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He barks out a laugh as he looks down at the bag. “Is this a sign to get out of your hair?”
I nod. “Yep.”
“All right, sweetheart.” He chuckles. “You get that stubbornness from me, you know.”
“I’ll take that over your taste in men.”
My dad grins and leans over the counter to kiss my forehead. “You always were too smart for your own good. You need anything, you call Leo.”
“Yeah, no.” I roll my eyes. “I won’t be doing that.”
My dad winks, laughs, and turns toward the door. He claps Damon on the shoulder as they leave. Leo is still out on the sidewalk, talking on his phone, but I don’t miss the way he glances back through the window, giving me one last grin, before disappearing into the black tinted-window SUV waiting for them on the curb.
Sheesh. I guess I should just be thankful my dad didn’t start on his other bullshit of me moving out of my condo and back home to his big mansion in Bellevue because he doesn’t think West End Avenue is safe.
Mind you, my freaking shop is located on the same street as my building, and West End Avenue is one of the safest parts of downtown Nashville. Your biggest risks involve tired college students and spending too much money at little boutique shops.
As soon as they’re gone, Sunnie practically bounces in place. “Okay, I get why your dad keeps trying to set you up with him. Leo Murphy is . . . wowza.”
“Yeah,” Cher says, dreamily. “He’s like a forbidden-romance cover model. All tattoos and tragedy.”
Sunnie nods with wide eyes. “And those arms? I’d let him carry me and my student loans.”
I laugh.
“By the way, speaking of attractive men,” Cher chimes in with a mischievous smile. “Where was your brother, Nico, this morning? I was fully prepared for my daily dose of eye candy.”
“Yeah!” Sunnie nods. “Talk about rude. I must have put on twenty-five coats of lip gloss because I wanted my mouth to look lush when he arrived.”
“I don’t know why, but there’s something about tech guys, you know?” Cher goes on. “They’re superhot in this, like, intelligent but kind of nerdy but kind of dangerous way, you know?”
“Amen, sister,” Sunnie says, but I shake my head.
My brother, Nico, is thirty-two and has been in the tech industry since he graduated from Georgetown University. He traveled the world for eight years helping big corporations with their cybersecurity systems—Singapore, Dubai, London, Beijing, you name it and Nico has lived there—but now he’s back in Nashville, working for our father’s company, and apparently moonlighting as Sunnie and Cher’s unofficial morning heartthrob.
But to me, he’s still the same old brother who liked to put gum in all my Barbies’ hair.
“You know what’s a really good idea?” I question, but don’t give them time to respond on purpose. “Not talking about how hot my brother is or the fact that you’re overapplying lip gloss for him.”
“Get over yourself, Teeny,” Sunnie says. “Your brother is hot. And so is Leo Murphy.”
“Leo Murphy,” Cher repeats, like his name is a sacred vow. She fans her face—and then mine—until I swat her hand away on a giggle.
“Well, you two can fight over Leo Murphy. I already have a man.”
Sunnie’s nose scrunches up in confusion. “What? Who?”
I keep my face perfectly serious.
“Alfred.”
Both Sunnie and Cher cackle like adorable but highly caffeinated hyenas since Alfred is in his eighties, a widower, and my very best friend.
All that considered, I’d still rather marry him than freaking musclehead Leonidas Murphy.
I don’t need a man. I don’t need love. My life is perfectly fine the way it is, thank you very much.
If I want a fairy tale, I’ll DIY my own with bagels and books—no silly prince required.
