Page 28 of Bombshell (Whiskey Dolls 1)

He looked up at me as pensively as a six-year-old could manage. “Five dollars.”

Oh that little terrorist.

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Two.”

“Three,” he countered. Clearly this wasn’t the kid’s first time around the block.

“Fine. Three. But for three dollars, I expect you to forget that word even exists.”

“Deal.”

“Good. Now hop up. I made you a snack.”

He climbed up onto the stool excitedly, only for his smile to fall as soon as he saw what I’d made. “Yuck, is that vegetables?”

I made my eyes comically wide as I pulled up the stool next to him. “What do you mean, yuck? Celery is awesome, Cool Guy Eli!”

His entire face scrunched up into itself. “It is not. It tastes like butt.”

I gave him a dry look and arched a brow. “How do you know what butt tastes like?” That got him, and he sniggered. “But seriously, celery’s like, the best. I eat it every day.”Lie!

He looked at me with wide eyes. “You do?”

“Oh yeah,” I enthused. “You have to eat your veggies if you want to be big and strong. Look at your dad. You think he got like that without vegetables?” I shook my head solemnly. “No way.”

Ireallyhoped Pierce ate vegetables, or else I was blowing smoke for no damn good reason.

“Plus, this celery has peanut butter slatheredallover it, so it’s even better.”

He still looked reluctant as he gazed at the ants on a log. “What are those black things?”

“Raisins. Because you have to eat your fruit to be big and strong too,” I added quickly when he looked like he was about to argue. “Come on, bud. I’ll eat it with you.”

I grabbed one of the stalks and held it up, waiting for him to do the same. Then I counted to three and took a big chomp, and just as I’d hoped, he followed suit with an adorable little giggle.

“So? What do you think? I asked as I chewed. “Not so bad, huh?”

“Nah. Guess not.”

It wasn’t a ringing endorsement, but I’d gotten vegetables in the kid with only minimal work. I considered that a serious win. Tali could suck it. For good measure, I took a picture of him eating with my phone and texted it to her, just so she’d have proof of how amazing I was.

Snacks had been consumed and Eli and I were sitting down in front of the television to watch some cartoon that he loved when my cell rang. “You keep watching, sweetie. I’ll be back in just a sec.”

“Okay, Mar-Mar.” I grinned like a fool, loving that I’d gone from Ms. Marin to Mar-Mar in just a matter of days.

Climbing off the couch, I moved into the kitchen where I’d left my phone on the island. I kept one eye on the living room where Eli was as I picked it up, feeling a rush of butterfly wings in my belly at the sight of Pierce’s name on the screen.

It was getting harder and harder to keep telling myself I hated the man. Truth was, I was pretty sure I’d developed a bit of a crush. Which was all kinds of awkward, considering he was the older brother to the spawn of Satan himself—aka my ex-boyfriend. It was a messy situation, and the very last thing I wanted or needed was a mess.

“Hey. How’s it going?”

His husky, velvety voice came through the line and made me shiver. “It’s going. Just preparing for trial next week.”

I knew from the few conversations we’d had since I started watching Eli that he practiced corporate law, but I’d have been lying if I said I had the first clue what he was talking about when he told me about the case he was working on so hard. Something about patents on drilling equipment or something. It went right over my head. All I knew was it took a ton of his time, and he’d be happy once the trial was over and done with so his hours could go back to normal.

“Well that’s good. The sooner the trial starts, the sooner it can end, right?”

His chuckle rasped through the line, the pleasant sound of it making me smile. “Yeah, something like that. I was just calling to see if you’d have a problem staying late with Eli. I was hoping to get out of here at a reasonable time, but from the looks of it, it’ll be at least 9:00 if I’m lucky.

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