An assertion Billy and Eric made, too, until they became her enemies.
The only boys who hadn’t let her down were CJ and JJ. Just yesterday, she would’ve included Rory in that number, but he was firmly on Daddy’s side. Maybe she was a bad person for being suspicious of Grant. Her skirt was raised and her panties torn when he’d found her, though.
At the memory, Mattie blushed and yanked the covers over her head again.
“Go away. I’m not hungry.”
“Fuck.”
Frustration filled that one word and fear slid into Mattie. Her pulse pounded through her and her heartrate skyrocketed.
“I don’t want anything from you but to take you to eat. I’m here because…fuck, Mattie, I just wanted to check on you. Harley has Roxy and Aunt Zoann. Rebel has Aunt Meggie and Aunt Bunny. I know you have Aunt Kendall. Unfortunately, you also have your dad. I’m too young to be a father figure, but I can be a brother to you. I can reassure you that you did nothing wrong. Make sure you aren’t lost in the cracks while your dad focuses on Rory and motherfuckery and your mom juggles her career, her new responsibilities to the club, and being married to Uncle Johnnie.”
“But you saw me,” Mattie said dully, processing his words, almost afraid to believe him.
“You should never have been exposed like that,” Grant told her. “You were fucking attacked. Even for that motherfucker it wasn’t sexual. It was just fucking control and violence.”
Mattie nodded, still hidden under her covers.
“What do you say? Do you want the unhealthy option or are you really not hungry?”
“Call and order the food for us,” she told him, giving trust one more shot.
Whenever Mattie went to J’s, she always dressed with her father in mind. Thanks to Mama, she had a very extensive wardrobe, so she chose an ankle length tartan print knit dress with kitten heels, a black mini bag, and Imperial topaz ring and earrings that she got for her last birthday.
She dressed as quickly as possible, since J’s closed every day at two, but she hadn’t showered, so she ended up eating up thirty minutes despite her best efforts.
Afraid Grant was irritated with her, Mattie hesitated to leave her room, but Mama always faced problems head on, so she would too. Heaving in a breath, she ran down the hallway to the staircase, then paused, reminding herself that proper ladies were always composed.
She walked down the staircase with the regalness Mama taught her and the decorum Daddy expected. Her heels clipping on the hardwood drew Grant to the doorway of the den.
“I’m sorry I took so long,” she blurted nervously. “Will they still seat us?”
He grinned. “Thirty minutes is record time for a girl,” he told her.
Snorting, she rolled her eyes, his comment easing her. “You’re such a guy,” she complained.
“So I’ve been told,” he drawled.
“We should go, right?” she asked, shifting her weight. “Or did I take too long. Suppose we run into a traffic jam?”
“My grandmother owns the restaurant, sweetheart,” he told her. “I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“Right.”
Walking to her, he held out his arm. “Are you ready, my lady?”
Mattie had known Grant for most of her life. He was older than the boys, butmuch younger than Diesel and his crew. However, Grant really adored CJ, so that’s who he hung around. Mattie knew that much. He’d also been her first crush.
As he handed her into his car and then jumped into the driver’s seat, she cataloged what else she knew about him. He was Lolly’s stepson, a chill guy, too handsome for words, heir to the Harrington fortune, and wealthy beyond reason. He’d followed in his father and grandfather’s footsteps and chose to go to Harvard. His mother had been murdered when he was a child and he thought the world of Lolly.
But there was so much more to him than met the eye. For instance, he drove a Mercedes AMG GT and liked HipHop and Rap music, football, and gumbo. His favorite place to vacation was either New Orleans or Amsterdam. He loved skiing and flying, volunteered at an animal rescue shelter, and he would get the first payout of a very large trust fund in just over two years.
But he didn’t tell her in a self-absorbed way. Everything came out over the course of a back-and-forth conversation with a range of topics. Others like his music preference was simple reasoning. He asked her if she minded if he played Eminem, Biggie Smalls, Snoop Dogg, BigXThaPlug, and Tyler, the Creator. Not to mention him rapping bar for bar on some of thesongs and censoring himself over words he knew he shouldn’t say.
He swerved to the valet parking stand. Not waiting for the guy to open his door, he got out and jogged to her side, then opened her door and bowed.
Mattie giggled and placed her hand in his, allowing him to assist her to her feet.
