Stars (Penmore #1) by Malorie Verdant Read Free Book Online

organizing stock behind the bar.
    “You’re brothers?”
    “Yep.”
    Before I can help myself, I blurt out, “You never came round.” I stand there frozen for a moment, wondering if he’ll ask how I know who has and hasn’t visited Grayson.
    Except he doesn’t.
    Instead, I softly hear Nate say, “Was never invited.”
    And then, as if my mind has a filing cabinet of Grayson Waters’s memories that pops open at whim, I remember when I have heard his name—well, Nathan —come from Grayson’s bedroom. On the night Grayson’s dad left. Before Grayson stormed out of his house and I experienced one of the most embarrassing events of my life.
    “When he was eight,” slips from my lips.
    “What?”
    “I’m just realizing you guys must be pretty close in age.”
    “Yeah. Mom was a secret. Or I guess I was, anyway. Gray has known for a while though. My dad and mom tried to make a go of it for a bit when I was about ten. They got married and made it all official before he decided to leave us as well.” He pauses briefly, as if thinking back to that time of his life, then starts again. “Anyway, this has been fun, but if Marissa finds out instead of showing you the ropes I was chatting about Grayson, she’ll be down my fucking throat. And not just because I’m pretty sure they have this bizarre ‘friends with benefits’ thing going on.”
    “Marissa and Gray?” I choke out.
    Picturing the pretty strawberry-blonde who smiled at me and gave me this job, I feel a sharp pain in my chest. “Yeah. That going to be a problem for you?” Nate asks, pausing yet again to give me a thorough examination.
    “Me? No. Not at all, why would it?” I reply, trying to throw some sexy attitude but probably sounding like an insolent teenager.
    “You just got a little white is all,” he says softly, looking concerned.
    “Nope, just nervous about my first night here,” I respond, hoping he doesn’t ask any more questions or tell me anything else about Grayson and Marissa that might cause further pains in my chest.
    “Okay then, I guess I better get on with the show,” Nate says, throwing me the cloth in his hand and reaching behind the bar to grab a drinks tray.

GRAYSON
    “You should see her, Gray. I cannot wait until she starts working game nights. She is going to make me so much money,” says Marissa, leaning back against her new couch as she begins to fill her mouth with popcorn. We were meant to be watching the latest Star Wars movie, but she’s been going on and on about some new girl she hired for her club.
    Lucky’s has been in her family for three generations on her mother’s side. It used to be a strip joint, but after Maris’s father came into the picture, they decided to spend some cash and turn it into a club. Of course, Marissa’s mother and father had no fucking clue how to run a classy club with respectable patrons. So after three months, they gave the keys to Maris and decided to open another strip joint two towns over.
    Maris loves and hates the place.
    I spent a good amount of time listening to her worry about being the one Carter woman to lead the place into the ground. But she’s made it work. Everyone talks about going to Lucky’s now, and apparently she found a kick-ass bartender last year who makes girls line up for hours to get a look at him.
    “She has this sweet, nerdy, girl-next-door vibe, but with an amazing body. I already know she’ll draw a crowd,” Maris continues, completely ignoring the fact that I’ve lost interest and started to pull out my cellphone. “If I didn’t know how much you hated visiting me while I work, I would definitely encourage you to come and check her out,” she says between handfuls of popcorn.
    “You saying I can date people you work with again?” I ask, suddenly looking up from my phone and trying to hide my smile. Lucky’s always has the school’s hottest girls working there. Maris drew a line a few months ago when three of her waitresses quit