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Vera was already halfway to the kitchen when I caught up to her.

“You met his parents?”

“It wasn’t a meeting; it was an ambush,” she said through gritted teeth. “It’s what spurred me to call off our arrangement.”

“I have questions,” I asserted.

“I bet you do, Allstate. You better get back behind that line before DeAndre has your ass in a sling.”

“Allstate?”

“Vera is in good hands,” she mimicked as she entered the kitchen. I laughed and veered to the right to wash my hands. DeAndre sidled beside me.

“How’s your WAG-In-Training doing?”

“She’s handling herself incredibly well,” I answered honestly, impressed by her ability to hold her own in a new and reckless environment. She filled in effortlessly without complaint, and I admired her for how she helped her team without hesitation.

“Hmph. So, what are you thinking? Texas or Washington?”

I raised a brow at him.

“What are you talking about?”

“Where’s the wedding going to be?”

I splashed water in his face, leaving him a sputtering mess while drying my hands.

“You’re worried about where my wedding’s going to be, and you need to be worried about where your funeral will be,” I joked before returning to the line.

For the remainder of the dinner service, I focused on what I could do for Vera to show her how much I appreciated her.

Hart’s Babies

Vera

I lay on the couch in Hart’s office, wondering if he’d be opposed to me crashing on it for the night. Who was I kidding? That man would hoist me over his shoulders and take me to his place before he’d allow that to happen.

Everything hurt, and I felt beat to hell like a pair of sneakers that went through a round in the dryer. It didn’t help that my first class was at 9:00 AM.

“Come in,” I said when someone knocked on the door.

“Didn’t mean to bother you, Vera, but Hart wanted me to drop this off to you.”

My stomach loudly growled at the sight of the grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I hadn’t eaten since lunch, and Hart’s PB&Js would definitely hit the spot.

“Thank you,” I said, sitting up and accepting the plate and glass of milk from him.

“No, thank you. We appreciate you helping out tonight. Hart especially. He may bitch and moan about his role at Andre’s, but this place is just as much his baby as it is mine.”

“I can tell. But while I have you alone, tell me something about Hart that he wouldn’t want me to know.”

DeAndre flashed a mischievous smile and sat in the black leather office chair behind the desk.

“You didn’t hear this from me, but Hart used to have a frog collection.”

I tilted my head.

“A frog collection? That’s it? That seems pretty normal for a boy.”