Page 81 of Whiskey Lies

“Hot buttered lobster roll from Quitos,” he says smoothly.

“That was oddly very specific. Why’s it so special?”

The bubbles slosh around us as I turn my head to look at him, leaning against his shoulder as he speaks. “Well, you know how my mom died when I was young so we came to live with my grandparents in the city?”

I nod.

“Well, every summer my grandparents would bring us back to Bristol. It’s the town we were born in. We have a house there and we’d spend a few weeks sailing, riding bikes, playing on the playground at Colt State Park, and just being kids. It was the only time that my grandfather ever took off from work, and it felt like we were a real family. We’d have dinners around the table, afternoons spent in the sun or on the water, and on Fridays my grandfather would take turns taking each of us to a restaurant of our choice for alone time with him. I knew he loved lobster rolls, so I always picked his favorite restaurant. I think he knew it too because I hated mayonnaise, and normally a lobster roll comes with mayo. That’s how he would get it. He didn’t want to call me out on my obvious attempt at winning him over, so he ordered me a hot lobster roll. The second I tasted the garlic delicacy on my tongue, I was hooked. It was the best thing I’d ever eaten.”

“Sounds incredible.”

“It really is. But even more so, the memories I made with him during those lunches are something I cherish. He would talk to me like I was an adult, explain the business to me, treat me like an equal. It is only in these last few years that I realized he was grooming me even back then. Last year he called me while I was in Tennessee and told me he wanted to go there this spring. I think he planned on asking me to take over while we shared a lobster roll. Unfortunately, he had the stroke, and he didn’t get to do it the way he wanted. Now it’s been forced upon him instead.”

I pull Cash’s arms around my waist and squeeze him tightly. “I’m sorry he didn’t get to do it that way. It sounds like you have a special relationship.”

“We do. And he is going to love you. I want to take you there someday. Hopefully soon.”

I look up at the man I’m slowly falling for and kiss his lips, tasting the bubbles around us and the wine from dinner. “I would love that, Whiskey.”

“Speaking of taking you out, when do I get to take my girlfriend on a real date?”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I sneak a look at him behind me. “Girlfriend?”

Cash spins me so that I’m facing him and moves my hips so that they are perfectly aligned with his own. “Yes, girlfriend. Do you have a problem with that, Gracie?”

Rubbing myself against his thick erection, I shake my head as I try to slip him inside my warmth. “Nope. I happen to love it.”

The warm water sloshes around us, and Cash’s fingers rub slow circles on my legs, hypnotizing me. “Do you want kids, Grace?”

The question doesn’t so much as catch me off guard, but I don’t know the right answer. It’s not that I worry that whatever answer I provide will be a problem, it’s that I honestly don’t know.

“I’ve always wanted kids,” I admit. The life I imagined always included children, but my life is nothing like I imagined.

What if I’m too selfish to have a child? What if I turn out to be like my mother?

As if sensing my hesitancy, Cash stops the movement of my teasing hips and holds me in place. “You’ve always wanted kids…I’m sensing a but in your response.”

I look up at him. “Do you? Want kids, I mean. Is that what you want?”

Cash doesn’t hesitate. “Yes.” He kisses my forehead and tips up my chin so that I’m looking right at him. “Since I met you, I want a lot of things. And kids are just one of them. I don’t say this to scare you, Grace, but I’m making all sorts of plans in my head. And every single one of them centers around you.”

A gasp slips from my lips. It’s like the air has been sucked out of the room and my chest grows tight. What is most concerning is how much this does not scare me. Instead, as he angles himself up so that I’m sliding down onto him, I’m filled with an overwhelming sense of peace. The plans I had for myself may not have worked out as I imagined, but I’m still precisely where I’m meant to be. Straddling a man who is not my husband, handing my heart over, and making plans for a future which surpasses any of my wildest dreams.

Chapter29

Grace

On Wednesday morning, Marion appears in my office with her purse in her hand and a smile on her lips. “Come on, Grace, we are going to breakfast.”

After our bath, Cash and I discussed how to handle work, our relationship, and the press. I convinced him that our best bet was to stay under the radar for the time being. Or at least until my divorce was finalized. Fortunately, it appears his lawyer suggested the same thing so he didn’t put up too much of a fight.

The other part of my plan he didn’t love, though. I’m convinced that the only way forward is for me to be seen out and about with Jonathan. It will take the attention off Cash. I was just getting up the courage to call Jonathan when Marion appeared.

I take her interruption as a sign that I should wait. “Oh, great idea!”

Lunch with Marion used to be a daily occurrence. As were dirty martinis with our meal. Since I had taken on more of a leadership role in the company though, and had more afternoon meetings, we had kept the lunches dry and saved the drinks for after work.

As we sit down at breakfast, I wish I could have a drink for this conversation. Marion is eyeing me like I’m one crack away from falling apart which means she’s seen the article about Cash, Jonathan, and me. I can only imagine what she thinks.

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