HOW TO CATCH A BAD BOY

Lost in thought, she had no idea when he got close to them. Chandler recognized her immediately, and he smiled at her. Elena found herself wanting to smile back, but she didn’t. Knowing that she’d be living in the city, and how close her sister and his brother were, she knew that she would likely run into him sometimes, so the earlier she put boundaries between them, the better.

“Hello, ladies,” said Chandler, in that voice of his that had remained ingrained in her memory for the past three days.

“Hey Chandler,” Emily greeted back. Beth on the other hand simply smiled and waved at him, while Elena remained silent, although she couldn’t stop herself from stealing glances at him.

“What brings you to the mall?” Emily asked him, “Hunting for chicks? Or whatever the hell you men do with your spare time?”

Chandler laughed this time. A deep, sexy, rumble that did something weird to Elena’s insides. “Nah, I just wanted to get some stuff,” he replied, “And I don’t… hunt for chicks. If I wanted a girl, I wouldn’t need to ‘hunt’ for one”

Elena couldn’t help rolling her eyes at his comment. Just how cocky could he be, she thought. She wasn’t surprised though. A man that handsome would definitely have women throwing themselves at him, and that was one of the reasons why she had to stay away from him. She looked away, not wanting to meet his gaze.

“We’re off to the restaurant over there. You can join us when you are done if you want” said Emily.

What? Elena wanted to pinch her sister, but Beth was standing between them so she couldn’t get to her without Chandler noticing. She didn’t want Chandler to join them. She didn’t want him around her with his tall muscular frame and sexy green eyes. Thankfully, he declined Emily’s offer, stating that he was in a bit of a hurry and Elena breathed a sigh of relief. He said goodbye to them, and just before he walked away, he glanced in Elena’s direction.

“It’s good to see you again, Elena,” he said, then walked away without giving her a chance to respond.

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The truck arrived early on Saturday morning and Elena had to drive to her new apartment without Emily and Daniel as she didn’t want to keep the men waiting. Her search for a store for her business wasn’t going too well, so she threw her attention into the only thing that was ready. She refused to dwell on any negative thought and Emily was always around to assure her that things would get better.

There were two men, including the driver and they got to work immediately. Daniel and Emily arrived twenty minutes later, and together they worked, putting the living room, bedroom and kitchen in order and placing all the furniture in the right places. By 4pm, the house was arranged beautifully and the men took their leave.

Emily was very upset when it was time for her to leave with Daniel and Elena laughed at her grumpy face. “I’m still here,” she told her sister, “And we can visit each other whenever we want. Isn’t it better than when I lived in another state?”

“I guess so,” agreed Emily, “But I’ll still miss you,”

Elena didn’t have friends in Vacaville, except the people Emily had introduced her to since she arrived, but she still wanted to celebrate her new win. A small house party seemed like a good idea, and Emily being who she was, was very happy with the idea so she helped Elena with the planning and invites, while Elena took care of the food and baking. One requirement of owning a successful business was networking, and Elena saw this as an opportunity to sell herself and her products. The earlier she started getting catering jobs and orders, the better for her, and to make that happen, she had to meet people.

By 5pm the following day, her few guests started to arrive, Emily arrived first with Daniel, followed by Beth and a guy named Evan, then Charlotte, Lexi and Elijah. Elena had made some cookies and cupcakes. She had also made some fried rice in case some of the guests were too hungry and there were enough drinks for everyone.

An hour later, everyone seemed pretty comfortable with one another. They congratulated Elena on her new house and chatted excitedly. At that moment Elena was happy. She was also starting to really like Beth. Beth was so friendly and caring, and Elena couldn’t count the number of times she’d come to the kitchen to see if she needed any help or just to see if things were going fine.

When Elena’s phone rang and she saw that the call was from her agent, she went into the kitchen, hoping for some good news. She’d found a place that seemed suitable for her business, but the man was only calling to let her know that the place had already been rented out to another person. That wasn’t the news Elena wanted to hear, but there was nothing she could do about it.

“I’m so sorry,” the man whose name was Vincent said, “I’ll keep looking, and I’m sure we’ll find another place for you soon,”

Elena nodded, trying not to let it ruin her mood, but she couldn’t hide the disappointment in her voice, “It’s okay, Vincent,” she said, “It’s just that I really liked that place. All the other ones I’ve seen had one issue or the other but this one was so perfect. Just keep me posted. Thank you,”

“You’re welcome,” Vincent said and hung up.

Elena let out a sigh and reached out to open the fridge when a voice spoke behind her, scaring the shit out of her.

“Bad news?” the voice said.

She jumped and turned around to see Chandler Kendrick in all of his mind wrecking, handsome glory, standing at the entrance of the kitchen. He was wearing faded, ripped jeans, a dark gray beanie covering his hair, and a black henley stretched tight across his chest. His sleeves were pushed up to reveal the sleeves of ink on his muscular forearms, and Elena hated to admit to herself that this man indeed gave her butterflies. Just what was it about the Kendrick men that always got her head messed up? She didn’t know, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to let him get away with scaring her like that.