Page 43 of Not that Impressed
I laugh lightly. “After almost a year?”
He chuckles, but the tightness exposes the nerves riddled through it. He taps his fingers against the arm of his chair. “It’s a brotherhood,” he excuses.
“Mmm,” is my only response before one of the waiters steps up next to me to take my order. I haven’t looked at the menu, but I’ve been here plenty of times. “The beet and goat cheese salad. Dressing on the side.”
I turn to Isla while Grayson is ordering and pin her with a stare. “What?” she asks.
I tilt my head toward Grayson. “No more matchmaking,” I say in a low, serious tone and with a stern expression. “Not with him.”
She widens her eyes.
“Distance yourself. Trust me,” I warn her.
“Seriously?” She glances at Grayson, who’s talking to the woman on his other side, a friend of Isla’s who runs her marketing for Glow True.
I nod. She presses her lips into a line and studies him, then returns my nod. I look across to her other side. Colin is talking with a guy at the end of the table.
“You and Colin?” The skepticism is obvious in my voice.
Isla rolls her eyes at me. “Oh, come on, El. He’s fun.”
I snort. That’s the last thing I’d call Colin.
“Don’t be a snob,” she chides me. “I like him. Leave it alone.”
Me? A snob? I scowl, but … I also can’t deny it. I was kind of a snob to Will too. Maybe I should get to know Colin and see if it’s easier to like him once you know him better. He is dating one of my good friends. “Fine,” I say to Isla.
Then Colin catches me looking at him and gives me a wide, slimy smile.
Ugh. No.
Libby
You are seriously so embarrassing.
And the worst.
I can’t believe you.
You’re ruining everything.
I stare at Libby, sitting at the head of our dining table, where we always hold family meetings, no matter what they’re about. It’s too early for dinner, so Mom set out a charcuterie board that no one’s touched. There’re no cameras this evening, the reason my parents chose to confront Libby and ask her about what’s going on with her and Grayson. Dad asked me to be here so I could add what I knew about Grayson to the discussion. At this point, Janelle might as well pull out a bowl of popcorn for the show.
“I’m sitting right here,” I say to Libby.
“Leave me alone,” she snaps.
Mom draws in a deep, calming breath from her seat across from me, next to Janelle. “We’re all just concerned for your safety. Ellie cares about you. Grayson Hollis isn’t the person you think he is.”
Libby snorts. I open my mouth, but Mom squeezes my leg. The look she gives me is clear: Let me be the parent. Janelle and I heard that line a lot growing up. Libby was so much younger than us, we bossed her around all the time.
“I’m not stupid. You guys are overreacting. Of course you all believe Will.” She scoots her chair back to leave.
“Stay here,” Dad says in a firm voice from his seat next to me. Libby freezes. “We’re not trying to make your life difficult. That’s not what this is about. We’re protecting you, whether you see that or not. He is dangerous.” Libby gives another snort, and Dad clenches his jaw. I wonder if I should rub his shoulders like boxing coaches do and give him a pep talk.
Janelle reaches over for Libby’s hand, and Libby gives her a pleading look. She’s not wrong that if anyone in this house can convince my parents of something, it’s Janelle.
“Libby…” Mom starts in her soothing voice.
