Page 1 of Grumpy Darling

Chapter 1

Grayson

Falling for your best friend was always dangerous, but this was the first time I thought my feelings for Paige might actually kill me. The muffin had looked innocent enough when she first offered it. I should have known better than to trust anything Paige cooked.

I was seriously regretting my decision to take such a big bite, and I was struggling to swallow. It tasted like she’d mixed up sugar and salt somewhere in the recipe. Could she have accidentally dropped a dash of chili powder in there too? I pressed a hand to my chest as the muffin burned its way to my stomach. My insides felt like they were on fire, and I was starting to wonder if my day might end with a trip to the hospital.

“So, what do you think?” Paige smiled up at me, her big brown eyes brimming with hope and pride. She had always reminded me of a character out of a fairy tale: sweet, playful, and if she could sing, I had no doubt birds would gravitate toward her voice. It was just my luck that the enchanting princess inmyfairy tale was handing me a poisoned apple.

There was no way I could tell her what I really thought about the muffin, so I tried my best to smile and ignore the confusing taste that still lingered in my mouth. “I think these might be your best yet.” It wasn’t far from the truth. Baking was Paige’s latest obsession, and I’d been the guinea pig for her creations all week. The muffins were at least an improvement on her cookies. I’d almost chipped a tooth on those.

“Really?” Paige looked around the locker room at the other guys who were all staring at their muffins in various states of horror. It was bad enough she’d decided to poison me with her cooking, but did she really have to try and take out my entire hockey team too? At least this was happening after the game we’d just played and not before.

“What do the rest of you think?” she asked. “Do you like them?”

I didn’t want Paige to notice their disgust, and my smile immediately transformed into a dark glare as I warned them not to say anything negative. They were going to eat every last crumb of those muffins whether they liked it or not. My twin brother, Reed, might be captain of our team, but as the Ransom Devils’ main defensive enforcer, I still held plenty of authority among the guys.

When they saw the look in my eyes, they all started nodding and giving small, satisfied groans.

“These are great, Paige.”

“Never had anything so good.”

“I wish my mom cooked like this.”

They were laying it on a bit thick, but I didn’t stop them. Not when I could see how happy it made Paige. She was practically skipping on the spot.

Reed was slowly working through his muffin beside me, and I noticed him pull a small piece of aluminum foil from his mouth. He caught my gaze, and I lifted an eyebrow as I waited for him to agree with the others.

He quickly tucked the foil into his hand. “Thanks, Paige. I really like the extra kick they have.” I nudged him with my elbow, forcing him to continue. “Is that cinnamon I taste?”

“It is,” Paige gushed as she spun to face him. “Oh, I’m so glad you all like them. I’ll have to bring more to your game next week.”

I was about to tell her that wasn’t necessary, but my younger brother, Parker, chimed in, “That’d be great.” His words were barely decipherable as he was speaking with his mouth full.

The funny thing was, I didn’t think he was lying. He was quite happily demolishing the muffin, and before he had even finished, he started gesturing for Paige to hand him the box containing the rest. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Parker was a bit of a garbage disposal when it came to food, with absolutely no standards for what he put in his mouth. He didn’t really have standards for what came out of it either, and was the kind of person who released pretty much every thought that popped into his head. In that regard, we couldn’t have been more different.

“Okay, well, I better run before I get caught in here,” Paige said. She gave everyone a wave but, as she went to leave, she stopped next to my younger brother. “Make sure you share, Parker.”

He was too busy digging into another muffin to respond, but I could feel the rest of the guys in the room flinch at the mere thought of going back for seconds. I guided Paige over to the exit before she could notice.

Once we were out in the hallway, she paused and turned to me. “They weren’t that good, were they?”

I was suddenly grateful my face had the emotional range of a goldfish. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I loved them.” Technically, that was true. I loved everything about Paige, even her crappy muffins. Apparently, love wasn’t just blind, it also had no sense of taste.

She laughed and shook her head. “I know you’re just saying that to be nice. But don’t worry, the next batch will be better. I’ve got to get this cooking thing nailed if I want to check it off my list.”

I murmured some sounds of agreement. There was a strong chance I wouldn’t survive the next batch, but I didn’t want to discourage Paige when it came to her bucket list. She’d started it over the summer, while her work-obsessed parents were pressuring her to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. At first, the list was full of things Paige thought she might be able to make into a career someday. But now it seemed to have a much broader focus. There was definitely stuff on her list that could never lead to a paying job. I didn’t know for sure what she’d included though, as I’d never actually seen its full contents.

She always kept the pink piece of paper stuffed in her school diary and was very secretive about it, even with me. It was strange, considering she involved me in practically everything she tried anyway. I was constantly being dragged from one activity to another. One week she was knitting us all mittens, the next she was painting our portraits. Now she was cooking. Who knew what was coming next.

“Once the muffins are perfected, maybe I’ll try baking a cake,” Paige continued. “I know how you love chocolate. Or maybe cinnamon rolls, for something different...”

Her eyes were glittering with excitement, and it drew a smile from my lips. I loved the way her face lit up when she sensed a challenge. Whenever she tried something new, she always gave it her all. And while nothing she’d attempted so far had stuck, I had no doubt it was only a matter of time before she found the thing she loved.

Paige tilted her head as though she was waiting for me to respond. She’d finished speaking, and apparently I’d been so lost in my thoughts about her I was now staring in silence like a complete idiot. I couldn’t help it that every time she looked at me time seemed to slow, and I was briefly transported to an alternate universe, where my deep and secret feelings for my best friend weren’t completely one-sided.

“Sorry?” I asked, jerking myself back to reality.

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