“Mothers intuition.”
I narrow my eyes at her. “Who told you?”
“Brynn let it slip that Grayson is here.”
“Does nothing stay secret in this family?”
“Nope. I know everything.”
I raise my eyebrow at her, seriously doubting that. “You think so?”
“I know so.”
“We’ll see about that.” I smile because she may think she does, but I’m very sure she has no clue that Asher and I areinvolved. I look at my dad to see if he has any reaction. “And you knew too?”
He shrugs. “Your mother and I don’t have secrets.”
“Please tell me you’re not going to pull the protective dad card.” I cringe.
“Not to him. I may have a talk with his dad though.”
I roll my eyes. “You just want an excuse to start something with Colton.”
My dad smiles. “He deserves it.”
Mom nods. “He does.”
I chuckle; the history my parents have with their friends is something that should be in history books. They leave me to finish getting ready, and even though I think about mentioning that Asher is here too, I just can’t bring myself to do it. They’re going to find out soon enough.
Grayson,Asher, and I are in the SUV on the way to the theater and my hands are sweating already. We almost didn’t leave the room because as soon as they saw me, they tried to convince me it would be smarter to stay in with them than leave.
I was tempted.
And now I’m even more tempted. I’m sure we could turn the car around and go back. This may be a mistake. A decision I made in the heat of the moment because I want to fully embrace my new image, but maybe it’s too much all at once.
“We don’t have to do this, you know,” Grayson tells me, taking one of my sweaty hands in his own.
“I know we don’t, but I want to,” I insist weakly.
Asher is looking out the window, and shifts in his seat.
“Doyouwant to?” I ask him, nudging my shoulder against his.
His eyes swing to mine and soften. “I’llbe wherever you want me.”
I smile, leaning my head on his shoulder while Grayson continues to hold my hand. Even though I don’t know what’s going to happen once we step out of this car, I do feel comforted by both of them and knowing we’re all doing it together.
Through the tinted windows we can still see the flashes of lights from the cameras of the paparazzi and the small amount of calm I had is gone once again. The car stops, and none of us move right away.
“Want me to get out first?” Grayson asks, calmly. I nod, debating if I’m even going to get out of the car at all. He takes my face in his hands, forcing my eyes up to his. “We do this at your pace. We’ll be around as much or as little as you want.”
He presses his lips to mine softly, not pushing just a gentle kiss.
I turn to Asher. “If you want to leave, tell me.”
“I want to leave,” he deadpans, then grips the back of my head and pulls me in for a kiss of his own. His is much less gentle than Grayson’s and I’m a little worried that my lipstick is going to be smeared, but I also can’t find it in me to care.
We break apart, and he has a small smile. “I guess I can stick around for a little longer.”
