Page 71 of Fairy Tale Lies
Her mother straightened her shoulders, as if fortifying herself against his scorn. “Charles was correct. I should have contacted Greta instead of the police after learning the person accused of stealing from my home was also rumored to be dating my daughter. However, I assumed she didn’t know and you were using her to get closer to our wealth. I made a mistake, I apologize.”
“Your mistake could’ve cost me my career,” he replied tightly.
“In my defense, had I known you were dating my daughter, this never would have happened.” Her gaze bounced from Jacob and fixed on Greta.
Oh. No.
“Today was the first I learned you are dating the guy who delivered our furniture. I honestly didn’t believe it. You’ve never mentioned him, and, quite frankly, you two make an unlikely pair. Although no matter how questionable, I would have reacted differently had I known he was dating you. Not some laborer I’d hired, who’d been inside my house and later was wearing my husband’s expensive watch.”
Greta swallowed, avoiding Jacob’s gaze. “No wonder I failed to mention us. Look at what happened today.” The argument was weak. She was trying to cover for her lousy decisions.
Mother shook her head. “That’s unfair. I knew nothing of Jacob, except what a trusted friend told me. And a damaging police report. I’m not going to lie and say I approve of this relationship, but, I repeat, this whole situation could have been avoided had I known before today you two were dating.”
Greta’s heart clenched. She’d messed up.
She’d only wanted to avoid a confrontation with her overly opinionated mother. Instead, she hurt the man she loved.
“All is well that ends well,” her mother continued breezily, as though it were a trivial matter and done with, she turned away. “Come home with me. I’ll send someone to get your car from his house tomorrow.”
Greta began to suspect her mother’s real motive. Regret didn’t bring her to speak with Jacob. Her true intent was to cause a rift.
No wonder the apology rang false.It was.
No way was she leaving with her mother. “I’m going back to my apartment.”
Greta cut a glance to Will, then Jacob. He offered only anger and silence.
“At the University, why?” Her mother crossed her arms over her chest, causing her dainty Hermes purse to fall from her slim shoulder. “Aren’t you interning at your father’s?”
Like she cares.
Greta shrugged, though, in reality, she was nervous. “I’ll speak to Father tomorrow. I should have enough hours to receive credit for my internship.”
Her mother’s lips pulled into a thin line, seeming to understand she wasn’t winning this argument. “Fine. Would you like me to take you to your car?”
Greta glanced at the Grimm brothers. “Ah, no. I was hoping Will would give me a ride back to get it.”
Will nodded. Jacob stared back with cold eyes. A vice tightened around her heart. He was going to refuse, overrule Will.
Before he could, Will said, “Yeah, I’ll give you a ride back to the house.”
Greta could’ve kissed him.
She glanced at Jacob, and her heart deflated. His jaw clenched tight enough she feared his teeth might crack. Everything about him screamed he didn’t want her to go with them. He wanted her gone.
Not the most encouraging response. Didn’t matter. She was going to fix this. “Thank you, Will,” she said quietly.
Without a word, Jacob walked to Will’s old Ford Focus.
Greta trailed after Will and Jacob. She longed to hold Jacob, but the anger that radiated off him in waves gave her pause. Her fragile, scared heart wouldn’t be able to handle a brutal rejection.
The ride to Jacob’s place was awful. The tension in the car was thicker than cement, and it leaked into her veins, running straight for her heart.
The couple of times she tried talking to Jacob, he grunted single syllable responses, keeping his gaze trained on the horizon. By the time they arrived at his place, Greta wanted to scream, cry, and stop time.
She wanted to fix things but would take this awful limbo if the other option was to face a reality without him.
He didn’t appear to have the same compulsion. When Will shut off the engine, Jacob whipped open his door, asking if she left anything in the house, not bothering to glance in her direction.
