Page 28 of Stuck with Me

“I’m not.” But his voice wavers and we both catch it.

I point at him with the spoon. “You know exactly why you’re here, and I deserve the truth.”

He pushes away from the counter and puts his hands on his hips. “Fine,” he hollers. “Fine,” he repeats softer this time. “You’re right. I’m here for answers.”

I pinch my brows together. “What kind of answers?”

“All I know is, my grandfather had his whole life planned out and when he came here and met your grandmother, he said to hell with it. And I want to know why.”

I narrow my eyes at him. This relationship between Gigi and his grandfather was kept a secret from me too. As much as it hurts that Gigi felt she couldn’t tell me, the answer to his question is obvious. I don’t know how he doesn’t see it.

“Love, you dumbass.”

He frowns. “What?”

“All jokes aside right now, but are you that much of a fucking idiot?”

“You expect me to believe it’s that simple? Love? They only knew each other for one summer and he poured his inheritance into this cabin and tried throwing away his plan to take over the family ranch. That’s not long enough to fall in love.”

“Who says?” I challenge him. Even though typically I’d be on his side of this argument. A few weeks isn’t long enough. “Whose rules are these? Yours? Your family’s? Society’s?”

“C’mon, you expect me to believe the two of them met and fell in love instantly?”

“It happens.” I catch the disbelief in my voice.

“NowIcall BS.” He crosses his arms.

I finish sprinkling the brown sugar mixture onto the dough. “If you don’t have an open mind, I don’t think you’re going to find the answers you’re looking for.”

Nico steps closer and keeps his attention focused on the dough on the countertop. “How are you okay with all of this?”

I bark out a laugh. “You think I’m okay with this? I just learned my grandmother had a secret lover, was even possibly having an affair with him, and now her lover’s grandson wants to take away the one place I love more than anywhere else. I’m fucking not okay. With any of this.”

When he glances up, we make eye contact, and I find sadness reflected there. Maybe even empathy. But that can’t be right. Because he’s the one with the power to make all of this go away.

“Do you really think they were having an affair?” he asks, his tone softer.

I stare through him while my mind wanders. Gigi was the horniest old bird I knew. She was sex-crazed and had no filter when it came to discussing the topic with me when I got old enough. But I never thought she’d step out on my grandpa. Sure, he was a strait-laced man who sometimes irritated her because he put her on a pedestal. But she loved him.

“I don’t know,” I answer honestly.

He purses his lips.

The room feels stuffy. And not in a good way like before—all filled up with sexual tension. I need to lighten the mood.

“Now, c’mon, I need your hands again.”

His head whips up and instantly his eyes darken.

I resist laughing.

The corner of his lip tips up. It’s hot. The way his little crooked smile only goes to one side. “Where do you need them?”

“On my dough.” I gesture with my chin and give him a teasing smile. “I’ll help you and roll one end, but I need you to roll the other.”

“Bummer. My hands are capable of so much more,” his voice scratches out.

We’re standing side by side, so close the sleeve of his flannel brushes against my arm and I inhale a breath. Not since middle school has just the touch of a guy’s shirt aroused me. I chalk it up to the whiskey and the painkillers.

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