“You next.”
I lifted my heel, bending to unhook the clasp as Grant steadied my elbow so I didn’t join his jacket on the floor. His hand was warm and solid, and for a moment the din of the pavilion—the clink of glasses, the chatter, the drums—faded. I flexed my bare feet against the cool floorboards and sighed with pleasure.
My muscles relaxed for the first time that night, and when I glanced up, Grant was already looking down at me. His thumb brushed my elbow before he let go.
Oddly, I felt like one of his co-conspirators instead of his victim. It was… nice. The game we were playing had a weird side-effect. We’d agreed to fake niceties in public, but for the moment, it was just us, and I didn’t want to ruin it with a snide comment. I couldn’t even think of any, which was alarming.
In fact, the only thought bouncing around in my mind was that being a luau wallflower with Grant was surprisingly enjoyable. Though he’d probably grunt and offer to do a keg-stand if I said the words out loud.
His gaze moved away first. He shifted his weight, tugging at his cuffs as if the air had grown hotter.
“So…” Grant’s voice sounded tighter than usual as he cleared his throat. “Might rain tomorrow.”
I tilted my head, letting my gaze trail along the hard line of his jaw. “Why do you do that?”
“Do what?”
“Fill awkward silences with somethingmeaningless.”
His jaw bunched. I tensed, realizing I’d broken the spell. I waited for his verbal jab, knowing it would be brutal. The silence stretched, and my heart pounded, certain he was searching for a kill shot.
“Keeping things light makes breathing easier.”
His answer was so quiet, I almost missed it over the noise of the band. But I didn’t miss the way it twisted something low in my chest. That ache wasn’t as easy to kick off as my heels.
I knew about his cousin. Everyone did. The entire agency had mourned when Matt died. But that didn’t make me immune to the unfairness of it all—that Grant could coast on charisma and pedigree while I had to cobble together everything I’d earned, always pretending it didn’t sting when the ground shifted beneath me.
He had everything. The wealthy family, an actual winter dynasty, the looks, the charm… the list was endless. All he had to do was show up, and people flocked, like a Black Friday sale on the season’s hottest toy.
I hummed in the back of my throat. “My aunt used to say, Deflection isn’t a sign of affection.”
Grant’s tone went dry. “Are you spouting meet-cute wisdom at me?”
I cracked a smile. “Guilty. You turn into a weatherman, and I fall back on soulmate proverbs. We’re doomed.”
“What a shame, two well-adjusted adults like us. Who would have thought?” He swirled the ice in his glass. “What was your aunt like?”
The question caught me off guard. “Hopeful. A little dreamy. Always brewing half-baked love spells that strangely smelled like cinnamon. She raised me after my parents passed. Well, her and a revolving door of ill-equipped boyfriends.” Ishrugged and let out a tiny grumble when I realized I’d eaten all my cherries. “Aunt Mabel believed there was a perfect match for everyone. She just thought the way to find it was through quantity, not quality.”
“You never used your magic on her?”
I shook my head, my hidden ache spreading. “It wasn’t that simple. Family is…”
Grant blew out a breath. “Complicated.”
I nodded, surprised he’d finished my sentence so accurately, and that the ground hadn’t collapsed beneath our feet when he did.
“Here she is!”
My boss’s voice crashed through the moment like a snowball breaking a window. I jolted, nearly spilling the cherry juice left in the bowl.
Grant straightened at my side, his gaze darting to his crumpled jacket before his chin snapped up. I was less defiant and fumbled for my shoes, jamming my toes through the straps without bothering to secure them. If we had to walk anywhere, I was in trouble.
My division head and three board members approached, flanked by Grant’s grandfather.
“I want you to meet Valerie Spellman, Sunbelt’s finest,” my boss said cheerfully, gesturing toward me with a dramatic wave. She faltered a step when she saw how close I stood to Grant. The color drained from her face, her eyes searching for the nearest exit. Not that I blamed her.
Her smile wavered. “I was just telling the board how you could manifest a meet-cute out of thinair.”
