Take a Chance (Chance, #1; Rosemary Beach #7)(23)

“Tennis instructor?” he asked

I nodded, still thinking about Adam’s comment about Mase.

“You like him? He’s sure got the hots for you. The dude’s tongue was almost hanging out.”

“Where are we eating?” I asked, hoping to change the subject.

“Hooters. Now answer me, do you like the guy?”

I let out a frustrated sigh. Mase was like a dog with a bone. “He asked me out.”

“That don’t answer my question,” he replied.

“Fine. I think I like him.”

“You think?”

I growled and shot Mase a frustrated glare. “I don’t know. He seems nice and sincere but I’ve been down this road before. Guys like me because of Dad. It gets old, and I’ve let myself get hurt this way before. I’m older and smarter and more careful now.”

Mase frowned. He didn’t understand this problem. He had women throw themselves at him because of him, not Dad. He was beautiful and no one really knew he was Kiro’s son.

“You think that dude is interested in who your daddy is?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“Did you say yes?”

I nodded.

“Well you must think there’s something to him then.”

I did. Until he knew about Mase.

“He knew about you. When I said you were my brother, he already knew Kiro had a son. Only diehards know about you.”

Understanding lit Mase’s eyes as he turned onto the main road and headed out of town. “I see. Yeah, that’s odd. But maybe he isn’t really a fan; maybe he’s just heard the Rosemary gossip. This town knows more about Slacker Demon than anywhere else since Dean’s son grew up here. They feel like they have some sort of inside scoop. He’s probably just heard rumors since he lives here.”

I hadn’t thought of that. He probably saw many of the band members as clients all the time. He could’ve heard something through the country club grapevine. Rosemary did have a close relationship with Slacker Demon. I let out a relieved sigh and leaned back against the seat. That made sense.

“Feel better now?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I replied.

“Good. But if I’m wrong, you just say the word and I’ll rearrange his face for you.”

I just smiled. Not because I didn’t believe him. Because I did. Mase was rough. He was Texas tough, and I’d learned a long time ago that was a whole other kind of tough. It was how a little boy grew up with an absent father. His stepdad was a Texan. He owned a ranch and wore boots and a hat all the time. He was big and tall and loud and I loved him. Even when I was a shy little girl, he always made sure I felt like family when I went to visit.

Out of the three of us, Mase had been the lucky one. He had a mom who adored him. A stepdad who treated him like his own. Maybe that was why he was the best of us. At least I wasn’t the worst. Nan held that title. But then she’d been given the worst life, from what I could tell.

A small part of me felt sorry for her. But only a very small part.

Grant

Iwalked into Rush’s after only knocking once. I wasn’t in the mood to wait. Blaire came walking down the stairs with Nate on her hip and a handful of her hair in his mouth.

“Grant?” she said, looking concerned. I hadn’t barged in as if I owned the place since Blaire and Rush got married. It was no longer my brother’s bachelor pad but their house.

“She let me talk and then she said okay and forgave me and left. Nothing else. No questions. Nothing. Then . . . then f**king Adam said he was taking her out tonight. I stopped by the café to get a bottle of water and he was talking to someone else and I overheard him. Adam! He’s . . . he’s . . . just . . .”

“He’s a nice guy,” Blaire finished for me as she tugged her hair from Nate’s fists. Then she handed him to me. “Take him. But don’t curse. I need to fix myself something to eat and you can talk while I do that.”

Nate grinned up at me and I noticed one small tooth peeking through his bottom gums. “Look at you. You got a tooth, little man.”

Nate continued smiling as he reached for my hair. The kid had a good grip and I had too much damn hair. “Whoa, dude. That needs to stay on my head.” I reached into my pocket and grabbed my keys and handed them to him to distract him.

Blaire turned at the sound of him jingling them and reached to take them from him. “Those have germs. He puts everything in his mouth. He’s teething.” She walked into the kitchen and opened the freezer and took out some blue frozen-looking toy and handed it to him.

“It’s gonna freeze his hands,” I said, wondering what the heck she was doing.

“No, it’s meant for teething. It will numb his gums.”

This kid shit was more than I wanted to think about.

“Where’s Rush?”

“He went running on the beach. He’ll be back soon. He’s been gone for an hour. Now, back to Harlow,” she said, reaching into the fridge to retrieve food that didn’t look appealing at all. “She forgave you and let you off the hook and you’re pissed because she didn’t put up a fight and is now going out with Adam.”

Not exactly. She made it sound like I was being selfish.

“I just . . . wanted to talk about it more.”