Grace (The Family Simon 5)

Lips pursed, she sighed. “I don’t have a deal.” The admission fell from her lips before she could think about it and her frown deepened. The GPS indicated a left turn and she followed the instructions.

“Oh, I think you do.”

“Josh,” she said, avoiding a large patch of ice in the middle of the road. “We’re not discussing my so-called deal. What we are going to do is get you to your hotel so that you can relax like a good boy and get ready for tomorrow. The charity fundraiser starts in the afternoon and you need this. Instigating a bench-clearing brawl after your troubles in the minors wasn’t a smart thing to do, so don’t screw it up.”

“Man, you sound like my mother.”

“Sorry.”

“You should be. That wasn’t a compliment.” A pause. “At least you don’t look like her.”

“And that’s a good thing because…”

“She looks like Sasquatch.”

“Your mother looks like Sasquatch.”

“Yep.”

“Sorry but I have a hard time believing a woman who looks like Sasquatch gave birth to a guy who…”

Shit. Now his grin wouldn’t go away.

“A guy who…” He prompted.

“A guy who doesn’t look like Sasquatch.” No way was she feeding into his ego. Josh Hayden knew exactly how good looking he was.

Grace peered ahead, looking for the hotel. It should be just around the corner.

“Hey what’s that place?”

Grace followed his gaze and spied a smallish plaza on her right. There were several stores that she could see—a weight loss clinic, a health food store, and a pizza joint. There was also a large pub or restaurant, The Roadside Grill.

“Let’s stop in for some food. I’m freaking starving.”

She shook her head. All she wanted was a hot shower, two extra strength tablets for her headache, and a bed. Kind of sad considering it was eight o’clock on a Friday night, and she was only a few weeks shy of her twenty-sixth birthday. When had her life become so incredibly lame?

“Come on,” Josh coaxed. “You gotta be ready for some eats.”

Grace took her foot off the gas. She was hungry, and she was pretty damn sure the hotel wouldn’t be able to touch good pub food.

“I’ll even buy.” Josh slapped his thighs and whooped when she turned into the plaza.

“Down boy,” Grace said, unable to hide the smile creeping over her face.

“So that’s all it took.”

“Huh?” She found parking near the main door.

“Food.”

“Food,” she repeated, cutting the engine and turning to him with a frown.

“I’ve been trying to figure you out since you picked me up in New York.”

“Trust me. I’m not all that interesting.”

The snow was still falling and Grace swiped at a large snowflake that caught on her eyelashes. She tugged on her pink hoodie and slipped off her beanie, shaking out her long hair as she followed Josh into The Roadside Grill.