Call You Mine (The Baker’s Creek Billionaire Brothers #4) - Claudia Burgoa Page 0,15

“What happened?”

“He said, ‘This has run its course, Grace.’ I mean, it’s not like we’ve gone out for a long time or we’ve had s—”

I’m interrupted by my father’s sudden cough. This is precisely why my brothers are so immature. Dad might be able to take down criminals, but he behaves like a teenager sometimes.

“Sex is normal, Dad.”

Mom rolls her eyes. “Mason, you either let her tell the story without the gagging noises and the immature remarks or leave the kitchen.”

“My princess shouldn’t have…” He pauses and shivers. “She’s just a kid.”

“I’m almost twenty-eight,” I remind him, and I want to add that maybe I’m too old to be called princess.

He gives me a once-over and says, “Too young.”

This man is exasperating. He doesn’t have a problem while I’m on the clock working for his organization. But when it’s about dating, I suddenly turn into a two-year-old toddler who should move back home because I’m a baby.

“And just so you know, this didn’t go beyond four dates. I still can’t believe I was dating him—and he’s the one who broke it off!”

“Gather some data, analyze it, and maybe run a background check before you even give out your phone number.”

I roll my eyes. Only my father could come up with something as ridiculous as treating my dating life as a project. But maybe he’s not that off. It makes me wonder how he dated when he was my age. Maybe he’s like Seth and had the occasional one-night stand when he had time. I know he wasn’t like Nathan, who’s been with his girlfriend forever.

“No, I think I should give up men.”

“You have my vote.” Dad smirks.

I groan.

“You know what they say.” Mom, who always has some wise advice and tries to look at the bright side, says, “You have to learn how to weed your garden, and the only way is by knowing what plants are good for it and which ones are…useless.”

She doesn’t always make sense, though.

“That doesn’t make sense. Maybe you were trying to say, kiss a few toads to find a prince?” Dad looks at her unamused. “Stick to what you know, Ainse.”

“Be nice, and I might remind you what I do best later tonight,” she teases him, and Dad takes her into his arms and kisses her.

My parents are one of the most adorable couples I know. I want to find the kind of love they share. Pure and eternal. It’s impossible when I keep kissing orangutans. I can’t even find a decent toad.

I make gag noises to stop them. They might be cute, but seeing my parents making out is a hard limit.

Dad looks at me and grins. “It’s normal…you know.” He changes his pitch pretending to sound like me.

He’s about to walk out of the kitchen when he halts, looks over his shoulder, and says, “The meeting starts in five minutes, Gracie. Text your friend so he can connect with us. I think he should take a break while he’s dealing with his family. But what do I know?”

When Dad leaves, Mom looks at me. “Are you okay about the breakup?”

I shrug. “Yeah. It’s just so frustrating. I asked him why he thought it wasn’t working.”

She frowns. “You knew it was over.”

“Yes, because he’s boring and dumb. I can’t have a mature conversation with him. I want to know what is wrong with me.” She is about to speak, and I shake my head. “No, don’t give me your usual, ‘there’s nothing wrong with you.’ I am twenty-seven, and I haven’t had a steady boyfriend. At this point, I think I’m a virgin—again.”

She sighs. “Well, what did he say?”

“He got upset because I’m over-analytical. Then, he went ahead with the list of flaws. I’m always texting or on the phone in the middle of my dates.” I pause, drink from the lavender tea she prepared for me when I arrived. “He’s jealous of Beacon. He doesn’t even know him. He’s been living in Baker’s Creek for a month.”

I swear this is like a bad joke that never ends. What’s the problem with me? Your best friend interrupts our dates. If I keep going out with a guy, Beacon points out all his faults, and it leaves me not wanting to date the poor guy.

When Beacon is not around, my brothers are the ones making it hard on my dates. They’re younger, but they can be scary looking, like my father. Six foot five, dark hair, and their pale gray eyes are so freaking