“He said you’d say something like that. He asked me to let you know that he brought the kids and they also wanted to speak to the chef. And he said that yes, he knows he’s playing dirty, but he doesn’t care.” Farrah bit her lip and raised an eyebrow, curious how I was going to take that.
Gabby was smirking, eyes wide as she watched me. “Are you going to go talk to him?” she asked.
“Dammit,” I said, tossing down my apron. I checked my hair discreetly in the reflection from the oven and then headed out to the dining room. I couldn’t even storm up to his table and say something bitchy, because I didn’t want to stress out the kids.
It was lunch service, and the dining room was almost full. My arrival caught a few looks and some quick words of praise for the food. I waded toward Greyson and his kids, feeling supremely awkward and also a little pissed that he’d stoop this low.
“Hey guys,” I said, completely avoiding eye contact with Greyson as I scooped Molly up for a hug then bent to hug Billy.
“I missed you!” Molly said. “Did you know daddy is sleeping in his car?”
Greyson lifted his hand to his mouth and shifted uncomfortably. “Temporarily,” he said.
“What?” I asked. “Why?”
“The Inn has been fully booked since I arrived. Katie and Matt are under contract on the only other rental in town.”
I couldn’t help grinning. “You can’t even get a room at your own inn, huh?”
“It’s fine. There are lockers and showers at the gym until something opens up.”
For living out of his car, the man showed no sign of it. His hair was just as perfectly tussled and he looked as well-dressed and wrinkle-free as always.
“You had some kind of special request?” I said tightly.
“Yes. I wanted you to taste this cookie.” He held up a single peanut butter almond cookie.
I gave it a skeptical look, then sniffed it. “How did you know this was my favorite?”
“When we made our bet, you never said I wasn’t allowed to cheat.”
I frowned. Mom. I was going to kill her. I took a bite of the cookie, chewed, and smirked. “It’s better. But it’s still far from good. And if you’re living out of your car, where are you cooking these?”
“I made the first batch in a gas station microwave.”
I put my palm to my forehead. “And you fed that to me? Are you trying to get me to forgive you, or kill me?”
He winced. “It wasn’t ideal, but I imagined maybe the thought was what counted. This time, your mom let me use one of her ovens, but she refused to help beyond telling me your favorite flavor. Well, she also stopped me from mistaking baking soda for salt.”
I shook my head.
“Daddy told us you have a bet,” Molly said. “I hope he wins. I want you two to like each other again so we can play more.”
“Yeah,” Billy said. “Dad may suck at cooking, but any time he ever decided to get good at something, he got really good at it. I think he’s going to win, too.”
“Is that right?” I asked. I felt conflicted. It made me feel like the bad guy to see their sweet faces rooting for me to give their dad another chance. But they also didn’t understand the very adult emotions at play here. They had no idea what I would be putting on the line if I let Greyson Ashford even have a shred of my heart again.
Billy nodded. “Dad said you also made a classic mistake when it comes to bets. You didn’t give him a time limit, so he said the only thing that could make him lose is if he gave up, and he said he’s never going to do that.”
I put my fist on my hip and glared at Greyson. “You decided it was fair to explain all of this to your kids, did you?”
He shrugged. “Like I said, you never said I couldn’t cheat.”
“Now I see where Billy gets it from.”
“I cheat too,” Molly said happily. “Daddy just never catches me.”
“He catches you,” Billy said sourly. “He just thinks you’re too cute to call you out.”
Molly stuck her tongue out at him.
“I really need to get back to the kitchen,” I said.
“I’ll see you soon,” Greyson said. “Unless you’d like to just end this now and give me my five minutes.”
“You just had three and all you did was tell me what a dirty cheater you are. You really think five minutes will be enough?”
“If you don’t, why not just give me them and see what happens?”
“Nice try. It was good to see you guys,” I said, carefully looking at Billy and Molly, making sure Greyson knew I wasn’t including him in the sentiment.