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“How are the new shops doing?” Eldrich asked Miles, further easing the awkwardness.
“Better than I expected,” Miles admitted.
“They’re crushing it. She’s just too modest to admit it,” I countered. “The locations in Wolfcrest and Wildwood have gone insane. I’m barely running any ads for them, and the shops are still a madhouse.”
“They don’t have any competition in those cities yet,” Miles pointed out.
“It’s not too late for Bash to killSweet Dreams,” Rafael said.
“It’s not,” he agreed.
I kicked his leg, and his gaze lifted to me.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“It is,” he grumbled.
“Now that Brynn’s poached their biggest customer, they might not survive anyway,” Tatum said. “Let’s not kick Cindy when she’s already down.”
“Who was their biggest customer?” Eldrich asked, his forehead knitting.
Bash stabbed another bite of his food as almost every eye at the table went to him.
Almost, meaning Anthony was too busy looking down at his plate, bored.
“Tell me it wasn’t Bash,” Anastasia said.
Bash took another bite.
“It was Bash,” I said.
It was his turn to narrow his eyes at me.
“Why the hell were you their biggest customer? Everyone knows how much we hate Cindy. Or her actions, at the very least.” Anastasia shot back. “Were yousleepingwith her?”
“He wasn’t sleeping with her. No one told him about the drama, so he didn’t know he should avoid them instead of me. He tried to shut their business down after he found out, so he’s already been forgiven, and he has a better chocolate supplier now.”
“Hopefully one he pays very well in apology,” his mother said.
“He does.”
Miles’ eyes cut to me.
She was my accountant, and therefore the only one at the table other than Bash that knew he didn’t actually pay me for thechocolate. It seemed like a conclusion everyone could reach on their own, though.
When my gaze met Bash’s again, his eyes weren’t narrowed anymore.
There wasgratitudein them.
Eldrich, the saint he was, changed the subject to seasonal recipes. Tatum could talk about the possibilities for at least an hour—and everyone else’s contributions could make it two.
When Bash’s cold, wet slacks brushed my legs again, I bumped his calf with my foot to tell him I appreciated the contact.
But I withdrew it before I gottoocold, of course.
After dinner,Bash grabbed the vase of roses, took my hand, and towed me up to our room. He didn’t say goodnight to everyone, so I figured he wasn’t planning on holding me hostage all night.
Notyet, at least.
