Page 19 of Too Safe

“Crusade’s?”

I still at the reminder—fucking Decker Crusade.

“Mm-hmm,” I confirm as casually as possible as I plate the food. “You know him?”

Sam chuckles quietly and rises to his feet to meet me at the two-person table.

“Do Iknowhim? No.” He snags the pepper shaker and aggressively coats his eggs. “But Decker Crusade is a local celebrity. Soon to be national celebrity, if the rumors are true.”

“Rumors?” I ask a little too quickly. I stuff a huge bite of food in my mouth to mask my eagerness.

A smirk plays at Sam’s mouth. “Supposedly, Decker Crusade is going to follow in the footsteps of his father. Word is the South Carolina Cougars plan to snag him as their first pick in next year’s draft.”

I can barely contain my eyeroll. “His dad plays football, too?”

Sam gawks at my apparent lack of sports knowledge. “Thomas Crusade is a sixteen-time Pro Bowler with seven rings. He’s the crown jewel of Lake Chapel.”

None of that holds meaning to me. But now I have a better understanding of how Decker Crusade can afford a lakeside mansion on a private isle.

His holier-than-thou asshole vibe makes more sense now, too.

“Thomas has got one, maybe two years left in him, tops. People reckon he’s just waiting for Decker to be drafted before he passes the torch and retires.”

I nod and chew, mulling over the interactions I’ve had with Crusade up to this point. I had no idea he was such a big deal. Maybe that’s why he comes across so prickly and rude? If he’s used to women fawning all over him, then our encounter likely came as quite the surprise.

I don’t think I’ve ever even watched an entire football game. So if he expects me to be impressed with his mere existence, he’ll be sorely disappointed.

My phone vibrates on the table, inspiring an instant smile as I eagerly reach for it to see whether Hunter or Locke replied.

Rather than one quick vibration signaling a text message, though, the device continues vibrating, and the screen is alight with an unfamiliar phone number.

“Hmm, eight-two-eight is from around here, right?” I ask as I stare at the digits.

“Yep. That’s a local area code,” Sam confirms.

I rise to my feet as I answer.

“Hello?”

“Is this Josephine Meyer?” The female voice on the other end of the line is curt.

“It is.” I shift from hip to hip, fidgeting in confusion.

“This is Marilee from Lake Chapel Radiance. I received your application for the assistant position. Can you come in for a working interview tomorrow?”

Excitement washes through me as the pieces fall into place. Hell yes. But I swallow and school my giddiness to keep from sounding overly enthusiastic.

“I’m interested in the position, but I have class in the morning. Could I come by in the afternoon?”

Thankfully, the change of plan isn’t an issue, and Marilee, my potential new boss, confirms the time and the dress code before we end the call.

Grinning, I drop back into my seat and meet my uncle’s questioning stare.

“I applied for a job at a spa near campus. They called to set up an interview. I’ll still clean and help around the shop,” I rush to add. That was part of our agreement—I would help out around here in exchange for room and board. “But earning some extra money would be nice.”

“Jojo,” he admonishes, his expression softening.

Emotion prickles behind my eyes at the nickname. No one has called me Jojo for years.

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