Page 45 of Grumpy Darling

“Paige spilled a drink on her top and wanted to come back,” I added.

“Tell him what else happened . . .”

I shot my youngest brother a warning glance.

“What?” Reed looked between the two of us.

I really didn’t want to go over this again so soon. It was bad enough having to tell Parker the first time.

“Gray’s decided to start coaching.” Parker sounded far too joyful as he answered for me.

“Like a youth team?” Reed asked.

“No, it’s more like one-on-one coaching...” Parker continued. I wished I could smack the smirk from his lips, but Mom had a zero-tolerance policy about violence in the house.

Reed’s confusion was clear and I groaned, knowing there was no point in avoiding it any longer. “I messed up with Paige,” I said. “And now she’s got me coaching her on how to flirt so she can kiss some other guy.”

“So, we’re not talking about hockey?”

If only. “No, not hockey.”

“But it’s okay,” Parker said. “Grayson was just about to ask us how we can both help him turn this around and get the girl. Weren’t you, Gray?”

They both looked at me expectantly. I had a feeling I’d be getting their help whether I agreed to it or not. “Okay, fine. You can help.” Parker’s face lit up. “But if either of you suggest a makeover again, we’re done.”

“We won’t,” Reed agreed. “That was Parker’s idea anyway.”

“Of course it was,” Parker said proudly. “And I’ve got more where that came from. I say you really lean into the coaching.”

“What do you mean?”

“Use it as an opportunity to flirt with Paige any chance you get. Get her so hot and bothered she’ll have no choice but to realize she wants you in ways she never imagined...”

“I already tried flirting with her and it didn’t work. If anything, I’m further away from where I want to be now than I was before.”

“Maybe you’re doing it wrong.” Parker shrugged. “Next time, try asking yourself, what would Parker do?”

“I’m not doing that.”

“He can’t be totally clueless,” Reed interrupted. “She’s hired him to be her coach after all. But I do think Parker’s onto something.”

“I don’t like the sound of this,” I muttered, but Reed continued.

“It’s just going to take time,” he said. “You’ve been in the friend zone for years, so you’re not going to change that overnight. Keep flirting with her, and by the time she goes back to her parents’ house, I’m sure she’ll be looking at you in a totally different way.”

“Either that, or I’ll have turned her into a total man-eater who can get any guy she wants.”

Reed laughed and shook his head, as though he didn’t think that was very likely. “Just don’t overthink it,” he said. “The coaching means you can act the way you’ve always wanted to around her. Say what you haven’t let yourself say all these years.”

Don’t overthink it? Already my mind had too many tabs open and each one of them was buffering. Plus, I’d just told her how much I wanted her, and she hadn’t taken it seriously.

“And remember,” Parker added. “You’ve got us and the guys backing you up. I don’t see how this could fail.”

I saw many, many ways this could fail. But I didn’t have any better ideas. Maybe my brothers were right. My best chance of making Paige see me differently was if I continued acting differently. After all, when I’d flirted with her at the party, I had felt different. It was liberating to reveal just a small piece of what I really felt for her. I’d enjoyed being so close to her, and I was certain her body had reacted to my words and my touch. I just needed to get that same reaction out of her again, until she recognized the chemistry between us.

“First order of business,” Parker continued. “We try to buy you a bit more time. I’ve got a great idea of what I can say to Paige to—”

The sound of the water shutting off upstairs suggested she was done with her shower.

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