Chapter's song: SummerThing! by AFROJACK

I glared at my stupid brother but he ignored me completely as he made his way to the kitchen.

Juno had made beef roast for dinner. Apparently, Mr. Gomez idea of romancing my grandmother was giving her great cuts every day.

Juno made us set the table in the dining room, opened a bottle of wine and placed a new bouquet of roses in the middle of the table. I had to admit that Mr. Gomez seemed nice, you know, when he was dressed and outside of my grandmother's bedroom. The flowers were a nice touch, though.

"This is lovely, madam," Bryan said to Juno. Seth smirked before grabbing his glass of water and taking a sip.

Juno cleared her throat. "You can call me Juno, Bryan. We do not use formalities in this house."

He nodded shortly. "Okay." I could tell he was about to say ma'am or something like that. Instead, he took a sip of wine.

"I want to be vegetarian," Seth blurted out as he played around with his meal. I started to choke as I'd just put a carrot in my mouth.

"Nonsense, dear." Juno dismissed him while frowning at me.

Seth couldn't lose the opportunity to slap me hard on the back a few times. Bryan poured me water in my glass and passed it to me. "I think Jesse shares the sentiment, Juno. We should stop eating meat." Seth winked at me as I drank some water.

He liked to play the overprotective role once in a while. It never worked out. However, I knew where this was coming from. He felt wary about Mr. Gomez. It wasn't the meat. It was the fact that Juno was dating.

"You couldn't be a vegetarian, Seth." I said after clearing my throat.

Bryan looked at us as if we were crazy. Which we were. That's why I didn't want him to stay for dinner.

Juno sighed. "I'm dating a nice man who happens to be a butcher," she explained to Bryan, "And he's been giving me meat cuts, like these. Which I happen to thank him for."

Seth started to choke this time. We both knew very well how she thanked him. Juno's eyes narrowed. She had the whole you'll-pay-later look in her face.

Bryan took a sip of wine. "Well, the man does know his business. This is a great roast, ma─ Juno."

"Thank you," Juno seemed to have just forgotten about Mr. Gomez as she stared at Bryan smiling like a little girl. "So, how's my Jessie doing?"

He glanced at me for a second. "She's okay."

Okay? Just Okay? I've been slaving myself over him for the last two weeks. I creased my forehead as I glared at my food.

"What kind of chef are you?" Seth asked him.

"What do you mean?"

I gazed at Seth as he shrugged. "I don't know, do you have sort of different specialties and shit?" My eyes widened at his vocabulary. What is wrong with him? "Whoops, we're at the table, Juno. Sorry." He was acting out like a tool. Juno pressed her lips together but Seth ignored us both.

Bryan wiped the corner of his mouth. "I used to be the tournant, the all-purpose chef, so to speak. You can jump from station to station to check on everything. Now, I just own a restaurant."

"A restaurant!" I blurted out.

His lips tugged up in a lopsided smile. "Why do you look so surprised? Of course I do." He left the napkin on the table, next to his now empty plate. "Two, actually."

"Wow." I mumbled as I leaned back on the chair. "That's...wow..."

He chuckled. "I'm not a celebrity chef like Tom but I people do know me. Or my restaurants." He shrugged.

"That's amazing!" Juno chirped in. "And you're such a young man! Congratulations! Your parents must be really proud of you!"

Bryan's smile faded as he looked down at his plate. "Yes, they would be."

I stayed quiet. The weird part was that I felt the urge to comfort him. I knew about dark pasts. I knew how hard it could be. However, I wasn't going to reach out for him in any way. Bryan was my boss and he clearly didn't want to talk about it.

"What kind of restaurants do you own?" I changed the subject before Juno asked him something else about it.

His gaze was thankful as his lips quirked up. "I guess you'll have to see for yourself sometime."

Yes, like that's ever going to happen. I figured they were those fancy restaurants that serve gourmet dishes and are expensive as hell.

We finished eating the roast. Juno got up and started to clean the table but I stood up, "I got it." I smiled at her.

"Can you bring some brownies for dessert, please?"

"Sure."

Bryan grinned at my grandmother. "Jessica baked us brownies the other day. They were great. Chef Olander was quite pleased. I was sure he was going to ask her for the recipe."

If Juno was fangirling before, she was a lost cause now. I could see little hearts floating around her as she thanked him giggling like a teen.

Seth stood up as well, grabbed the rest of the plates and followed me inside the kitchen. I left the dishes and slapped him on the arm. "What the hell is your problem, Seth!" I hissed angrily at him.

Rubbing his arm, he glared at me. "I haven't done anything!"

"You're being an asshole!" I lowered my tone at the same time we heard Juno's laugh.

Seth rolled his eyes. "Don't you think it's a bit suspicious that he's bringing you home? And you know, staying for dinner? He's like, old!"

My heart warmed for him. He was jealous. And playing the male-alpha brother part for me. "He's my boss. He just offered to help me. Plus, he's not old." Seth crossed his arms. I sighed. "Seriously, do you think a guy like him?" I pointed at the door, "who can have any kind of girl, would lay his eyes on me?" I patted him on the chest, "thank you for playing the protecting brother role but it's uncalled for."

"Is it?" his tone was unconvinced.

"Totally," I assured him.

He stared at me for a moment. Still not quite convinced, he uncrossed his arms. "Okay, okay. I'll behave from now on," he rolled his eyes at the end.

Chuckling, I shook my head. "Take this," I passed him the brownie platter while I poured water into the coffee machine, "Before Juno forgets about Mr. Gomez and throws herself at my boss."

Seth snorted at that. "Wouldn't that be fun to watch?"

Bryan praised Juno's brownies and she was just smiles for him. It was sort of cute and weird. But mostly cute. Seth kept his word and behaved much better for the last hour and a half.

After coffee, he thanked my grandmother again for dinner. He stood up and said his goodbyes and Juno urged me to walk Bryan out before kissing him on both cheeks.

I didn't really have a choice in the matter, so I walked with him to his car. The night's cool breeze gave me chills as I stepped outside my house, so I hugged myself as we climbed down the steps to the street.

"You have an interesting family," Bryan broke the silence as we reached his car.

I smiled. "I do."

Bryan's turquoise eyes looked at me intensely for a moment making my heart flutter. "Thank you for having me," he shook his head with a smile, "Even if you didn't want me to stay."

I bit my lip as my cheeks flushed. "Thank you for the books." I glanced down at my shoes before looking up again, "And for saving me in the morning."

He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't save you. Assisting me it's apart of your job." He turned away and walked around his car to get in. "By the way, you can tell your new admirer that you won't need a partner. You're stuck with me." A smile flashed through his face as smile as he climbed inside the car.

"He's not─" I didn't finish my sentence. It was pointless. He'd started the engine and wasn't going to hear me out.

He gestured me to go home. I rolled my eyes when I turned away. When I reached the door, I turned around and waved at him before his car sped down the street.

Bryan intrigued me. A lot. There was something about him that made me feel on edge. He seemed cold and bossy, but it felt like a mask. I sighed. There was more to him, and even though he didn't want to show it, he was kind, and funny sometimes.

I shook my head as I closed the door. Juno sat on the bottom of the stairs reading one of the cookbooks we'd brought home. She looked up and smiled at me. "He's really nice, and quite handsome."

I shrugged "I guess. If you're into that sort of guys."

Juno's grin widened. "You mean the charming and successful ones?"

Playfully, I rolled my eyes as I made my way to sit next to her. "Who wants a guy like that?"

She chuckled before shaking her head. "Well, I like him."

"I noticed. Like, the whole neighborhood noticed it."

Juno ignored me as she passed the page. "You like him too."

My stomach clenched. "I do not!"

"And I think he likes you too," she added nonchalantly but I knew better than that.

In silence, I grabbed one of the cookbooks, it was Tom's. I stared at him for a moment. He didn't look so handsome anymore. He was too skinny and his smile seemed fake. Bryan's lopsided smile played in my mind and I held my breath for a second before I opened the book and tried to focus on the recipes and not in in the guy who brought me home.