Page 148 of The Bluffing Game

“You say that every day, Gracie.” Lucia hurries over to the older lady and grabs the bag from her.

From my vantage point, I can see different fruits and vegetables almost spilling over the top of the canvas tote bag, and I immediately know Gracie is the chef here at Mama’s Kitchen, though I don’t think that she is Dalton and Lucia’s actual mother. Dalton and Lucia are olive-skinned, like me, but they don’t appear mixed.

“And every day, the sun laughs in my face and gets hotter.” She fans her face and takes another step forward. “Fancy seeing you here, Dalton. You haven’t been to the restaurant in weeks. I barely recognize you.”

“Now, now, Gracie.” He chuckles, and I’m surprised when I see him giving her a huge hug. So, he’s not an asshole all the time then. “I missed you too, Mama.”

My eyes widen at his comment. Is she his mama? Did I totally get it wrong? I immediately feel ashamed of myself for thinking she wasn’t his mama. I, more than anyone, know mixed families look different. My family is mixed as well and comes in a multitude of shades and appearances.

“Gracie, these are two new employees who Lucia just hired. This is Sage, and this is Rosie.”

“Hi, Sage and Rosie. I’m Gracie. Top chef, potato peeler, and bottle washer.” She smiles warmly at me and then at Rosie. “Are y’all sisters? You look alike.”

“We are.” Rosie looks over at me with happiness on her face.

She’s relaxed here, and I’m glad. The last time we were truly happy was when we were with Juniper in Coconut Beach. Our cousin is the best person we know, and sometimes, I do wonder if we should have stayed there.

“Nice to meet you, Gracie. Are you all related?” I ask because I’m nosy and I can’t not know.

Maybe Gracie is their grandmother. However, she doesn’t look that old. She gives Dalton a look, who then smiles widely and looks over at Lucia.

“Gracie dated our dad when she was younger. And then older,” Lucia explains with a wry smile. “And if that sounds complicated, it’s not really.”

“Robert and I dated when we were teens.” Gracie turns to me. “And then he went off to the Army and got married. And then they got divorced. And he looked me up, and we dated again … up until …” She pauses and looks down, and my breath catches.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” I say quickly. “I didn’t mean to be intrusive. My condolences. May he rest in peace. I was just wondering because Dalton called you Mama, and I was just curious if …” My voice trails off as all three start laughing.

Dalton walks over to me, his eyes shining a shimmery gray-blue as he gazes at me.

“My dad’s not dead. He lives in Boca, Florida, with his lady friend, Gwen. He and Gracie broke up when she realized that he was never going to change.” He sighs. “Sometimes he’s in Italy, sometimes he’s in Florida.”

“He was a good man, until he wasn’t,” Gracie says with a coy smile. “There were many nights when I thought to myself, Gracie, what are you doing with this man? And then he’d buy me a nice piece of jewelry, and it was all good again. But it was kinda like dating Al Capone or something.”

“Now, now, Gracie.” Dalton gives her a look and then takes me by the arm. “Sage, would you like to see the best part of the restaurant? I bet Lucia hasn’t shown you yet.”

“Shown me what?” I ask him suspiciously as I glance down at his hand still on my arm.

He removes it carefully, a twinkle in his eye as he does, and then he mumbles something under his breath that I can’t quite hear. I choose to ignore him because I’m not going to let this man bother me. I’m here for a reason, and that reason is not to try and understand my grumpy, rude new boss. Who also happens to be a single father with the mother unknown. Toby is cute, and I have no problem with kids, but I don’t even know Dalton, and I know whatever his situation is, it’s complicated. And I’m not looking for complications. I have my own complications to deal with.

On top of that, I still need to find myself a handsome billionaire who wants to spoil me, lavish me with money, hand me his credit cards with no limits, and let me pamper my sister. I cannot do that by hanging around with Dalton.

Yes, he is dressed nicely, and yes, he drives a Mercedes, but I know from what Lucia said when she offered Rosie and me our jobs that business wasn’t going well and she was worried. I feel for them, but there is nothing my broke ass can do to help. And me offering to be with Dalton for a night is not going to pay his bills.

Get your mind out of the gutter, Sage.

“Come with me to find out.”

He grins, and I am once again reminded that Dalton is a handsome man. Not that it matters. I’ve known handsome men before in my life, and that didn’t stop many of them from being douchebags.

“I don’t like secrets.”

“Sage, why don’t you go with Dalton? I’ll take Rosie to the wine cellar, as she says she would like to be a sommelier one day, and we have an amazing cellar.” Lucia gestures toward the back of the restaurant, and Rosie perks up.

“She’s not lying.” Gracie grabs her bag. Her loose white skirt sways against her ankles as she makes her way toward the kitchen. “If either of you girls wants to learn how to cook, y’all just come back to the kitchen. And, Lucia, just let me know when you’re ready to go over the menus for the week. They had some amazing gourds at the farmers market, and I was thinking of making a butternut squash agnolotti with goat cheese and crispy basil as one of the main courses.”

“That sounds delicious.” I lick my lips. “I would love to know how to make that.”

“You like cooking?” Dalton looks over at me in surprise, which irritates me.