Chapter 2

The beauty of owning your own shop, as far as Brooke was concerned, was that you could buy and sell what you chose, your hours were your own to make, and the atmosphere was your own to create.

Still, as her own boss, she was tough, often intolerant, and expected the best from herself; she worked hard and rarely complained.

She had exactly what she'd always wanted—a home and business in a small town, away from the pressures and headaches of the city where she'd lived the first twenty-two years of her life.

Moving to Tree Hill and starting her own business had been part of her five-year plan after she graduated from UCLA with a degree in fashion design. She worked for a clothing store for five years before her designs got picked up.

Now she was the boss. Every inch of the shop and the cozy apartment atop it was hers—and the bank's. Lucas Scott's new wardrobe was going to go a long way.

The minute Lucas left the afternoon before; Brooke had started tucking things away she liked. She'd even sketched a few things hoping he would like something he saw.

Lucas Scott was going to get his money's worth. And, oh, she hoped his pockets were deep.

She looked up as the door to the shop jingled and cursed under her breath at the way her stomach fluttered. "Pretty girl"

"Did you bring the pictures?"

He held up a thick stack. "I'd like to take you somewhere."

"That isn't necessary. We can do it right here

"It's just business Brooke"

"Fine" she managed

She grabbed her oversized brown purse and walked to the door. He grabbed her hand as she made to open her car door

"Let's take my car"

"I thought I'd follow you," she began.

"Let's just take one car. I'll bring you back."

"From?"

"Home, sweet home, pretty girl."

"I don't think it's necessary for us to go to your house to-

"Brooke"

"Business"

"Of course" he smiled opening the door for her. She was silent on the short drive to his house.

Lucas hopped out of his car, Before Brooke could step down into the foot-deep snow, he'd plucked her up.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? I'm perfectly capable of walking through a little snow."

"City boots." He said pointing to the brown ankle boots she wore over her jeans. Smoothly he opened the door, elbowed it aside and carried her in.

"Hey, Luke, what you got there?"

Grinning, Lucas shifted Brooke in his arms and winked at Nathan. "Got me a female."

"Gorgeous one too" he smiled "Hey Brooke"

"Nathan."

"Any coffee hot?" Lucas asked.

"Sure"

"Fine. Now get lost."

"Well, that was certainly rude." Brooke blew her hair out of her eyes as Lucas carted her down the hall and into the kitchen.

"You're an only child, right?"

"Yes, but—"

"Figured." He dropped her into one of the cane chairs at the kitchen table. "What do you take in your coffee?"

"Nothing-black."

"What a woman." He stripped off his coat, tossed it over a peg by the back door, where his brother's jacket already hung. From a glass-fronted cupboard, he chose two glossy white mugs. "Want anything to go with it? Some hopeful woman always bakes Jake's cookies. It's that pretty, innocent face of his."

"Pretty, maybe. You're all pretty." She shrugged out of her coat with a murmur of appreciation for the warmth of the room. "And I'll pass on the cookies."

He set a steaming mug in front of her. Out of habit, he turned a chair around and straddled it. He slid the stack of pictures in front of her and watched as she flipped through them

"You were right" she said as she sipped the coffee "She looks to be about my size, but I still want to meet her"

"Well it's a surprise; I don't want her to know I'm doing this, so we'll have to come up with something"

"I'll think of something"

"I'll be staying here for a while so you can decide if you want me to bring you here or if you'd rather I come to your place."

"Well, all the clothes are at the shop so—"

"I'm not talking about the clothes." He cupped her chin in his hand, kept his eyes open and on hers when he kissed her.

Softly at first, testing. Then with a murmur of satisfaction, deeper, so that her lips parted and warmed. He watched her lashes flutter, felt her breath sigh out and into his mouth, felt the pulse just under her jaw, just under his fingers, throb. The smoky scent of her skin was a seductive contrast to her cool-water taste.

Brooke kept her hands gripped tight in her lap. It was shocking how much she wanted to use them on him. To drag them through his hair, to test the muscles under his shirt. But she didn't. Her mind might have blurred for just an instant with astonished pleasure, even more astonishing greed, but she managed to hold on to her focus.

When he leaned back, she kept her hands where they were and gave herself time to level her voice. "We're business associates, not playmates."

"We have business," he agreed.

"Would you have pulled that maneuver if I'd been a man?"

He stared at her. The chuckle started low, bloomed into a full laugh while she squirmed at the ridiculous way she'd phrased the question.

"I can give you a definite no on that one. I figure in that case you probably wouldn't have kissed me back, either."

"Look, let's clear this up. I've heard all about the Scott brothers and how they're irresistible to women."

"It's been a curse all our lives."

She would not smile—even if she had to clamp her teeth together. "The point is, I'm not interested in a quick roll, an affair, or a relationship—which should cover any and all possibilities."

Damned if she wasn't even more alluring when she was trying to be rude. "I'm going to enjoy changing your mind. Why don't we start with the quick roll and work our way up from there?"

She rose sharply and pulled her coat on. "In your dreams."

"You're right about that. Why don't I take you out to dinner?"

"Why don't you take me back to my car?"

"All right." Unoffended, he got up to pluck his coat from the peg. After he'd shrugged it on, he reached out and flipped her hair out from the collar of hers. "Nights are long and cold this time of year."

"Write a book," she suggested on her way down the hall. "Sit by the fire."

He shook his head. "I'm going to have to add a little excitement to your life."

"I like my life just fine, thanks. Don't pick me—" The order ended with an oath as he scooped her up. "Scott," she said with a sigh as he carried her to the Jeep, "I'm beginning to think you're as bad as everyone says."

"Count on it."