Page 79 of You're the Reason

Grace offered Seth a small smile, and he dropped his hand. If what he’d heard from Gabe as a kid was true, Grace’s parents’ approach was pretty harsh. A far cry from what she just witnessed.

The little girl buried her head in Nate’s chest as he claimed one of the chairs at the table, his gaze finally finding them. “Another auction in the books, new record high of bidding. Even set the record for highest bid.”

Seth took a step back from Grace. “Then why don’t you sound happy?”

“I’m thrilled.” His tone remained flat.

“He’s just grumpy because the one who set the record was Jackson Mackers.” Olivia appeared next to him. Her long white-blonde hair that had been pinned up seemed to be escaping in every direction.

“Olivia’s ex, and might I add, a billionaire.” He extended his legs out.

Seth’s gaze bounced between the couple. “We have a billionaire who lives in town?”

“He grew up here. Doesn’t live here. And I never dated him. And here is a solid piece of evidence of who I chose.” Olivia leaned over and tapped her daughter on the nose. “I don’t get why you’re jealous.”

“She’s got you there.” Grace leaned her hip on the table and pointed to the medium-sized bump at Olivia’s midline. “And there.”

“I’m not jealous. I’m just giving you a hard time.” He pulled her close and dropped a kiss on her lips then one on her stomach. “But admit it. I would be more attractive as a billionaire.”

“Nope. You’re worth more than a billion dollars.”

“You are worth all that and so much more.” Grace’s words came back. His gaze flicked to her, and with the way she was looking at him, maybe she was thinking the same thing.

Without breaking eye contact, Seth rapped his knuckles on the table. “Hey Nate, any chance you can cover for me here? I owe this girl a funnel cake.”

“Yes!” Nate and Olivia practically shouted at the same time. Then Olivia added, “I’ll help. Take the rest of the night off.”

He shook his head but couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “Subtle.”

But maybe Grace was right—he was of value to his friends, to a good share of the town, and to Grace.

Seth scooped up Grace’s six hundred dollars and handed it to her.

“No.”

“You made your point.” He pulled off one of the bills and added it to the cash box. “You made your donation, but since you can’t bid against yourself, the last five hundred didn’t count anyway.”

She reached in her purse and pulled out a handful more. “I was prepared to bid quite high for you. You might have earned more than the billionaire.”

“Well, that deserves a funnel cake and an elephant ear.” Then he pointed to his office in the corner. “But let’s lock that money away, shall we? I don’t like carrying that much cash.”

“I’m pretty sure if I’m with you, I’m safe.”

His movement stilled and met her eyes. “You really mean that, don’t you.”

When she only nodded, he pulled her into a giant hug. He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead then motioned toward the office. “Let’s lock that money away and get you the funnel cake.”

fourteen

She’d meant what she’d said about standing by Seth, but when her parents started making a beeline toward her in the funnel cake line, Grace said a prayer of thanks that Seth was waiting in the elephant ear line and not next to her. She accepted the strange looking glob of brown pastry covered in white powder from the vendor.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Her mother’s tone was tense, but she kept her volume low.

“It’s called a funnel cake, Mom. Just a pastry. No hard drugs involved.” Maybe it wasn’t the best time for a joke, but their reaction was way over the top. Of course she still watched her sugar intake, but she’d been having a little all summer and hadn’t burst into flames yet.

Seth approached, but seeing her parents, he diverted his path to a neighboring bench. No doubt he wasn’t in the mood for a scene either. And if they reacted this way over sugar, all bets were off when it came to him.

“Throw that away.” Her father’s voice was firm, bordering on harsh.

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