Nothing about this was right.Nothing. A wave of uneasiness rolled through her as she took Grant in.
He had a look of contrition on his face, like a schoolboy who’d been caught doing something wrong. Even still, there was a small, hopeful smile on his face, his eyes bright and taking her in, too.
The questions started to knock around her brain.
How did he know she was here?
Why washehere?
How quickly could she get him to go away? Ideally without causing a scene?
She shook her confusion away and stood up a little straighter, wishing she had her tennis bag to tighten protectively across hershoulder. It wasn’t that she was scared of Grant, that had never been the case, but giving him a goodthwackwith the bag had been something she’d considered more than a few times over the last year.
“You’re surprised to see me? A good surprise, I hope?” he asked, taking the smallest step forward but still affording her personal space.
“Why are you here?” He was getting married next weekend, which added an extra layer of insanity to him showing up here, now.
“Sit with me, please.” He gestured to the chair adjacent to the one he’d been sitting in. “Five minutes. That’s all I’m asking.”
Sydney briefly wondered if he’d found God. Or if he was in some sort of twelve-step program that encouraged him to apologize for the things he’d done wrong. Except, Grant was perfectly capable of making bad decisions completely sober, so that one probably didn’t track.
The sooner she got through this, the sooner she could send him on his way.
In over a year, they hadn’t had an honest conversation. They’d never had a huge blowout after she’d discovered him cheating. She’d gone radio silent, intent on extricating him from every facet of her life and pretending, as much as she could, that he didn’t exist.
While she’d never regret the insanity of the situation that had thrown her and Reese together, it hadn’t exactly been her most mature decision. Nevertheless, it was a position she’d ended up in because she hadn’t dealt with her grief and his betrayal.
So maybe this was a necessary step as she looked to move forward with Reese.
At least, that’s what she told herself as she sat down in the chair, eyeing Grant warily as he did the same, albeit with that same sincere, soft focus that made her uncomfortable given how it was being levied in her direction after so long.
“It’s really good to see you,” he said, running a hand throughhis perfectly coiffed hair. Even in the balmy heat, Grant looked like a model.
As Sydney looked closer, though, she noticed faint dark circles under his eyes, and she glanced at where his nails were bitten down, a tell-tale sign that he was stressed. There were very few things that ever got Grant Devereux stressed, and they mainly had to do with his father.
“You’ve always known my tells,” he said, stretching his fingers out if she wanted to get a clear look at them. She didn’t.
Her brow rose instinctively. “Not as many as I should have.”
Why was he here? Truly. She hadn’t seen him in six weeks, since he’d drunkenly spilled champagne all over her.
And except where Brynn was concerned, she hadn’t thought about him. With respect to the two of them and their past relationship, it had been even longer.
“I made a mistake, Sydney. I want to take full responsibility for that. I’ve never told you how sorry I am for everything that’s happened. For everything that I did.”
Shock coursed through her at the sincerity and humility on full display in his tone. It was like a Grant from the past, when he’d been sweet and doting and she’d felt like he was truly in her corner.
Sitting before her was the Grant who used to show up at her matches to surprise her, who always knew the right thing to say and do.
Sydney warred with the things he’d done and the person she’d thought she’d known battling to stay in focus in front of her, and she felt a little dizzy with the weight of the cognitive dissonance.
Finally, when she pulled her thoughts together, she gave him the only response she could. “I appreciate the apology.”
He was always going to be Reese’s brother. Which was the entire reason she was entertaining this conversation. They were never going to be friends, but she was building a future with Reese, and she didn’t need the tethers of her past waiting to pull her apart at any second.
“I want us to beusagain.”
“That’s not going to happen, Grant.” Her rebuttal was swift and immediate as Reese’s face flashed through her mind. And even if Reese wasn’t a part of her life, she had enough self-respect to never let him back in.
