Page 13 of Austen, Edited

“Maybe. I was thinking we should watch a romantic comedy.”

She turned to look at him, giving him an exaggerated expression of shock, her eyes wide. “Who are you, and what have you done with Greyson Campbell?”

He chuckled a bit, and as much as she tried to steel herself against the feeling, she’d missed him. If only she could develop amnesia about the past year and a half, her life would be near perfect when it came to him.

“Well, you were reading a romance, and I figured I’d give you a rest from action and adventure movies since I’m sure you get plenty of those with your cousins.” He smirked, revealing his sarcasm.

“Oh yeah, explosions happen almost daily in that house, lots of screaming. I pretty much live an action movie these days.” Abby laughed and reached over his shoulder to grab a few kernels of popcorn.

He placed a hand over his chest. “We should both be grateful you were even able to make it tonight.”

Abby tossed her hair back and laughed, loosening some of the tension in her stomach. She sank back against the recliner, chewing on the popcorn. With a quick glance down, she realized Greyson’s leg was next to her, and it felt more intimate than before. For a moment, she could believe this was how things had always been—if only Greyson hadn’t been swayed by Hannah Stark.

She spread the large blanket over her legs and tucked it under her chin, feeling a chill from the air conditioner that suddenly kicked on. Fall was coming, but the weather outside was still so hot.

Greyson reached over and tugged on the edge of her blanket. “What? You’re not going to share?”

Abby turned, extracting one hand to point to the large cubby full of blankets against the wall. “Don’t you have plenty of options?”

He gave her an exaggerated frown. “Wow, I see how it is. I leave for a year and lose all comfy blanket privileges.”

“Pretty much. This blanket doesn’t even know you anymore.” She tried to keep a somber face, but a smile broke through.

“I gave you that blanket,” Greyson said, tugging a little harder to cover his legs. He gave her his pouty face, the one that had helped her feel better all those years ago when she’d first come to live in Newton. He’d done everything he could to get her to smile, and that expression was the one that broke through her wall.

Abby debated whether or not to snuggle up to him, but even though they had broken through the awkward conversation from the day before and were teasing one another, she wasn’t sure if they were quite to that point yet, especially if he was still with Hannah.

The movie started, the main characters meeting after bumping into one another on the street. “Definitely cliché,” Abby said, throwing more popcorn into her mouth.

Greyson nodded like he was an expert with this kind of movie. “Definitely.”

Abby’s cheeks hurt from all the smiling she’d done since she’d arrived. Glancing to her left at Greyson’s profile in the dim light from the flashing movie screen, she knew she was in trouble. Her brain had a warning sensor going off, bright red lights and buzzing sound. She’d gone beyond just best friend, but there was no going back to what they had before all the crazy of the Hannah drama.

“Greyson? Greyson?”

Abby stiffened as she heard the voice of his mother coming down the stairs to the theater room. If only she had somewhere to hide. She tried to shift away, hoping some space in between the two of them would spare her a death glare from Maria.

“In here, Mom.” Greyson paused the movie and flicked a switch on the controller to turn the lights brighter.

Maria walked around the corner, looking like she’d just walked out of a magazine, her gold jewelry clanking as she reached up to pull a section of hair out of her eyes. The moment she saw Abby, she stiffened, a tight smile pulling down the corners of her eyes.

“Abby. What a surprise. I don’t think I’ve talked to you since Greyson left with Hannah. How are you?” From anyone else, it would have sounded like she was trying to be kind, but there was a slight bite to her words that let Abby know exactly how she felt about her.

“I’m doing well, Mrs. Campbell. Thank you,” Abby said, nodding. She wasn’t in the mood to play the game of trying to win her over tonight.

Maria nodded. “It’s Maria, of course.” She pursed her lips before turning her attention to Greyson. “Greyson, dear, have you heard from Hannah today? She called me saying you haven’t been returning her messages. I just wanted to check in and let you know you should probably call her as soon as possible.”

“She can keep calling for all I care.” The bitterness in his voice caused Abby to turn her head, surprised at the tone. The happy-go-lucky side of him had all but disappeared, causing her curiosity to grow even more.

“That is not how we treat people, son. Promise me you’ll talk to her later?” Maria’s hand rested on her hip, and she kept blinking, her extra-long lashes brushing the long bangs of her current hairstyle.

He waved a hand, turning his attention back to the screen. “Sure, whatever.”

With a satisfied nod, Maria smiled and turned to leave. “Don’t be up too late. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”

Abby hadn’t realized that she’d been holding her breath through most of the conversation, and she let it out in a big rush.

“Sorry about her. She’s been grumpy ever since she heard our yard didn’t win best in the neighborhood or whatever.” Greyson didn’t make eye contact with Abby, and she caught the bright red of his ears—his usual tell that he was embarrassed—before he turned the lights back down.

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