Page 75 of The Grump I Loathe
She gave me a fist bump, then stuffed her feet into her shoes, and I escorted her down to the hotel ballroom, passing her off to Ali and parking myself in the lobby while I waited for the rehearsal part to finish. My phone vibrated as I leaned against a pillar—a text from Eddie.
I like the suit. It’s very James Bond.
I huffed a laugh.I was going for Goldeneye.
My eyes flicked up, though I tried not to make it too obvious as I spied her on the other side of the lobby, newly arrived in a crowdwith Noah, Leigh, and a bunch of the LockMill staff. She looked over her shoulder and winked in my direction quickly. She’d called it our secret spy signal, and I fought the smile that tugged at my lips.
“Why didn’t you just invite Eddie as your plus-one if you’re gonna give her goo-goo eyes all weekend?”
I almost jumped out of my suit, whirling around to find Max standing there, an overnight bag tossed over his shoulder. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I texted and told you the office was doing a spur-of-the-moment weekend hang.”
“I thought you meant back in San Francisco,” I said, frowning.
“Half Moon Bay is only a thirty-minute drive,” Max pointed out. “Besides, half the office is here. The rest of us figured why not just come up early and make a weekend of it.” He grinned. “We’re going out tonight.”
I shook my head. “Traitor.”
Max threw his head back and laughed. “As if. I’m not here to crash the wedding. You got me in the divorce. Ali knows that. I’m here to drink my weight in wine and make memories I can’t remember come Monday.”
I grumbled, crossing my arms as an ache twinged in my chest. I didn’t knoweveryonewas showing up. This situation with Eddie felt even more complicated than it had before.
Max nudged me. “See, this is what I mean. If you’re going to look all stressed and depressed over the woman, why not revoke that stupid policy and just go public with her?”
I clenched my jaw, considering throttling him. “Quiet,” I hissed. “Also, there’s no need to change the policy because there’s nothing to go public with.”
Max snorted. “Sure. I see the way you two look at each other. You literally keep M&M’s on your work desk now. Don’t even tell me there isn’tsomething. And if it’s something, I don’t see a point in denying yourself that happiness to stick to some dumb work ruleyoumade up to preserve Leigh’s feelings. She’d understand.”
I gestured to the ballroom where the wedding rehearsal was happening right now. “It isn’t some arbitrary rule,” I growled. “It’s about preventing the havoc romantic relationships always seem to wreak on LockMill.”
“Maybe you and Leigh just had a run of bad luck,” Max said. “Third time’s the charm.”
I scowled. “Don’t you have to go check in or something?”
“Yeah, but I also think you should have a real talk with Eddie about what’s going on. Because the only thing worse than this blowing up in your face would be losing Eddie because you wereafraidof it blowing up in your face.” He clapped me on the chest, then set off for reception.
“What do you mean? What’s going on?” I demanded but couldn’t wait for an answer because the ballroom door opened and Ali and Sawyer rounded up the necessary guests for dinner. I cracked my knuckles, plastered a smile on my face, and headed into the room, resigned to getting through the weekend.
I found my seat, and Grace plopped down beside me, flicking her name card on her plate. I shoved all thoughts of Max and Eddie aside as I watched her shoulders slump. “What’s up?”
She pouted. “Nothing.”
“How’d rehearsal go? You know where you need to stand and everything?”
She shrugged. “I guess.”
“What is it?”
She picked at the tablecloth. “Next time I want to go to Italy with Grandma. I don’t want to be a flower girl at any stupid weddings.”
I curled my fingers against my palm, my eyes flickering in Ali’s direction, barely holding onto my frustration. I didn’t know how Ali could be over there, schmoozing and laughing with her guests as if she didn’t have a care in the world while her daughter was clearly struggling.
I didn’t want to have this conversation here, but if not now, when? When she’d totally ruined her relationship with Grace? When she was begging me to explain why Grace had gone no-contact with her? Because I knew Ali reallywouldbe crushed if Grace cut ties. Ali might not be the best at managing her relationships—or her time, or her schedule—but I knew she loved our daughter.
I held my tongue through dinner, but the moment the table cleared for cocktails, I followed Ali, catching her at the bar.
She cocked her head, arching her brow in a way that was so similar to Grace it made my chest ache harder. How could she be so like her daughter and let this distance build? “Thanks for getting Grace ready,” she said.
