Page 82 of The Grump I Loathe
Because in the battle of me versus the dessert table, I was losing. Badly.
“Dad!” Grace cried, launching herself into his arms.
I reached out for him, too, but he didn’t even seem to notice. Twisting away from me, he got down on one knee, his hands running overGrace like she was a porcelain doll and he was checking for cracks. “Are you okay? God, you’re covered in…What the hell is that? Gin?”
“I’m okay,” Grace said, shoving his hands away.
“Then why are you crying?” He lifted her arms to examine them for bumps and bruises. “Did you get cut?”
She yanked them back to her sides. “I’m fine!” she said, louder, her lip trembling. “I didn’t mean to bump the table, it was an accident.”
“Of course it was,” Connor said.
“I was just mad and then everything came crashing down!” She threw herself into Connor’s arms again.
He held her, hand pressed to the back of her head, and it was sweet. Really sweet. But it couldn’t entirely stop the sourness in my stomach at the fact that he hadn’t so much as glanced my way. I totally got that Grace came first…but was it too much to ask for me to come second?
“Breathe,” Connor said, patting Grace’s back as she sobbed. “It’s gonna be okay.”
“Mom was so mad,” Grace said. “She stomped away. I think her dress is ruined.”
“Don’t worry about that now.”
Ali was going to have a hell of a time getting that sticky grenadine concoction out of her white silk. Those bridesmaids had their work cut out for them. But I supposed it could have been worse. Could have been the whole chocolate fountain and then she would have spent the rest of her wedding night walking around looking like she’d had a gastrointestinal emergency.
But none of that mattered now, because I was here and Connor was here, and I loved him. That’s why I’d been hanging with Grace at thedessert table. I’d wanted to feel her out and get a sense of whether I might have her blessing for the relationship.
She was old enough to understand, and I was pretty sure she liked me. And if Grace okayed it, what was really standing in our way? That stupid work policy Connor had put in place—and that he could remove just as easily?
“Connor,” I said, reaching out toward him, but he turned away from me, gesturing to an older gentleman in a black tux. “Can you try to get the crowd to back up? We don’t need anyone else falling.”
“Watch your knee there,” the man said, gesturing to where Connor crouched. “There’s broken glass.”
“Thank you, Vikram,” Connor said.
Vikram…I frowned. Why was that familiar?
“Connor?” I said again, quietly. Why wouldn’t he look at me? I pressed my palm to my temple, wincing when that intensified the throbbing.
“Mr. Singh,” a young man called, racing forward to help the man Connor had spoken to disperse the crowd away from the area.
Wait, Vikram Singh! Realization struck me. Was this the same Mr. Singh from Pavilion Games? The distributor Connor was supposed to be signing with tomorrow? Was this why he wouldn’t even look at me? Because he didn’t want to acknowledge his secret girlfriend in front of his new distribution partner? That horrible thought hurt even more than my throbbing head.
“Connor!” I said, louder, with more urgency as I let somestrangerhelp me to my feet.
No response.
Well, fine. Whatever. I turned and limped away in search of my own help. Namely, some water and a painkiller the size of my fist. And maybe somewhere I could take off my shoes without worrying about stepping on glass. I didn’t think I’d actually sprained anything, but I was sore and bruised all over, and walking in heels required a degree of coordination I just couldn’t manage right now.
A hand wrapped around my upper arm suddenly, and I was jerked back against a wall of muscle. I turned toward a familiar chest, leaning into his touch, grateful Connor had finally come to his senses. Maybe he’d just been overwhelmed by his concern for Grace. I turned to smile at him, but the smile dropped in a hurry when, instead of the care or concern I expected, he scowled at me. “How the hell didthishappen?”
I massaged the ache behind my eyes. “I’m going to need you to check your tone, because you’re sounding an awful lot like you think this was my doing.”
Connor lifted his hands, at a loss for words for a moment. “What else am I supposed to think? You were literally in the middle of it. Grace could have been seriously injured.”
I clenched my teeth, which made the pulse in my temple throb even harder. “Just for your information, I didn’t cause this mess. Ali got frustrated after Grace refused to come out on the dance floor for the mother-daughter dance.”
I winced. Talking was making my head hurt worse, but I pushed through. “I guess Grace had been trying to spend time with her all night, and Ali kept blowing her off, so Grace decided to give her a taste of her own medicine. Ali didn’t take it well. It got a little heated. Grace was starting to get upset, so I stepped in to defend her right to her own time and choices. Ali muttered something snide and then Grace shoved her.”
