She must sense my bemusement, because her grin broadens. “You make her act her age. Have fun. Laugh. She can be a bit too serious and intense.” Wistfulness crosses her face. “She always tries so hard. Maybe too hard.”
I smile, happy that I’ve won over at least one grandparent by doing what I naturally want to do—be good to Aspen. “Ma’am, I’ll try to make sure she’s always happy and having fun.”
Kat nods. “Thank you. You’re very sweet.”
“By the way, Aspen told me you have some specialty jam for her. Can you tell me where you get them? I want to surprise her later.”
She beams. “It’s from a place called Sun Valley Farms. Nice local people. Aspen absolutelyadorestheir strawberry jam. The blueberry, too. Nothing like what you can buy in a supermarket.” She gets up from her seat. “Let me get you their number. She’ll be thrilled.”
Chapter Twenty
Grant
The next day we land in Napa, our perfect time in Malibu having come to an end. Normally, I don’t resent the wine country, but I wish we didn’t have to come back. What wouldn’t I do to whisk Aspen away to Spain right now?
As we deplane, Aspen sighs. “I wish I could call in sick.”
“Why don’t you?” If she’s willing, I’ll have the jet turn around and take off for L.A. again. We can always get a suite at the Waldorf or the Ritz for a night and come back late Sunday.
She scrunches her face. “I need the hours.”
I want to tell her I can give her all the money she needs, but it would come across the wrong way. Money is a touchy topic for most people. They hate it, love it, disdain it and want it.
We bought two additional suitcases for all the stuff Marketta brought us. I want Aspen to continue to wear some of the nice things—the accessories, shoes and purses—so Sadie and her bitchy friends will quit giving her crap. They aren’t worth anything without their daddies’ money. Those girls are so helpless, they wouldn’t know how to fill out a job application if their parents cut them off.
I load our bags in the Maserati while she takes the passenger seat. I start to go toward the driver’s side.
“Yo, man!”
I stop and glance at Will sauntering my way. He’s in a loud Hawaiian shirt and shorts, his huge feet in flip-flops. Sunglasses cover more than half his face, and he’s grinning so hard, the tips of his mouth almost reach his ears.
I glance at the car to make sure Aspen’s settled inside before I turn to my roommate. “What are you doing here?”
“Spent some time in Hawaii, but then got bored and decided to come back early to go to that wine mixer tonight.” He winks. Everyone knows it’s going to be more like a wine orgy. “You heard about it, right?”
“I guess.” I probably got invited too, except I wasn’t interested in anything that didn’t involve Aspen.
“You coming?”
“Nah.” Aspen won’t be there, and I’m not crazy about wasting time with people I don’t care about. I’d rather hang out at the library or café and watch her work.
“Come on! It’s gonna be fun! You can bring that girl with you too.” He bends sideways, trying to peer into my car.
I move to block his view, but not before he gets a good look, damn it.
He straightens, his eyes wide. “Oh shit. That’s Aspen Hughes!” he hisses, his voice going squeaky with excitement.
“So?” His reaction is annoying the hell out of me. Why does he care who I’m with?
“You fucked her?” He runs a hand down his face. “Of course you did.”
“It’s none of your business, Will.”
“You won the damn bet.”
“What?”
“The bet between me, you and Heath! Remember?”
