Secrets, Lies, and Summer Skies

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"Kelly." Grayson cast me a furtive glance before he stepped between us to shield me from view. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Uh, obviously!" she sputtered. Realising perhaps that she might cause a scene if she shouted at him from a distance, Kelly clicked over in her ridiculous heels, which still brought her nowhere near Grayson's height. Like she was about to accuse him of murder, she demanded, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Not sure that's any of your business." Grayson's hand balled into a fist. He wasn't about to knock Kelly out, but it was obvious he was tense. "Was there something you needed? Or did you just wanna stick your nose in like always?"

Kelly's jaw dropped. If she hadn't been laden with her purchases, she might have reached up to grasp at her non-existent pearls. It was as though no one had ever talked down to her in her life. Even after Grayson had made it clear that he wasn't interested in going on a date with her, she still looked at him like she'd just caught him cheating on her. Kelly's eyes brimmed with tears and her bottom lip trembled. It was an award-winning display if ever I'd seen one.

The performance put Anna's sobbing apology to shame.

"Are you crazy?" she hissed at him.

Grayson's eyes narrowed. "I'm getting pretty pissed if that's what you're getting at."

"You're out here with a kid."

Kelly stood on her toes and tried to peer over Grayson's shoulder at me. It was a wasted effort. Grayson simply moved to the side and ensured I was as blocked from view as was humanly possible. I bristled at the suggestion that I was a kid. Sure, I often feared that Grayson might think of me as just that, but that didn't give anyone else the right to make the observation. Besides, it wasn't true. I was as much an adult as Kelly was, except I didn't need the assistance of plastic surgery to keep my boobs from succumbing to gravity.

The sensible thing to do would've been to stay behind Grayson and let him deal with the situation. No doubt he'd have some clever lie he could use to placate the incensed woman. Maybe he'd even offer to take her on a date later just to keep her quiet.

Responsible though I might have been, no one had ever accused me of being sensible.

I rounded Grayson and, before he could stop me, I got in Kelly's face and snarled at her, "Just because I'm not some washed-up old hag, it doesn't mean that I'm a child. I'm twenty-one, not twelve."

"You–"

"No," I interrupted. "You don't get to talk about how I'm a kid when you're out here pouting because what? A guy turned you down. Boo-freaking-hoo, lady. Get over yourself."

I didn't know it was possible for a person to turn purple, even when they'd slapped on fifteen layers of foundation, but Kelly managed. Grayson wasn't helping the situation. He clamped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing at Kelly's expense, but a few snickers escaped through his fingers.

Kelly jabbed one of her manicured talons into my chest. "We'll see if you're still feeling confident when I call your father and tell him all about what you're up to."

"Go ahead." It was a bluff, of course. The very idea of Dad hearing about our relationship while he was overseas filled my veins with ice. I folded my arms and suggested, "While we're at it, how about I call Mrs. Scott in number forty-one? I'm sure she'd love to know about all those times you've visited her husband while she's been at work."

Grayson was too late to realize what Kelly was about to do. She dropped her bags at her feet and brought her hand towards my face. My hand shot out and I wrapped my fingers around her wrist, stopping her mid-strike. While I wouldn't have been able to keep a man from striking me, I could handle a woman as skinny as Kelly. Her arms were basically twigs.