Page 37 of The Grump

“And you’ll let me know in case anyone is without pralines?”

“Will do,” Jasmine said, then waved to us both and walked down the sidewalk.

The second we were alone, Bailey took a sip of the hot chocolate. “This is so good. Where did you get it from? I didn’t see a vendor.”

“Not far from here. I’ll buy you another one later on if you want.”

She looked up at me, eyes narrowed. “You’re trying to earn points again?”

“I just want to keep you happy,” I said without thinking. The admission took me by surprise, too, but it was 100 percent true.

“How did you even...? Oh, I sent you that spreadsheet.”

“Yes, I did. And it’s proving even more useful than I thought. I called Avery, too, just to make sure I had the right place.”

She grimaced. “Huh. So, what exactly did my sister say?”

“She lectured me first about showing up everywhere... and then I think she got the right idea.”

“She’s going to give me an earful tomorrow.” She took another sip of hot chocolate, then pulled her beanie even lower on her ears.

“Why is that?” I asked, instantly feeling protective of her.

“Because she’s my older sister, so it’s her prerogative.” Glancing at her feet, she murmured, “Why are you here, Xander?”

“Because we’ve got some unfinished business from last night.”

Chapter Ten

Xander

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“Oh, I thought... Never mind.” She quickly brought the cup to her lips.

“What did you think?”

She shook her head more vehemently as she looked up. “It really doesn’t matter.”

“It fucking does. Tell me what’s weighing on your mind.”

“Since we didn’t get to talk any more, I assumed that you want us to forget about it.”

I leaned in so damn close that I was completely in her personal space, but after last night, I needed the closeness. And she wasn’t pulling away—quite the contrary.

“Are you kidding me? All I wanted last night was to find another minute alone with you. I wanted to take you home and—”

She looked up abruptly. “Oh my God, you did?”

I could practically feel her body relaxing.

“Don’t tell me that you spent the entire night thinking I was some kind of asshole who avoided you on purpose.”

“I don’t know. Maybe not on purpose. But it did cross my mind.”

“No, I just... got distracted with Bella.”

She smiled. “I saw you. It was endearing.”

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