“Wrong god.” Bailey slid off me and rolled onto his side, propping himself up on his elbow, chin in hand. “I wish you didn’t have to go in.” He kissed my shoulder. “Would you ever consider taking off the weekends, at least one day—I mean, permanently? Watching you yesterday and seeing how intense it is, I hate how you work nonstop. You need a break, Keston. And we need time to be together.”
I opened my mouth to say no but thought about it. WhywasI grinding to the point of exhaustion? Before Bailey, I’d had nothing to look forward to, so I’d stayed holed up in the shop, never taking time off, running on this hamster wheel of go-go-go so I wouldn’t have to think of how empty my life was. It was all different now.
“Maybe I should. At least Sundays.”
He smiled against my cheek. “I’d like that. I know you make fun of it, but I’d like to go out to brunch with you—the guys havebeen asking if we could get together, and I keep telling them no because you work weekends.”
“If I take it off, it’s not ’cause I want to spend time with them,” I growled in his ear. “I want you. Like this.”
“What, sticky and sweaty?” He sat up and swept the hair out of his eyes. “Come on, you can’t still think you don’t fit in?” When I didn’t answer, of course he pushed. “Seriously? Maybe you feel that way because you don’t spend any time with them. I’m telling you, it’ll be fun.” His gaze skittered away for a second. “After being the third wheel all the time, I’d like the chance to show you off.” He hung his head. “At my age, I know it sounds silly, but I’ve never had a boyfriend to go out with. We stay home so much, and I love being with you, but sometimes it would be nice to see other people too.”
Bailey was a much more social animal than me, but I could admit I’d had fun seeing Grady and Lauren for dinner.
“You’re right. I can take off Sundays. Jodi can handle the shop on her own, or maybe Ambrose might want to make some extra money. He and Carly want to buy a house.”
His face brightened. “Thank you.” He flung his arms around me, and I kissed him, then slapped his ass.
“You can thank me later. I gotta get up and shower. I have a client at ten.”
Bailey made a face. “I’ll get the coffee going. Do you want anything else?”
“Are you offering?” I pinched a cheek.
He snorted. “Down, boy. I meant a bagel or something.”
“No, I’m fine with coffee.”
He left for the kitchen, and I took my shower. I came out and he had the coffee waiting. I drank it while he talked and read his messages.
“Madison asked if we could look at a couple of places today. Do you have free time?”
Scrolling through my phone, I winced at the texts from Ambrose. “Uh, yeah. I’m free from one through two thirty.” In all caps, Ambrose was busy lecturing me on why Bailey didn’t know what the hell he was talking about. I decided not to share that with him. “Are they close by?”
He nodded. “Yeah. One’s on the same block as your place but in a brownstone. The other’s in a prewar building a couple of blocks from here. They’re in our price range. Should I tell her we’ll meet her at the brownstone first?”
I knew he favored that kind of place, and I wasn’t that picky. “Yeah, sure. I’ll see you at one.”
“Great. Plus, she said she’s had a lot of interest in your apartment and is gonna want to show it this week, so I’ll arrange for it to be cleaned. She’ll do the showing while we’re at work, so it won’t be disruptive, and if she wants an evening appointment, I told her to let me know.”
“Fine, sure.” I gulped the rest of my coffee and kissed him. “Bye. See you later. Don’t forget to text me the addresses.”
“I won’t. Bye.”
When Carlos died, I never imagined he’d leave me anything. Discovering it was everything he’d owned, I’d fallen apart and cried. Grady had helped me with the probate. Suddenly supposedly grieving relatives popped out of nowhere, threatening to challenge the will. Grady had informed them that the will was valid and they had zero standing. That blood didn’t mean they were owed anything, especially as they’d kicked Carlos out and hadn’t seen him in more than thirty years. Now, because of his love and generosity, I’d been given a secondchance at love and life. I gazed at the clouds scuttling across the blue sky and whispered, “Thank you.”
I opened the shop, and without a chance for me to even boot up the computer, Ambrose slammed in, face blazing with anger. “Your boyfriend is a fucking idiot.”
Furious, I smacked my hand on the counter. “You know what? Screw this. I’m done. For years I’ve listened to your shit about Lucas and put up with it because you’re my friend. But now? After everything he’s done, you have the fucking nerve to call Bailey an idiot?”
Jodi’s hands covered her mouth, eyes wide with shock. Ambrose and I had gotten into our share of beefs over the years, but it had never lasted because it was usually due to stupid shit. We’d get in each other’s faces, then retreat to our separate corners until we’d cooled off.
Not this time.
“Yeah. I do. He said—”
“I know what he said. And maybe open your damn mind and really listen. Your brother is no good. Get it through your head. I understand it hurts and it’s painful, but he’s a piece of shit who deserves to go to jail.”
A red flush stained his cheeks, but I kept going.
