“I’d say you know what you’re doing.”
He looked out the window where Tucker was busy with the grill, Barrett talking to him. “Don’t tell my brothers. I have a reputation as a badass.”
She laughed. “Your secret is safe with me.”
She’d prepared the seasoned potatoes, and those were ready just as Tucker came in with the grilled salmon. She’d also tried her hand at the topping sauce for the salmon, a honey mustard glaze that she hoped was as good as it sounded.
It had been a very unusual experience to say the least. She’d fully expected Tucker and his brothers to sit in the living room, drink beer and talk or watch sports, or possibly hang out outside. Despite Tucker’s intention to assist her with this meal, she’d figured he’d want to catch up with his brothers, and she wouldn’t have minded cooking by herself.
What she hadn’t expected was for all of them to roll up their sleeves and help her. Tucker handled grilling the salmon, and Barrett had washed all the prep dishes.
It was definitely a team effort.
She opened another bottle of wine and set it on the dining room table to let it breathe while they laid the food out and set the table.
Barrett was the one who held her chair out for her. She turned to him and smiled. “Thanks.”
“It’s the least I can do for the beautiful woman who made this amazing meal for me.”
“Quit hitting on my girlfriend, Barrett,” Tucker said, nudging his brother aside to sit next to Aubry.
Tucker had called her his girlfriend. In front of his brothers. That was fairly monumental, especially for a guy. Aubry was touched by his display.
“Thank you all so much for the help,” she said. “I hope you enjoy the meal.”
“It looks great, and smells even better,” Flynn said. “I know it’s going to be good.”
“Enough talking,” Barrett said, lifting his fork. “Let’s eat.”
They poured wine, and ate. Aubry took a bite of the salmon, which melted on her tongue.
“This turned out perfectly, Tucker,” she said. “Just the right amount of grill time.”
“It is pretty good,” Flynn said. “I like the sauce, too. Is that honey in there?”
Aubry nodded. “It’s a pretty simple glaze, with white wine, balsamic vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard and garlic.”
Flynn nodded. “It’s great. For a little different flavor, you might try marinating your salmon in soy sauce, brown sugar, bourbon and ginger. Add a little lime juice and some garlic, and just a touch of black pepper. It’s tangy and really damn good.”
Aubry’s eyes widened. “That sounds delicious.”
Tucker pinned Flynn with a look. “I can’t believe you have a recipe in your head.”
Flynn shrugged. “I told you. I cook.”
“Flynn’s thinking of opening a restaurant in San Francisco,” Barrett said to Aubry.
“Really?” Aubry asked. “That would be amazing.”
Flynn glared at Barrett. “Do you have to tell everyone we know?”
Barrett grinned. “Pretty much, yeah.”
“Uh-oh,” Aubry said. “Was I not supposed to know? I’m sorry if it’s a secret.”
“It’s not a secret,” Flynn said. “I just haven’t decided yet if I’m going to do it. After our visit here in St. Louis, we’re going to fly out to San Francisco and look at commercial property. I’m still thinking about it, though.”
“Opening a restaurant is serious business,” Tucker said. “I know a lot of athletes who’ve done it, but I’ve heard it’s very difficult. Do you have a chef in mind?”
Flynn shook his head. “Right now I’m just considering the project. First I’ll look into location and property. Then we’ll take it from there and see what happens.”
“I told you, if you need investors, let me know,” Tucker said. “I believe anything you put your head and body into, you can make work.”
Flynn looked at Tucker, then nodded. “Thanks, Bro. That means a lot.”
Aubry loved the look that passed between the brothers. That was a tight bond.
“You’re not getting any money from me,” Barrett said. “I’m just going to go with you and tell you over and over that it’s a dumb idea.”
Flynn laughed. “Yeah, I knew I could count on you, Barrett.”
“I think it’s very exciting,” Aubry said to Flynn. “I do wish you luck. You seem passionate about food. I think you could make it work.”
“Thanks.”
Dinner was a success, and the more time she spent around Tucker’s brothers, the more she liked them. Barrett was funny, Flynn was more serious, but still had a good sense of humor. And it was quite obvious that despite all the teasing, they all loved each other very much.
It was also clear that Tucker enjoyed having his brothers around. With them spread out playing sports in different areas of the country, he probably didn’t get a chance to see them all that often. So she didn’t mind at all that they stayed up very late.
She stifled a yawn and finally stood and said, “I hate to be a terrible partier, but I have an early call tomorrow, so I’m going to bed.”
“We should head to bed, too,” Flynn said, standing.
She put up a hand. “Don’t be ridiculous. Stay up as long as you like. I can guarantee that as a doctor, I fall asleep in seconds and will sleep like the dead. Lessons learned from my internship.”