Page 47 of The Prettiest Outlaw

“So, where are we going?” She probed.

“You’ll see when we get there,” I told her. Then I offered her a distraction. “How was your day?”

“Uh, I spent the day on YouTube University, trying to teach myself some more decorating techniques. Spoiler alert…that was a fail.”

“You don’t want to find an in-person program and enroll?”

“Well, at first I was scared to waste the money because I’m a ‘start-stopper.’ So, there’s that.”

“Yeah, but this is something that you really love. You’re not stopping, lil bit. It’s okay to invest in yourself.” I sighed. “You like baking and decorating cupcakes and cookies, and not only that…you’re good at it. Enroll in a program. Your first semester’s on me. And if you decide to quit, you won’t have wasted any money.”

“I’ll have wasted your money, Nico. I can’t waste your money.”

“I have more confidence in you than you have in yourself. I don’t think you’re gonna quit. I think you’re gonna enroll in a program, get inspired by everything you don’t know, and start to love baking and decorating even more. Prove me wrong.”

“Nico.”

“One semester. If you lose interest, you lose interest. You’ll have to find something else you like, but give it one semester.”

“I’ll think about it.” She sighed. “What’d you do today beside secure the bag forEmerald City?Not that getting the contract with the church wasn’t enough.”

“After I wrapped up my meeting with Pastor Sharpe and his team, I had lunch with Langston.”

“How’s he doing?”

“Good.” I paused briefly. “Before you hear it from him or one of your sisters, our conversation was about you.”

“Okay,” she said slowly. “What about me?”

“I told him that I was taking you out of his purview.”

She giggled. “Oh, so you’re taking me off his plate? He doesn’t have to worry about me anymore because you’ve got me?”

I shook my head at her teasing. “Pretty much.”

“How did he take the news? Langston thinks I’m his daughter or his baby, baby, baby sister. Like the baby sister that’s just out of diapers. He’s almost more protective of me than my daddy was. What did he say to you?”

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly. “He trusts me. He was cool with it.”

She turned in her seat so that she could face me. I felt the heat of her gaze boring into the side of my face.

“He said those exact words? He said, ‘I’m cool with it.’ Wow.”

“He didn’t say those exact words, lil bit. He said what he said, and the gist of it was that he’s cool with it. Like I said, he trusts me to take care of you.”

* * *

“What is this place, Nico?” Julianna was practically hanging out of the window as I pulled into a park outside ofSavor, Flavor & Mingle.

There were couples walking into the door as I turned off the ignition.

“Is this a sip and paint?” She was gleeful. “I’ve always wanted to do a couple’s sip and paint.”

“Noted.” I nodded my head. “Nah. I signed us up for a couple’s cooking class.”

Her pretty face lit up even more.

“Get out of here! That sounds like so much fun.” She watched me curiously. “How are you single, bro? You’re so fucking dope!”

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