No Funny Business (The Lennox Brothers Romantic Comedy)

and started working on new recipes right away. In all that time, I’ve only come up with four.” He shrugged. “So, yeah. Today was a great day. Now I need ten more just like it.”
“Well, if you want to come back tomorrow, Dad will be here. He’s bringing a bus load of people from his assisted living center for brunch.”
“Great! I want to cook for Mack.” Kade grinned. “When he tells me all the things I should have done better, I can take notes.”
I was so grateful, I wanted to hug him. “I can’t believe you’re willing to cook again tomorrow. Thank you.”
“The only day I have other plans is Saturday. I’m going back to LA for an interview on The Morning Show.”
“The Morning Show? Really?” I could feel my eyes getting rounder. Sometimes I forgot what a big star Kade was, but he’d mentioned the most popular chat show on television like it wasn’t a huge deal.
“Hello Natalie.” A man’s voice came from the door and I turned to see Willis walking in, his back stiff and his hands stuffed in his pockets. He was a regular customer, and I’d recently started tutoring him in English grammar once a week. But I ran our lessons from home, not the café.
“Hi Willis.” Surprise made my voice high. “What are you doing here?”
Willis’s gaze was on Kade and his expression wasn’t happy. He looked jealous, which was utterly ridiculous seeing as there wasn’t anything romantic between him and me. Willis had tried hitting on me when I first started tutoring him, and it had been so awkward and weird, I’d made it clear I wasn’t interested.
“You weren’t answering your messages and you canceled our last meeting, so we need to make a new time to get together.” Willis leaned against the counter next to me, getting so close he was crowding me.
On my other side, Kade glowered back at him. Suddenly the air seemed thick with testosterone.
So. Weird.
What was happening? Why did they look so unfriendly?
“I’ve been really busy,” I said to Willis. “I’ll message you when I’m free, okay?”
“Tomorrow night. Nine o’clock.”
I blinked at him, surprised, and starting to feel a little annoyed. I charged Willis next to nothing for tutoring him, seeing it as a favor rather than a job. It was like volunteer work, or paying it forward.
Not so much fun when the recipient acted like a jerk.
“I’ll message you when I’m free,” I repeated.
Willis stared at me a moment, taking in my expression, then looked slightly apologetic.
“Okay, I’ll wait to hear from you.” Giving me a nod and ignoring Kade completely, he sauntered out.
When I turned to Kade, he was scowling, an expression I’d rarely seen. “What was that about?” he asked.
“It’s nothing—”
“Hey,” Carlotta interrupted, striding into the kitchen. “I have bad news. Look at this.”
She pushed my almost-empty plate away so she could put her phone down in front of me, and I peered at her screen in dismay. It showed a review of Mack’s Place, and the reviewer had given the café a one-star rating.
We’d had a couple of low ratings before, and they were always gut-wrenching.
“I guess you can’t please everyone,” I said with a sigh.
Then Carlotta swiped the screen, scrolling through more reviews of the café. All of them had only rated it one star.
“What the—?” My heart sunk into my shoes. “What happened?”
“These went live last night,” Carlotta said. “Forty of them, all the same, from brand new accounts created at the same time, just to post a single review. They’re obviously fake. The work of one person.”
My stomach churned as I stared at the café's dismal rating. The new reviews had badly affected its overall score. If potential new customers checked online before coming here, the reviews could drive me out of business.
“It might have been Lee.” I felt sick. “My old chef. This is exactly the kind of thing he’d do out of spite.”
Carlotta stuffed her phone back in her pocket with a determined look. “Don’t worry, I’ll get the reviews taken down. Leave it with me.”
“Thank you, Lottie. For everything. All your hard work today, and—” There was so much to thank her for that I ran out of words and jumped up to hug her instead.
She laughed, squeezing me back. “Hey, anytime. You know I’ve got your back.” She let me go. “There are only a few customers left, and I think they’re just hanging around hoping Kade will go out and talk to them. I’m going to take off and deal with the reviews, okay?”
“Please do,” I said gratefully.
When she’d gone, I paced up and down, too anxious to keep still. “I really hope the buyers don’t see the café's new rating.”
Kade stood too, and it wasn’t until he grabbed my hands that I realized I’d been twisting them together. His eyes were soft. “Don’t worry, Nat. This kind of stuff happens all the time. I’m sure they’ll understand.”
“But these are the first people interested in buying the café since I listed it for sale. I’m trying not to get my hopes too high, but I can’t help it.”
“There’s got to be someone out there who’ll take over the café and love it as much as Mack did.” He let go of my hands to put an arm around my shoulders and pull me into a hug, and there was something possessive about the motion. Almost angry.
“Thanks, Kade. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” With a sigh, I leaned my head against his wide, muscled chest. He smelled even better than the delicious meal he’d just cooked me. How was that even possible?
“Hello!” Emmy’s cheerful voice from behind us made me jump. “Taking a well-earned break, you two?”
Kade’s arm dropped and we both turned to greet the pretty, dark-haired realtor, and the couple who were standing next to her. The couple were probably in their late forties or early fifties, and they looked like a Poodle and a Bulldog. The woman was small and fussily