The St Patrick Series Book #3: Twin Trouble

Chapter 1: Mr-brooding-handsome-afternoon-candy-hot-mess

'...we are exactly where we are supposed to be...'

Daniella's POV
I spotted him from the corner of my eyes when he walked in half an hour ago. He didn't look my way but I paid attention and I have been paying attention since. He's not a common face or the kind you just look up and get a flood of information on. But he's a St Patrick. His mother is the CEO of the St Patrick Group. She's a big deal for girls who are looking for a role model in this male dominated world. I like stalking her online, reading about her and trying to imagine myself as a successful CEO of something, someday. Enough about Courtney. Bruce is significantly absent online. Physically, equally invisible. So this is usually a big deal, when he walks into our little cafe late in the afternoon to sit at table seven alone for about an hour or so.

He orders a cappuccino and two cinnamon rolls. Simple. It never changes.

He is a dark haired man with beautiful green eyes. He seems like a serious man. I would like to know if he ever smiles or what his laugh sounds like. When I think about Izzy's suggestion I can't help but wonder if I should try to get close. Not for revenge but to get to know the man behind the hard shell. I want to know the man my sister probably loved. What did she love about him?

I wonder why he comes to this very café every Tuesday at five in the evening. We aren't among the high end cafes in Manhattan but he is consistent, leaving a pattern to be noticed.

I placed my elbows on the counter, fixing my eyes on him with a longing sigh leaving me. He is my afternoon candy. I will stare whenever I can, possibly imagining Dani with him. She ne er mentioned him. How long were they together? What did they talk about?

Today he is wearing a gloomier face than usual, coupled with his handsome brooding self. There is something about a brooding older man that makes my heart skip several beats at a time. I have a type. I definitely have a type. I want to talk to him and ask him if everything is okay but how do you ask a complete stranger to pour out their heart to you more so when you have a hidden agenda of your own?

The first time Bruce St Patrick crossed my thoughts was a year ago when Izzy brought him up in a conversation in front of Danica's grave. She insisted on bringing up the kidnapping that had happened five years ago. My abductor told me that Bruce St Patrick was behind everything that was happening to me, including my sister's death. Since then I have carried that with me but each day I convince myself that I never saw Bruce abducting me and Dani's killer was never caught. But Izzy won't let it rest. She brings it up, insisting that there is need for payback. Now I am standing a few feet away from the man my twin wants to destroy. The man I want to get to know. I have far more better things to do than invest myself in that maddening cycle.

"Brooding boy." Tami whispered, ogling Bruce like he is candy. He is not a boy. Anyone can see that. He is a man -a grown man- not those stupid immature boys who hang around us. "Oh, if only he could notice a girl like me."

I looked her over and smiled. She is chubby and clumsy in an adorable way. She has a very pretty face, hard to ignore. Every time she crushes on a customer, I end up doing her tables because she is accident prone and the manager doesn't want to get sued over a customer being burnt by hot tea or coffee. These upper east siders can sue for the pettiest of issues. But I am also clumsy to a certain degree that has to do with Bruce St Patrick. He makes me nervous. I have never served him anything. I stick to the cashier job.

"We girls can dream." I remarked noting that I too reserve my own feelings towards the mysterious man. They have been budding for weeks. "My ultra ego would probably march over there and kiss the life out those pink lips. Curse his hotness!"

"Don't you wonder what he thinks about? He's so handsome when he's brooding." She leaned on the granite counter looking at Bruce like he is her next breath. "I love the brooding type. I love Bruce St Patrick."