Page 46 of Cupcake of the Month (Just Add Peaches #2)

The door opened and revealed not the expected man, but a stunning woman wearing a stunning sheer red silk robe and a stunning smile, as if someone had delivered a beautifully-wrapped present with bows and balloons.

“You must be Brandilynn Clayton.” She purred the name and opened the door wider. Her dark hair brushed her shoulders and was pulled back on one side with a sparkling barrette. “Andy was right. You’re gorgeous. Please. Come in.”

Andy hadn’t mentioned hanging out with another couple.

Brandi crossed the threshold, letting her weekend bag slide to the floor as she glanced around the suite, expecting her boyfriend to come out of a bedroom, a welcoming expression on his handsome face.

The galley kitchen to her right was empty, as was the balcony visible through the sliding glass doors.

Her body heated up immediately inside her poofy jacket, but she wasn’t about to take it off.

Or kick off her sexy but uncomfortable high-heeled purple shoes. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

“I’m Loretta. Come in, sit down. Let me fix you a drink.”

It was barely after breakfast, but Brandi followed Loretta into the sitting area where she went to the wine bottles placed on the desk. Her robe swished around her ankles, and the outline of a negligee was clearly visible through the thin material. And other things were clearly visible under that.

Andy had made the weekend seem intimate. Romantic. And all about her. It had been a refreshing change from her previous relationships.

And that was the point. After spending a lifetime changing herself to fit someone else’s ideal, she was now discovering who she was and what she wanted. Since Andy traveled so much, she needed this time to figure out if he was her ideal.

Plus this was her vacation. Away from managing the whiskey distillery and helping out at the family Inn, away from having to meet the needs of others, away from responsibility. She was here for fun, frolicking, and getting naked.

With Andy.

And only Andy.

“Are you his…” Brandi trailed off, hoping Loretta would fill in the blank, but she remained silent, a seductive grin lifting her red lips. “Sister?”

“I’ll let him explain. He ran out for a minute and had hoped to be back before you got here. I told him not to go.” Loretta poured a glass of wine, her wedding band clinking against the glass as she held it. “Do sit down. It wasn’t too chilly out, was it?”

Brandi didn’t move. “Not too bad.” She smoothed down her blonde hair, wondering why she’d bother to stop in the lobby restroom to touch up her makeup before coming to Andy’s room. And Loretta’s room. And whoever else was hiding behind door number two.

“My, you sure are pretty. Andrin told me about your eyes. How unusual.” Loretta handed her a glass of something white. “What’s it called? Hetocornea?”

“Heterochromia,” Brandi corrected automatically, resisting the urge to cover her one-half brown and green eye. It should have been a compliment, but something about this whole situation was definitely off. Was this the sign she hadn’t been waiting for?

And Andrin? She hadn’t realized that was his name. Why would he keep something like that from her? She had thought it was Andrew. And with a last name like Conners, it explained why she could find so little information on social media.

She guessed Sebastien probably looked him up, too, but hadn’t found anything. He didn’t think she knew, but some past boyfriends had broken up with her rather suddenly after she had mentioned their names to her long-time friend.

“This is very nice and all, but I think I’ll wait for And… rin in the lobby.” Though she would have liked to relax after her flight and cab to the hotel.

“I did tell him he should be here when you arrive, but he insisted he wouldn’t be long. Can I get you some strawberries?”

Brandi practically jogged to her bag. The door opened before she could lift it, revealing Andy – Andrin – whoever on the other side.

“You’re here!” His smile crinkled his eyes and he reached over to embrace her, but Brandi danced out of his reach.

“So are you.” She turned into the room and gestured to Loretta, who was lounging on the couch, her robe opened to her thigh. “So is she.”

“Yes.” He bustled into the room and put the bag he carried on the counter.

Crumbs, he looked good, in a flannel jacket with a pair of jeans.

His face was reddened from the cold, his normally straight hair all windblown and careless.

He was a shade shorter than her own five eight, and she had been drawn in by his relaxed casual look on the dating app and the air of confidence he exuded when they met.

It was that confidence that now had her questioning herself. She had been so careful when choosing him on the app. Apparently, she couldn’t be trusted to find a boyfriend on her own.

He presented her with a bouquet of flowers wrapped in cellophane. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“You can just put those down.” Her gift to him was a game of kinky truth or dare, but she wasn’t about to give it to him. And the receipt was lying on her dresser at Fountenoy Hall.

Andy fixed his soft brown eyes on her and gestured to the sofa. “Please, sit down. I can explain everything.”

She strengthened her resolve, though she felt like crying. “You can explain everything with me standing here just as easily.”

He removed some glasses from the cabinet in the kitchen. “A drink first.”

Loretta rose from the sofa and stood next to Brandi. “I’ll take some more.”

Brandi folded her arms and waited. Andy grinned and showed her the orange bottle of whiskey from Belle’s Medicinal Brewery, her family distillery.

She fought her instinct to respond. Her mom had taught her to always, always smile at her man, even when she didn’t find him funny, or charming, or clever.

Loretta reached around her to grasp the offered glass and inhaled deeply, her nose brushing through Brandi’s hair. “You smell delicious. Like a sweet, sugary treat.”

“Okay.” Brandi lifted her bag. “We’re done here.”

“Wait!” Andy put the bottle down and leapt to the door. “Please.”

She lifted an eyebrow but said nothing.

“This is Loretta,” he said. “My wife.”

All the air left Brandi’s lungs in one choked breath as her body temperature rose. She wanted Andy to be different, but he was the same lying, cheating scumbag she always seemed to attract. “Your what?”

“I know this may come as a shock, but I’ve been telling Loretta all about you. How beautiful you are, and how you make me feel incredible whenever I’m with you. She wanted to meet you. She hasn’t wanted to meet any of my last few girlfriends.”

Loretta looked her over. “He didn’t lie. You’re exquisite. Those eyes.”

Brandi held up her hand. “First, you’re married? So you lied on the dating site. Second… I don’t even know what the second is. I don’t even want to know what the second is.”

“We wondered if you’d be willing to see how you fit in with our lives.” Andy reached out and twined his fingers with Loretta’s and reached his other hand out to Brandi.

She didn’t move.

“Our last girlfriend left about two years ago, and there hasn’t been anyone since that either of us thought would make the other happy,” he continued.

“Until you,” Loretta added.

“You guys do you, but this is not how I roll.” She hefted up her bag again. This time Andy didn’t try to stop her from opening the door.

“Can I still call you when I’m near Claremont?” he asked over the threshold.

Brandi said nothing, only closed the door behind her.

“Call if you change your mind,” he called through the barrier.

Brandi shifted her bag while fighting back tears of frustration as she waited for the elevator, her shoes pinching her toes and a thin sheen of sweat running down the small of her back because of that damn poufy jacket.

It was a small consolation that only two short years ago, she would have done anything to keep a man with her.

Changed her lifestyle. Pretended interest in things he liked.

Followed him like a lab rat for a morsel of his attention.

It was, after all, everything she’d seen her mother do when she was growing up.

She hadn’t known much else. The elevator dinged, and she stepped inside.

So, yeah, today was a win. Even if it did leave her stranded over three hundred miles from home. In really uncomfortable but sexy shoes. That no one else would appreciate.

Go her.

She plopped herself in a vinyl chair amidst a tropical-themed lobby and scrounged in her bag for a pair of socks.

Fish in the tank next to her paused in her line of vision, fins flailing wildly in their prison.

She shrugged out of her jacket, feeling a strange kinship with the trapped fish.

They were probably also lied to. Told that they were going to a clear lake with lots of seaweed and bread crumbs or something.

Only to be scooped up and fed flaky food.

Once her feet were comfortable, she sat back with a sigh and wiggled her toes.

The way she saw it, she had several options.

Rent a car, drive the five hours home to Georgia, and endure her cousin’s silent but present judgement, which Wendy probably thought she was hiding.

Check in to a different hotel and enjoy a weekend away.

Pick up some guy in a local bar for revenge sex.

At ten in the morning.

Crumbs, this sucked.

Well, hell, if she started for home right away, she might even make it back to work for a couple of hours.

On her freakin’ weekend off.

On freakin’ Valentine’s Day. Where she had cajoled Wendy into working extra because her guy lived at the Inn with them and Brandi only saw hers once every couple of weeks when he was traveling through Georgia.