Page 12 of Something Borrowed

She laughed as she tossed the sandwich. “I know. It has horseradish too, just as you like it.”

He peeled back the foil and took a big bite, the flavors exploding in his mouth. He sighed. “Yes, that’s the stuff.”

“Stella makes the best sandwiches. Bet you don’t have them this good in Houston.” Janine spoke around a mouthful of tuna.

“They’re pretty good, but Stella does the best.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Janine spoke. “So, you’ve been pretty distracted this weekend, acting like a newbie on the construction site. I almost banned you three times.”

He glowered at her over the sandwich. “You banned me from the house. After I kicked over that can of paint.”

“Ahhh yes, right. I forgot about that. If you keep going like you are, we’ll never finish before the wedding and your surprise will be shot.”

“It’s not my surprise, but Caroline’s father’s.”

“They’re spending the wedding night here, right? Well, I’m sure you don’t want them inhaling paint fumes while they’re trying to be romantic.”

He grimaced. “That’s my brother we’re talking about. Do you think we could change the subject?”

“Okay, back to you. Who ran over your dog?”

“My dog? Oh, my mood. Yeah, I don’t want to talk about it.” He looked out over the rolling ocean, easily visible from the front porch of the cottage, which, truth be told, was more of a house than a small cottage. This was small to the Masters’ family, but was a palace to Grady, who did not grow up in a mansion like Matthew.

Not wanting to follow that thread, his mind shifted to the reason for his foul mood. Brigid Anderson. He’d be stuck with her for an entire week after she had decided that he wasn’t good enough for her. Well, she didn’t actually say it that way, but breaking up with him because he didn’t fit into her plans for a future with her hoity-toity law firm said it all.

The night of Matthew’s promotion to partner was supposed to be a turning point for all of them. Grady had just made the last payment on the business, putting it officially all in his name and out of debt. After his father’s Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, Grady had struggled to take over and expand the business, with his father not willing to accept he couldn’t do it anymore and Grady knowing they needed to go in a new direction in order to grow and survive. He had met Brigid in that time, and she offered a haven in the shitstorm that was the rest of his life—a place where he could relax and just be himself.

Then, to go to the party and realize he was her guilty little secret, someone she didn’t invite to firm events and someone she couldn’t see spending the rest of her life with, well, that just kicked him in the balls. How he hadn’t known that she kept from a big part of her life was beyond him. He had chalked it up to them being busy, but now he realized he had taken their relationship a lot more seriously than she had. They were fuck buddies, stress relief. Nothing more. He had let their friends-with-benefits arrangement go on longer than he wanted because Brigid spooked easily, and he had only recently started thinking about the future. He had known she had a lot of pressure on her from her family, but never imagined she would give up happiness for her career. And he had thought he made her happy.

Wasn’t the first time a woman gave him up to enjoy the high life.

And they were back to his mother, a topic he had to shut down because he sure as shit wasn’t ready to open that Pandora’s box yet, even though Matthew’s wedding was going to force the issue. He’d deal with that later. Right now, Brigid was on her way to the island, and he had an entire week to figure out how to deal with her and survive the week without getting his heart broken any more than it already was.

“I see. Women trouble.” Janine nodded in the way all women nodded when they knew something the men in their life didn’t want them to know.

He glared at her. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She smirked. “Somebody has girl trouble, and it’s not me.” She turned on the top step of the porch and peered up at him. “So, what’s the deal?”

He shrugged, knowing Janine well enough over the past few months that she was like a badger when she set her mind to something. “I thought we had something more, but she disagreed.”

“Then she’s stupid. You’re a great guy, Grady. Won’t be too hard to find someone else. Maybe you already have and don’t realize it.” The last was said with a sideways glance at him, but he only shrugged again. She let out a huff of frustration and he paused in taking a bite of his sandwich.

“What?”

She only shook her head. “You figure it out, Grady. Now, we have lighting to deal with, and finishing touches. Want to do the walkthrough?”

Grady’s phone dinged, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “Shit, I completely forgot. I have to pick up Brigid from the ferry. She’s early for once.”

Janine raised a brow, a smirk on her face. “Brigid? What time did you expect her?”

“Sometime later today. She actually made it on the ferry when she said she would.” He scowled. This was one time he wished she had been running late. He could have used more time.

“I can see why she’d annoy you. All the workers commented on your obsessive focus on time.”

He grinned. “No, it’s not like that. She works a lot and usually misses things, even meals.”

“And you take care of her, right?” She nodded knowingly. “Is this the ex-girlfriend?”

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