Margo’s attention shifts to Noah for half a second, and I feel my shoulders slump as Grant places a reassuring hand at the small of my back. Noah’s interruption has just saved us from floundering in front of my sister, but only for a few minutes.
I know Margo better than anyone on the planet, and she’s tenacious. Like a dog with a bone. She’ll hold that damn leaf up to every plant in this room if she thinks she’s caught me in a lie.
For now, she’s all smiles as she kisses her husband. “Having a good time?”
“Great time,” Noah says, but his focus is already on Grant. “Listen, the auction people want you back up there. Apparently proving you’re an actual human being who can sing means you have to do it again. You know, to really convince everyone you’re not an alien who body-snatched the real Grant Parker.”
Grant’s jaw tightens. “I already sang. Badly.”
“Exactly. Which means the impossible has already happened. Might as well lean into it.” Noah claps him on the shoulder. “Come on, before they start the bidding for ‘One More Song from Grant Parker.’ I heard someone already offering five grand.”
“That’s not?—”
“Five grand for the shelter,” Noah interrupts, raising his eyebrows meaningfully. “For Heather’s shelter.”
I see the moment Grant realizes he’s trapped. I know he doesn’t want to sing again, but he looks more concerned about leaving me alone with Margo. But that’s just one more reminder of how selfless he really is.
Then again, it might be best if Margo and I have this inevitably awkward conversation alone.
“Might as well get it over with,” I offer with a sympathetic smile. “At least most of the people here are already distracted now. You won’t have them all staring at you like last time.”
“Everyone’s drunk enough to sing along, most likely,” Noah offers, although I’m not sure if that’s quite the selling point he thinks it is.
“Fine.” Grant heaves a sigh that would be dramatic coming from anyone else. From him, in this moment, I’m pretty sure it’s justified. “One more song. But only one.”
“That’s the spirit,” Noah says, already steering him away. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he doesn’t escape,” he calls back to me over his shoulder.
Grant glances back one more time before Noah pulls him into the crowd, and I’m left standing there with my sister and a leaf that may as well be a signed confession.
The second Grant and Noah disappear from view, Margo turns back to me with eyes so wide I’m surprised they don’t fall right out of her head.
“Oh my god.” She grabs my arm and practically drags me toward a quieter corner near the bar. “Oh my god, Heather. Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you and Grant didn’t just sneak off together to hook up.”
“Margo, stop.”
“Because it really looks like you did.” She’s speaking in a rushed whisper now, her words tumbling over each other. “The leaf. The way you both look. The fact that you’ve been gone for like half an hour. You have to tell me what’s going on. Please?”
I look around to make sure no one is paying attention to us. My face feels like it’s on fire. “Can we not do this here?”
“So I’m right.” Her mouth drops open. “Holy shit, I’m right.”
“Keep your voice down,” I hiss, but I can’t seem to stop the tiny smile that’s tugging at my lips.
The truth is, it’s actually a relief to have someone to talk to about this whole situation with Grant. I’ve been carrying it around like a secret for weeks now, and keeping things from Margo has been harder than I expected.
“I can’t believe this,” Margo says, but she’s grinning now. “You and Grant Parker. When did this happen? How did this happen?”
I take a deep breath and glance around one more time before meeting her eyes. “Things started to change after I moved in with him. We started hanging out together more, and it wasn’t just about April or the living situation. We’d talk. Really talk. And then one night in his sauna…”
“In his sauna?” Margo’s eyebrows shoot up. “You’re telling me you hooked up with Grant Parker in his sauna?”
“Not exactly.” I can still remember that night vividly, like it was yesterday, and I have to stop myself from reliving every detail in my mind. “But something happened that night, and then things were different. One thing led to another, and it just kind of spiraled from there.”
Margo leans in closer, her eyes still comically wide. “Tell me everything.”
So I do. I tell her about the nights we spent talking after April went to bed. About the way he looked at me when he didn’t think I was paying attention. About the tension that built between us until it became impossible to ignore.
“And then what?”
