Page 76 of Shortcake
“Well, I was going to grill a couple burgers for myself for dinner if you want to join me? Harper’s at—”
“Book club, I know. She texted me.”
“She did? When?”
Addy shrugged. “About twenty minutes ago. She’s having fun. A lot of fun. I think you made the right choice letting her join.”
Huh. She hadn’t texted me once since I left Mia’s house.
Then again, she didn’t see me as a friend, like she did Addy. I was Dad. Just Dad. And kids hide things from their dad. I stood up, finally feeling like I could do so without humiliating myself. As long as I kept my eyes above her collarbone, I should be fine.. “She trusts you,” I said. “I don’t want to betray that by having you be, like a spy or anything. But, um, if she—”
“If she ever tells me something that youneedto know, trust me, I will tell you,” Addy said, quietly.
I exhaled. “Thank you.”
“But that need to know is based on my discretion,” she clarified.
I narrowed my eyes at her. That was fair, I guess. “I want to know about drugs and alcohol if it comes to that.”
Addy didn’t hesitate before nodding. “Understood. Trust me, if she’s being unsafe, you’ll be the first to know.”
I followed Addy as she turned and headed into the kitchen, grabbing a glass and pouring herself a glass of white wine from the fridge. Her eyes landed on the uncooked burger patties I had laid out on the tray.
“You know, burger meat is better when it’s left in the fridge until right before you grill,” she said. “It’s what makes the outside char the perfect, desirable crust.”
“Bullshit,” I snorted. “Beef is supposed to be brought to room temperature before grilling.”
“Mmmm,” she hummed with a shake of her head. “Steak is supposed to be grilled at room temperature. Not burgers.”
I stared skeptically at her, but the truth was, she could be right. She grabbed a plate and plopped two of the four patties onto it. “Tell you what? Let’s do half your way and the other half my way and see which is better?”
I snorted. “You’re on. Consider it a grill-off.”
She inspected the patties I had formed as lines formed on her forehead. “Oh, this won’t do,” she muttered before grabbing some onions and garlic out of the fridge.
I watched, smirk on my mouth as she added chopped onions, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper to her two burger patties, forming them once more. Rookie mistake. “You’re overworking the meat,” I said, folding my arms. “It’s a burger, not meatloaf.” I didn’t add the fact that you shouldn’t season the meat until right before it goes on the grill.
She shot me a death glare. “Are you scared of flavor? There was literally nothing in these patties except for the beef.”
I smirked. “It’s ground sirloin, not chuck. The good cut will do the majority of the work for you. I folded in some grated frozen butter to the patties. And I’ll salt and pepper it right before it goes on the grill. That’s all it needs.”
She rolled her eyes as she slipped her two patties back into the fridge. “Yeah, we’ll see. Mine need some time to get cold again. I was just going to jump in the hot tub for a bit, if you want to join me while we wait.”
I swear, my brain shorted out at the thought for a second. Addy and me… in a hot tub together. With Harper nowhere in sight. It was a recipe for disaster.
And I also desperately wanted to join her.
“Sure,” I said, impressed that I was able to keep my voice so even. “I’ll just go put on my suit.”
“Great.” She turned around, giving me a view of her curved butt. Practically a full view. Her bikini bottoms had slipped, practically revealing her whole ass to me. This time, I couldn’t suppress my groan as I looked up to the ceiling.
Then, looking over her shoulder at me, she added, “You can text your friend back that you are in fact getting your dick wet tonight… just not with any small-town pussy.”
ChapterThirteen
Addy
As soon as Conrad stepped out onto the brick patio in nothing but his swimsuit, I knew inviting him to join me in the hot tub was a mistake.
