Page 13 of Always Been Yours

“AnythingI say?“ she asks a little too silky but it’s the mischievous glint in her eyes that really scares me.

“Within reason, yes,” I say it slowly, to not poke the bear, but sternly. “This is your winter fair. I’m at your will.”

“Fine.” She sticks out her hand to shake on it and captures me in a death grip. “But I have the right to end this agreement at any point so don’t get in my way.”

“Got it.” I rub my knuckles. “You’re weirdly strong,” I mutter.

She looks up at me. “I kayak a lot,” she says matter-of-factly, like that explains her superhuman grip.

I’m quiet for a moment, knowing it’s better to not cross the troll’s bridge… but I’m curious.

“When did you start kayaking?”

Her eyes drop to the ground, and I figure she’s done talking to me.

“When I was a junior.” Her response surprises me. “I went on a random date to the coves up in La Jolla, but I fell in love with it.”

We both know who she’s talking about.

“Cool,” I lamely reply, not knowing what else to say. The last time I tried to ask her about what happened with Brody I was ruthlessly cut down. I learned that lesson.

Instead, I stand quietly next to her. My mom finally makes her way toward us about five minutes later. She lets us know, as expected, only a few of the coaches attended the meeting but the teachers who were present agreed and are on board with Vivi’s plan.

Part of me feels like I should try to talk to her about the project,but I know today isn’t the time. Four months really isn’t that long to plan a fair and apply for multiple grants. Not to mention my daughters and coaching. I need to be as present as possible for Stella and Daisy, especially right now. It was unsettling enough when Arielle moved back to Manhattan, but we were in the only home they had ever known. This is a completely new world for them. I’ve been planning on starting conditioning and try-outs early, as well. Getting a brand-new team adjusted to each other and starting the program from the ground up is a huge feat, and they deserve their best chances.

I climb into the driver’s seat and take a second to process what just happened. I know I said I wanted to bug her a little bit here and there, but I didn’t mean planning a fair like this.

Look, I’m as competitive as they come, but I like to believe I’m a smart man. And a smart man would not eventhinkabout standing in Genevieve’s way on something like this. Even if I knew what I was doing, I can guarantee that she would still do it better. Not that I’ll be admitting that to her.

There’s a possibility that she will murder me—and I’m positive she could get away with it—but I don’t want her to find anyone else either. It should be seen as a public service, really. I’m saving some other poor chump from getting in over their head.

And I won’t lie and say it wasn’t a humorous surprise dropped right into my lap because it is. I don’t have a death wish so I won’t screw with the fair, but I was handed ample one-on-one time. I plan to take advantage of it. There are a million ways I can get under her skin that doesn’t include work.

She’s going to hate every second of it.

Or really love it.

Chapter Five

Grady

“Let’s gooo!” Daisy is yelling from the backseat.

From the rear-view mirror I can see that Stella looks about as excited as I feel at the prospect of walking into that house. She turns her head toward me and asks for the fourth time, “Who all is going to be here?”

I turn in my seat to give her another round of reassurance. “Gramma and Grampa, of course. Gramma’s best friend, Bonnie, will be here with her four kids. I don’t know if Hudson will be here actually, but Vivi will be. So will her other siblings, Asher and Calypso.” She grimaces as Daisy makes an excited squeal. After five minutes of interacting, she’s declared Genevieve as her new favorite person.

Miss Davies is pretty and funny.

Plus, she liked her classroom—it was rainbows, rain clouds, suns, and moons—more than the jungle theme that her teacher picked.

“Millie won’t be here?” Stella asks, twisting her seatbelt in her hands.

“No, your aunt isn’t coming to dinner tonight.” Blake avoidsuncomfortable situations, and truthfully, I don’t blame her after everything she’s been through. While I wouldn’t say that Vivi and her siblings are mean, they are intimidating and stick together through anything. It’s not hard to become the odd man out with them, and that’s not a situation Blake likes to put herself in.

“Why do we have to come to dinner with all of these people then?” It might surprise you that Stella’s extremely shy because she radiates confidence most of the time, but she hates new situations.

I take a deep breath, picking my words carefully. I want them to know that the Davies family were important to my childhood because I promised myself to always be honest with them the first night we spent without their mom in the home. I’ll keep that promise right now. I just don’t want them getting too attached to any of them. My entire family seems to be susceptible to each one of their charms. The girls don’t need to feel like they lost anyone else right now, and I can’t guarantee how much they’ll be around.

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