“Is everything okay?” Liv asked.
“My youngest is puking. I gotta go.”
“You’re leaving?” Liv suddenly felt like she might be the one puking.
“Yep. But don’t worry. I’m leaving you in very capable hands.”
Liv looked over and saw that Grady was walking toward the table. Chrissy gave her a quick hug. “I’ll text you tomorrow.” Then she grabbed her purse and was off. She stopped and chatted briefly with Grady before heading out through the restaurant.
Liv’s pulse was racing in her chest and she felt her cheeks heating. This was even more embarrassing than her thinking he was a stripper.
“Hi,” Grady smiled as he walked up to the table and the sight had her hormones doing backflips.
“Hi, I’m not sure what Chrissy told you, but you don’t have to...” Liv felt the heat of someone staring at her and she glanced over and saw that Jordan was shooting daggers into the back of Grady’s head.
It took her a second to realize that Jordan looked jealous. Really jealous.
Grady must have noticed Liv’s expression because he glanced over his shoulder.
“Your ex doesn’t look too happy.”
Liv cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. “No, he doesn’t.”
Grady slid into the seat that Chrissy had been in. Liv noticed then that he was wearing the same cologne he’d had on the day before. It had a woodsy, fresh smell that wrapped around her like a warm blanket on a stormy night.
“So Olive—”
“Liv, you can call me Liv.”
“Liv, I say that we stay for one more drink, and then I’ll walk you back to the B&B.”
She liked the sound of that, but had one question. “How did you know I walked?”
“I didn’t see your car parked outside.”
“Oh, right.”
Her grandad’s classic Chevy did tend to stick out.
Grady motioned for the server to bring them two more drinks and Liv noticed her palms were a little sweaty. Maybe it was the alcohol she’d had. Sometimes when she drank, she would sweat. She rubbed her hands on her napkin.
“So, how do you know Chrissy?”
“Oh, um, I used to come to Whisper Lake with my grandparents in the summers. They had a cabin up here. Most kids spent their days on the lake but I went to the library. I loved reading. Anyway, Chrissy was the only other person under forty there and we just sort of became friends.”
“She’s pretty amazing.”
“Yeah, we haven’t kept in touch. Before yesterday, I hadn’t seen her in twenty years but I was always really impressed by her. I was sure she was going to end up being the president of the United States one day.” Liv realized as soon as the statement left her mouth that it might have sounded a little judgmental. She hadn’t meant it that way at all. She was so impressed by Chrissy. She couldn’t imagine having one kid, much less four and Chrissy seemed to be doing a great job.
Thankfully, Grady didn’t seem offended by her comment. “I could definitely see Chrissy running the country, but I think my brother had other plans. I’m so glad she’s finally done with him.”
“You are?!” Liv tried not to sound too surprised, but the alcohol in her system was making it near impossible to have any sort of filter.
She tended to get very chatty and a little silly when she drank. Which was fine when she was with Chrissy, but now that she was with Grady she didn’t want to come off like a hot mess.
“He’s my brother, but to be honest I’ve always thought he was a prick. And any man who could treat his family the way he has, abandon a woman who has been the perfect wife to him, not to mention his four kids is a loser. An asshole.”
Gemma arrived at the table with a beer for Grady and another Let Your Hair Down for Liv. This was going to be Liv’s third drink, which was normally a no-no for her. She was like a comedy club in reverse, instead of a two drink minimum she had a two drink maximum. If she counted the shot she’d taken, this was her fourth drink.