Page 110 of Your Last First Kiss

Grady crosses his arms over his broad chest. I’m not going to lie—the guy is an intimidating fucker, but when it comes to Penny and the kids, I would fight the devil himself if I had to.

“Small-towners don’t usually like that much change, newbie. But I hope you have a plan because Duncan Brandt is out there running his mouth like he runs around on his wife. I have no room for that kind of shit in my life. So, if your plan can knock him down a few pegs, you’ve got the support of my family and me.” He doesn’t smile exactly, but he does finally hold out a hand.

Yup. I could probably be convinced to like this guy.

I reach across the empty space and shake his hand.

“I’m Grady. You’ll meet Adam and Harrison later.”

“Dillon Henry. It’s nice to meet you, Grady,” I say, narrowing my eyes when he squeezes my palm a little harder than necessary. I refuse to back down and give it right back to him.

He finally lets go of my hand and says, “I’ll let you know how I feel about meeting you after you do what you’re promising, newbie.”

I’m used to this kind of grumpy asshole who’s not really an asshole at all. Does he know that everyone around him can see him for the giant teddy bear he tries to keep hidden?

“Fair enough,” I say.

“Get set up.” Grady motions toward the table. “I’ll ring the bell in five to round up the troops.”

“Thank you, Grady.” Penny moves quickly and wraps the bear in a hug.

He pats her back awkwardly, and Miller laughs while setting up papers on the table. When I’m within earshot, he whispers, “Grady’s a good guy, but settling back here in Chance Lake sits right up there with peeling off your fingernails one by one for him.”

“Why is he here then?” I ask, watching his retreating form.

Miller shrugs. “Some hurts are too painful to share, even with friends. Whatever sent him running home has the true Grady shuttered behind so many layers of solid steel, it would take a blowtorch to even melt the surface.”

My chest pinches for the pain he’s hiding. I hope he finds his second chance.

If there’s anywhere it can happen, it’s here. Chance Lake is a fortuitous name because I think an entire generation of Chance Lakers are about to get their second chance at a new beginning.

* * *

“Mrs. Walker,”Grady says for the fifth time, but the older woman steamrolls right over him.

We’ve been in the meeting for thirty minutes, and so far, Grady has played judge and jury for two neighbors fighting over a shared tree. He’s promised to go to Mrs. Winters’s house to look at her fence so her dog, Pepper, will stop escaping and peeing on Mr. Morgan’s snow-covered bushes.

Now he’s listening to Mrs. Walker plead her case for a town-funded book club called Sexy Scenes and Sips.

Penny leans in to whisper in my ear, and my eyes catch on sweaty Eddy Demon-Fucker as he stomps over to the small tasting bar in the corner. He slams his empty pint glass on the counter, drawing attention from anyone within earshot.

I ignore him and focus on how Penny’s hot breath makes my cock twitch in my jeans.

“Mrs. Walker likes steamy romance books. She got Mr. Walker hooked on them too, but he won’t admit it. She said reading them together changed their sex life and scarred their two adult kids for life.”

Maneuvering my face so I’m now at her ear, I say, “I’m all for experimenting with you. Just say the word.”

Her pretty face immediately pinkens, and when I stare back out at the crowd, I find Mrs. Higgins, the owner of Heirlooms restaurant, watching our every move. After she holds my gaze hostage for a second too long, she winks and flashes a wicked grin. A single nod, and it feels like approval.

It’s shocking how much that means to me.

Placing my hand on Penny’s leg, just above her knee, I gently squeeze as Grady promises to look into the book club options.

“Now,” Grady says with a sigh so heavy his shoulders drop three inches. “This meeting is actually about the TAC and its new owners. Matt Miller is on board over there full-time, and Penny Mulligan will be heading up the new hotel.”

“If it’s passed,” a slimy-looking man sitting in the front row says with a snarling smirk, and I know from my research that it’s Duncan Brandt.

“Well, Duncy,” Grady taunts, “that’s the point of this meeting—to see how their plans will benefit everyone in town, not only a single family.”