Rocky Mountain Mornings (Roberts of Silver Springs Book 1) Page 9

  “Get that look off your face, Bri Roberts. You know I’m not going to make things harder for you if I can help it!”

  Bri grinned. “You’re right. I do know that.”

  “I just wanted to see if you’d add some fruit and veggie trays. So many of my friends haven’t given up on their New Year’s resolutions yet. Between you and me, I know they will within another couple of weeks, but I want to pander to them for now.” Mrs. Olson had always been slender as long as Bri could remember.

  “Sure, we can do that.” It would cost Jennifer dearly, but Bri would be happy to do it. It just meant spending all day on Saturday cutting up fruit and veggies, but for the extra money, it would be worth it. “Do you want dips with them?”

  “Of course. I want my friends to enjoy the food at the party, and how could they enjoy it if they’re only eating healthy things and not the fatty things they want? A couple of different dips would be wonderful.”

  “And you know I’ll have to—”

  “Charge me more? Of course you will dear. Bill it to Jennifer. She needs to make up for forgetting our anniversary somehow, doesn’t she?”

  Bri laughed. “So you know that’s why she’s doing it?”

  “I’m sure I’ve told you before that I have no illusions about that daughter of mine.” Mrs. Olson grinned at Anthony. “I can see why she’s after him, but don’t back down. He looks like a good one!” She rushed out the door as quickly as she’d come in, leaving Bri and Anthony staring at the spot where she’d been.

  “Wow. I figured that Jennifer took after her mom. I guess not!” Anthony shook his head. “She seems to approve of us.”

  “Oh, everyone in town is rooting for us. Except Jennifer of course, but I don’t think she’s really interested in you. She just doesn’t want you to be interested in me. She’s always been like that toward me.”

  “Is that why she’s called me every single day since I met her? Inviting me to eat with her, shop with her, go for a drive, go skiing, go for a hike…I can’t even remember everything she’s asked me to do!”

  “Probably. It’s just how she is. Don’t worry about it.” Bri turned from him toward the cabinet, a grin on her face. Jennifer was making a real play for Anthony, and he was still standing strong.

  “As soon as you stop worrying about her, I will.” He stood up and walked over to her, his hands starting at her shoulders and stroking down her arms. “You haven’t even kissed me good morning yet.”

  She turned to face him, looping her arms around his neck. “Well, since you told Mrs. Olson you were half in love with me before you met Jennifer, I guess you deserve some affection.”

  “I wouldn’t otherwise?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re in a feisty mood this morning!”

  “I had to run inside. I hate running inside.” She tilted her head to one side. “And I show you affection every single time I cook for you. I don’t cook for just anyone you know. Only the people I love.”

  “That’s not true at all! You’re cooking for Jennifer this weekend, and I don’t see any love lost there…”

  “Yes, but do you have any idea what I’m charging her? You’re getting my love-filled cooking for free!”

  *****

  By Friday afternoon, the fixtures were installed in the bathrooms, the guest rooms were decorated, and Bri was in the kitchen with a knife cutting up fruits and veggies for trays. The dips were made and in stacks in her refrigerator.

  Anthony came down to the kitchen after he’d finished for the day and stood watching her. “You’re not going to be able to do anything tonight, are you?”

  She shook her head. “No, not with the added fruit and veggie trays. I’ll be doing good to find time to eat myself.”

  “Why don’t I go pick up supper for us?”

  She frowned at him. “I’m supposed to cook for you.”

  He shook his head. “You cook for me twice a day every day. Last weekend you cooked for me three times a day! I think I can provide a meal or two…”

  “And then you’ll come back and help me with cutting these fruits and veggies? There are a few I can’t prepare until tomorrow, but most can be done tonight.” She took another watermelon from the fridge and started the process of peeling it. She’d always found it easier to cut it into cubes after it was peeled.

  “What do you want to eat?” he asked.

  “Surprise me!” She really didn’t want to have to take the time to think about it. Planning meals was something she did seven days a week, and she’d made more than a dozen meals for him with no feedback. He could figure something out today.

  He nodded, wondering if he’d done something wrong. She wasn’t usually so dismissive of him. “All right. I’ll be back soon.”

  She kept working, barely realizing he’d left. She had to get this done, so she could get a good night’s sleep and get up and start fresh in the morning. With the busy week they’d had at the B&B and this party all coming at her at once, she was more than a little overwhelmed. Usually she scheduled things better, but Anthony had her off her game.

  When he came back less than an hour later, she looked up from her fifth watermelon, startled he was back already. “That was fast.”

  “You’re completely losing track of time. I was stuck waiting in line forever.” He took the knife from her hand. “Wash your hands and come eat with me. You’ve barely taken five minutes off all day.”

  She frowned at him. “You were working. How do you know that?”

  He shrugged. “I just know. Please…take some time.”

  Nodding, Bri walked to the sink and quickly washed her hands, drying them on a towel. “What did you get?”

  “Italian. I got lasagna, meatballs, and chicken fettuccini alfredo. I figured we could each take some of everything and have a little feast. Oh, and I got garlic bread.”

  She shook her head, grinning at him. “We’re going to be on carb overload. I’m going to have to add in another run just to make up for tonight.”

  “I figure we’ll work it all off at the party tomorrow.” He caught her hand and pulled her to him, stroking his hands over her back. “You still saving a dance for me?”

  She smiled up at him. “There’s no one I’d rather dance with.”

  “Good answer.” He leaned down and kissed her softly, his hand stroking her cheek. “You’re pretty special, you know that?”

  “Not really.” She shook her head with a sigh. “My best quality is my organization, and it’s been shot to hades this week. I don’t think I’ve made this much of a mess of my schedule since my first semester of college.”

  He frowned. “Why do you say that?”

  “I schedule every minute of every day. I even schedule in my bathroom breaks. This week…well, I should have had a lot more done than I did. I should have stayed up later and prepped more for this party, but I was so tired after working all day and…I wanted to spend time with you rather than cooking. You’re throwing me off course.”

  “Is that a bad thing?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know! I don’t like to be unpredictable. I ran my eight miles in fifty-nine minutes this morning, and my sister was sure I’d died!”

  “How long does it usually take you?” he asked, his brows drawn together. He didn’t quite understand what was going on in her head, but whatever it was, she seemed to think it was incredibly important.

  “It always takes me fifty-seven minutes. Exactly. Never a minute more or less. Today it was two minutes more! I don’t think I dawdled or anything, but my time was longer.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “I just feel like things are getting out of control, and I know that you probably think I’m crazy now, but I like to have all my ducks not only in a row but quacking on command!”

  He chuckled softly. “No one can be perfect all the time.”

  “Perfect? I couldn’t be further from perfect! At the moment, I’m a wreck! I don’t know what I’m going to do if I can’t get this done. I may have to call in
my family members, and I don’t want to have to do that.”

  “Would you do it for them?”

  She shrugged. “In a heartbeat. I’ve bailed family out before, but no one should have to bail me out. I should be able to handle this.”

  “Then we’ll handle it. Together. First, let’s eat, and then we’re going to finish everything we can do tonight. I don’t care how long it takes.” He gently pushed her toward the table. “I’m getting plates and silverware. You just sit for a minute.” He was surprised to see her so distraught over something so minor, but upon reflection, he understood. She really was strong for everyone else. She expected too much of herself.

  While they ate, Anthony steered the topic to things other than the B&B and the upcoming party. “We had this dog when I was little. Her name was Kippa, and she was an absolute mess. My dad took me to the shelter when I was six and let me choose the dog I wanted. I saw this little black and white terrier mix and fell in love. She was jumping…not like a normal dog either. She was little, maybe fifteen pounds, and she could jump higher than my head. I’d stand on tiptoes and try to hold stuff over my head, and she’d just jump up and take it. My grandmother called her the dog from hell.”

  Bri laughed softly. “Jack has a black lab named Tank. He is always in your face trying to be your best friend. I swear if I added up the total amount of saliva that dog has licked on me, I could fill up a swimming pool!”

  “So are you a dog or cat person?”

  “I can’t really have either,” she said sadly. “We always had dogs growing up, and I’d love to have another, but I just don’t see how we could make it work. Not with the B&B and the guests. We don’t know if people will be allergic or not, and the guests have to be our first priority. You should get a dog and let me visit him.”

  “Or we could get married and just pick out a dog together. I’ll want to adopt though. I think there are too many dogs and cats already, and people should choose one from a shelter. Rescue dogs are always the best.”

  “Like your Kippa?” She didn’t respond to the marriage suggestion. She wanted to, but…it wasn’t time yet. She was too stressed and wanted someone to lean on. That wasn’t a good enough reason to agree to marry someone.

  He nodded. “I’d love another dog like Kippa. We couldn’t have guests over, but she would smother us in love.”

  “What more can you ask for in a dog?”

  Anthony smiled, realizing that she was much calmer now. There was still a lot of work to be done, but they could get it done together.

  When Bekah came in twenty minutes later, they were still eating. “I’m going to take a quick bath, and then I’m all yours for the night,” she told Bri. “I know we have a lot to get done before tomorrow. Have you hired enough people yet?”

  Bri nodded. “I have. Everyone will be there thirty minutes before the party for instructions. If we find someone we really like, we may want to hire them on after we open. Isn’t it strange? We’re about to start affecting the economy of Silver Springs by bringing in another business and more tourists. It’s like we’re responsible adults or something.”

  Bekah shook her head in mock horror. “Just don’t tell my parents! They’ll expect so much more from me!”

  Chapter Ten

  By the time they reached the hotel the next afternoon, Bri was calm again. She had everything under control. She wondered what Anthony thought of her after her little breakdown the day before, but he’d handled her perfectly. Her family knew she got that way, but most outsiders didn’t. Maybe she wasn’t thinking of him as an outsider anymore, and that was a bit scary.

  As the evening wore on, she watched him leave the kitchen with a full tray and return with an empty one over and over. She half expected him not to return each time, but he always did. “How’s it going out there?” she asked halfway through the night. “Which foods are people liking best?”

  He shrugged. “The fruits do well, but so do the sausage rolls. They love those little pinwheels. I think Mr. Olson is thrilled that you didn’t serve any of the hoity toity boring foods so many people think they need for a party like this.” He took her hand. “It’s taking longer for the food to disappear now, so I think it’s time we dance.”

  She laughed. “I don’t know if that’s a good idea…I mean it sounded good when you first said it, but Jennifer would have a fit.”

  “So? What do you care what she thinks?”

  “What if she doesn’t pay me?” Bri asked.

  “I met her mom. She’s not going to let her get away with not paying just because you danced with me. The food has been wonderful, and you’ve earned your fee.” He tugged her toward the door. “We’re dancing, and I don’t care what anyone says.”

  She grinned, following him out. Knowing her parents were at the party, along with both aunts and uncles, made it feel that much more daring. There was a slow song just starting up, and she went into his arms. They’d never danced before, so she didn’t know if he was a swayer or a real dancer, but whichever he was, she was sure to enjoy herself as long as he was the one holding her.

  It turned out he swayed to the music, having no real dancing skills, but she didn’t care. “This was a brilliant idea. Thank you for asking me to dance.”

  “The most beautiful woman in town shouldn’t be in the kitchen all night, hidden away from everyone. Thank you for dancing with me.” He pulled her a bit closer, resting his cheek on top of her head. He’d have to let her go right back to the kitchen after their song, and he wanted to hold her forever.

  When the song ended, she opened her eyes and saw Jennifer glaring at them. “I think we got caught.”

  “In for a penny, in for a pound, right?”

  Her brows drew together. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  He pulled her over to Jennifer, smiling at her as he kept his arm around Bri. “Thanks for inviting us to the party. It’s absolutely amazing. How did you put it together so quickly?”

  Jennifer flipped her long hair, grinning at the compliment. “Well I did have some help. Bri here made some of the food.”

  Bri opened her mouth to say she’d brought all the food, but she bit her lip. Anthony was obviously up to something, and she wasn’t going to argue too much. “The band is really good. Was it hard to find someone on such short notice?” he asked.

  Jennifer shrugged. “When you’re willing to pay well for a service, it’s not hard to get people to break other commitments.”

  “I see. Well, we’re going to get back to work now.” He tugged Bri back toward the kitchen, leaving her confused as to what had just happened.

  “What was that about?”

  “I figured if we thanked her for inviting us, and told her how wonderful the party was, she’d realize that it was okay for us to dance, whether she liked it or not.”

  Bri looked at him skeptically. “We’ll see. She’ll probably go complain to my mother. She always was a tattle-tale.”

  “She really brings out the little girl in you, doesn’t she?” he asked.

  “Sometimes. It seems to me that she’s spent her entire life doing everything she can to make my life miserable. That gets really old after a while.”

  “I’m sure it does. Maybe it’s time you rise above it. Don’t let her treat you that way.”

  “How am I supposed to stop her?”

  He smiled as she played neatly into his plan. “Take what she wants and do it in the most public way possible.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I want you to marry me. I’ve wanted that since the first day I met you.” He pulled a ring from his pocket and showed it to her. “Will you marry me, Brina?”

  She slowly backed away, shaking her head. “I can’t marry a man just because he likes the fact that I feed him.”

  “No, you can’t. Can you marry a man just because he loves you more than he ever imagined possible? Because he can’t imagine life without you by his side? Because he believes that fate brought him to Sil
ver Springs and your B&B so he could find you and keep you forever?”

  She swallowed hard. “Is that why you’re asking me to marry you?”

  He nodded emphatically. “That’s exactly why I’m asking you to marry me. I love you, Brina Roberts, and you said I can’t keep you in my pocket forever, so can I keep you by my side? With my ring on your finger?”

  She bit her lip, not sure how to respond. She wanted to marry him so much, but… “Where will we live? I have to be close to the B&B, and you can’t live there, because you’d have to share a bathroom with Bekah, and that would be just awkward, and—”

  He cut her off with a quick kiss. “Is that a yes?”

  She nodded hesitantly, before throwing her arms around him. “That’s definitely a yes! I don’t know how we’re going to make it work, but that’s a yes.” She rested her head against his shoulder for a moment. “I love you, ya know.”

  He scooped her off her feet and spun her in a circle. “I’m keeping you!” He slid the diamond ring Bekah had helped him pick out onto her finger.

  She laughed. “And I’m keeping you. So glad I won’t have to pay for repairs on the B&B.”

  “You’re a brat!”

  The door to the kitchen opened, and Bekah stuck her head inside. “Can we come back in now? All our trays are empty.”

  Bri swatted Anthony’s arm. “Did you tell them to keep out?”

  “Well, yeah. I’m not stupid enough to think a man should propose with the whole world watching.” He looked over his shoulder to Bekah. “Come on back in!”

  All of the servers hurried in, grabbing their next trays, which Bri had already arranged, rushing back out to feed the hungry masses. “Come with me.” He pulled her back toward the door.

  “You know, I really do need to work!”

  “I know. We’ll work right after we tell your parents.”

  She dug her heels in, not willing to leave the kitchen. “Tonight? We can’t interrupt the party!”

  “Are you following me, or am I carrying you out there over my shoulder? Your mom has called me four times this week to see if I’ve proposed yet. I want to tell her now!”