Page 92 of Just a Plot Twist
He breathes out a slow breath. “I actually heard about that last night.”
“We’ve got to communicate better.” I offer a shaky smile. “It’s the Great-Open-Blouse-Tragedy-of-Longdale all over again.” I mean it as a joke, but a zip of truth zags through me.
I didn’t let him communicate about my shirt being open. He tried and I didn’t let him and then blamed him for not telling me.
“The buttons thing was not great.” He scrubs his face. “This situation with Peter and your grandparents is confusing. There’s more than meets the eye.”
I can only nod.
His face has agony all over it. “It was hard to say, ‘Hey Claire. Your grandparents are making my father’s life miserable.’ I’ve been waiting for the right time to say anything. But it’s hard when my father...”
“When your father…what?”
He stares into the void. “He and Peter were long-time friends. Maybe the only actual friend he had.”
I hate this heavy feeling inside of me. “My grandparents said something to Sophie. Something about Peter fighting the unlawful termination.”
“Unlawful? We can prove he’s in breach and poaching our clients. We were within our rights to stop him.”
“I totally agree with you. It’s just that…I need to talk to them.”
“That might be wise.”
“Apparently, my grandparents are all up in arms about the situation.”
“It’ll blow over eventually.”
“Yes, but in the meantime, I need to tell them…about…” I freeze. I can’t say it.
“About?”
“Well, aboutus. If you’re good with there even being an ‘us.’”
His lips twitch, a little dart of happiness, I hope. “I’m good with there being an ‘us.’”
“You are?”
The seriousness of his expression grounds me. “I want there to be an ‘us.’ I want it to be inevitable.” His smile is warm, but there’s still a hesitation in his eyes. “It’s a good idea to tell them about our connection and my connection to the Tates.”
“Maybe we could go out to dinner with them.”
“Dinner?” He frowns. “I don’t think so.”
I sit up from his lap. “Why not? I mean, my grandparents are…” I cringe. “…my grandparents, and I know that. But if they spent more time with you, they’d see that—”
“They won’t want to spend more time with me, Claire.”
There’s a heaviness in his expression.
“Is there some sort of gag order? Should we not be discussing things with them?”
“Gag order? That’s not how an injunction works.”
“Well! I’m not in business. I’m in public service.”
“I just…” He hesitates. “What do you know about their involvement?”
“Involvement with what? Because apparently they’re good enough friends to contribute to each other’s causes.”
