Page 65 of The Wrong Costar

I shook my head. “I’m the one who should apologize. I never should have snapped at you. I just found all of the shopping a bit too much. The skirt was really nice.”

Her expression softened at my comment, and she came to sit at my side. “I suppose I went a little over the top. I was just so excited to see you again. I wanted to spoil my granddaughter.”

It was almost like a light lit up in her eyes as she stared at me, and I could feel the love she felt for me in her gaze. I wasn’t sure how I’d missed it before, but as she looked at me now, I could clearly sense how much I meant to her.

I slowly shook my head. “Why now?” I asked. “Why haven’t you visited in such a long time?”

She let out a long sigh and looked into the distance. “Your mother didn’t want me around,” she admitted. “Not that I blame her,” she quickly added. “I never used to hold back my opinion, but I only ever wanted the best for her.” She shook her head like she was saddened by the fact. “I wasn’t always very good at tempering my thoughts, and over the years, the invites to visit stopped coming, and she slowly stopped answering my calls. I didn’t know things had gotten so bad.”

“So then, why did she ask you to come here now?”

Carol gave a small shrug and didn’t answer my question. But the answer seemed clear to me. Mom was finally desperate enough to ask for Carol’s help.

“I’m hoping to stick around for a while,” Carol said. “I want to fix things with Linda, and I want to be here for her. I’ve had a long time to think about how things went wrong, and I’m hoping she’ll give me a second chance.”

I gave Carol a heartfelt smile. “I hope she’ll give you another chance too.” My grandmother was full on and totally over the top, but it was clear she had a big heart, and when I finally got out of this town one day, it would be a whole lot easier knowing I wasn’t leaving my mom alone.

“Why don’t we head home and watch some TV together?” I asked.

Carol smiled at me and nodded. “I think I’d like that.”

I felt much more at peace as Carol drove us home. There was still a mountain of shopping bags in the back seat of the car, but I no longer resented them. Carol hadn’t been trying to buy my love; in her own strange way, she’d been trying to show me her love. And, after our talk in the park, I think I understood her a little better.

As we pulled up to the house, I recognized the car parked in front of us. The black Escalade was kind of hard to miss on our suburban street, and I started looking around, my heart fluttering with a mixture of excitement and panic. Liam was at my house, and as much as I wanted to see him, I also dreaded the thought of him being here.

I jumped out of the car and went up to driver’s side door of his car. I was about to knock on the window, but a voice called out my name from behind me. I turned to find Liam sitting on my front doorstep, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. He looked slightly nervous but started to smile widely as I approached him.

I had no idea how to act around him now that we had kissed. I didn’t know where we stood with one another, and after days passing with no contact with him, I was only more confused.

“I got these for you,” he said, holding the flowers out to me.

I smiled as I took them, my stomach fluttering with happiness. It was a bunch of pink peonies that were the prettiest shade of pink. “Thanks, Liam. They’re beautiful.” I started to frown as I stared at the flowers though, and uncertainty began to rise up inside me again. The peonies were such a sweet gesture, but they didn’t make my worries disappear.

“So, what are you doing here?” I asked him. This seemed like the simplest question to start with, but what I really wanted to know was where he’d been and why he’d ignored my text.

“I’ve been out of town, and you were the first person I wanted to see when I got back,” he said. I could have sworn his cheeks were blushing at his explanation, and my heart started to warm in response. I kind of hated how easily I forgave him for being gone without explanation for days.

Carol came up the walkway behind me, her arms laden with the shopping bags from the car. I’d been in such a rush to see Liam I’d completely forgotten about them.

“Can I help you with those?” Liam asked. He didn’t wait for Carol’s response as he started to relieve her of the bags.

Carol looked between the two of us, her eyes discerning as she took in the flowers in my hands and the blush tinting Liam’s cheeks. She didn’t seem to recognize Liam, but the small smile on her lips indicated she was all too aware of how gorgeous he was.

“Carol, this is my friend Liam. Liam, this is my grandmother Carol,” I quickly explained. I hoped that my quick introduction meant Carol wouldn’t poke too hard into who Liam was and what he was doing here. I wasn’t sure how she’d react to knowing he was a movie star.

“It’s nice to meet you, Carol,” he said.

“Likewise,” she replied with a wide smile. “Please come inside and join us for some tea.”

I knew there was little chance of Carol finding any tea in the house, and I didn’t want Liam to see beyond the front doorstep. My home was a complete embarrassment these days, but I couldn’t exactly tell him he wasn’t welcome to come in.

“I’d like that,” Liam said, following Carol inside with the bags.

“Teagan can show you where to put them,” Carol told him before gliding toward the kitchen. I directed Liam to the living room and nervously waited for the moment when he realized that my house was almost empty.

I twisted my fingers around a loose strand of hair as I watched him. He placed the bags down on the coffee table, and when he looked up again, all he seemed to see was me. His eyes didn’t flicker to the empty wall hangings or the expansive lounge room that only contained a table and a couch. His eyes bore deeply into mine and he smiled.

When he smiled like that it made me feel like I was the only girl in the world, and it wasn’t difficult to see why he was considered a heartbreaker by the media. His smile was magnetic, and it made my stomach pleasantly swirl with nerves.

---