Lissa Manley - The Parent Trap

Her dad wiped his hand on his pants and shook Brandon’s hand. “You, too, Brandon.” He looked at Jill. “I’m not going to interrupt you two anymore, Jilly.” He wagged his eyebrows suggestively, a sure sign he’d had a hand in inviting Brandon here this evening. “Gotta go clean up. Send the girls out so I can show them my latest project.” Ever since she was big enough, Zoe had been her grandpa’s assistant; she spent hours hanging out in his lab with him, working on his various projects. She’d become quite the little inventor in her own right. Jill only hoped Zoe would eventually find other interests.

With that, Jill’s dad left the dining room, a long length of toilet paper stuck to the bottom of one shoe.

Jill snorted under her breath. Really attractive, Dad.

Her cheeks fired up again. She fought the desire to drop her head into her hands and scream out her frustration and embarrassment. Not only was she sure her dad had helped the girls with their scheme, acting on his intense but futile desire to see her married again, but he’d pranced into the dining room in his full mad-scientist glory, toilet paper of all things trailing behind him.

Would he never stop embarrassing her?

She mentally noted the need to have a very frank discussion with her dad right away. She knew from experience that nothing she could say would change his wacky personality; his nickname was disgustingly appropriate. But she would darn sure give him a piece of her mind for egging the girls on in the matchmaking department.

Taking a deep breath, she reined in her spiraling emotions. She looked at Brandon, keeping her face deliberately neutral, hoping to downplay her father’s strange behavior. “Sorry about that. I was hoping there wouldn’t be any explosions tonight.”

Brandon grinned and sat back down. “Don’t be sorry. I like him. He’s an original.”

Jill relaxed a bit, loving the fact that he didn’t seem to think her dad was anything unusual. Or if he did, he was graciously keeping that unfortunate information to himself. “That’s putting it mildly.”

“So, does he live with you?” Brandon asked.

Jill cleared her throat. “Kind of. He has an apartment above his laboratory out back.” Jill hadn’t really wanted to live with her dad when she’d moved back to Elm Corners after Doug had left her. After living with her dad’s madcap ways her whole childhood, his crazy, never-know-what-to-expect lifestyle didn’t really appeal to her.

But when he’d suggested she move in to the house, announcing he wanted to live above his lab out back, she’d taken him up on the offer, needing his help with Zoe. She’d also realized that, considering she didn’t have a job when she’d moved, living with him made financial sense. And she had to admit, crazy inventions aside, he was a great grandpa, Zoe adored him and his babysitting help had been invaluable to a single working mom like Jill.

Needing to change the subject from her one-of-a-kind, exasperating dad, she asked Brandon the first question that popped into her head. “So, Brandon. What do you do?” Oh, how she hoped he was in some weird line of work that would cancel out how appealing he was in other ways.

He settled back into his chair. “Well, I was a lawyer when we lived in L.A. But I’ve dumped all that to start my own business.”

“And what kind of business are you starting?” Jill asked, truly interested. For some reason she couldn’t put her finger on, Brandon seemed like the kind of guy who would succeed in anything he did.

“I’m opening a restaurant on Main Street. Maybe you’ve seen the signs.” He leaned forward, his eyes full of undisguised excitement and pride. “It’s called The Steak Place.”

Jill’s stomach dropped. No way!

She stared at him to make sure he wasn’t goofing around. He sat there looking at her, appearing totally serious.

She pressed her lips together and shifted on her chair. Oh, she’d seen the stupid signs, all right, every time she went to work. Brandon was the person who’d taken the lease for the adjoining space right out from under her nose!

Her cheeks blazed to life. Well, hurray. It looked as if her wish had come true. His line of work was unappealing.

He was her competitor, someone who could spell disaster for not only her livelihood, but also her plans to be a successful, well-respected businesswoman.

Put simply, he was a man she wished had never come to town.

“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.