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Grant gave a dismissive wave of his hand. “I can see why you come here at least. Beau is a total chick magnet.”
At that moment, Ava’s mom was giving him a friendly wave from across the room. William waved back and led Grant back toward the shark area. “I don’t come to the aquarium to pick up, jerkoff.”
Grant snorted. “There goes Dex’s theory that you’ve developed a fetish for corrupting vanillas.”
“Just the one.” He found himself smiling and thinking of the conversation he’d had with Juliet in the wee hours. It was ridiculous how much he was looking forward to seeing her tonight.
“Why are you still interested in her? The kink can’t be that good. Not with someone so new. Or have you developed a training fetish all of a sudden?”
“I don’t know. I just like her.”
“I thought you found her snobby and annoying.”
“I was wrong. She’s not snobby at all. And training someone is a hell of a lot more interesting if you’re thinking of keeping them.”
Grant looked as startled as Will felt just after the words left his mouth.
“Wow. You’re more of a fucking idiot than I thought.”
One of the aquarium workers frowned at Grant.
“You don’t even know her. Why do you have a problem with her?” Will asked, annoyed.
“She’s vanilla and she doesn’t like kids. You own a BDSM club and you have Bilbo. Are you not seeing the problem here? Why get involved with some woman who doesn’t fit your life? Go ahead and corrupt her a little. Tire her out. Get her out of your system. Just—whatever you do—don’t put a collar on her.”
“Why do you care?” he snapped, not really caring for an answer.
“Because when Bethany split, you were all kinds of fucked up. You don’t need that shit in your life. You’re on such different pages you’re not even in the same book. This isn’t going to end well. I can feel it.”
“What are you—the relationship whisperer now? When was the last time you even considered collaring someone?”
Grant’s mouth tightened, and he didn’t respond, suddenly far more serious than he had been.
“Are you considering someone? Seriously?” Will asked, confused. He hadn’t seen Grant sniffing around anyone lately, but then again, he’d been busy with Beau. It was weird. Grant had a secret from him?
Beau started to fuss and Will plucked her out of the stroller. She leaned into him when he held her now, and it was quite possibly the best feeling in the world.
“I was, but I don’t think it’s going to work out.” Grant shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. His expression flickered, and Will realized his brother was far more upset than he was letting on.
“Who?”
“No one you know.”
Lying.
“You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”
“Sure thing, Dr. Phil.” Grant rolled his eyes. “I appreciate the fact that you’re willing to listen to my bullshit, but it’s been a few years since I needed my big brother to look out for me.”
“This isn’t about me looking out for you. This is about me giving a shit about what’s going on with you. You were just doing the same thing to me. It’s not a big brother/little brother thing. It’s a brother/best friend thing.”
Grant grunted. “Well, if you were trying to stop me from prying into your business, it worked. Forget I said anything. Remember, it’s not just about me and the business anymore. Beau needs you to have your shit together, and Beau needs whoever you’re with to like her.”
Wow, he’d really thought about this.
He was trying to think of what to say when Grant kept going. “Saddling her with an uptight, self-absorbed stepmother isn’t really fair. You’re not just choosing someone for yourself anymore—you’re choosing for Beau. Hell, you’re choosing for me. And if you’re choosing someone who isn’t going to make you happy, and who isn’t going to participate in parenting, then you need to rethink your priorities.”
Where the hell was this coming from? Did Grant really think he was such a shitty dad that he wouldn’t make Beau the priority?
