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“Might be best you don’t say it then,” Grady suggested, his eyes narrowing.
Fuck. Nate didn’t want to get on Grady’s bad side.
“Might be. However, I’ve still gotta look in the mirror at myself after tonight and like what I see. So I’m gonna say it. Effie isn’t a girl looking for a good time. She’s not the type you fuck and leave. She’s the type you hold on tight to. And you don’t let go.”
Yep, that really fucked him off. No matter if he did admire that Nate was saying it to the two men who could fire him.
Steele stood, unable to curb the anger.
“Are you really going to stand there and insult us like that?” Grady asked in a low, deadly whisper.
Oh fuck. Things were bad if Grady was close to the edge.
“I like Effie,” Nate defended. “Someone has to look out for her.”
“No one has to look out for me. I can look out for myself.” She pointed at her face. Except she moved her finger too much and managed to poke herself in the eye.
“Ow! Owie!”
“Did you hurt yourself?” Grady asked, sounding alarmed. “Let me see.”
“It hurts,” she sobbed, holding her hand over her eye.
“It’s all right,” Grady soothed. “Just let me see, sweetheart.”
Steele moved back to her. He knew this wasn’t Grady’s strong suit.
Loyalty, he had in spades. Intelligence, definitely.
But empathy. Not so much.
“You . . . you won’t touch my eye? I don’ts like things touching my eyeball. Those sorts of balls should never be touched. Other balls, yes. Eyeballs, no.”
“All right, Twinkletoes. I won’t touch your eyeball.” She removed her hand slowly and Grady checked her eye. “It looks okay.”
“It doesn’t feel okay.”
Grady stared up at him, clearly looking for guidance.
Steele felt an unusual warmth unfurl in his chest. Was this the way it could be? The two of them feeding off each other? Using their strengths to help their girl?
He sat beside them, the coffee table creaking.
“Maybe we should move.” Grady carried her to the sofa, sitting again with her on his lap.
It was telling that he didn’t want to let her go. Steele leaned forward to grasp Effie’s chin.
“Do you want the good news or the good news?” he asked.
“Hmm, let me think about that for a moment. I don’ts want to make the wrong decision.”
Steele grinned.
“I want . . . the good news!”
“Good news is that your eyeball is still in your eye socket.”
She heaved out a breath. “Whew. That is a big relief to me.”
