While he waited forPatrick to arrive, he selected a bottle of single malt Scotch frombehind the bar. He poured two small glasses, neat, no ice, and setthem down on the coffee table just as the front dooropened.
Patrick was dressedcasually in faded jeans and a peach open-necked cotton businessshirt, the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, the tail untucked. Itappeared as though he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. His darkblond hair looked well overdue for a trim, but did nothing todetract from his admirable features. Whether intentional or not, hehad a casual edgy look that women loved.
“Hey bigbrother, I see you’re way ahead of me. Cheers.” Patrick picked uphis glass and tapped it against Todd’s. He took a healthy swig ofhis drink. “Good Scotch.”
“I thought youcould do with it. How did the job go today? Did you get the all thecement floors polished and the windows installed in the loftapartments?” Todd sat down on his black leather couch and watchedhis brother head towards the open plan kitchen.
Patrick stoodwith the fridge door wide open, perusing the shelves for leftoverfood. He pushed a hand through his unruly mop of hair as heconsidered his choices. “Yeah, all good on the lofts. We start onthe kitchens tomorrow. We changed the configuration a little. I’vegot the new plans in the car. I’m bloody starving. Have you haddinner yet? Want to share a pizza?” He picked up a couple ofcontainers, inspecting and sampling the contents before returningthem to the shelf. A casserole dish at the bottom caught hisattention and he lifted the lid. “Ah … leftover chicken. Don’t mindif I eat this, do you?” He shot his brother a cheeky grin. Withoutwaiting for permission, he helped himself to adrumstick.
Todd could notdeny a hungry man.
“No, I haven’teaten yet. Pizza? Sure, why not, but I want to go out to eat. Ineed the distraction. We’ll go in your car if it’s out front.” Toddpicked up his glass and finished off the contents in one swallow ashe walked towards the kitchen. He rinsed the crystal tumblerbeneath the tap, popped it into the dishwasher and strolled to thefront door.
He turned to see Patrickfollowing him with a chicken leg in one hand and the glass ofScotch in the other.
“Hey pal, putthe glass in the dishwasher, don’t leave it on the hall table.”Todd glared at him, watching his every move.
“Sure bro, Iknow how OCD you are!” Patrick flashed a smile and headed back tothe kitchen. With the offending glass tucked away in thedishwasher, he grabbed a napkin from the rack, wiped his greasyhands, and tossed the napkin and chicken bone in the garbage with aflourish.
“Yet you stilllike to push my buttons every chance you get. It figures.” Toddheld open the door and gave him a playful punch in the shoulder ashe walked through.
As Chloeeased into the passenger’s seat of Todd’s car at 10 am on a quietSunday morning, he found it difficult to contain hisenthusiasm. A day to ourselves!He held the car door open and she made herselfcomfortable in the plush leather interior. She tucked the walkingstick into the car door. He glanced skywards at the few wispycotton candy clouds, drifting over the azure blue sky, the airtemperature warm but not humid. Perfect. He couldn’t have asked forbetter weather to drive down the coast.
He admired the way thebuttercup yellow summer dress was hugging her in all the rightplaces. The sun shone through the skylight, illuminating the goldenhighlights in her hair. He found it hard to resist the temptationto reach out and run his fingers through the lush silken strands.She flicked her hair off her shoulder to secure the seat belt. Theair around him was infused with the fragrance of exotic flowers. Ashe closed the door she glanced up at him and smiled, anticipationevident in her eyes. He slid behind the wheel grinning like aseven-year-old boy on his way to the circus.
He chose thescenic route, around the coast, unperturbed by the leisurely Sundaydrivers, who slowed their progress even more. No need to rush. The scenerycaptured their attention and gave them fuel fordiscussion.
When theypulled off the main road for an early lunch, he introduced her to apicturesque family owned restaurant he had frequented over theyears. Hidden away on a side street, the foot traffic was minimal.A family owned business where Papa held the reins in the kitchen,and Mama and the children waited tables. He promised her deliciousfood, lovingly prepared and unique dishes to make her mouth water.At her request he ordered for both of them, hopefully impressingher by ordering all the foods she loved.
Chloe closed her eyes asshe savoured the first bite of her seafood.
“Are you aspy, Todd? A secret agent, perhaps?”
“I don’tfollow you.” He rested his knife and fork on the plate as heconsidered her question.
“Okay then,how did you find out I loved seafood, and that lobster mornay isone of my favourite things in the world?”
“I always domy research. I’m glad it paid off.” Todd smiled and resumed hismeal.
She folded her arms andsat back with a mischievous smile, as if waiting for him to spillthe beans.
“Okay. Youreyes lit up when they moved over the seafood part of the menu. Theypaused long enough on the special of the day, which happened to belobster mornay. You returned to that page twice, and you lickedyour lips. In my line of work you have to be good at readingpeople, and reading body language.”
“Very clever,Sherlock Holmes.” She clapped her hands softly.
He inclinedhis head in a slight bow. “Elementary, my dear Watson.”
Aware he had taken a fewtiny steps forward in her estimation, he mentally patted himself onthe back.
He selected an Italianwhite wine, an excellent crisp chablis, delicate on the palate andjust the right accompaniment to the delicious seafood he orderedfor both of them.
