Page 64 of Lovers at Seaside
“You’re full of hateful things today. I think I need to rethink this friendship.”
“I’m being serious. You’ve never had a mother figure, so I’m stepping in. Here’s what my mom told me when I was about thirteen: Boys can be stupid. And they can be smart. And sometimes they can be stupid when they think they’re being smart. It’s very confusing to be a boy.”
“That’s not very helpful,” Parker said. “Grayson isn’t stupid. HeknewI needed to go see Abe when I wasn’t so sure myself. And he knew I’d have a hard time if I didn’t get to give Abe one last hug before he passed away.”And roots. He knew I needed stable, unbreakable roots.
“He’s not stupid, because he’s not a boy,” Luce said evenly. “When I was eighteen my mother told me guys could be a-holes, but usually they didn’t realize when they were being that way. That was the year my boyfriend cheated on me with the class slut.”
“Are you calling Grayson an a-hole? Because he’snotone. He thought he was doing the right thing. He wasn’t trying to hurt me, Luce. He was trying to connect the stupid dots that probably don’t connect at all, but that doesn’t matter.” Her head was spinning, and her thoughts kept falling out. “He didn’t want to give up on finding my family, and he was trying to keep me from worrying about it just in case, sodon’tcall him names. And you know what else? I don’t know what kind of cockamamy bull that was on Perez Hilton, but I know Grayson, and he wouldn’t…” She turned away, unable to say the words. He wouldn’tcheat? Would it even be considered cheating anymore? Were they still together? Did she break up with him? She didn’t even know how they’d left things.
Luce spun her around again. “Don’t turn away from your mother.”
“Then don’t call him names,” she fumed.
“He’s not an a-hole,” Luce agreed. “Grayson’s also not a guy. He’s a man. When I graduated from college and all my friends were falling in love, and then falling apart, my mother told me this: Men lose their minds when they fall in love. They will do everything and anything to protect the woman they love. Sometimes, they get it wrong, and they do stupid things that make them look like jerks because they’re so in love they can’t see straight.”
“Luce!” Parker threw her hands up in the air and groaned. “He would doanythingfor me. Hedideverything for me. He…”Oh no, what have I done?She looked at Luce, whose gratified smile told her she’d been leading Parker down this path like a horse following a carrot. “What kind of friend are you? Why didn’t you just slap me and tell me I was being stupid?”
“I tried, but you’re stubborn.” Luce opened her arms.
“I’m too annoyed to hug you. Forget the audition. Please can you cancel it, or reschedule, or whatever needs to be done? I don’t even care right now. And forget Perez Hilton, the gossipmonger. Do something to him, too, please.”
“Anything for you, dear daughter,” Luce teased.
Parker pulled the clip from her hair and handed it to Luce. “Thank you for trying to make me beautiful, but I’m not feelingParkerbeautiful at the moment, and I don’t want to fake it to make it. And you know what? That’s okay.”
She grabbed her purse and headed out the bathroom door.
“Where are you going?” Luce called after her.
“To call my man and tell him he’s a stupid crazy a-hole who loves me too much.”
PARKER HOOKED UP her Bluetooth and called Grayson as she drove toward her house.Pick up. Please pick up.Her heart raced and her mind spun. What if he didn’t answer? What if the picture on Perez Hilton was from last night, and he really was with Bailey Bray? How did he even know her?
Her call went to voicemail. “Grayson, it’s Parker.”Duh.“I…Can we talk? Please? Call me.” She called Grunter’s, hoping he was there.
“Grunter’s Ironworks.”
“Hi. Is Grayson around? This is Parker.”
“Hey, Parker. It’s Clark. He’s out at meetings.”
Meetings. Great.That sounded like an excuse. “Okay, thanks.”
She ended the call and tried Grayson’s number again. It rang three times and went to voicemail. In all the time they’d been together he hadn’t had a single meeting. He was definitely avoiding her. She was sure of it. She could feel it in her gut. Maybe she’d already lost him for good.
Twenty minutes, and way too many bad thoughts later, she pulled into her driveway. Her phone rang as she stepped from the car. Her heart skipped a beat when Grayson’s name appeared on the screen.
“Grayson?”
“Hey.” He sounded tentative.
He never sounded tentative.
She froze.He’s given up on me. Please, please, don’t give up on me.“Grayson, I’m sorry I overreacted. I know you were trying to do the right thing.”
He was quiet for a long moment, and just as she began to panic, he said, “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I never should have gone against your wishes. I’ll never,everdo that again.”
Sweetheart.Tears filled her eyes. “Thank you, because even if you were being a stupid crazy a-hole who loves me too much, it’s no excuse to go behind my back. Ever.”
