Brendon (Alluring Indulgence #8)(39)
Author: Nicole Edwards

Brendon had searched through the pantry and the refrigerator as soon as they made their way downstairs. If he hadn’t kept himself busy cooking dinner, he would’ve found other ways to keep busy. He’d had no choice, considering Cheyenne was dressed in his T-shirt and nothing else. Although the damn thing dwarfed her, coming down to her knees, the sleeves hitting her mid-forearm, she still looked so fucking hot. As much as he’d wanted to spend some extra time getting intimately acquainted with her body, he had wanted to feed Cheyenne first.

Now that the kitchen was clean once again, the two of them were sitting on the back porch in the dark while Scrap wandered somewhere nearby in the grass. Brendon could hear the little dog sniffing around, searching for whatever it was that kept him happy.

As for Brendon, he was happy right where he was. “I meant to tell you, I talked to my buddy Z. He’s gonna do some diggin’ into your stalker. He’ll hit me up when he finds somethin’.”

Cheyenne peered over at him, but it was too dark to see her face. “His name’s Z?”

“Zachariah Tavoularis. Goes by Z.”

“That’s certainly a mouthful. I can see why he shortened it. Speaking of security … I was gonna talk to Kylie about gettin’ some lights put out here,” Cheyenne noted as she sipped her tea.

“We can do that ourselves.” As soon as the words were out, he realized what he’d said. “Sorry. If you’d rather her do it …”

“No, that’d be good. I’d like to learn how to do it myself, so you can teach me.”

Brendon wondered whether she’d caught his slipup. He hadn’t meant to insinuate himself into her life so easily, but the thought of helping her fix things around the house gave him purpose, something he hadn’t had in far too long.

The silence lingered for a few minutes, interrupted only by the infrequent wobble and clank of the ceiling fans above them, and he remembered the question he’d asked earlier. The one she hadn’t bothered to answer.

“What do you think about goin’ to Sawyer’s party with me next weekend?”

The darkness had settled so completely and the lack of light made it so that he could barely make out Cheyenne’s profile as she turned to look at him. “I’d like that. At the resort, you said?”

“Technically, his club, but yeah.”

“I haven’t seen his club yet. I went to Zane’s for his reception.”

“If you’ve seen one, you’ve pretty much seen the other,” he replied.

“Why is it that you didn’t take part in the resort?” Cheyenne questioned.

“Not my thing, I guess.”

“So you like workin’ at Walker Demo?”

“It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. Even before I graduated high school when my brothers were puttin’ things together. The idea of bein’ part of my family’s business … one that allows me to do what I enjoy doin’ … it suits me.”

“Does it bother you that Travis moved on to the resort?” Cheyenne asked.

“At first it did,” he told her honestly. “I understood his need to keep fulfilling his dreams, but I guess I felt like he was abandoning something we’d worked our asses off to build. But I think I was more bothered by the fact that Kaleb was so quick to move on. Walker Demo had been his dream child and when he went to work at the resort, I felt like he turned his back on us.”

“You don’t feel like that anymore?”

“Nah. When I found out Jared was comin’ in to take over that part of it, I guess it just made sense.”

“How’s he doin’? Jared?”

“Good, I guess. Don’t talk to him much. We’re like two peas in a pod these days, both of us dealing with … Let’s just say our mirroring negativity has clashed on numerous occasions.”

“I thought he was doin’ better now that Derrick’s with him.”

“He is. But he’s still pissed at his ex for abandoning her kid,” Brendon explained. He knew that Jared had made several attempts to contact Sable over the last few months, but she’d been off gallivanting with her new man. Brendon didn’t believe Jared was jealous—not even a little bit—but that he had his son’s best interest at heart and deep down knew the kid needed his mother.

“How’s his little boy?”

“Growin’ like a weed. Every time I see him, seems he’s grown another inch.”

“I still can’t believe Zoey and V are both pregnant,” Cheyenne commented.

“I can. I think if Zane could keep V barefoot and pregnant for the rest of her life, he would. The guy’s over the moon about bein’ a dad. As for Zoey, well, she’s a great mom.”