Page 77 of The Grump I Loathe
“And buying shots!” I was glad we’d had tonight to cut loose and have fun. I’d need to be on my best behavior tomorrow at the wedding, considering all the networking I planned to do.
I spit and rinsed in the sink, then walked over to my bed. Leigh had kicked off her shoes, her arm tossed over her eyes to block out the light.
“Hate to do this,” I said, adjusting the settings on my phone, “but my alarm’s set for eight. I need to be awake in time to rally for Alannah’s competition tomorrow.”
Leigh waved me off. “S’fine.” She yawned. “I’ll probably sleep through it. You know, I’m kind of surprised Connor didn’t come out drinking with us tonight.”
My pulse skipped. Why had she said it likethat?Did she know Connor was the one I’d hooked up with in the office? Darius told me he’d been discreet.
I cleared my throat.Play it cool. “I’m sure he’s too busy to hang out with the LockMill gang. Plus, Grace is here. He can’t exactly ditch her to party with his employees.”
Leigh buzzed her lips together. “Always with the excuses. You guys just need to face your feelings. It’s obvious you’re together. I don’t know why you bother sneaking around. You should just go for it. Tell him you love him. Bring it all out into the open.”
My heart lobbed at the base of my throat. “You’re drunk.”
“I am.”
“You need to sleep.”
“I do.” Leigh rolled onto her side.
I tossed the comforter over her, then turned off the lights and climbed into my own bed, hoping to fall asleep right away so I wouldn’t have to think about what Leigh said. Next thing I knew, bells started ringing. Warning bells? Sirens?
I bolted upright and grabbed for my phone.
Alarm? No, a call. Alannah’s name flashed across the screen.
“Hello?” I asked, the word garbled as I glanced over at Leigh, hidden beneath a mountain of covers.
“Eddie?” Alannah sniffled.
I stiffened. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
She didn’t say anything else. She didn’t need to. I could hear Simon and Valentina screaming in the background, making me flash back to my own childhood. The promise I’d made that Alannah would never have to deal with that pounded through my hangover.
“I’ll be right there,” I said, kicking off the sheets and rushing out the door in my pajamas. The hotel where the gymnastics team was staying was a twenty-minute drive away. When I reached her room, I texted. I doubted she’d be able to hear me knock over all the shouting.
Alannah pulled the door open slowly, looking exhausted, scared, and teary-eyed.
“You okay?” I asked, grunting as she threw herself into my arms. She was half ready for her competition, her hair pulled into a tight knot at the top of her head.
Alannah inclined her head in the direction of the adjoining room where the door was open a crack. “It’s been like this all night,” she admitted. “I barely got any sleep because they were fighting so much.”
I leaned down, a hand on her shoulder. “Get your stuff.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
I nodded. Dad and Valentina were supposed to be here to support Alannah on a huge competition day. This was the last thing she needed. And what were they even screaming about, who got to take her to her competition? Who’d taken more days off work to take her to practice? What a freaking joke.
“I need my leotard,” Alannah was saying, throwing clothes into a duffle bag. “And my sweats for between routines.”
“Grab everything,” I was saying as the door swung open. Valentina stood there, her curly hair wild and unkempt, like she’d been tugging at it out of frustration. Truth was, Valentina and I had never really connected. She was nice enough to me, but there’d always been a polite distance between us.
“Eddie?” she snapped. “What are you doing here?” Dad appeared at her shoulder, arms crossed, looking exhausted and fed up. I stared at them flatly.
“I just followed the sound of screaming across town.”
“Eddie,” Dad muttered.
