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“You can come with me to the hotel. See me to my room, and then go. I’ll get up in the morning and take an Uber right to the car.”
“I’m not leaving you.” There was a finality to his tone, a silent demand that I wasn’t to argue, but this was insanity. His eyes went to his phone, fingers moving at warp speed.
“You won’t be back in time for your shift tomorrow.”
“I texted Rhone.” He held up his phone, and it binged immediately. “And look at that. He can cover me.”
“Now you’re spending and losing money.”
“How am I losing money?”
“All those tips you make.”
He grew quiet for a second, lifting his shoulder nonchalantly. “I never keep the tips. I give them to the hostess and whoever else is on the bar with me.”
“What? You bring in a freaking fortune with that.” I swirled my finger at his face. “That Grasso charm, and you just give it away?”
“I make a salary, and with my inheritance from my grandfather, I have more money than I’ll ever need in this lifetime. Our hostess and bartenders need it more than me. They have bills, kids, and student loans. I appreciate them and they deserve it.”
“You’re a good person.” Lord knows he didn’t hear it enough.
“Doing the right thing shouldn’t make you good; it should just make you human.”
A smile cracked at the corner of my mouth, and a laugh slipped.
“Why are you laughing?”
“You’re proving my point while trying to refute it.”
My phone chimed, and I looked down at the screen. Austin texted a thumbs up emoji. Ah, a man of many words. At least that was taken care of. He’d been in the shop many times during tastings and even helped assist in a few. I had total faith in him to handle things.
What I didn’t have faith in was spending a night in a room with Nero and it not being completely awkward.
“Who is that?” Nero asked.
“My brother. I have some tastings scheduled for tomorrow, but he said he can take care of them.”
Nero clapped his hands together, the sound ringing out in the silence of the car. “Perfect. Now let's go get something to eat. I’m starving.”
I was beginning to think I did not charge nearly enough for this cake.
“What if the tow truck driver comes early?”
“They said he’ll text me when he’s on the way.”
My stomach decided it was a good time to make an ungodly rumble. I smacked a hand to my stomach, heat flooding my cheeks. The embarrassment almost outshined the sudden hunger pains.
“You might not be on the same page as me, but your stomach definitely is. Come on. Let’s feed it before it gets really angry.”
“Where are we going to go? I don’t know the area.”
“Let’s go back to the place we just came out of.”
“Did you see that place? I don’t think I could afford a cup of ice.”
“Good thing you’re not paying.”
“Why do I feel like I’m being punished because I wouldn’t accept your offer of a loan earlier?”
