"If you're game, I'm game," she grinned.
The two of them ordered, Trent opting for a thick filet mignon and a baked potato, and Grace ordered a rare New York strip with a side of asparagus. He didn't think much of it when she first ordered, but as the plates came to the table, he cocked a curious brow at her.
"No side?" he asked.
"The vegetables are the side," Grace said, gesturing with her fork.
"No, they're not. A side is a baked potato or some fries. Rice, even! Not vegetables."
Grace giggled and looked down at her plate. "Then what are vegetables?" she quizzed him.
"I don't know," he stammered. "A garnish?"
"Vegetables are a side. What about corn on the cob? That's practically a meal," she said.
"Wow, you and I are so not meant for each other," he said, shaking his head playfully.
"Clearly," she agreed.
"So, what's your story?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, we were told to get to know each other. We may as well leave here with a couple of tidbits in our pockets."
"Right, so when they ask, we can say we gave their ridiculous setup a fair shake," Grace agreed.
"Exactly. So, what brought you to Nueces County?"
"A breakup," she simplified. "You?"
"My ranch. My family owns the Havenview Ranch chain. So far, we have a couple across Texas. We're hoping to open a few more in some other states. New York or Colorado. You ever heard of Brookside Ranch?"
Grace needled her brows together and bit her lip, thinking. "Is that the one where, like, a rockstar runs one of the ranches?"
"Yeah, that's right. Well, they're our biggest competition, and they've branched out to other states, and my dad has been raving about how we need to do that for years now."
"You get along with your parents?" she asked.
Trent nodded. "Yeah, as much as you can when they don't have any time for you. Just a little perk of having a zillion brothers."
"No sisters?" she asked in surprise. This was the most common reaction to Trent's immense family tree.
"Nope," he said, recalling the baby girl his mother had lost to SIDS. "God had a plan for my parents, and it did not involve ballet and miniskirts. What about you? Any siblings?"
"I have a brother, Brett. He's younger than me, but we don't get to see each other very often. He's in a band, and he's been touring around since he was twenty."
"How old is he now?" he asked.
"Twenty-three."
Trent's eyes went wide. "Sounds like it's working well for him," he teased. He couldn't imagine wasting three years of your life on something just to have it flop.
"You don't have to be rockstar famous to consider your music career successful," she said, edging on annoyed. "He's been touring around for three years and making a complete living playing gigs. I think that's amazing."
"I guess," he said, not bothered one way or the other.
Grace studied him, and it was clear that he'd struck a nerve. "See, you probably don't know what it means to build yourself up because your ranch was just handed to you."
"Excuse me?" he said with a bemused scoff.
"Wasn't it?" she asked pointedly. "From what I gather, your parents are rich and they just dropped the ranch in your lap. Doesn't exactly sound like you worked your way to the top or anything, like my brother is doing."
"You have no idea how hard I work for this ranch. We built it up from what it was. Renos, replanting, building lodges," he said.
"Yeah, but did Bill do a lot of that?"
"Bill consulted on it. There's a difference."
Grace smirked in a way that told him she believed she'd won this round. For reasons he couldn't explain, this girl irked him. He couldn't believe he decided to stay and face this horrible dinner with her. "That's a whole lot of sass coming from a girl who works at a bar," he snapped.
"I was a chef in San Antonio," she said.
"And now you're a waitress," he jabbed. "So, you've actually gone down in rank since moving. Congratulations."
"You know, I was going to ask you why you were so opposed to this date, but you've probably had some horrible experiences with women considering you are so arrogant and condescending," she said back, her tone wry and sugary.
"And you're judgmental and negative," he said, standing up and slapping a wad of twenty-dollar bills on the counter, unable to let Bill and Maisie pay for this disaster. "I'm heading out," he said, loud enough to embarrass her by making a scene. "And by the way? Vegetables aren't a side."
6
Grace
Grace was incensed.
She had such belief in Maisie’s power to set couples on the right path—to set them up for life—that she had actually fooled herself into thinking that maybe there was something to Trent besides some sort of shallow cowboy.
Boy, was she wrong—and she hadn’t let Maisie forget it since they woke up the next morning.
Grace ranted about Trent as she and Maisie got the kids ready for their day, stirring up some oatmeal with fresh berries and setting them in their respective chairs at the table.
"And then he told me I was a negative person!" Grace exclaimed as she set a half a banana down on little Harrison's plate. "Me, Maisie! Negative!"
"After you apparently told him he was entitled and spoiled and rude, or something?" Maisie asked with a “don't get huffy, now” tone. "He's a really nice guy; I told you that. He must have just been having an off day."
"That's two off days in a row, apparently," Grace scoffed. "And do you know what? I called him spoiled and rude because he is! He acted like I was the worst person in the world just because I said I wasn't crazy about Nueces County."
"Well," Maisie began, her shoulders raised as though she were about to say that was a legitimate reason for someone to get angry, "it probably just set him off. The town means a lot to him."
"Fine, but that doesn't mean the town has to mean a lot to me. Ugh, you should have seen him, Maisie. Everything I said was wrong. He didn't even like what I ordered."
"Honestly, I have never known Trent to be anything but kind and funny and extremely giving. I don't think you gave each other a chance!"
"Trust me, I gave it a chance," Grace enunciated with humor. "And you're on probation, little missy!" she teased, pointing a finger at her best friend. "I used to believe in your super love powers, but now I'm questioning whether you paid off those couples you set up because this was an absolute disaster!"
Maisie burst into giggles but shook her head firmly. "No way! I'm telling you, Grace. He's a catch."
"Is that what passes for a catch these days?" Grace said, only half-joking. "Obviously, I have been out of the dating scene for way too long, and based on that experience, I won't be jumping back in anytime soon!"