Page 30 of How to Get Revenge on a Cheating Ex
I’m not proud of the flicker of satisfaction I feel at the memory of Grayson watching us.
His confusion over me having plans with another guy. The way cool, confident, always in control Grayson was thrown for a second.
It was brief, but it was noticeable.
And I liked it.
I liked it a lot.
“So, back there…” I nod toward the parking lot. “You weren’t trying to, like...” I pause to take a deep breath. “You weren’t trying to make Grayson jealous, were you?”
Zack eyes me. From head to toe, I feel his gaze rake over me like a scalding burn and I have no doubt my cheeks are bright red when his eyes flick back up to meet mine. “Why? Do you want me to?”
My lips part, because...
I don’t know.
Do I?
NINE
FAMILY IS FAMILY
Zack
Bailey isquiet for way too long on the drive out to the lake house.
Not that I’m complaining, mind you. Her silence is better than her nagging, or her lectures, and it’s a hell of a lot better than her tears.
Not that she’s ever actually cried to me, but the evidence is written all over her face.
I glance over and she’s still staring straight ahead, lost in thought. Or maybe she’s sleeping with her eyes open.
Sheshouldsleep. She clearly needs it.
How Grayson wasn’t falling all over himself with concern at the sight of her this morning is beyond me. Her eyes are puffy and red-rimmed, and her face is about two shades too pale. She has some makeup on, but her hair is pulled back in a messy ponytail that’s not even close to her normal blown-out perfection.
And her uniform is wrinkled. Anyone who knows Bailey knows she never goes anywhere without looking a hundred percent, and she doesn’t do wrinkles.
Seriously. I’m pretty sure she irons her pajamas.
When she finally does speak, her words have nothing to do with the topic I know is on her mind. “I’m surprised you still come out here.”
Her eyes are focused on the sign that’s welcoming us to the lake and reminding us to clean up after ourselves.
“Yeah, well…” I shift in my seat as her gaze swings my way. “It’s my mom’s idea.”
“Really?” She sounds surprised, and it’s not hard to understand why.
My great uncle Ray and his crew are my dad’s family, not my mom’s. It’s probably weird that I still come up here for big family gatherings. If it were up to me, I wouldn’t. I don’t want anything to do with the guy who walked out on us. But my mom has other ideas.
Family is family, she says. As if that means something.
I find myself muttering it now to Bailey like it’s some sort of excuse. “Family is family.”
She stares at me. Probably because the words sound even lamer coming out of my mouth.
Family is family.Someone really ought to have told my dad. He’s the only one who has a problem with the wholefamily obligationthing.
