On the other hand, Darius might understand the trials and errors of running a business. It wasn’t as if his restaurant had been successful from the beginning.
So, I deflated and drained my beer, resigned to open up a little—yet keep things simple for my caveman of a brother’s sake. If I mentioned social media and PR, he’d spit boomer nonsense about how unnecessary that was. He was only three years older than I was, but mentally and culturally, he was stuck in the Dark Ages.
“My employees think I’m old,” I admitted. “They used to jokingly call me boss but still wanna grab drinks on Friday. Now they make plans when I’m not around, and they call me sir. I’m becoming irrelevant.”
Darius side-eyed me, confused and bewildered, as he flipped the chicken tenders on the grill, and then he gave me his full attention. “Why do youcare? I understand that a twenty-five-year-old yoga instructor with a pep in her step and a Colgate smile is good for business, but why do you wanna be friends with those people? Y’all got fuck-all in common.”
That was the kick in the head, wasn’t it? To realize I actually didn’t want to be friends with them. Those were the women I’d dated, the guys I’d tried to keep up with… But it was more than that. It was the reminder that I was falling behind.
“I don’t like being excluded because I happen to be out of my twenties,” I said stiffly.
Thirties too. You’re out of your thirties too.
What-the-fuck-ever.
Darius shook his head, failing to understand, and then he moved on. “So, this new client of yours. She just walked up to you and called you pretentious?”
“No.” I clenched my jaw, knowing I had to fix that mess somehow. It was possible I had tried to convince others what I couldn’t make myself believe in fully. As in this batshit crazy version of perfection I was trying to achieve. “We were talking while she was on the treadmill. I said I was everyone’s type—screw you.” I all but growled the last part as he cracked up. He was trying to hide it behind a few coughs, and I hoped he choked. “Anyway,” I gritted out. “She made a noise and kinda blurted out that not all women are into pretentious gym owners who shave their chests.” Yeah, good luck trying to stop his laughter now. Motherfucker. “And there’s that fucking insult again. It’s the second time this year some woman’s said that.”
I didn’t know what was more difficult, getting Darius to quit laughing or getting likes in the fitness community with a rug on your chest.
It wasn’t like I fucking shaved because I loved it. I would assume women who shaved their legs all the time could empathize.
I flicked a glance toward the cars as a rusty old truck pulled in, and I was about to look away again when I saw the woman who climbed out. What the fuck? It was Natalie. It was fucking Natalie. Where was her turquoise Jeep?
“It’s her,” I blurted out.
What was she doing here?
“Huh?” Darius’s amusement morphed into confusion.
“It’sher. She’shere.”
Natalie Nolan.
So it was true. She was Gray’s family.
Darius followed my stare and lifted his eyebrows when he saw her.
“I did wonder about her last name—if she was related to Gray,” I admitted.
My brother faced me again with a smirk. “Your new client is Natalie?”
I looked to him sharply. “You know her?” Why did that irritate me?
Darius laughed again. “It’s Gray’s aunt. I can’t fucking wait to tell him. And I’m gonna buy that woman a drink sometime.”
“Fuck.” I ran a hand through my hair and wondered if I should go track down Lias. He was probably hiding in the cabin. Maybe he could share his hiding spot with me. Him, hiding from Ma. Me, hiding from a force of nature. Jesus Christ, this wasn’t happening. “It’s possible I’ve come off as an ass to her.”
“Yeah. I take that for granted.”
Thanks.
Fuck.
I suddenly felt nervous, and I didn’t fucking do nerves. I glanced around us again, hoping the answer would come to me, hoping a hiding spot would appear—or a distraction—but it looked like I was out of options. I had to man up and talk to her. She was getting closer, about to cross the stream, so it was only a matter of seconds before she spotted me.
“Give her a fresh start,” Darius told me. I furrowed my brow. A fresh start? “Go over to her, apologize for whatever you’ve done, introduce yourself, and start over.”
