to be interested, but it was hard when I was dying on the inside.
“Honey, I’m home!” Evan shouted.
Summer flicked water on me and laughed. “He’s such a dork.” Emma-Grace started crying over the baby monitor, so she paddled to the edge of the pool and got out. “I’ll be back. Maybe munchkin wants to take a swim.”
“I’ll play with her,” I offered. Summer hurried off and I laid back on the float, closing my eyes as the sound of the water sloshed back and forth. A splash came from behind, and I gasped as a set of arms grabbed me from underneath, pulling me down into the water. I screamed, only to be cut off with a mouth full of water.
Under the water, I could hear a chuckle. I was going to kill him. When I surfaced, I gasped for air. “Dammit, Grayson, I’m gonna make you pay for that.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
He took off toward the deep end, but I got out of the water and rushed around the side of the pool without him knowing. Once his head came up out of the water, I jumped on his back, knocking him back under.
“How do you like that?” I laughed as he came back up. We swam to the floats and I climbed up on mine while he got on Summer’s. Lifting my brows, I looked down at his basketball shorts. He noticed me staring and chuckled.
“I didn’t know you were going to be here, but when I saw you, I had to mess with you.”
“Shouldn’t you be at the tavern?”
“In another hour or so. It’s three o’clock. We usually don’t get busy till around five.” We floated around and he never took his eyes off me. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied. “Why do you ask?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe because I overheard a conversation today on how you went ape-shit at a party last night.”
The blood rushed from my face and I felt faint. “Who . . . who was it?” I asked, choking out the words.
“Some guy who rides dirt bikes. I’ve seen him with Luke before. Care to tell me what’s going on?”
The water felt like it was closing in around me and I couldn’t breathe. Rolling off my float, I swam to the edge and got out. My chest heaved up and down and I could feel the tears coming back with a vengeance.
Grayson hopped out and rushed over, pulling me into his arms. “What the hell? You’re shaking.”
I broke down and cried against his chest. “I found him with another girl.”
His body tensed. “Please tell me you’re fucking joking.” He let me go so he could look at me.
“I’m not,” I cried. “I can’t believe he’d do that to me. We were at a party and he left me to get a beer and talk to his friends. An hour later, he still hadn’t come back, so I went to look for him . . .” I shook my head, unable to say anymore.
Sighing, he brushed the tears off my face. “I’m so sorry, Lara. I know you love him.”
“Did,” I corrected him. “I can’t love someone who’s going to do that to me.” I still loved him, but it felt better to refer to it as past tense.
“I wish there was something I could do. Want me to kick his ass?” His face lit up and I knew he’d find enjoyment in that.
A sad chuckle escaped my lips. “No, it’s okay. Listening to me cry about him has to be burden enough.” I knew how he felt about me, and hearing me cry over another man wasn’t something he’d want to hear.
“Grayson,” Summer called. “I didn’t know you were stopping by.”
He slowly let me go and we turned to face her. Emma-Grace was in her arms, wearing her bathing suit. “I first went by Lara’s and when she wasn’t there, I came here. When I saw her in the pool, I had to surprise her.”
“More like attack me,” I added.
He nudged me in the side. “At least it made you laugh. I’ve missed the sound of it.” By the look in his eyes, he still wanted me back. It made me wonder if he was going to try harder now that Luke and I weren’t together.
Summer bounced Emma-Grace on her side and passed her to me. “This little one wants some auntie time.” She passed her to me and we got back in the pool. Emma-Grace loved to throw food on