She almost met his eyes.“And whoever’s listening.”
Chapter Eight
Hourshadcreptby,and giving up on her work, Grace set her computer and stylus to the side.She’d stared at the screen, and nothing interesting had come to mind.There was so much work to be done on the book cover that she absolutely adored, but she couldn’t even work on the shading.
This had to be like writer’s block.A total distraction had sucked the creative energy out of her like a workflow vampire.She didn’t know whether Dominic or Callum was to blame.
Probably Callum.
Definitely Callum.
Callum, who still saw her as a pain in the ass, not to mention the eternal title of Hayden’s little sister who always needed help.More than that, now, he likely saw her as a liar who had put her family through unneeded pain.
And… She sighed.He probably hated her.She couldn’t blame him if he did.Her lies were impossible to come back from, and he was one of those born-to-protect types who always did the right thing.
God, she had always wanted so much from him and now couldn’t even have his respect.
Alicia’s familiar footsteps climbed the stairs and snapped Grace from her pity party.She picked up her computer to at least pretend that she had been working, but set it down again before another lie fell from her lips.She hadn’t lied to Alicia and wouldn’t start tonight.
Alicia knocked.
“It’s not locked.”
She opened the bedroom door and held an oversized lemon-yellow tray with two cornfield blue plates stacked with food.“You have to be hungry.Chicken thighs and rice.”
The bright colors were one of Grace’s many favorite things about Alicia’s house.Books.Plants.Bright colors.Cute furniture.Delicious food.Oh, and an unbelievable rock of a friend.“Were you seriously cooking down there while,” she circled her hand overhead, “people are searching your house?”
The sweep team had been efficient if not invasive.They’d torn Grace’s room apart twice before they’d left her to work in peace.
“How hard’s rice?”Alicia shrugged.
“Compared to how I make rice?Much harder.”Grace washed the rice, boiled the water, and presto.Normal, everyday rice.Alicia did that too, but tinkered and worked her magic, and when she said presto, the rice was enough to make angels sing.
“The chicken was in the deep freeze.Quick and easy in the cast iron.”She set the tray at the foot of the bed.“Don’t tell me you didn’t smell dinner cooking.”
Apparently not.She’d been struggling with her book cover, daydreaming about Callum, and lost to the world until Alicia walked in.“I’ve been distracted.”
“I bet.”Alicia scooted the chair from the desk and set two spots on the bed with linen napkins and silverware before positioning the tray between them.“It’s like a picnic without the mosquitoes.”
Grace laughed.
“Now, there’s a sound I haven’t heard all day.”
She smiled.“It’s been a strange day.”
Alicia lifted her fork.“I made a plate for Callum, and he looked at me like he hadn’t seen a homemade meal in his life.”
“That’s not true.His mom is a great cook.”
She pointed the fork at Grace with a little bounce.“That’s quite the personal detail to know about someone.”
The things she knew about Callum would be embarrassing to list.She’d once known the sound of his footsteps in her home and the way his car revved before he drove away.In hindsight, teenage crushes could be incredibly cringy.Still, college and after weren’t any less humiliating.She had memorized the curve of his ass, the cut of his jawline, and the width of his chest.Grace struggled to keep from blushing.“Like I said.Known him my whole life.”
“You ever sleep with him?”
Her jaw fell slack.A red-hot flush rocketed up her neck and into her cheeks.“Oh, my God.No.He’s Hayden’s best friend.”
Alicia snorted.“That’s a horrible reason not to sleep with someone.”
