Page 105 of The Princess and the Fraud

“Your girlfriend is watching,” Aaron said as I dropped my hands from his tie, his gaze locked on the table Grant had risen from. His voice was far harder than it’d been with me moments ago. “With quite the serious face, might I add.”

Grant ignored Aaron entirely. “Lovey.”

“I’m working,” I told him, glancing around for Mrs. Pine. “I shouldn’t even be talking to either of you.”

“It’s important.”

I didn’t know about that, but Ididknow that Grant probably wouldn’t leave me alone until he got to say what he wanted.

Aaron caught at my arm, halting me before I could even step away. “It’s okay,” I assured him, reaching down and placing my fingers over his. “Go find Annalise. She’s probably looking for you.”

Aaron watched me for a long moment before dropping his arm.

I didn’t look at Grant as I stepped toward the ballroom’s doorway. I could hear his heavy footsteps follow behind me, and I hoped he at least put a little bit of distance between us, so it wasn’t obvious.

When I stepped into the hallway, I let out a shaking sigh. “Grant,” I began placatingly, closing my eyes, already picturing the conversation. Drawing in a breath, I turned around. “I’m trying to understand where you’re coming from, I?—”

With my eyes closed, I didn’t see him move closer before he slammed into me, all but enveloping me in the forced embrace. With how tall he was, and how short I was, Grant’s arms swallowed me. I’d used to feel so safe in his arms, so at peace, but now, I couldn’t help but compare them to Aaron’s. Grant was big and muscly andwrong—even the cologne at his collar screamed it.Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I wedged my hands between us and shoved him away, and thankfully, he released me without a fight. “What is wrong with you? Are youtryingto get me fired?”

“Lovey.” Grant said my name like a prayer, looking as if I’d punched him instead of pushed him off me. He looked like he was about to reach for me, but just opened and closed his palms instead. “Let’s leave Addison together.”

“Grant.” My eyes slipped closed again. “Your girlfriend is literally right inside?—”

“I know you want your mother’s dream house, but—you can’t stay here.”

“Have you been drinking?” I looked at his chaotic figure closer. They were supposed to be saving the champagne for the music hall. “I told you. Itoldyou, I?—”

“It was Caroline.”

I glanced to the ballroom’s doorway behind him, wondering if I should get someone to help him through whatever crisis he was having. “Whatwas Caroline?”

“The other day when you asked me if I got your friend fired.” Grant’s expression was grim. “It wasn’t me. It was Caroline.”

I stared at him, but I was sure I hadn’t heard him right. “What?”

“I called her that night. I told her I ran into you. Remember? And then she told me about her lunch plans at Pierre’s.”

Caroline had told me she hadn’t gone to Pierre’s, essentially called me a bad friend for believing Grant over her. It hadn’t occurred to me to ask Aaron, but now I wished I had.

“I told her about the elevator,” Grant went on. “How someone stopped it with you two inside. She was the one that reported it to Mr. Roberts.”

“Why would Caroline have gotten Paige fired?” I wasn’t sure they’d ever even spoken to each other.

“Paige was your friend, wasn’t she?”

I didn’t see how the dots he laid out connected. “You’re saying Caroline complained just because Paige is my friend?”

Grant squeezed the side of his neck, releasing a soft sigh. His distress seemed genuine. “Caroline has fun sabotaging things.”

At first, I nearly brushed his words off until it hit me. Fiona’s flowers. Caroline hadn’t outright admitted to it, but her lie had been blatant. She had her moments, but I never would’ve thought she’d stoop so low to sabotage Fiona to try to steal Aaron away. Still, the argument I’d had with her about the flowers had comeafterPaige was fired. What motive would she have had to report Paige before that?

When did you get so close to Aaron Astor?

Grant had told her about the elevator, about how Paige accidentally locked Aaron and me in it—alone.Surely, Caroline hadn’t gotten Paige fired because of how close I’d gotten to Aaron. Surely not.

Caroline has fun sabotaging things.

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