Page 10 of The Sexy Part
I frown. “Just the bartender? I’ll have you know I run the place with my dad. One day it’ll be mine.”
She holds up her palms. “No offense. It’s a great place. I was just thrown by the fact that you’re Hailey’s son.”
“I took after Dad more in looks.”
“He must be handsome.” She slaps a hand over her mouth like she can’t believe she said that.
My lips curve up. “Thanks. Anyway, the reason I think you’re courageous and strong is because instead of falling apart, you got mad and made it through an engagement party.”
“That’s because you distracted me from the festivities.” She helps herself to chocolate icing from my cake. “I have to wonder, if I were raised differently, would I be massively successful by now like my brother?”
“By whose definition of success?”
“You know what I mean. He’s a neurosurgeon. I run a small ad agency. It’s profitable, but not where I want us to be.”
“Wait. Weren’t you raised the same way?”
She shakes her head. “I was raised by my grandmother. Cade was raised by Dad. Long story.”
“Can I get the short version?”
“Mom died when I was twelve. Dad shipped me off to Grandmom and kept my brother.”
My jaw drops. “Why?”
She meets my eyes and says matter-of-factly, “Because he didn’t know how to raise a teenaged girl.”
Whoa. She lost her mom, and then her dad abandoned her? I don’t know what to say. I definitely don’t want to make her feel worse after the day she’s had.
“Did you like living with your grandmother?” It’s the only neutral territory I can think of.
She swipes cherry filling from my cake and eats it. “Grandmom was overwhelmed with grief from the loss of her daughter and wanted me to take her place. How do you compete with a ghost?” She shrugs. “Mom was vice president of an ad agency. I run an ad agency. Best I could do.”
“That’s great. You should be proud.”
“I run it with my ex.”
I suppress a wince. “Just him?”
“Yup.”
“That sucks.”
“Mmm-hmmm.” She stares at what’s left of my cake and pushes back from the table. “I should go.”
“Sure.” I make short work of cleaning up the table and putting the dishes in the dishwasher.
“Wow. You’re efficient.”
“It’s just like restaurant work. Dad started me off as a busboy, and I had to work my way up.”
“What did you go to college for? I mean, your major.”
“Business. I thought about working for a company, but every summer I worked at Happy Endings, and it just felt like that’s where I belonged.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever known where I belonged.” Her voice sounds small.
My instinct is to pull her close, but I already touched her enough, carrying her over here while she cried. Not gonna lie, I loved the feel of her in my arms, even though I felt terrible about her tears.Boundaries.
