I groaned and covered my face.
"It's ok, T."T?Since when did Harrison call her brother T? "I have to meet Dad and Ryan in a bit anyway."
Harrison turned his piercing golden eyes towards me. "I'll see you at the pre-wedding party tomorrow, Grace?"
"Well, it wouldn't look good if the Maid of Honor doesn't show, would it?" I instantly regretted my snarky tone when my parents and brother again turned to stare at me in shock. I cleared my throat and started again.
"I'll be there. Looking forward to it." I smiled sweetly at him, my cheeks hurting from the forced action.
"Cool, cos I wanna talk to you about the reunion."
Before I could open my mouth for a retort, he knocked once on top of the booth. "Okay, folks, I'll let you get on with it." He waved before striding away.
"Now," I sighed. "What are we all getting? I'm frickin' starving."
My mom turned and fixed me with a glare that would've withered a lesser man. "Grace, since when do we talk to people like that? I thought I raised you better!" She shook her head, her neat bob moving silkily around her face.
"Yeah, sis, what gives?" Teddy raised his hand to signal a server. "Harry's cool."
"Since when did you get so chummy? Harry? T? What are you two, best friends or something?" I couldn't hide the hostility in my voice.
Teddy stared at me blankly. "He's the head coach of the Ashburton Tigers," he simply stated.
My mouth dropped open.He was what now?
Teddy was a history teacher at our old high school, but I was gobsmacked to hear that Harrison taught there, too.
"Harrison is the football coach at Ashburton High?" I repeated, still in disbelief. "What happened to working at his dad's farm?"
"His brother, Ryan, took over. It was more his thing, anyway. Harrison went to Hollis Community College," he explained.
Hollis was Ashburton's version of the Big Smoke. It was only forty minutes away. "He studied Sports Science and Physical Education. Started off assisting Coach Holloway until he took another position elsewhere and Harrison took over as head." Teddy shrugged. "The Tigers have been undefeated in the district two years in a row."
"What the fuck?" I exclaimed.
"Language!" My mom admonished. She shook her head and started muttering about California and its loose morals.
"What was he saying just now about a reunion?" My dad queried.
I was still stunned to learn that Harrison was not onlynotworking at his father's farm as I expected, but he also went to college and was a coach at our old high school.
The waitress chose that moment to stop by, and after ordering the Big Breakfast with poached eggs, I answered my Dad's question.
"Our class is having a reunion." I rolled my eyes. "Amelia, for some strange reason, is on the planning committee. Which is weird since she has so much on her plate with the wedding," I mused. "But I promised to show my face for a small bit, so…" I shrugged.
"Oh, that's right," my mom nodded. "I remember Harrison talking a bit about it a while back. I'd forgotten all about it."
She turned curious eyes at me. "Why don't you want to go?" she queried. "I would have thought you would jump at the chance to see your old classmates again."
I snorted, water spewing out of my nose. My mom raised her brow at me, unimpressed at my impropriety. After apologizing and cleaning up the mess, I quietly replied, "Mom, I know you were cheer captain back in your day and the belle of the ball, but we had completely different experiences in high school."
My mother's brow tightened. "What do you mean? I know you weren't in with all that jock crowd and were more into studying and reading, but that's okay, too."
"I know it's okay, Mom. I was happy with my life choices. I just…" I sighed, feeling cornered. "Mom, I wasn't popular."
"What she means is that she was a nerd in high school," my brother interjected, grinning widely.
I kept my head bowed, twisting my fingers nervously. The blood had drained from my face, and my family glanced at each other worriedly.
