Page 74 of The Grump I Loathe
Liam nodded, assuring her everything would be fine. She hugged Finn next. “Thank Sierra for all her wardrobe recommendations. I’ll be the best-dressed lady in Italy.”
She grabbed me next. “Goodbye, sweetheart. Try not to fret over this weekend. Oh! And tell Grace to video me once she’s in her flower girl outfit. I’m sure she’s going to look lovely.”
“I will,” I said, once again trying not to think too hard about Ali’s wedding or the fact that since Mom wouldn’t be around, I was now responsible for figuring out Grace’s hair. “Don’t forget that there’s anine-hour time difference between here and Italy. So leave your ringer on at night so we can get a hold of you if there are?—”
Mom squeezed my hand. “Please don’t worry. Everything will be lovely. And if there’s any trouble, X will be there.”
That didn’t make me feel any better. My gaze cut across to X, standing on the tarmac, talking to the co-pilot, travel bags in hand.
Mom tugged on my hand, giving me a serious look. “If you can trust me with Grace, then you can trust me with myself.”
“I do trust you,” I said, which was the truth. It was just that I didn’t trust the unpredictability of the rest of the world. I kissed her cheek. “Have a great time. We’ll see you when you get back.”
She chuckled excitedly, setting off to meet X on the tarmac. I stood and waved after her with my brothers.
“Don’t look so stressed,” Liam said, clapping me on the shoulder. “Mom’ll be fine.”
“I know.” But if everything fell apart, she’d be on the other side of the world. Even with the jet, it would take half a day to reach her. I couldn’t think about that though, because my focus needed to be on surviving this weekend. I sucked in a deep breath, longing for an Eddie-shaped distraction and one of her signature mischievous grins.
“Why don’t we call Grandma and ask her what dress she likes better?” I suggested as Grace threw herself down on the bed, face-first, wrinkling one of her rehearsal dinner dress options.
“Because it’s like the middle of the night in Italy!” she huffed, rubbing her head against the comforter and messing up her hair.
“How’d you know that?” I asked, picking up the hairbrush, preparing to fix the frizzy monstrosity I was about to be greeted with.
“I Googled,” she muttered, annoyed. I’d been helping her get ready for the wedding rehearsal for the better part of an hour now. A curt text from Ali informed me I wasonlyinvited to the dinner portion, not to the rehearsal itself, and that Grace was to be waiting in the hotel lobby at six. But at this rate, neither of us was going to be on time because she couldn’t decide between two perfectly nice dresses, and every time I made a suggestion, she glared at me hard enough to burn a hole in my forehead.
Grace stood up, looked at herself in the mirror again, then flopped her arms at her sides. “I hate this one!” She whirled around, stomping back across the room before I caught her around the middle, forcing her to sit next to me on one of the beds. “Let me go!”
“Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
“Nothing,” she said, screwing up her face to stop her lip from trembling. It didn’t work.
“Grace,” I said softly, leaving the conversation open.
She sucked in a sharp breath, her little nostrils flaring. “I don’t want Mom to marry Sawyer,okay?” She nose-dived into my chest the moment she said it.
“Why not?” I asked. “I thought you said he was…chill?”
“Yeah, for a grownup. But not for a stepdad. He doesn’t even want to hang out with us when I’m around. And every time she canceled on me, it was to go do something with Sawyer instead. What if I start to see Mom even less once they’re married? I barely see her now!”
I swallowed hard, fury bubbling inside my chest. This was what I was worried about. Ali’s constant flaking was going to rub off on Grace,and I never wanted her to feelunwanted. “That’s not going to happen.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’m going to make sure you always see your mom, okay? I bet after the wedding and the honeymoon are out of the way, things will go back to normal, and you’ll have a more regular schedule together.” I’d do whatever it took to make sure of it.
Grace smiled a bit. “You’re right. All this stuff is almost over.”
“Exactly.” I swept her bangs out of her eyes. “Now c’mon. Let’s stick with the blue dress and get down there before I get in trouble with Mom.”
Grace bounded to her feet. “Daaaad, it’s teal,” she said, quick to correct me. “Like Eddie’s new hair.”
That got a smile out of me as I adjusted the pins in her hair. Eddie had recently re-dyed the colored streaks in her hair, and it had been all Grace could talk about for a fortnight. “All right, looking good.”
Grace nodded at her reflection. “You’re getting better.”
“All those YouTube tutorials.”
