Page 10 of Grumpy Darling

“It does if they’re Grayson.”

No matter how much I defended Gray, people rarely agreed with me—not even his younger brother. His quiet nature often caused others to assume he was grumpy or even angry. To be fair, he usually was when Parker was in the vicinity. He certainly knew how to push Gray’s buttons.

Parker wasn’t the only person who misjudged him. Because of Grayson’s size and strength, he was frequently mistaken as a brute. But you only needed to look into his eyes to see he had the kindest soul. I’d known that since the first time I met him, when we were seven years old. We were at the town pool, and I found him rescuing a bee from the water. He’d fished it out so gently, before I helped him find a safe place to hide it in the rosebushes. It was clear to me then that Gray was someone special, and I’d be lucky to call him my friend.

Did he get moody sometimes? Sure. But who didn’t? It probably didn’t help that he was frequently in pain thanks to an old knee injury. Over the years, I’d made it my own personal mission to try to put a smile on his face as much as possible—well, as close to a smile as he could manage. I wasn’t a hundred percent certain Gray’s lips knew how to curve all the way upward.

“I think you might be the only person who can put up with him,” Parker continued. “If you don’t marry him, he’s going to end up old and alone.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You’re right.” He nodded. “It’s too late—Grayson already acts like he’s in his eighties.”

“Parker!”

“Paige!” He mimicked me before grinning. “Seriously, when are you going to put him out of his misery and date him already?”

I shook my head. “Please don’t say that. You know we’re just friends.”

“You sure about that?”

I hated it when people asked me that question. It always made me blush, but not for the reason everyone thought. Grayson was everything a girl should want in a boyfriend. He was sweet and loyal and kind. And it didn’t hurt that he was totally gorgeous to look at. But it was something I refused to even consider. We’d been friends for so long, he’d become the most important person in my life; so much more than some passing high school relationship. I didn’t want that to change.

Besides, I knew for a fact he had never considered me in that way either. Grayson could be hard to read, but of this I was certain. In all the time we’d spent together, he’d never done anything that even resembled making a move on me, and not once had he ever checked me out. I’d seen him get more excited over a nice cut of steak than he ever had about me in a cute outfit or in my swimsuit. In fact, just this summer he’d taken one look at me in a bikini and spent the entire day at the lake trying to convince me to put my cover-up back on. I wasn’t really sure what Grayson’s type was, since he wasn’t one to flaunt hookups with other girls. I just knew it wasn’t me.

“Yes, I’m sure. Just friends.”

Parker scoffed his disapproval, but I quickly changed the subject before he could continue. “Any chance you’re a secret mathlete and have been hiding mad algebra skills all this time?”

Parker glanced down at the notebook I’d just opened and scoffed. “Uh, no.”

“So, you’re no good at math?”

“I’m about as good at math as you are at hockey.”

“Hey,” I complained. “I’m not that bad.”

“Last time we played down at the lake, you hid behind Grayson the whole time.”

“A smart tactic, if you ask me. I love you guys, but you know you’re all terrifying as soon as you step on the ice, right?”

Parker beamed with pride.

“Besides,” I added. “I like to think I make up for my lack of hockey prowess with knowledge. Most girls at our school go to the games just to watch you guys. They don’t know an icing call from an offside call.”

“Sorry, Paige, that doesn’t count.”

“It totally counts.”

“Either way, I can’t help you with your algebra homework. When it comes to math, I have no skill or knowledge.”

“Damn.” I focused down on the page, but as I did Parker’s hand whipped out toward my bag and swiped the bright pink piece of paper that was sticking out the top of my diary.

“Hey!” I cried, trying to snatch it back.

But Parker was too fast and had already danced across to the other side of the kitchen.

“Well, well, well, what have we here?” he mused as I chased after him.

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