“Why is he lying about everything?!” I restrain the scream bubbling up in the back of my throat.
Grant rubs my bare leg in attempt to calm me.
“We won’t know until you talk to your mom. And this isn’t about helping him, not really. It’s about you.”
I sigh. The last thing I want is to upset my mother after not seeing her for a month. Especially since she’s finally starting to feel better. But I’ve always treated her like she’s this fragile flower. I’ve had to tread lightly around her my entire life, always afraid of crushing her. Maybe it’s time to treat her like the adult she’s supposed to be.
“It’s a good thing you’re coming with me.”
This catches Grant off guard. “I am?”
“You are. You can’t make me sit through this dinner without you. Besides, if I’m meeting your parents, then you should meet my mom.”
“Alright,” he answers, but he still looks unsure. “Who else will be there?”
“I don’t know. Probably all the Harrisons since Niall and Olivia are driving up too. And Lily, well, because she’s living there for the summer.”
Grant pales.
“Are you … nervous?” I tease, grabbing his waist playfully.
He jumps, taking hold of my hands to restrain them. His pallor hasn’t improved.
He really is nervous, which is adorable and concerning at the same time.
“Are you worried about meeting my mother?”
He shakes his head. “I want to meet her.”
Then it hits me. “It’s Lily. You’re weirded out about her seeing us together.”
“Not exactly.” His grimace lets me know this has everything to do with Lily.
“Did something happen?” I ask, studying his guilt-ridden face.
“I’m still … avoiding her. I’ve been ignoring her calls and texts for the past week. Her last message was … pretty angry.”
“Grant! You can’t blow her off!” I exclaim. “That’s cruel. You know she doesn’t deserve that. And she’ll probably blame me, thinking I told you to stop talking to her.”
“No, she won’t,” he replies without much conviction. “Okay. Maybe she will. But I don’t know what to say to her. Especially when whatever’s going on involves her and her parents too.”
“What do you usually talk about? I mean, I don’t really want to know what you talk to your ex about. But just … talk about … that stuff. Whatever it is.”
Grant chuckles. “Alright. I’ll call her back today.” He squeezes me against him. “So what time should I be there?”
“Niall texted me this morning. He’s going to pick me up around two, so Mom and I can spend the afternoon together. So … meet us at the lake house around six?”
“I can do that. Text me if you need me before then.”
“Thank you.” I rest my head on his chest and hug him tight.
Grant kisses the top of my head. I fight the urge to sigh like a gushy girl.
“What do I have to do to get on your approved chaperones list when you’re finally free to leave campus? I want to spend time with you before school starts.”
“We can talk to Niall about it this weekend.” I thread my fingers with his and allow the warmth of his touch to spread through me. “We should probably do it before we interrogate him. But I don’t think it’ll be an issue. He already said he approves of you.”
“He did?” Grant sounds genuinely surprised. I have no idea why because he’s exactly the kind of guy girls take home to meet their parents.
“Yeah. He even said that he hopes you’re more of an influence on me than I am on you.” I roll my eyes while repeating Niall’s words.
Grant’s laughter rumbles in his chest, reverberating in my ear. “I don’t think you’re a bad influence.”
I push upright and crawl across his lap to straddle him, making the swing rock and the branches rustle. “Are you sure?”
I give him a seductive grin—or at least, I hope it is. Grant grips my hips as I lower my lips to his.
His hands are fire on my skin as he slides them up the back of my shirt, kissing me deeply. The swing begins to sway more, the chains squeaking.
Grant extricates himself to say something, but the words are lost along with the gleam in his eyes. His attention is fixated on something or someone behind me. I release my grip of his blond strands, prepared to tell Brendan off for being a perv. But it isn’t Brendan.
“Sophia.”
I plop my butt next to Grant, dragging my leg across his lap, and nearly knee him in the face. Leaves sprinkle down from the bouncing force. Tugging my twisted shirt straight, I swipe damp remnants of his kiss from my lips.
“What’s going on?” I smile, trying to appear casual, like we weren’t just groping each other ten seconds ago.
Grant is still; the only movement is his eyes, bouncing between me and Sophia.
Sophia is … horrified.
So, apparently, she had no idea that Grant and I were … fine, I’ll say it … together.
She backs away, covering her mouth like she’s about to vomit or cry. Maybe both.
“Wait!” I call to her when she begins to run. I try to go after her, but my foot gets snagged on the edge of the swing, and I fall to the ground, my leg caught on something above me.
Grant leans over. “Are you okay?” He gently untethers my foot as I gaze wide-eyed at him from my sprawled position on the ground. He fights a smile, unsuccessfully.
I exhale deeply. “I really need to talk to her. But she’s probably never going to talk to me now.” I narrow my eyes at him. “Why are you smiling?”
“Because you’re adorable.” Instead of helping me off the ground, Grant abandons the swing to join me, lying on his side, propped up on his elbow. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Before I can argue, he kisses me and doesn’t stop until we have grass stains in places that are going to be difficult to explain.
Reluctantly, we regain some semblance of control before we give Brendan a show—or more of one anyway. Oh, he better not be watching this.
“So, the strangest thing happened today,” Grant says, sitting with his back against the tree and me between his legs, facing him, our legs intertwined like we’re playing an intimate game of Twister. “And it may explain Sophia’s reaction when she saw us.”
My stomach drops, and I’m already conjuring a story in my head.
“Uh, Sophia may have asked me to the Ever After Ball this afternoon at the Club.”
I cringe. Not far off. I had a feeling she had done something, especially since I’d encouraged her to a few weeks ago.
“What did you say?” I ask carefully.
Grant’s brows pull together in disbelief. “Lana? Really?”
“I mean, I’ve known she’s had the biggest crush on you, and … I feel terrible because I may have encouraged her.” I scrunch my face in apology.
Now Grant is really confused, and from the color on his cheeks, he’s a little annoyed too. “Why would you do that?”
“It was a few weeks ago, when I was freaking out. She asked me if I thought you’d go with her, and … well … I was being stupid and told her it was worth a try.” I lower my eyes to avoid his you-did-what look. “So what happened?”