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“So how much time do you think we have?”
I opened my mouth to say, none, but the jerk swooped in with that sneaky action of his and kissed me.
And right on schedule, the back door opened, admitting Mrs. Gruber into the kitchen.
Todd flew backward, wiped his mouth, and sent Barry’s receptionist a guilty little
smirk. Then he winked at me, turned on his heel, and strode from the room, exiting out the front of the house.
I was embarrassed. Obviously. Todd had made me look unprofessional in front of Mrs. Gruber. She’d never ask me to watch her son again; I could tell by the reproachful crinkle in her eyebrows.
I wanted to defend myself and say I hadn’t invited him; I hadn’t even welcomed him when he showed up. But humiliated to the bone, I just stood there and waited in uncomfortable silence as Mrs. Gruber dug through her purse, looking for cash to pay me.
I should’ve blurted something out like, “You don’t have to worry about paying,” and then ran out of there as if my tail was on fire. I didn’t feel like I deserved the money anyway, but my voice box blipped out and my feet wouldn’t move, so I waited, mortified and ashamed.
I slugged home through the cold, slushy snow with my head hung low and my hands bunched into fists, thinking up new and creative ways to make Todd Stangman suffer.
“Have a good time babysitting?” Barry asked as soon as I pushed open the front door. A gleam of amusement twinkled in his eyes before he wiggled his brows suggestively.
My face immediately went molten hot.
Oh, God. “Mrs. Gruber already called, didn’t she?”
“Yes, she did,” Mom answered, appearing at Barry’s side. She was still in her nurse’s outfit, probably just getting home from work, too. “And I can’t say how disappointed I am with you, Grace, inviting some boy over to a stranger’s house while you were—”
“I didn’t invite him.”
“Well, you certainly didn’t kick him out. From the way Rita talked, you two were practically—”
I gasped. “We were not!”
“Is this the same boy Barry caught you kissing on the front porch?”
I sliced a surprised look Barry’s way. I had no idea he’d told Mom about that. Paranoid as I’d grown around him recently, I still thought we’d become friends of a sort. I thought he’d keep some kind of confidence with me.
Obviously, I was wrong, and I could no longer count on him to be my friend.
“Well?” Mom demanded.
“Yes,” I mumbled. “His name’s Todd.”
“Is Todd your boyfriend?”
I shrugged, forcing myself not to wince at the word. But if I said no, that would only make the situation look ten times worse.
“And what about the other boys?”
I frowned and glanced up. Huh? “What other boys?”
“Barry saw you talking to two different boys at the bowling alley. And then some kid with a guitar showed up and sang you a song. None of them were this Todd he’d seen you kissing.”
My jaw dropped. What exactly had Barry been telling her? Losing all trust in him, I somehow managed not to send him a lethal glare and instead bunched my jaw tight as I kept eye contact with my mother.
Talking through gritted teeth, I explained, “The boy with the guitar was only Adam. He’d written a new song and wanted my opinion.” I could’ve gone on to explain he’d written the song for Bridget so there was no way she needed to worry about him. But I was so mad, I didn’t feel the need for such explanation.
“And the boy your husband saw in the bowling alley was Joel Forthright…Bridget’s older brother. He wasn’t even there with my group but was with his own friends and was just saying hi when he saw me.”
“So what about the other boy at the bowling alley?”
