Page 4 of Broken Grump

I awkwardly chuckle. “I appreciate that.”

She goes to walk past me, but then, she stops herself and lowers down closer to me. “What about your mother?”

I quietly groan. “She’s—she’s the same as always.”

Auntie Mel’s tongue clicks. “Figures.”

“Oh, Mel-is-Saa!” my mom shouts over the crowd in her well-practiced “rich lady” accent. “How lovely to see you here. So glad you could come!”

“Because this isn’tmyfather’s funeral or anything,” my aunt whispers sarcastically to me out of the corner of her mouth.

I raise my hand up to hide a smile.Leave it to Auntie Mel to pull me, even momentarily, out of my profound sadness.

“Don’t go too far,” she warns. “I want to hear all about graduation.”

That’s one area that’s been significantly overshadowed by the death of my grandfather.

I nod, and she grins back at me with her eyes wide. But once my mom gets closer, she puts on a façade. “Rosy, how good to see you!”

Both women continue to insincerely catch up, which leaves me to walk outside and get some much-needed air.

As I walk closer to the big, Baroque-style doors, a few more people try to catch my attention. But I just wave and tell them I’ll be right back.

And just as I think I’ve successfully snuck away, my nose bangs into something hard. Then, as I reach for my face, I feel myself start to tilt towards the ground. Falling.

With that, I feel a palm cup my elbow, and my body is right side up again. “Addie?”

I cautiously open one eye. And it’s him. Hayden Cohen in all of his handsome glory.

“I—” I try to formulate a sentence. But in my lingering dizzy state, all I can focus on are the bulging muscles that are visible even under his navy jacket.

After releasing me from his grip, he licks the corner of his mouth, looks at the ground, and slicks back some of his dark hair. “It’s been a while.”

“Um, yes.” I fold my arms. “That it has,” Internally, I’m praying not to sound too awkward or dorky.

“How have you been?” he asks before raising his hand to his forehead. “I mean, of course. Your grandfather.”

“Yeah. Uh, he’s in there.”

Hayden kicks his feet and slides his hands into his pockets. “Right.”

After standing in front of each other in silence, he finally says, “I honestly almost didn’t recognize you.”

Oh, great. Let me guess—the weight.Self-consciously, I pull at the hem of my thigh-length dress, which I got on sale.

But once I see his squinted eyes carefully examining it, I realize maybe it’s the off-brand ensemble that’s caught him off guard. However, I’m not sure if that’s better or worse than the added pounds.

“Nice dress,” he mutters while itching the back of his neck.

Jerk.

. . .And that’s why I’ve made the decisions that I have.

Chapter three

Hayden

After seeing Addie yesterday,I just can’t seem to get her out of my mind.

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