ruffled my knotty hair. “Yes, it will. And so will a shower. Grayson will be at the tavern soon. The sooner you let him know what’s going on the better. He wasn’t happy when I got off the phone with him earlier.”
Gut clenching, I nodded and took a deep breath, hoping to keep the nausea at bay. “I’ll take a shower and head over there. But I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to work with him for a while.”
She nodded. “I agree. We’ll keep you on opposite shifts.”
“Thanks, Sum. The last thing I want to do is cause conflict, but there’s no other way.”
A sad smile spread across her face. “We all knew someone was going to get hurt.” She finished up her coffee and headed toward the door. “Evan’s going to be there this morning, while I stay at home and watch Emma-Grace. But I’ll see you this afternoon.”
“Okay,” I called out.
Grayson’s car was the only one in the parking lot when I pulled in. Taking a deep breath, I got out and trudged to the back door. The sound of bottles banging together accosted my ears. I tiptoed as quietly as I could through the kitchen and peered around the corner. Grayson was angry, the muscles in his jaw tense as he pulled liquor bottles out of their boxes. I was about to go out and talk to him when he reared back and punched the wall.
A gasp escaped my lips and he jerked his head toward me, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. “Fuck, Lara, I didn’t know you were here.”
His knuckles were bleeding so I rushed over to him. “What the hell are you doing?” I cried, taking his hand. I held it under the faucet and turned on the water. He hissed when the cold liquid poured over his cuts.
“Getting out my frustrations,” he answered, his voice pained and defeated. He sat down on one of the stools and lowered his head.
When he looked up at me, my heart ached. There was a time when the old Lara loved him, but I wasn’t her anymore. “I’m sorry,” I said.
“For what? Choosing Collins over me?”
“You know it wasn’t easy for me.” He huffed and averted his gaze. “Besides, he hasn’t lied to me like you have.”
His head jerked my way. “What are you talking about?”
I turned off the water and pulled up another stool so I could mend his cuts. Grabbing a towel, I wrapped it around his hand and squeezed.
“You lied about our relationship, Grayson. You said we were adventurous and did all sorts of things together, but it wasn’t true.”
He scoffed. “Let me guess, Collins told you otherwise.”
I nodded. “And Summer confirmed.” Jaw clenched, he closed his eyes. “Why, Grayson?”
Shoulders hunched, he lowered his head. “I wanted you to see in me what you saw in Luke. He’s adventurous, and the type of guy I knew you wanted to be with. I thought if I could be that kind of man, you’d pick me.”
“You didn’t have to lie about it. I know you’re a good guy. Showing me who you really are is what I wanted.”
Grayson’s head lifted, eyes blazing. “You want to know who I really am?” Sliding the stool back, he stood and held out his arms. “This tavern is who I am, Lara. It was my dream to open a restaurant with my brother.” He walked around the bar, out to the tables. “You and I ran this place perfectly together. It’s true, we might’ve spent most of our time here, but there are a lot of memories inside these walls.”
He stopped at a table near the front door and glanced over his shoulder at me. “Right here is where you first told me you loved me. We’d worked all day and were about to leave, but you sat down to take a break. When I sat down with you, you looked at me and the three best words I’d ever heard came tumbling out of your mouth. In that moment, I was the happiest I’d ever been; at least until the day I proposed to you.”
He pointed to the back hallway. “In the kitchen one night, we were joking around and you threw a handful of ice cream at my head. It turned into an all-out fight and the whole room was covered. It was the first night we ever made love. Then we spent the rest of the night cleaning up the kitchen.” A small smile