Page 112 of Return to Us
The smile is gone.
“He did?”
She nods. “He was actually really nice. He asked if we’d spoken because I guess there is a dinner next weekend that you didn’t tell me about.”
“There is, and they’d like you to come.”
“Why?”
“I have no idea, but they’re evil, so I don’t think we should go.”
“Gray,” Jess says with exasperation. “I don’t know why they hate me, but if we’re really going to be together, then . . . I need to deal with them. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“No, love, you haven’t.”
“Then, we’ll go, and we’ll endure.”
I laugh because it’s the same words Stella used a few months ago.
“What?” Jess asks.
“Nothing. I just love you.”
“I love you too.”
“Let’s hope you still feel that way after dinner.”
Chapter 28
Jessica
“You’re cleared!” Winnie says with a huge smile.
“Please don’t tell anyone.”
My sister’s head tilts to the side and she stares at me as though I’m a zoo animal she’s never seen before. “What? Why the hell are you keeping it a secret?”
“Because I am.”
Winnie gets up from the kitchen table, refilling her coffee. “That makes no sense. Not to mention it was bullshit I found out from Mom.”
“I have my reasons.”
It’s been two weeks. Fourteen whole days of keeping this to myself. The first few days, I didn’t say anything because I needed to digest it. I was so sure that after being cleared, I would get a migraine or faint or some other random thing that would set me back on restrictions. Waiting felt like the right thing to do.
When I realized I was being stupid, Amelia came down with a fever and Grayson needed all his focus to be on her. Since she’s still not back to a hundred percent, I’m clinging to that excuse until I can really make sense of my new life.
A life with Grayson and Amelia would be everything, so I’m not exactly sure what I have to work out.
But now that Icango, does it change things? I don’t know.
“Do you think that Grayson isn’t going to be happy?”
“I think I’m not in the mood to discuss this.”
Winnie takes a sip of her drink while not taking her eyes away from me. “If you want me to keep schlepping over here to drive you, then you should get in the mood.”
God save me from younger sisters. “Yes, the ten-minute drive is so inconvenient.”
