She snorted, then started mopping the floor, as if she could somehow clean her way out of this conversation.
Not a chance.
Grayson crossed the open space and leaned on the island that separated the kitchen from the larger living room area.
“Lark—” he started.
“No,” she said, cutting him off.
Grayson blinked. “No?”
“Nope,” she said, attacking the kitchen floor with so much vigor, he was surprised the mop didn’t break in half.
“What the hell does that mean?” he barked.
“It means I’m busy working.”
“Clearly,” he drawled, alluding to the fact he’d just caught her woolgathering.
She muttered something under her breath.
“Care to repeat that for the class?” he asked sarcastically.
Lark stopped mopping, leaning on it like a cane. “I know why you’re here, and I don’t want to hear it. I already confessed to Nora and Remi.”
“Fine. You confessed. You don’t think I deserve an apology.”
Lark sighed, and he finally spotted the first glimpse of guilt. “You do. It’s just… It was easier to come clean to Nora. I know you. Know I’m about to be subjected to some grumpy-ass lecture and…” She leaned the mop against the counter, shoving her hands in the front pockets of her jeans. “I’m sorry, Grayson. What Wren and I did was wrong. When I volunteered to work that festival, I didn’t realize it was the same weekend as the Taylor Swift concert. And while that probably doesn’t mean much to you, Nora and Remi got it, because they knew those tickets were a big fucking deal.”
“I don’t live under a rock, Lark. I know how hard it is to get tickets to Taylor Swift concerts. You realize you could have just told Nora you had them, and she would have gotten someone else to work the festival.”
Lark grimaced. “I do know that, but I realized my mistake just a couple days after she yelled at me for fucking up the schedule, and I was worried she’d fire me. It’s happened before…kind of a lot.”
Grayson was well aware of Lark’s long resume of short-term jobs she hadn’t managed to hang on to.
She shrugged. “I tend to be impulsive at times.”
He snickered, because that was one hell of an understatement.
Lark’s eyes narrowed, but there was no anger behind the glare. “According to my dad, I make mountains out of molehills. He and Mom are just full of weird-ass, folksy sayings like that. The thing is, I panicked, and I pulled Wren into my drama. And she only agreed to the whole charade because she’s the best sister in the world, who would do anything to help me.”
For the first time since entering the cabin, Grayson smiled. Because he liked hearing Lark saying sweet things about his— About Wren.
Jesus, Maverick was right.
His emotions were completely engaged and there was no going back.
Before he could respond to that, Lark sobered up. “I know you confronted her in the library. Did you…” She glanced away from him, her actions uncharacteristic for the take-no-prisoners woman.
“Did I…” he prompted.
“Did you say something to upset her?”
Grayson frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She’s…” Lark crossed her arms and stopped talking again. Her posture and expression told him she didn’t intend to finish that sentence.
“She’s what?” he asked, his stomach suddenly tight. He’d been angry that day at the library, but he didn’t say anything cruel or hurtful.
