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I shrug. “Sure. Mates,” I say confidently.
“As your mate do I get to kiss you?”
A zing hits my chest, and the air becomes harder to grasp. “Wh-what?” I stutter.
“Do I get to know how you feel below me?” he asks, his voice taking on a gritty texture that twists my stomach.
I’m pretty sure my chin hits the floor with the O my mouth is rocking in complete shock.
What is happening right now?
“Do I get to show you off at events?”
I grasp on to the final question becausethatI can reply to—the others are so foreign I don’t know how to even consider them.
“What kind of events?”
Hayden gives me the out I so desperately crave and peppers me with information on the event he wants me to attend. “It’s a company party—a fashion show that Cat thought up.”
I grimace. I haven’t spoken to Cat since she brought me to Cash’s club over a month ago, and I have no interest in talking to her again. “Sorry, I think I’ll pass.”
When his face falls, I feel my resolve weakening. He’s been such a good friend, and I hate letting friends down. “Please, Grace, it’s a big deal. I’m trying to convince this company to partner with me in the winery in Tuscany. This event could help seal the deal.”
Another business event. Another Hanson. It feels like déjà-freaking-vu. The last event upended my life. I’m not sure I’ll survive another one.
“Hayden,” I whine like a child, already knowing I’ll give him what he wants.
When he flips his freaking lips down like a puppy, I just about lose it. “Fine. But I’m coming for two hours tops, and if you leave me alone with Cat James for even a minute, I’m out.”
Hayden grins. “I promise not to leave your side.”
There’s a twinkle in his eye and a promise in his words that I’m not ready to deal with, but when the lobster mac and cheese and rare porterhouse are placed in front of me, all thoughts leave my head. “Dinner’s on you,” I crow before dipping my fork into the gooey lobster goodness.
Hayden laughs. “Anything for you, Gracie.”
And dammit if that nickname doesn’t make swallowing a bit harder.
