Inappropriate - Vi Keeland Page 0,98

to escape it?

My head hurt from so much thinking, and my heart ached in my chest. I’d decided if I didn’t hear from Grant by tomorrow morning, which would be two full weeks, I was going to go see him in his office. If we weren’t going to be a couple, that was one thing, but I needed to know if he planned to be in his child’s life.

I looked around the bathroom one last time and switched off the light. I emptied the dustpan into the garbage bag in the kitchen and set the broom against the door. The last of the day’s sun streaked in through the adjoining living room windows, and I thought I might walk down to the lake to watch it set—yet another thing that reminded me of Grant, though I refused to let him take the beauty out of a sunset for me.

My land was about three blocks from the lake, but it was a straight walk down a paved road. One of the nearby lakefront parcels hadn’t been sold yet, so I sat down on the grass at the lake’s edge on that property and watched as the sky turned shades of orange.

I shut my eyes, took a few deep breaths, and wrapped my arms around my knees. I heard a jingle behind me, but was so lost in my head that I didn’t register the sound until I was nearly knocked over by a dog. The most adorable golden retriever puppy started to lick my face. It made me smile and laugh.

“Aren’t you cute. Where did you come from?”

A few seconds later, the answer came. “Down, boy!”

I froze, hearing Grant’s deep voice behind me.

I couldn’t bring myself to turn around until I felt the vibration of footsteps next to me on the ground.

“Grant?”

Just seeing his face made my heart beat wildly. I reached up to cover it and felt the thumping underneath.

“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I came to talk to you. I saw your car at the house, but needed a minute to clear my head.” He thumbed behind him. “So I parked here. I didn’t mean to interrupt you. When I opened my car door, he jumped over me and took off like a bandit running this way.”

“He? Meaning the dog came with you?”

He nodded. “Yeah. He’s mine.”

The dog spotted some birds a few yards away and took off chasing them.

“I better get him on his leash.”

Grant followed, managing to hook the dog’s collar as he jumped up on him. I watched, feeling so confused. He has a puppy? When did that happen?

He walked back with the dog on a long leash, and for the first time, I took in how he looked. My reaction was probably similar to Mia’s when she got a load of me the other day. Grant looked terrible—or as terrible as he possibly could, which at the moment really pissed me off because his terrible was still a shitload better than most men’s best. He had dark circles under his eyes, his hair was disheveled, clothes were a wrinkled mess, and his skin had a sallow tone to it.

My first instinct was to ask if he was okay, but then I remembered how okay I hadn’t been the last couple of weeks and how much he’d cared. So I turned back around and faced the lake.

“What do you want?” I said.

He was quiet, but I felt him standing behind me.

“Do you…mind if I sit?”

I picked a blade of grass from in front of me and threw it. “Whatever.”

Grant sat down next to me. His dog started to dig a hole a few feet away, and we both stared. I refused to look at him, even though I felt the pull I always experienced when I was near him, since right from the start.

“How are you feeling?” he asked softly.

My lips pursed together. “Alone. Scared. Disappointed. Let down.”

I felt his eyes on my face, but still didn’t turn my head.

“Ireland,” he whispered. “Look at me. Please.”

I turned with my best icy glare, but one look in his eyes and I softened. God, I’m an idiot.

“I’m so sorry.” The pain in his voice was palpable. “I’m so fucking sorry for running away.”

My eyes filled with tears. But I still refused to shed any for him. So I blinked and looked down until I could force them back.

“There’s no excuse for what I did. But I’d like to tell you about