Page 40 of Kiss the Girl
Paige laughed. “That’s sweet of you, but I normally work the brunch shifts at the diner. That’s when I make my best tips.”
“Tell me what you make hourly, and I’ll match it.”
Paige shook her head. “Seriously, that’s so nice, but it’s good money. Like between $18 to $20 an hour some weekends.”
“Done,” Grace said. “You’re worth two of the part-timers I usually hire. You’re proactive, fast, creative, and you solve problems well. Ever thought about being an engineer?”
Paige laughed. “No. Interior decorator, maybe.”
“So you’ll do it?”
Paige’s smile was replaced by surprise. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious. I bet after two hours of training, I’ll be able to leave you to run the store with Gary, and then I can help your brother with the Christmas Town stuff without worrying that this place is falling down without me.”
“And you can drive in with me on Saturdays and borrow my car for Sundays,” I added. “I’ll watch Evie, same as usual.”
Paige looked torn, so I threw in the clencher. “It’s got to be better than working for Marvin.”
She drew a deep breath. “I’ll do it. For eighteen dollars an hour, as long as you know you’re overpaying.”
“Twenty,” Grace said. “And I’m definitely not. Can you start tomorrow?”
Paige looked at me, and I grinned and nodded. “I was already planning to watch Evie anyway. Doesn’t change my plans.”
“Okay,” Paige said. “If I can get someone to cover my shift, I’ll start tomorrow.”
“Great,” Grace said. “I’ll send you home with some paperwork. Just bring it with you, and we’ll make it official. And thanks, Paige. You saved me about five hours of trying to post and fill this job later this week.”
“Excuse me, miss, can I get some help over here?” a man’s voice called from the paint aisle.
Grace rolled her eyes.
“We’ll get out of your hair,” I said.
I watched her go for a second, her butt looking even better in her worn jeans than it had in her fancy dress. But I was coming to like all of her bits. A lot. Her smile. Her brain. Her smart mouth.
That mouth…
I swallowed hard and looked away, catching Paige’s eye as she watched me, clearly entertained.
“You are so into her,” she said.
“Am not,” I answered like I was seven instead of twenty-seven. “Let’s go home.”
I needed to get out of Grace’s orbit, because it would be far too easy to get sucked into it. But she wasn’t meant to stay on this trajectory forever. Soon she’d be launching out of Creekville, far away on a path I couldn’t follow, no matter how closely I felt myself teetering on the edge of falling for her.
I had Paige and Evie to think of, and where Grace and I each needed to be was worlds apart.
Chapter Thirteen
Grace
Brooke:Game night this week?
I stared at the text, suspicious.
Grace:Is this another trick?
