Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 60487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 302(@200wpm)___ 242(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Grayson stared, and ripped himself off Carl. “The time. I’ve got to get to my next gig.”
With that, Grayson raced up the stairs and freed his bike; by the time Carl had dusted himself free of sand and climbed to the road, Grayson was a grey spot rounding a curve in the distance.
“Run fast, and get out of this deadly flower bed as soon as you can.”
L. Frank Baum
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Chapter Ten
Sage welcomed Carl into her pleasantly warm—much too warm for layers—home for dinner. He stripped off to Jason’s t-shirt, draped his pullovers over a clothes hook in the hallway, and let Leo haul him to the lamp-lit lounge across from the dining room. There, the face from the photo sat in real life.
He was perched on a plush couch, the warm light from a nearby lamp glowing over his straw-coloured hair. He looked up as Carl entered, features chiselled, jaw strong, eyes gentle and curious. He was dressed in casual jeans and a stylish polo shirt. Neatly pressed yet at ease, comfortable. All in all, rather charming.
Carl smiled at him. “You must be Poppy?”
Sage called for Leo to ‘help her a minute’ and Leo ran off.
“She’s leaving us right to it,” Poppy said, smirking.
Carl dropped himself into the adjacent armchair. “She wants to see if we spark.”
“What’s your first impression?”
“Well, I now know you didn’t use a filter on your photo.”
“She sent you my photo?”
“How well do you know your cousin?”
Poppy laughed. “Of course she’d have done that.”
The doorbell rang; Carl overheard Sage wondering who it was as she padded down the hallway, and Leo came into the lounge with sparkling water. Over the clinking of ice in the glasses, he heard muffled voices and Sage laughing cheerfully.
“Tell me, Jason, what do you do?”
Carl snapped his attention back to smiling Poppy and sipped his cool water. “Can we agree to talk about anything but work?”
Poppy chuckled. “I feel you. Agreed. What are your thoughts on—”
Whatever Poppy wanted to ask got lost as Grayson strode into the living room. There was an immediate shift in the air, something more than Carl’s baffled lean in his direction. Poppy seemed to be stunned too, and fair enough. Not only had Grayson decided to come to dinner after all, he’d come in style. Black jeans moulded to his frame and a crisp white shirt that sat perfectly on his broad shoulders, top button casually open. His dark hair was impeccable, framing a cleanly shaven face, and his eyes hit them both hard. Carl was still breathing through the punch when Grayson swung his gaze to Poppy.
Sage scurried in behind him. “We’re all here. You know Poppy.”
“I do.” The glare that came with that was . . . quite something. Possibly part of the reason he’d failed to mention it earlier?
Sage eyed them and quickly suggested they all move to the dining room.
The dinner table was set with bright plates and bone-handled cutlery on funky native-bird placemats. A big red pot was the centrepiece; crispy bread and a bowl of salad flanked it.
The lighting was brighter in here, and Carl couldn’t shake the feeling as he sat across from Poppy that Grayson—seated adjacent to them both—was running some kind of silent interrogation.
Carl shook it off and thanked Sage for inviting him for this lovely dinner as she spooned meaty stew onto their plates. She smiled and looked at them all. “I’ll need your honest opinion on the food. I confess, I’m using you as guinea pigs.”
“Guinea pigs?” Poppy asked, grinning.
It was a pretty nice grin but wow, Grayson didn’t seem to think so. Not if his curled lip and judgy eyes were anything to go by.
Carl kicked Grayson’s foot under the table, making the guy swing his intense gaze his way. “What’re you doing?” Carl mouthed.
Grayson opened his mouth to say something, but took his steaming bowl from Sage instead. “What are we testing for?”
“The mums on the school board have asked me to join their fundraising team for the talent show.”
“More like forced you,” Leo grumbled.
“Hush. I’ve always wanted to be invited to help with these events. They’re always at capacity though. This year they finally let me in. I’ll be in charge of the food—I thought stew and fresh bread might be a winner?”
Carl and Poppy dipped their spoons into the stew and tasted, humming. “It’s excellent.”
“Taste’s great!”
Grayson and Leo slicked on disapproving grimaces without so much as a taste. Grayson said, “They’re asking you to donate everything?”
“Mostly it’ll be cupcakes from the bakery.”
“When did they ask you to volunteer?”
“At the Street Greet.”
“Last minute? To donate all the food? They’re exploiting you.”
“I’m sure it’s not like that,” Sage said kindly. “They even said Leo and I could join the team-building session. A fun time at some escape rooms.”
Leo frowned. “You want to go? I asked if we could do one last year and you said it was the last thing you’d ever want to do. Too many riddles.”