He knew it, was fine with meeting for a drink, and we did just that.
Grayson is a rock star online. His follower count on Instagram rivals the most infamous of influencers, and he’s looking for a new home for his poetry.
His sister happens to be one of Maren’s closest friends. That got my foot in the door, and after tonight, I’m confident that I’ll be publishing Grayson’s next book.
That calls for a celebration, and there’s no one I’d rather do that with than the woman sitting next to me.
Speaking of Astrid, I glance at her. She smiles as she trails her finger in the air pointing at the other people at the table. “This is my cousin, Eloise. And Heath and Lyle.”
Eloise extends a hand across the table. “It’s nice to meet you. Astrid told me all about the lost key quest.”
It was more a panicked journey than a quest, but that’s semantics and a waste to talk about. I want to know more about the Hot Dad title that I didn’t know I was carrying around with me.
“Astrid has mentioned me?” I perk a brow as I shake her hand. “You need to share all the details.”
The guy next to Astrid laughs. “Girls don’t rat out other girls.”
I shoot him a look.
“She said you’re a dad, and you’re smoking hot,” Eloise blurts out.
“Oh, my god,” Astrid mumbles. “I did not.”
I inch my thigh closer to hers under the table. That lures her gaze to mine. “You did.”
She shakes her head. “I mentioned that you’re a dad.”
“You said he was gorgeous.” Eloise points a finger in my direction. “You were spot-on.”
The man next to Eloise laughs. “Hey, now.”
“Oh, Heath.” Eloise sighs. “His hotness takes nothing away from you.”
“What about me?” Lyle chuckles.
Everyone at the table goes quiet as he waits for confirmation that he’s attractive.
I’d rate him seven out of ten, but clearly, he’s more interested in Astrid’s thoughts than mine.
She stays silent.
“As fun as this is, I’m going to steal Astrid away from you.” I push back from the table.
“You are?” Her gaze darts to meet mine. “Where are we going?”
I stand and extend a hand to her. “You’ll see.”
Her hand lands in mine. “I can’t wait.”
Green is my new favorite color because fuck me, that sweater that Astrid is wearing tonight is everything.
She looks incredible.
“You haven’t said where we’re going,” she says as she slides her jacket on. “Or what you’re doing here.”
“I met someone I hope to do business with,” I confess as we exit the bar and hit the sidewalk.
Her gaze roams my face. “What kind of business?”
I’m surprised by the question.
Maybe I misjudged her interest in me. I thought she would have deep dived into my life courtesy of the internet by now.
I motion for her to walk to the left. “I own a publishing company.”
“You do?” She glances at me.
I nod. “I met a poet at the bar tonight. He suggested the neighborhood, so I made plans to meet him for a drink.”
She nods. “That makes sense.”
I can’t tell if she’s disappointed that I didn’t venture down to this area of the city to see her, so I come clean. “I thought the meeting would be a quick one. I had planned on stopping by your store before you closed for the day.”
She tugs her jacket tighter around her. “You did?”
“I did.”
We walk in silence for half of a block, both heading in the direction of Vinyl Crush.
She looks up at me when we stop for the light. “If you’re looking for more records, I can open the store just for you.”
I’m looking for more than that, but I’ll take what I can get.
She barely touched her drink tonight, so nothing is holding me back.
“You’d do that for me?” I ask jokingly.
She turns to face me. “Only for you, Berk.”
“That’s Hot Dad to you,” I deadpan.
She lets out a laugh. “Let’s forget you ever heard that.”
“Let’s not.” I reach to adjust the collar of her jacket. “I like it.”
She bites the corner of her bottom lip. “It was an observation, not a nickname.”
“Whatever it was, it works for me.” I glance to the street as the people around us start to cross. “Let’s get to the store. It’s fucking freezing out here.”
“I have something there that will warm you right up,” she says with a grin.
I doubt like hell she’s talking about her bed, but whatever it is, I’m in.
Chapter Twenty-One
Astrid
I hand Berk a cup of coffee. Technically, it’s espresso.
The machine was a gift from a long time customer last year. She was moving out of the city to a quiet retreat in the suburbs of New Jersey.
She swore off everything caffeinated, so the espresso machine, still new in its box, ended up in the backroom of the store.
I rarely use it.
Eloise does when the mood strikes, but we’ve fallen into the habit of buying coffee from a café a block over.