Grayson's Vow (72)

Well, that was weird. “Thanks, Walter,” I mumbled.

But despite his seeming hesitance, later that day, when Walter brought me a number of thumb drives, he looked me pointedly in the eye and said, “These are the accounting records going back five years.”

“Okay, great,” I said, stepping closer to him to take the backed-up files. “Thanks so much.”

I put my hands on them, but he held them as he said, “Like you said, it’s easier to help in the present if you understand the past. I hope these are useful.”

I frowned. “Me too.”

Walter let go of the stack, giving me a nod and walking stiffly away. What had that been about?

I didn’t have time to begin going through the discs until I had the current files updated, so I put my effort into that. I also sought out Vanessa in the kitchen and asked if she was willing to help me with the party preparations. We’d already received a handful of RSVPs, enough to make me slightly nervous—people were going to show up; we’d better be ready. And I could use some assistance. I explained the theme to Vanessa and showed the lists I’d made so far.

“Oh my goodness, of course. I’d love to,” she said. “What an incredible idea.”

“What’s an incredible idea?” I heard in a deep dragon timbre from behind me. We both whirled around to watch Grayson as he strode to the refrigerator and took out several bottles of water, Sugar Pie trailing behind him. My gaze raked over Grayson. I hadn’t seen him in days and it felt like my eyes had been starved. He was sweaty and gorgeously flushed. I looked away, feeling pained by my reaction to him. In general but also because he was clearly completely unaffected by me now that Vanessa was around.

“Kira’s party idea,” Vanessa said. “Did she tell you? It’s a fairy-tale masquerade—”

“She told me,” Grayson said, opening a bottle of water and taking a long drink. I watched as his throat muscles worked, swallowing the water, and when I looked up at his face, his eyes were zeroed in on me. I looked away again, pretending to concentrate on my list. I felt my cheeks flush with the excitement of his perusal and wanted to kick myself. How pathetic. He hasn’t spoken to you in days and you fall to pieces when he shoots you a glance?

Vanessa grinned. “My very favorite fairy-tale character is Tinker Bell.” She laughed. “Is that silly?”

I smiled at her. “Not at all. As long as you can convince Shane to dress up as Peter Pan.”

She laughed again, the sound as musical a sound as I’d ever heard. She’d be the perfect Tinker Bell. She’d be the perfect anything. I looked at her standing there in her long coral-and-white-striped halter dress, her hair sleek, golden, and straight to her shoulders. She was perfect. I hated her. No, I didn’t. I liked her—I hated that I liked her. She was nice and genuine. Why couldn’t she have been a total bitch? “I’ll make sure he’s a masculine-looking Peter. With just enough boyish-ness. Just like him.”

“What?” I asked distractedly. I shook my head, forcing myself back to the conversation. “Oh…Shane…Peter Pan, right.”

I glanced up at Grayson who was slowly screwing the cap back on the water bottle, his expression hard, a small tick working in his jaw.

Sugar Pie tentatively sniffed Vanessa’s feet and Vanessa leaned down, her hand petting her head quickly and then drawing back. “I feel like I’ll hurt her every time I go to touch her,” she said, her voice filled with sympathy.

“You won’t,” I said. “She needs love more than anything. It will hurt her more if you hold it back.”

Grayson stared at me for a moment and then, without a word, turned and walked out of the kitchen. Sugar followed him, looking back at the doorway and letting out a small moan, then lowering her head and running to catch up to Grayson.

My heart clenched. I looked back at my list to hide my face from Vanessa’s probing eyes. He can’t even pretend to like me for appearance’s sake? What must Shane and Vanessa think?

“I’m sorry, Kira,” Vanessa said. “Our presence is putting a strain on your marriage. We should go—”

“Not on account of me, no. Shane and Grayson have something to work out. I won’t get in the way of that.” I’d be gone soon enough, but Shane would always be Grayson’s brother. I refused to be the reason Grayson didn’t give him a chance to—at the very least—explain himself. Whatever physical interest Grayson had in me was long gone. And I could see why. Who could compete with Vanessa? She was beautiful inside and out, and I felt like the witch Grayson called me—ugly, ragged, and excluded. Only able to cast a short-lived spell that quickly wore off. No one ever wanted to be with the witch, after all. Not in the end.

Charlotte came bustling into the kitchen a few minutes later, shooting nervous looks between Vanessa and me. Since Shane and Vanessa had arrived, I hadn’t gotten any alone time with Charlotte, but whenever I did see her, she seemed to be wringing her hands and saying prayers under her breath. It didn’t give me a lot of confidence this situation would turn out well.

Vanessa, Charlotte, and I went over the lists in detail and split up the tasks. “Now who’s going to help me make a butterscotch peanut butter cake? Shane requested it—it’s his favorite,” Charlotte said delightedly.

“Oh, I’ll help,” Vanessa said. “I need to learn the recipe so I can bake it for him myself sometimes.”