Page 106 of The Boss I Can't Stand
Liam was doing his best and could thankfully connect with X about the show business side of things, so they could at least chat about work. But Connor was having a tougher time accepting a new man in Mom’s life, especially one who’d already broken her heart once.
Still, X hadn’t given me any reason to doubt him since they’d gotten back together, and these days, he and Mom were sort of sweet together.
“Do I have to keep this on all night?” Liam complained from his spot on the couch as he flipped up the eyepatch covering his face.
“Yep!” Grace said, jamming a tricorn hat on his head. She’d gotten to pick the theme for this month’s dinner and had chosen pirates after spending time working on the costume team for the third-grade production ofPeter Panat her school—for which Sierra provided manyexpert consultations. As far as I was concerned, Liam had gotten off easy with his pirate hat and eyepatch. I still had this damned stuffed parrot on my shoulder, the clips digging into my skin.
I nudged X. “Hey, I arranged a little treasure hunt for Grace with Mom’s help.” I produced a fancy little scroll from my pocket. It was tied with a leather cord. “Why don’t you go ahead and give it to her?”
X shook his head at me. “Oh, no, I couldn’t.”
“You can,” I insisted. “She’ll love it, and Connor loves the things that make her happy. Maybe it’s a way for you to start bridging that divide a little without handing over a kidney.”
He gave me an appreciative smile, taking the scroll. “Thanks. I mean that.”
I nodded. “Go on. Before she accidentally claws one of Liam’s eyes out.”
X put his drink down, picked up his fake hook, and waved his armsdramatically. “Arrrg, Captain Grace!” he announced, carrying over the scroll. “Look what just washed up on shore!”
Grace gasped as X handed it to her. She unfurled it, eyes wide. “Pirate treasure! Dad, look at this!”
“Wow!” Connor said, glancing up from where he was chatting with Mom. He regarded X with slightly less suspicion than usual and smiled a bit at Grace’s excitement.
“Come on, X!” Grace cried, clamping down on the hook and dragging him off to the back door. “I think the treasure is outside.”
“That was very sweet of you,” Sierra said, sidling up beside me.
I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her close enough to press a kiss to her head. “I knew Grace would love it.”
“Who doesn’t like treasure?” Sierra said, looking up at me. “But I meant what you did for X.”
I shrugged. “Mom deserves to be happy, and she’s found something good with X. The sooner Liam and Connor get on board…Well, I guess it’s better for everyone. But speaking of treasure…”
I pulled a second, smaller scroll from my pocket. Mom caught my eye across the room and grinned as I handed it over to Sierra.
“Did you makemea treasure map, too?” Sierra said, laughing as she opened it. “Do we all get treasure maps?”
“Only my favorite people,” I whispered.
Sierra flipped the map right side up, glancing around the living room to orient herself. “Hmm,” she said, turning as she followed the map out of the living room and down the hall. “This is a very good drawing,” she said, impressed. “Maybe you should take up illustration along with your sculpting.”
“I’ve been learning from the best,” I said.
“Oh, please. My chicken scratch costume sketches aren’t that good.”
“And yet you’ve been asked to donate some of the sketches fromEvery Dayto that new costume exhibit at the Hollywood Museum.”
She looked at me, her lips puckered. “That was supposed to be a surprise.”
“I have friends on the board, remember?”
“Mm-hmm,” she hummed, looking down at her map again. She kept walking all the way to the foyer where I’d hung my jacket on the coat rack. “X marks the spot.” Sierra rolled up the map before reaching into my pocket and pulling out a small treasure chest. She laughed. “This is very on-theme.”
“Open it,” I said.
She did, her eyes going wide as her jaw dropped. “Oh,Finn!”
I gently took the chest from her, sinking down to one knee as I removed the ring from the box. Sierra covered her mouth with both hands as I held the ring up to her. It was a hexagon cut moss agate stone surrounded by a setting of diamonds.
