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Financially, I’m fine. I can afford rent and living expenses with what I make at the bakery, and I still have enough to tuck a bit into savings each month. Eventually I’ll reach my goal. I know I will.
But I also know Grayson has a lot of money, and I never, ever want him to think that’s something I’m after.
Still, it’s like he senses it, and he addresses it without making it weird. “Hey, what would you think about maybe baking some shit for my teammates when we’re in season, and I could pay you for it?”
“I’d do it for free,” I say.
“I know you would. But I also know you’re saving for a dream, and maybe I could contract you on the side for cookies or granola bars or something. It’s a win-win. I get to bring something for my teammates, you get to make a little side cash.”
It takes me all of two seconds to think it over. “On one condition.”
He glances over at me with narrowed eyes.
“You have to be my taste tester. I refuse to send in something to your team without knowing it’s up to par.”
He chuckles, and he lets go of my hand to stick his out toward me to shake. “It’s a deal.”
We arrive at the restaurant, and Asher, Spencer, Missy, and Eddie Nash are all waiting for us at a large round table.
Grayson takes the seat beside Asher, and I slip in beside Missy.
“What was the hold-up?” Asher asks loudly, and Grayson gives him a shut-the-fuck-up kind of look as he reaches for the chips and salsa. “Ohhh,” Asher says knowingly.
My cheeks burn.
So that’s how this meal is going to go.
I order a margarita, which Missy is drinking, and Grayson gets a Dos Equis, which all three men sitting at the table are also drinking.
I peruse the menu, and so far, the company isn’t all bad despite the earlier teasing. Eddie is sitting on Asher’s other side, so Grayson’s parents are separated with Spencer in between them—which is a good thing since they really don’t seem too keen on interacting with each other. It’s not to the point where it’s awkward—at least not to me, an outsider—but it’s still noticeable.
“When are we going to get to meet Amelia?” Missy asks Spencer. “I thought for sure you’d bring her this weekend.”
“I wanted this weekend to be about Lincoln and Jolene, and I knew it’d be a circus to bring her,” he says. He’s definitely the quietest out of the Nash brothers. He seems the most serious of the four boys, though I don’t know any of them that well apart from spending the day with them today.
“Have you two picked a date yet?” his mom asks.
“You’ll be the first to know when we do. I’m not really in any rush,” he says, and he picks up his Dos Equis.
“Turning thirty and not in a rush,” Missy says. She glances at Grayson as if to note that he’s over thirty, and then there’s the baby, Asher—at twenty-seven. “At least I have one grandbaby.”
“Leave ’em alone, Miss,” Eddie scolds from across the table.
She just purses her lips then lifts her margarita, and we start up a side conversation about the bakery while the men talk football.
All in all, it’s a fun meal with the Nash family, and I feel more and more like I fit in with them.
I like that feeling, but the anticipation of what’s coming next is absolutely killing me. I know he already got me off once tonight, but knowing his plan is to take me back to his hotel and bang me is making me want to rush through the meal so we can get to the dessert course.
Eventually it does come to an end, and we say our goodbyes.
“Will we see you tomorrow?” Missy asks me, and I glance at Grayson.
“If she wants to come,” he says.
I smile. “My boss told me to take two days off, so I’d love to be there.”
She gives me a hug. “I’ve loved spending time with you today, sweetheart.”
