Page 93 of Grumpy Darling

As I stared at him, lost in my thoughts, Grayson’s smile dropped. His jaw seemed to tighten, and there was a tense look in his eyes as he watched me carefully. Oh god. I’d just realized I was madly in love with this guy and it was probably written all over my face. My distraction attempt had failed spectacularly.

“Paige, I—”

“Damien asked me out!” I almost shouted the words in panic.

I had shattered the moment, but at least it was a little easier to breathe as Grayson drew back from me.

“He did?”

A nod was all I could bring myself to give him in reply. My thoughts and body were in total chaos. I hadn’t intended to say that. But what else was I supposed to do? I was in love with Grayson. I loved him. And I had desperately wanted to lean in and kiss him. Even now I could feel the temptation thrumming through me. I’d been so close to sending our friendship up in flames.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that, for a moment, Grayson had been looking at me like he wanted to help light the fire. That was just my love-struck mind playing tricks on me though, right?

Right?

His expression had turned heavy and he went to speak, but a gasp sounded from behind us.

“Look at this mess! What happened in here?”

Gray jumped as his mom entered the room, and my cheeks burned when I turned to see her looking around the kitchen in horror. Flour coated almost every surface and there were still some particles floating through the air around us. Gray and I were both covered in the stuff.

“First a flat tire, and now this?” Amy was shaking her head in disbelief.

“Sorry, Amy,” I said. “It’s my fault. I’ll clean it up.”

“No, it’s my fault,” Grayson added. “I’ll do it.”

Amy let out an exasperated huff. “Why don’t you both clean it up. And quick.” She sounded frustrated, but I caught her smiling as she left the room, and I thought she might not be quite as annoyed as she appeared.

Once she was gone, Grayson went to the cupboard under the sink and pulled out some cleaning supplies. “We did kind of make a mess of things, didn’t we?” he said, peering around the kitchen.

I wished the flour was the only mess I was dealing with. My thoughts were much more of a disaster than the kitchen.

He handed me a sponge and got down on his hands and knees to start cleaning. I kneeled just across from him. My mind was still whirring as I tried to figure out what to do. My plan had been to kiss Damien and hope it banished my feelings for my best friend. But that was before I realized just how strong those feelings were. How could I go through with it now?

“So, you’ve got your date with Damien, just like you wanted,” Gray said. “That’s great.”

“It is?” My heart pounded in my ears. I didn’t want him to think it was great. I wanted him to tell me to forget Damien because there was only one guy I should be with, and he was right here in front of me. I wanted to cross the line that bordered our friendship and stray into the dangerous and unknown territory of becoming something more. But I couldn’t take that risk. He was far too important to me.

“Of course it is,” he replied. “This is what we’ve been working toward, right?”

“We?”

“Yeah, I’m still your coach, aren’t I?”

“Right.” Sometimes, I really wished Grayson was a little easier to read. His face was a mask and it was impossible to know what he was thinking. Was he actually pleased for me? Did he genuinely want me to go on this date, or was his blank stare a sign of irritation? Even if he was ecstatic about something, he might still be stomping around with his resting storm face. I was usually pretty good at figuring him out, but right now I was at a complete loss.

“Then I guess you’ll still need my help,” he continued.

My stomach dipped with uncertainty. “With what?”

“I figured you’d want to practice before the big date. With me.”

“A date? With you?”

“Yep, a practice date.”

“Oh, uh, sure.” I let out a sigh. It was hard not to feel defeated. Grayson was still set on helping me get the guy. He didn’t know I’d been chasing the wrong one all along. “Sounds great,” I added. “What would we do?”

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