Page 31 of Charm (Billionaire Buck Boys #7)

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Greer

Krista takes a tiny sip of the iced tea she ordered. At this rate, we’ll be sitting here for three days before she finishes the glass.

I, on the other hand, polished off my water in one gulp. I’m halfway through my refill now.

Krista glances down at the lemon slice I discarded on the napkin in front of me. “You’ve never liked lemon or limes, have you, Greer?”

“I like them when they’re in something… like cake, or candy, but I don’t want a random one swimming in my drink.”

She breaks out a wide smile. “I like them in mine.”

That’s obvious since she always orders extra for her iced tea whenever we come here. We do that often since our store is just a block away. We even started calling it “our place” a few months ago. Now that Krista wants to move across the country, it will just be another coffee spot to me.

I texted her as I was leaving my house this morning, asking if she could make time before heading to New Jersey to handle some business there today.

She agreed without question, suggesting a time.

I got here thirty minutes before she did. The extra alone time gave me a few minutes to think about how I want to handle this situation. I have a long list of reasons why I believe we can still make it work if Krista retains her interest in Sweet Indulgence after her move.

I know it’s not what she prefers, but there has to be a compromise that works for both of us.

After another tiny sip, she pushes the glass away. “I can’t drink this. It doesn’t taste the same.”

“The same as what?”

“Regular iced tea,” she says, swiping her finger over the rim of the glass. “This is decaffeinated tea.”

I glance past her to the counter where she ordered her drink. The woman who prepared it is busy making a pink colored concoction for a little girl and her mom.

“Do you want me to get you a regular one?” I ask even though I’m already halfway out of my chair because I already know the answer to that question.

Krista is very particular about what she drinks and eats. Just last month, she sent a sandwich back to the kitchen of a restaurant we were trying out for the first time because it had a speck of cilantro on it.

“No,” she says, waving for me to sit back down. “It’s fine.”

I lower back onto my chair because this woman may look and sound like Krista, but that comment is not something my closest friend would say.

I envy the fact that Krista never settles for anything she doesn’t want, including improperly prepared iced tea, so this is completely out of character for her.

“What’s wrong?” I ask in a rush. “What’s going on with you?”

It could be related to the stress between us, but I have no doubt that Krista knows how much I love her, and I’m confident that we’ll work out our business issues because our friendship is too important to both of us.

She bites the center of her bottom lip before her gaze drops to the front of the blue blouse she’s wearing. “I’m pregnant, Greer. Howie and I are going to have a baby.”

My big plans to talk about Krista’s big plans for Sweet Indulgence were swept away in a sea of tears as soon as she announced she’s pregnant.

We hugged as we cried, and as soon as we both settled down, we sat next to each other holding hands as she told me all about her morning sickness and the names they’re considering for their baby.

They won’t know the gender for a few weeks, but the names she shared with me are all perfect.

Her plan for Edlund to be her baby’s middle name made me sob out loud since it was Celia’s surname. Both of our children’s names will honor our best friend, and I couldn’t be happier about that.

I round the corner on my way back to Sweet Indulgence only to spot someone waiting for me.

It’s a very handsome someone wearing glasses and a tailored three-piece dark gray suit. The light blue shirt underneath is the perfect color to accentuate his eyes.

I laugh inwardly because thinking about how hot Holden Sheppard is won’t help me in my quest to keep his hands off of my business and me.

“Greer!” he calls out when he spots me. “You look lovely today.”

He may need to get his eyes rechecked because I’m not dressed to impress.

I’m wearing one of my Sweet Indulgences T-shirts and a pair of white shorts since the temperature is supposed to skyrocket later this afternoon.

To add to that, I look like I haven’t slept in days.

To be precise, it was only last night. I tossed and turned in bed last night thinking about his business proposition and our time in East Hampton.

I don’t return the compliment because that’s not the tone I want to set with him right now. I wasn’t able to discuss business with Krista, so I’m no closer to knowing what I’m going to do than I was when I stormed out of Carden’s offices.

“I have a hectic day, Holden,” I say as I approach him. “I told you I’d reach out to talk when I’m ready.”

“I know.” He nods, tucking both hands in the front pockets of his pants. “I’m not here to pressure you. I come in peace.”

I can’t help but smile. “Do I want to know what that means?”

His face remains stoic. “I mentioned we wanted to present a new offer to you and Krista. I believe your response was ‘don’t bother,’ but I bothered anyway and had it drawn up. I’ll send it over to you via courier since I don’t have any of your contact information.”

This is the moment in time when I should offer my phone number to him, but I’m not about to do that. We’ve shared way too much time in bed. If he had my number, he could reach out to ask me out.

At least I think he’d do that, judging by what he said to me last night.

“I’m not in a position to make a final decision yet,” I say.

I was set on not selling, but knowing that Krista is having a baby does change things. How could it not?

“No rush,” he says in an even tone. “Take your time looking over the revised offer.”

“Okay.” I nod.

“Okay,” he repeats, grinning slightly. “I’ll take off. Unless you want me to stick around and stare at you for an hour or two.”

I ward off a smile by biting the corner of my bottom lip. “Let’s skip that.”

“My loss.” He sighs. “Have a good day, Summer.”

“Greer,” I correct him.

“I know.” He leans close enough that I can feel his breath skirt over my cheek. “Forgive me if it takes me a minute to get used to calling you that.”

The fact that he repeats almost verbatim what I said to him on the day we met hits me hard. I’m flooded with memories of being in his arms.

“Forgiven,” I whisper, pulling back just far enough that I can look into his eyes. “I’ll be in touch, Holden.”

“I’ll be waiting,” he rasps. “Goodbye for now.”

I don’t echo his words. Instead, I watch as he walks away, keeping my gaze on him until he rounds the corner and disappears from view.