Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 69333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
“Sure,” he says with enthusiasm. “Doesn’t that sound good?”
“I want to say yes to be supportive, but it would be a lie.”
I grab a hair tie off the bedside table and make myself presentable. Nash wasn’t lying about me not being a morning person. The first hour or two or three of the day are damn hard ones.
He, meanwhile, shoves a hand through his hair, gives himself a shake, and cracks his neck. Like a prize fighter does before stepping into the ring. Then he opens the bedroom door and announces, “There wasn’t any sex, Audrey. Everyone’s pants stayed on. No one should get in trouble just for sleeping.”
The error in letting him lead is now obvious to me. Though it’s too late to do anything about it. However, investing in a muzzle for the man might be a good idea.
I follow him down the hallway and into the kitchen, where Grandma is seated at the table while Charlie is cooking something on the stove. Pancakes by the smell of it. This guess is backed up by the syrup, eggs, and bacon already waiting on the table. And the side eye Grandma is giving her new guest is mighty. She seems nervous for some reason. Like he’s shaken her world up good and proper.
Nash was right about there being something between them. I hope Charlie doesn’t hurt her again. The obvious depth of feeling she has for the silver fox is something else. Nash and me sharing a bedroom clearly isn’t the only issue on her mind this morning.
“Why is he allowed to cook?” asks Nash.
“Because he knows how to do so without setting my kitchen on fire. So, you two are together now, are you?” says Grandma in a clipped tone. “Or is this some casual dalliance most likely to end up hurting one of you? And you damn well know which one of you that would be.”
My throat is so dry. This is as stressful as being called to the principal’s office. “I, um…we’re just friends. Yeah.”
Which makes it Nash’s turn to side eye me. No idea what that’s about. “June and I haven’t actually discussed our relationship status.”
Charlie narrows his gaze on us. “I thought you two were faking it to help hide his identity.”
“It’s complicated.”
“The couch hurts his back,” I say.
Charlie snorts.
And Nash shrugs. “I’m more delicate than I look. The muscles are misleading.”
“Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?” asks Grandma.
“I wish I could say June clawed it off me. But the truth is it was too warm to sleep in one.”
The look I give him is pure pain. Because him opening his mouth continues to not be helpful.
Grandma just pointedly looks at his jeans.
“Fine,” he says. “It wasn’t too warm. Your granddaughter ogles me when I’m half naked and her cheeks go pink and it makes me happier than I’ve been in a long time.”
I can’t stop the smile. Nor do I want to. And it’s not about me blushing brighter than a baboon’s behind. It’s how my response to him makes him happy.
“But you’re right, Audrey, us sleeping in the same room is a concern,” he continues. “Word gets around town and my reputation is sullied, you better be prepared to go before a preacher and make an honest man of me, Junebug.”
I wrinkle my nose. “I don’t think a shotgun wedding is the answer.”
“Imagine the party we could throw at the bar.”
“Nash,” I say. “No.”
He frowns.
Charlie attempts to hide an amused smile behind his hand.
“He’s telling the truth.” I lean my hip against the kitchen counter. “Nothing happened. This is your house, and I love you, but we are both grown-ass consenting adults, and I am begging you to please let this go.”
The storm cloud on Grandma’s face. Oof.
“She has a point,” says Charlie in his gravelly voice. He winces when Grandma turns her eyes of wrath on him. However, he doesn’t back down. I salute the man’s courage. He slides the cooked pancake from the pan onto a plate beside the stove with practiced ease.
“This is why he asked you to come.” Grandma sets her cup of coffee down hard on the table.
“Audrey, I’m always on your side.”
“Is that so?” she snaps. “Then where have you been the last few years?”
“You told me to fuck off, so I respected your wishes.”
I smile. “Grandma told you to fuck off? She used those exact words?”
“Stay out of it, June.” Her spine is ramrod straight. “It’s none of your business.”
“How about that hypocrisy,” mutters Nash.
“Is this you helping?” Charlie adds more pancake batter to the pan. “If so, you’re failing fucking miserably.”
“Eh.” Nash scratches at his stubble like this showdown doesn’t bother him at all. “Just not much of a fan of June being talked to that way. By anyone.”
My mother has a temper. It wasn’t unusual when I was growing up to hear raised voices in our home. I thought she got it from her deceased father. Though the anger radiating from Grandma right now makes me wonder. The bright color in her cheeks is turning nuclear fast.