Chapter 17 Grant #2
From the way her body softened against mine, I knew she meant every word. She wasn’t just saying that for their sake, and I was fucking proud. My brothers’ expressions were becoming more incredulous by the second.
“You’ve got a twin we don’t know about, right? This isn’t Grant,” Cameron said.
Heath nodded. “Definitely. He doesn’t even know how to relax. I have a hard time believing he even knows what spoiling someone means!” He cocked a brow at me.
“Maybe you don’t know me as well as you thought, brother,” I replied.
“That is absolutely impossible. Literally impossible.” He narrowed his eyes as if he was trying to decipher what was going on.
Truthfully, Heath did know me well. Even better than Cameron. Growing up, I tried to keep as much ugliness from him and Cameron as possible, but I wasn’t successful in his case. He caught on to stuff really fast .
“Well, Ruby, does this mean we’ll see more of you?” Cameron asked.
She stiffened slightly, as if caught off guard by the question.
I kissed her temple and said, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
The truth was, I didn’t know either. All I knew was that this right here, relaxing spontaneously with the family and with Ruby, felt very, very good.
“All right, here you go,” Thomas said as Evie threw the bowling ball. She wasn’t a bad shot. She didn’t manage a strike but was close. Thomas was the right one to teach her the basics—after all, he’d taught the three of us when we were younger.
“I’ll get better, I promise, Grandpa,” Evie told him.
He grinned and ruffled her hair.
I was surprised Sybil wasn’t joining my brothers in questioning me and Ruby.
Maybe she was on her phone with her friends.
She was obsessed with her book group. Looking around, I saw her on the couch—phone in hand.
But she was looking up at us from time to time. I suspected she’d question me later on.
It was mine and Ruby’s turn again.
“Okay, I’m going to throw it,” she said.
“All right. Do you need tips?” I asked.
“Maybe. I haven’t done this in a while.” She went to pick a ball. When she came back and lined up at the lane, I stood right behind her. “On second thought,” she whispered, “maybe don’t give me any instructions.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m already hot and bothered, and feeling you this close isn’t helping.”
“Fucking hell!” I growled under my breath.
“See what I mean?” she whispered.
Laughing, I took a huge step back. She was onto something. It was one thing to be extra affectionate just to watch my family’s reactions, but we didn’t have to overdo it.
I had no idea how she could make even those awful bowling shoes seem hot, but she did. When she bent down to roll the ball, pushing her ass back, I had a flashback of us in the Jacuzzi. I was going to plan another getaway for us soon.
I couldn’t even believe where my train of thought went. Before Ruby, I’d never made plans with anyone besides going to dinner. Now, I was already thinking about spending another weekend with her.
She hit a strike and came back skipping and laughing.
“Ha. We’re in the lead, aren’t we?” she asked, looking at the screen.
“Yes, you are, Ruby. I’m rooting for you,” Evie replied.
“Hey,” Thomas protested. “You’re not on her team.”
“I know, but it’s good to have another girl in the family. She knows all about lipstick.”
“Honey, you can always ask me as well,” Sybil said, sitting up straighter.
“Gran, you never wear lipstick or any fancy makeup. You don’t know about that stuff.”
We were all used to Evie’s frankness, but from time to time, she still managed to surprise us.
Sybil laughed. “Well, you got me there, honey. Ruby is fashionable and very beautiful. I’d ask her advice too.”
Heath looked at his daughter with a strange expression I couldn’t read at all. That was disconcerting. I could usually tell exactly what my brothers were thinking.
“All right, our turn,” Cameron said. “Heath, want to do the honors?”
He was oblivious to Heath’s conundrum, but Cameron rarely picked up on subtext. He just took things as they came. He was a bit different than Heath and me. That much had been obvious ever since he was about seven years old.
My brothers had bought drinks and put them on the table next to Sybil, and I went to grab one while Heath and Cameron were discussing who was up next.
Sybil was looking at me with a huge smile. “Grant, this is such a surprise. ”
“Figured it would be.” I winked at her, then gestured to her phone. “Conversing with your book club?”
“Yes. They keep me busy. I love not being on a schedule.” In a lower voice, she added, “But Thomas doesn’t.”
“I know.”
Cameron’s laugh resounded in the hall. I immediately looked in his direction to see he was pointing at Heath and Ruby.
“I need to keep Cameron in check,” I told Sybil, who laughed as I walked away.
Heath was preparing for his turn.
“So, Ruby,” Cameron said as I approached, “do you need any intel on my brother? Because you can call me anytime.”
I stared at him. “What do you mean by intel?”
He shrugged. “None of your business, bro.”
Cameron looked straight at Ruby. “But I’m an open book. About anyone. Someone wants to call me and talk about Grant, I’ll give them all the dirt.”
Ruby laughed.
“I’ve got dirt on everyone,” Cameron went on, even though no one asked him to elaborate. “I know stuff they probably don’t even remember.”
“Really?” Ruby said, folding her arms over her chest and jutting one hip out. “How would I know you’re not making it up?”
I liked her more with every passing second.
Cam jerked his head back. “I’d never do that. I have an eidetic memory, that’s all.”
“He really does,” I assured her.
Heath threw a split and looked annoyed as he walked back to us.
Cameron groaned. “Heath, come on, dude. Get your shit together. I want us to win.”
“Dude, I haven’t played in about a million years.”
“Neither have the rest of us, and yet you’re the one doing a poor job. ”
Then Cameron shut his mouth as he checked the scoreboard. He probably realized that Heath had missed the pickup on purpose so Evie and Thomas wouldn’t be in last place. Yeah, he was slow to catch on sometimes, but eventually he did.
After the fifth frame, it was obvious that Ruby and I were going to win. She seemed to be having a good time, though she kept checking her phone. I wondered what that was about. Probably the restaurant.
After I threw the very last ball, hitting another strike, Heath announced, “I’m hungry. How about we order something to eat?”
Ruby was typing furiously. The dinner rush was starting at The Cozy Place, and I needed to get her back.
“I’ll drive you back to the restaurant,” I told her.
She looked up, sighing. “But I’m having so much fun.”
I grinned, walking closer to her and touching her jaw with two fingers. “Then stay.”
“Oh, you’re making me miss work again.” She bit her lip.
“And I’m winning you over.”
She laughed. “Well, not to inflate your ego, but Sherry said it was good for her that I stepped away from the restaurant over the weekend. She could actually do her job as manager. I think I might’ve been micromanaging her.”
“I’m always in favor of empowering employees. It’s the only way to grow a business.”
“I don’t actually want to grow it,” she said with a frown. “Just maybe not work so many hours.”
“Then stay for dinner. Take this evening off. See how it goes.”
“Why do I have so much trouble finding reasons to say no to you?” she whispered.
“Because I’m irresistible,” I replied with a straight face.
“True. And I like this whole dynamic, the family. Everyone’s very laid-back.”
I felt victorious. Fucking hell, I wanted to kiss her right now. And why shouldn’t I ?
I captured her mouth, then immediately realized why I shouldn’t have, because all I wanted now was to fucking devour her, to touch her everywhere I could reach. But she came to her senses first and pulled back seconds later.
“Grant,” she murmured.
Someone was clearing their throat behind us. I’d completely lost my head. Turning around, I saw Heath cock a brow. Cameron just gave me a thumbs-up. Evie was grinning. She was old enough to know what a kiss was, but I’d introduced Ruby as my friend. She was probably confused.
“I knew it, I knew it!” Evie said, jumping up and down. “You’re not just his friend. Uncle Grant, that is a mean thing to say about someone you’re kissing.”
I swear to God, the older she got, the less of a filter she had.
Heath burst out laughing as two waiters brought over snacks. I looked at my brother as if he’d lost his mind.
“You make me proud, Evie,” he told his daughter.
Yeah, she was making me proud, too, even though she’d just called me out.