The Parent Trap. Lissa Manley

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      Chapter Two

      “Your cheeks are all red,” Brandon said, his deep voice laced with obvious concern. “What’s wrong?”

      Jill snapped her gaze to him, her face still blazing, her thoughts racing. Well, la-di-da. Looked as if she was going to be able to drop a bomb of her own. Brandon obviously had no clue that she owned the restaurant next door to his. “Has Kristy told you what I do for a living?” she asked.

      He drew his eyebrows together. “Uh, well…no, I guess not.”

      Jill rolled her eyes and let out an under-the-breath snort. Zoe and Kristy hadn’t let either of them in on the fact that they were business competitors of the first degree. Wait till she got her hands on Zoe!

      “I own The Wildflower Grill, the other restaurant on Main Street,” she informed him.

      For a moment the truth didn’t faze Brandon. Then understanding dawned in his eyes. “Oh,” he said. “So we’re…competitors.”

      Jill nodded, roughly rolling the stem of her wineglass between her fingers. “Yes, competitors,” she snapped, then instantly regretted her rude tone.

      “Is that a problem?” he asked, looking genuinely perplexed. “Granted, I didn’t know you owned a restaurant, but it shouldn’t be that big of a deal, should it?”

      Jill looked at him, trying to figure him out. Was it possible he hadn’t known she’d wanted the space between their two businesses? Gene Hobart, the landlord, was a shrewd businessman, and not above being sleazy when it came to snagging the client who would up his profits the most. Had Gene even told Brandon that Jill was interested in the space, or that she’d specifically told Gene she wanted the space when it became available? Or that Gene had unofficially promised to come to her with a deal first?

      Maybe Gene was the bad guy here, and not Brandon.

      “Maybe,” she said, forcing herself to stay calm and rational.

      “Why is that? Do you automatically hate other restaurant owners?” he asked, his mouth quirked into a teasing smile that would be so easy to return.

      She resisted the urge, reminding herself that he could be a charmer who might like to charm her right into rolling over and going out of business, clearing the way for his business to flourish.

      She let out a short, irritated breath. “For one, Mr. Clark, you chose a spot two doors from my restaurant, which certainly doesn’t bode well for my business. Secondly, I wanted to lease the vacant space between the two restaurants, and even though Gene promised me first crack, you got it instead.” She pressed her lips together and looked right at him, glaring. “Do you know how long I’d saved to be able to afford to lease that space when it became available?”

      He didn’t respond right away. After a long moment of silence, he leaned forward. “Look,” he said, his eyes reflecting a serious light, “for the record, I chose the spot I did because it was the best retail location for my restaurant, which I’m sure you can confirm. You chose the same stretch of property, right on Main Street, where you’d be assured the best return on your investment. You can’t fault me for being a good businessman.

      “Second, I had no idea you wanted the space next to yours. Gene offered it to me as one space, package deal, end of story.”

      Jill remained silent, thinking. He’d made some good points, she’d give him that, but his presence in Elm Corners still threatened everything that was important to her careerwise. “How in the world am I supposed to do well with you right next door, literally stealing customers away?” she asked.

      “No offense, Jill, but you’ve had it pretty easy as the only game in town in the way of fine dining.”

      She crossed her arms over her chest, her pride forcing her to omit what a rough road she’d had building her business, how difficult it had been to convince the staid population of Elm Corners to try a new restaurant. Business was more stable now, but the first year had been very, very lean, and she’d almost had to close The Grill several times. Only through sheer determination, a very understanding, devoted staff and a lot of creative advertising and promotions had she been able to draw in enough customers to stay afloat. Even now, though she was in the black, she was just barely making ends meet. It wouldn’t take much of a downturn in business to shove her back in the red. “Which is one of the reasons, I’m sure, that you chose to start a restaurant here.”

      He tilted his head to the side, then nodded. “Touché. I grew up in the restaurant business, so I knew enough to do some market research before coming here, and, of course, I knew that there was only one other fine-dining establishment in Elm Corners. But that’s irrelevant.”

      “Not to me,” she said under her breath, knowing as she said the words that she was being unreasonable. She also knew, however, that anything that threatened her dream of business success would push her buttons and freak her out.

      “I’m sorry this is a problem for you,” he said, sounding totally sincere. “For what it’s worth, I had no idea that you were the owner of the restaurant next door.”

      She looked at him, wishing he was a jerk so she could really hate him. But he wasn’t a jerk. He was a seemingly good guy who just happened to be her only competition. Deal breaker, that. They could never be friends.

      She stood. “I believe you, Brandon.” Her jaw tight, she began to clear the dinner dishes.

      After a long moment, he reached out and grabbed her hand as she reached for a salad bowl. “You’re mad at me, aren’t you?”

      She stilled, liking the feel of his big, warm hand on hers just a little too much. Forcing herself to pull her hand away, she replied, “I’m not mad, really, just…surprised to discover that you’re the person I’ve been cursing up and down for the last week.”

      He rose and began gathering dishes. “That doesn’t sound very good.”

      “It isn’t,” Jill replied truthfully. She wasn’t going to sugarcoat how worried and frustrated and irritated she was that he’d leased a space for a restaurant in Elm Corners, never mind right next door.

      When they reached the kitchen, he set the dishes on the counter. “So, I guess you’re not interested in showing me around The Health Hut.” He drilled her with those beautiful dark eyes, sending a hot, thrilling chill skating up her spine.

      She set her jaw, chasing off the way he could just look at her and make her want to grab him and kiss him silly. “You know, I don’t think I’d be much help. Cindy Jones runs the place. She can show you around.” The last thing Jill needed to do was actually spend time with the man who could spell disaster for her business goals.

      Brandon nodded, his jaw noticeably tight. “Okay, thanks.”

      Jill СКАЧАТЬ