Page 73 of Rival Hearts

“I don’t want something to come up ten years from now, and I look like an ass for not asking these questions,” he said. “I don’t want secrets.”

Ten years from now. My thoughts stuttered. That was a long time. Was he really looking so far into the future? Any other guy who’d brought up the future in such a concrete way, I’d become distant immediately. I could never seem to cope with long term. But my feelings for him had lingered for so long, and they’d exploded in the last few days. When I took a beat to examine how the claim made me feel, I realized his timeline didn’t scare me. What scared me was that I might not get those years.

I swallowed down my fear. “There were two reasons I agreed to help Trent. Well, three. But you probably won’t like the third one.”

“Okay,” he said carefully, “consider me prepared.”

“The first reason is probably the one Trent told you. I’d been having some problems with other juniors in my class. They were being awful to me. I hadn’t told anyone the things they’d been doing. Stupid, I know. Someone would have helped me, but I just… I couldn’t seem to ask. Maybe because I’d always been so self-sufficient, and asking for help was a weakness I couldn’t tolerate. Trent was two years older, and let’s be honest, kinda intimidating. He said he could get them off my back.” I tried to gauge whether I guessed right about what Trent told him based on Grady’s expression. Trent and I protected each other, always had.

“Did he?”

“He did. I never asked how, but as soon as Trent made our involvement clear, they disappeared.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“Not literally.” I laughed. “He’s not some mafia boss. I still saw them around, but from a distance. They never did anything to hurt me again.”

“And the second reason?”

Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly. “I’ve always been a bit competitive.”

“You don’t say.”

I shoved his shoulder, and he kissed my temple.

“I wanted, more than anything, to get voted in as student body president for my senior year. But I had an image problem. I guess. I don’t know. I thought I was likable enough. But I’d overheard some things.” I twisted the covers in my fingers. “Trent taught me how to network. How to make people think I cared about them even if I didn’t know them that well. At every party we attended before senior year, he introduced me to people I didn’t normally talk to, had already coached me on things they were interested in.” Heat crept into my face. Who needed to be taught how to interact with people? Trent had been a natural, never at a loss for something to say to someone. Even now, he made friends naturally, effortlessly, but because of him, I did too.

“That’s a useful skill. I don’t know why you’re embarrassed. I wish he’d taught me how to do it before I went to LA. I was so fucking awkward all the time.”

Trent’s tips had saved me at more than one party in college, and once I’d come back to Little Falls, those skills had won me the mayor’s job. But I’d hated needing his help to find authentic ways to connect with people. My father and mother had always been good at it, and even Emily and Tyler didn’t seem to struggle. Reading books appealed to me more than reading people, and I’d had to force myself out of my shell.

“I detest the speaking part of performing,” Grady says, giving me a gentle nudge. “It’s why I had Kelvin on the mic during the Fourth of July. I hate having to entertain a crowd. A falseness to the performance, like I’m being someone I’m not.”

“Always?” I turned on my side to face him. I loved looking at him, and I wondered how he’d changed in those ten years he talked about.

“So far. I haven’t been ‘me’ on stage. I’m trying to win the crowd over. Buy my album. Pick me. I fucking hate pimping myself.” He gave me the side-eye and took a deep breath. “And the other reason you didn’t mind helping Trent?”

I gave him a sheepish smile. “He was nice to look at and fun to be around.”

He winced and collapsed onto his pillow. I followed him, curling up against his side. He wrapped his arm around me. “But you and he were never together?”

I hesitated. I’d been hoping he wouldn’t ask. How would he take this? But honesty was important. If the ten-year thing proved true, I didn’t want him to find out by accident from Lila or Trent or anyone else. “Not like you and I were, no.”

“Maggie,” his voice was tight with tension.

“Before I even met you, before the first Sunday dinner, Trent and I sort of made out once. But it didn’t go very far before I realized as much as I liked him, I didn’t like him like that, and I was worried we’d ruin our arrangement if I let our friendship go in that direction.” I rushed through the words. With a nervous laugh, I could see that I’d always felt the way about Trent I’d desperately wanted to feel about Grady. Trent was attractive, yes, but not to me. “Being with him didn’t feel right.” I ran my hand along his cheek and jaw, trying to ease the tension. Inching up, I feathered kisses along his jawline.

“That all?”

“You do realize I haven’t been celibate since we were together, right?”

“Yep.”

“Grady,” I purred in his ear, biting his earlobe. “You wanted to know.”

“And now I’m going to file it away in a part of my brain which never gets used.” He flipped us over and settled between my legs.He kissed my neck. “I organized my bookshelves yesterday,” he whispered in my ear. “Alphabetical.”

“Oh.” I wiggled against him, feeling him harden, and I let out a fake moan. “Oh, Grady. I love when you talk organization to me.”

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