Page 49 of The Grump

“Do you know how to clean?” Bailey asked. It was such an honest question that I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

“Then I’m going to bring another broom for you.”

“I’ll come with you and get it.”

Avery turned to the guys. “Let’s continue where we left off.”

Bailey stepped in front of me, walking toward the back.

“Bailey,” I said, grabbing her arm and slightly turning her around. “Are you okay? You seem on edge.”

She slumped her shoulders. “It’s just been a long day. But we’ll be done soon.” She was starting to shake lightly. “I’m just a bit tired. If we don’t finish today...”

“Bailey.” I cupped her face with both hands, tilting her head up. “We will finish—”

“Because I have a lot of deliveries tomorrow.”

“I can have someone else do the deliveries,” I assured her.

“But that’s the thing. I actually like doing the deliveries. People expect me to be in some places.”

She was working herself into a frenzy again, so I tilted her head up even more and leaned closer. “If you don’t stop, I’ll kiss you.”

She blinked and started to laugh. “Why would you do that?

“To take your mind off it.”

She smiled. “Oh, you’re good. It really would. I mean, look at this. Simply mentioning it made me forget about everything for a split second.”

“Listen to me. We’ll figure out the details, okay? If we don’t manage to finish the cleanup tonight, you and Avery don’t have to coordinate everything on your own.”

“But we’ve always done that. I know it’s part of the Orleans Conglomerate, but it just never mattered before.”

“This is an emergency, so things are different.”

“We’ve had emergencies in the past.” Her tone was playful, as were her eyes.

“But I didn’t know about it.” Then I growled, leaning closer. “I didn’t know you.”

“Hm. So, you’d be doing this as a special favor?” she murmured, looking at my lips.

“I just don’t want to see you out of sorts,” I admitted.

She swallowed hard. I nearly kissed her, but then my brothers’ unmistakable voices filtered in.

“Hi,” Beckett said. “I’m Beckett. This is Anthony and Zachary. We’re Xander’s brothers.”

I took in a deep breath and stepped back.What is wrong with me?

“We’re going to need more brooms,” I said.

“Let’s go to the supply room.”

She seemed more at ease as we got the brooms and other cleaning supplies. Her shoulders were no longer up to her ears, and her frown wasn’t as deep. I’d made progress. And yet all I wanted was to take her home and make sure she was okay.

But first things first: we had to clean up.

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