number before I forget it?”

  “You bet.” He gets his phone out of his back pocket and enters Monica’s number as I ramble it off from memory.

  Once the phone is back in his jeans, his focus shifts back to me. He studies me silently, folding his arms across his chest.

  Man, those Mitchell men sure know how to work their muscles.

  He switches the position of his feet. “Apropos offer. I stopped by to see how you’re doing, and if I can help with anything. We all saw the media coverage, and I wanted to make sure you’re all right. We’re used to it by now, but you probably aren’t. And trust me, no one was as shocked about seeing the pictures of Hudson and Addy as we were. Just remember to not believe everything you see. She’s always been one to play the media every chance she gets, and sadly, they eat out of her hand.”

  Monica filled me in on every bit of gossip she knew about this woman the media seems to love so much. It left me slightly nauseated, to say the least. The person she pretends to be in the public eye, and the person she seems to be in private—according to a few sources—are apparently two different people.

  Talk about being two-faced.

  Gabe rubs his forehead. “That’s probably not helping right now, sorry. Anyway, I just wanted to apologize and make sure you’re doing okay.”

  “Why would you apologize?”

  “He’s my brother.”

  “That’s nonsense, Gabe. None of this is even remotely your fault.” Then I nod, maybe a bit over the top, but I can’t seem to stop it. “But yes, sure. Everything’s just fine.”

  He throws his head back and laughs. He reminds me so much of Hudson that a sharp pain shoots straight through my chest.

  Dang it.

  “Charlie, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about women over the years, it’s that something is usually wrong when they say they’re fine.”

  Got me there, sucker.

  Before I can stop myself, the truth slips out of my mouth. “Well, what do you want me to say? That I’m freaked out about everything happening right now, and beyond annoyed and hurt by your brother? I haven’t heard a peep from him, except for a few messages to check in with me—like nothing has changed. And let’s not even talk about those lovely images of the two of them online that I can’t seem to escape for some reason.” With a heaving chest, I look at Gabe in pure shock.

  What the heck was that?

  Spilling my guts is completely unlike me, especially to a guy like Gabe who’s, in most aspects, still a stranger—even though it doesn’t feel like it. My shoulders slump a little. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t planning on unloading this on you. None of this concerns you. Let’s just pretend I didn’t say any of that stuff.”

  “What are you talking about? Of course it concerns me, and I’m glad you’re honest with me. You’re one of us now, so I want to be there for you and help however I can. We all do.” He looks sincer
e, so extremely genuine, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

  Swallowing back the lump in my throat, I try very hard not to get all emotional in front of him. He might be able to tell anyway, though, because he opens his arms for me without another word.

  I only hesitate for a second, before walking straight into them, immediately feeling safe and secure.

  He gently puts his head on mine and gives my back a few soft pats. “Sorry, my brother is such a dimwit sometimes.”

  The back door of the bakery slams shut and footsteps approach.

  A familiar scent hits me, and I close my eyes, knowing exactly who it is, even before his melodic voice fills the room.

  “Please, Gabe. Tell me how you really feel.”

  Thirteen

  Gabe gives my shoulders a squeeze before letting me go. He turns around to face his brother, who’s not looking happy at all. “Well, well. I guess you’re back, huh?”

  “Looks like I interrupted something.” Hudson’s voice is more of a growl than anything else as he glares at his brother.

  Gabe’s nostrils flare the smallest bit as he stares down Hudson. “If, by interrupted, you mean me trying to see if Charlie’s okay, then hell yes, you interrupted something. There’s no need for you to come in here and act like the wronged party.”

  I’m stunned by this exchange, and all I can manage to do is look back and forth between the two brothers, not sure what’s going on. Am I supposed to step between them to break up whatever this is? Hudson’s acting like I did something forbidden with Gabe, which is obviously a big joke. Plus, he’s the one who was schmoozing with his ex, less than twenty-four hours ago.

  His face is drawn into a grimace—his lips almost white from pressing them together, eyes little slits, and his dark eyebrows are drawn together so tightly, the crease between them looks like a crater. He looks like he’s ready to pounce on his brother.

  They both actually appear ready to explode, their hands clenched into tense fists at their sides.

  “What are you talking about? I only call it like I see it.” Hudson’s almost yelling at this point.

  Gabe laughs once, but there’s not an ounce of humor in his voice. “Obviously, I’m talking about you and Addy having a jolly old time at dinner, giving the paparazzi, and therefore the world, a wonderful show. Apparently, you don’t give a crap what those pictures do to the people in your life.”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about, so just shut up.”

  Wait. Is Hudson shaking? I’m pretty sure his nostrils are flaring too. The only thing that’s missing is steam coming out of his ears to complete the picture of an angry cartoon character.

  Let’s hope he isn’t going to explode out of his skin in a second and turn into Hulk, or we’re really screwed.

  Taking a step closer to Gabe, I pat his arm gently. Someone has to diffuse this situation, and it looks like I’m the unlucky winner. “It’s okay. I’ve got this.”

  Hudson’s eyes dart to me, going wide for a moment. When he blinks a few times, I wonder if he momentarily forgot I was there. His shoulders sag, and he almost seems to visibly deflate.

  Gabe turns to face me in a way that blocks Hudson from my view, almost as if he doesn’t want him to see me. “Are you sure? I can kick him out if you want to, or I can stay here, if you prefer not to be alone with him right now.”

  Gratitude washes over me for having added another great person to my life, and I give him a small smile. “That’s very sweet of you, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your concern, but I’ll be fine. Promise.”

  He still doesn’t look convinced, but nods anyway. He turns around and points a finger at Hudson. “You better be nice to her, or you’re gonna have to deal with me.”

  To my surprise, Hudson holds up his hands in surrender. “Fair enough.”

  Gabe pulls a card out of his back pocket and hands it to me, his fingers brushing mine briefly in the process. “Here’s my card. My cell number is on the back. Call me, and we can talk about the guest house and whatever arrangements need to be made, okay?”

  “You bet. Thanks so much again for helping out.” I put his card in the front pocket of my apron.

  “It’s no problem at all.” He bends down and gives my cheek a quick kiss without lingering. “Take care of yourself. Call me if you need anything.”

  When he walks over to Hudson, they silently stare at each other, before Gabe speaks up. “You’re an idiot, bro.”

  Less than five seconds later, he’s out the door, letting it shut loudly behind him. That leaves Hudson and me in an eerie silence as I try to avoid his blazing look.

  Of course, he’s the first to say something. “So, you’re moving into my brother’s guest house? You could’ve just said something if you didn’t want to live with me anymore.”

  “What?” His question throws me off, and my hand shoots out to the counter to give me some extra balance.

  “He just said to call him so you can talk about the guest house.” His hand is up in the air in a questioning gesture.

  Oh, that.

  I could set the record straight—probably should, since I’m not one for playing games—but for some reason, I’m stubborn right now. First, he wines and dines his ex the day after we make out, and then he comes back to throw accusations around.

  A sudden bout of irritation at his behavior overcomes me, and I bite the inside of my cheek to stay calm. “I know what he said, but I don’t want to talk about it. Is there a reason you’re here?”

  He might as well stew a little in his attitude.

  When he rubs his hands over his face, it’s the first time since he walked in that I get a good look at him.

  His eyes are slightly puffy, framed by dark circles, making it look like he hasn’t slept in a while. Exhaling loudly through his nose, he shakes his head. “Of course, I’m sorry. This weekend wasn’t fun, and it feels like I was gone for years instead of just two days. I didn’t stop by to make it worse.” He runs his hand through his hair. “Can we sit down and talk?”

  I try as hard as I can to stay strong, but the urge to comfort him is hard to resist. I want to reach out and give him a hug, and tell him everything is going to be okay, even though I felt very different about that just a few minutes ago. Seeing him makes my resolve weak, but I fight the impulse—I have to.

  “All right.” I walk over to one of the small tables that line one of the walls and pull out two bar stools from underneath before dragging them back over to my workbench. I pat one of the stools while sitting down on the other. “Here, sit down.”

  Once we’re both situated, I hand him a fork and point at the table with the array of baked goods I managed to produce in record time today. “Might as well join me in this sugar massacre. Since you’re partially at fault, you deserve the fat hips right now just as much, if not more.”

  The corners of his mouth twitch when he takes the fork from me. He looks at the food in front of us, his eyes wide. “You made all of this?”

  “Yup. Some people take a relaxing bath or work out when they’re frustrated or need to let off some steam. I bake.” I shrug matter-of-factly, since it’s been my thing ever since Grandma started teaching me how to bake when I was younger.

  “I guess that makes sense.” That’s all he says before digging into the cherry pie, his eyes fluttering closed for a long moment. “Wow. So good.”

  At least I think that’s what he said around the mouthful of food.

  “I’ve missed this, Charlie.”

  I snort, digging into the pie myself. “What? Getting fat with me?”

  A lopsided grin adorns his beautiful face. “No, silly, just enjoying your company without any added stress. Things are different with us. We can just be Hudson and Charlie, and nothing else. There’s no pressure for me to be the ‘famous rockstar,’ or to fulfill whatever other weird box people put me in. Not once have I felt like that with you, which is why I enjoy my time with you so much. Being thrown back into the bus
iness world this weekend, after this tranquility with my family and you, has been more of a shock than I was prepared for.”

  “Mmm.” I pause for a moment with the fork at my lips, allowing his words to sink in. Theoretically, I completely understand what he’s talking about, but I’m not sure it’s a safe topic for me right now because my resolve is already weak.

  Diversion it is.

  I don’t look at him, but push a cherry around on my plate instead. “So, how’s the writing going?”

  He sighs and shrugs his shoulders. “I was away from you, so I’m sure you can guess the answer to that. But I’d rather not talk about it right now.”

  Looks like we both have a list of taboo topics.

  I can’t help myself and feel a little bad that his career is suffering alongside all this chaos. “Well, what did you want to talk about?”

  “I came to apologize, Charlie. I can’t tell you how hard the last few days have been for me, and how incredibly sorry I am for everything that happened.”

  And just like that, my irritation is back in full force. “Really? You were having a hard time? How do you think I’ve been feeling? Everything’s been just peachy here, right?”

  Two emotional outbursts in half an hour. That’s a record.

  One of his hands extends my way, but he drops it last minute. “I’m sorry. First, I had to leave you out of the blue like that, and then this whole shitshow with Addy happened. I just wanted to forget about that disaster and come back home.”

  “Oh right, Addy, your fiancée.” I might sound a little childish, but I don’t have it in me right now to care. My hurt pride feels like I have the right to sulk.

  He tilts his head to the side and frowns. “Ex-fiancée, Charlie, ex. A very, very important distinction.”

  That stops me in my tracks for a moment, my fork now covered with some delicious cheesecake that’s halfway to my mouth. A stray thought comes to mind, wondering if it might be better to stop eating now before I get sick, but I decide I’ll deal with whatever later on. At least the food will distract me from the emotional turmoil that’s been raging inside me for the past few days.