Page 14 of Craving Francesca

“Who’s Scott?”

“Ooh, Scott,” Brody sang, stuffing a huge bite of pizza in his mouth.

“He usually doesn’t work in my office.” I waved them off. It wasn’t important. I was going to have to cancel. The prospect didn’t bother me much.

“I can make sure I’m home,” Lou said easily.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“What are we talking about?” Titus asked, wiping at his face as he entered the kitchen, Mick and Gray behind him.

“Frankie’s double booked on Tuesday,” Myla answered, boosting herself onto the counter.

“It’s fine. I can reschedule.”

“Don’t cancel your date,” Lou ordered. “I’ll meet the appliance guys.”

“Date?” Titus asked. “With who?”

“Scott,” Brody sang again.

“None of your business,” I said at the same time.

“Who’s this Scott guy?” Mick asked darkly.

“You don’t know him.”

“They work together,” Lou added.

“Not your best idea,” Mick said with a huff, pushing his way through the group to grab a piece of pizza off the counter. “You’ll still have to see him when you break his little heart.”

“No one is breaking any hearts,” I argued.

I was hyper aware of Gray standing at the edge of the kitchen watching all of us bicker. He rarely said much, that was just his way, but I knew that he heard everything. I didn’t think he cared I was going on a date with someone, he probably barely even remembered that night in the clubhouse, but it still made me squirm that he was listening to them giving me shit.

“You’re gonna date this guy for a couple of weeks—” Titus mused.

“If that,” Myla chimed in.

“And then you’re going to ghost him,” Titus finished. “That’s what you always do.”

“I do not ghost them. I tell them that it’s been fun, but it’s over.” The moment the words were out of my mouth, I felt the skin on my chest start to bloom with color remembering that was almost exactly what Gray had done to me. I tried to think of anything else in order to stop the blush.

“I don’t know why you don’t just date someone you actually like,” Brody said, kicking my chair.

“Finding men I actually like is a struggle,” I joked.

“Youloveme,” Bas announced as he joined us, squeezing my shoulder.

“You’re the exception, Sebastian,” I replied, leaning into his hand. I wasn’t lying.

Bas was one of the best people I’d ever met. He was kind and protective and funny as hell. He was also crazy about Lou but had never made a move, and it drove us all crazy.

“I want to know more about this Scott guy,” Mick interrupted.

“Want in one hand and shit in the other,” I replied, leaning back in my seat. Myla’s brothers might see me as a little sister, but they were not going to insert themselves into my love life. I could handle myself, thank you very much.

“Gray, stop lurking and come get some food,” Myla ordered, pointing to the pizza.

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