“What the hell?” Rob said, more to me than to Grant. “This is the guy who punched out me and my friends at the club.”
“Grant,” I said, my eyes full of tears. I was overcome with emotion. “Is that true?”
Grant just laughed. “Come on, Lacey. You knew it was me who knocked this guy’s dick in the dirt.”
“No I didn’t,” I gasped. The truth was, I hadn’t dared allow myself to believe it had been him.
“Yes you did. You sent me there.”
“Sent you there?”
“The text message, asking for help. You knew what would happen.”
“Grant,” I said again, even more emotion in my voice. “I never asked you to beat up anyone. I’d never ask you to fight for me. I know you wouldn’t want to.”
A look of anger flash across his eyes. I shuddered with guilt as I watched the scene unfold. It was completely unfair, completely manipulative. It was exactly the kind of thing I hated. Some woman bringing together two guys, just so that they’d have to fight it out over her. It was like something out of a high school drama.
But Grant had come when I’d texted. That changed everything.
Rob was fuming. “Lacey. What’s the meaning of this? I have to leave.”
“Don’t,” I said, but out of the corner of my eye I was watching what Grant would do. It was only Grant’s response that I was really interested in.
“Look,” Rob said. “I knew this guy was looking for you at the club, Lacey. But I didn’t know he was your family. I didn’t know you’d called him to come. I thought he was just some jealous ex-boyfriend.”
Grant laughed. “Look, Rob. I kicked your butt because you were being an asshole. Not because I was jealous.”
Rob shook his head. He looked at me desperately. “What’s the meaning of this?” he demanded. “Why did you invite me here? So that this brute could beat me up again?”
I shook my head. “No,” I said. “I never knew he was the one who’d beat you up. I really didn’t.”
I felt bad now for doing this. It wasn’t fair to Rob. He’d done nothing wrong. He was just trying to date me, trying to give me the relationship that I craved. I looked at him in his handsome suit. He’d brought chocolates and flowers, which I hadn’t even taken from him yet.
What kind of a person was I becoming? You didn’t try to square people up against each other. It wasn’t right.
And besides, Grant wasn’t taking the bait. He didn’t want me, not even now that he could see who his competition was. I guess Grant and Rob weren’t competition at all. You can only be in competition with someone if you both want the same thing, and Grant didn’t want me.
“I’m sorry,” I said to the room. “This was a mistake. I thought we could all have a nice dinner together.”
“Why can’t we?” Grant said, only heightening my humiliation.
“You know why we can’t.”
“Because of your games?”
“I’m not playing games,” I said.
Grant just shook his head. “Sure you aren’t,” he said. Then he got up from the table and walked out of the room. A moment later we heard his motorcycle fire up as he tore down the driveway, headed anywhere but where I was.
He’d punched out Rob because he thought I was in danger. But now that he thought I actually liked Rob, he didn’t care. He didn’t care at all. He’d been protective of me, but only in the way he’d always been, as a loyal family member, as a brother.
He wasn’t jealous in the romantic sense. He hadn’t taken the bait. Not for a second.
I was extremely quiet during the rest of the meal, which despite what had happened with Grant, actually went surprisingly well. Everyone else was really nice to Rob. I guess they believed me when I said I was serious about him. They were being supportive. I should have been grateful. But all I really wanted to do was cry.
Without Grant there, the whole thing was pointless. The room felt empty without him.
Chapter 24
Grant
HAVE YOU EVER FUCKED UP your life so bad that you’re not even sure you’ll be able to go on living? I don’t mean like losing a big bet on a table at Vegas, or getting fired from your job. I mean something really important, like convincing the one person you love more than anything else in the world, that you don’t even care about her?
Because that’s what I did.
Don’t even ask me how. I don’t know how it happened, or why I let it. Maybe it was pride. Maybe it was fear. But somehow, I just let Lacey believe I wasn’t interested, and I let that creep Rob win her away from me.
Little by little, day by day, she drifted further out of my reach, and further into the arms of Rob. I didn’t even just watch her drift away, I pushed her away. I stopped talking to her. I avoided her at the mansion. I didn’t fight with her, I didn’t show her any emotion, and I didn’t give her anything to hold onto. I just pretended, day after day, that I didn’t give a rat’s ass what she did with Rob.
What was I afraid of?
Why was I intent on pretending I wasn’t interested in her?