Chapter 33 Heather
Heather
My stomach drops as I watch understanding dawn across Margo’s face. Her eyes narrow slightly, darting between me and Grant with the kind of scrutiny only a sister can manage. She knows something is up. Of course she knows.
“Is that a leaf in your hair?” she repeats, reaching toward my head.
I bat her hand away, laughing a little too loudly. “What? No. That’s ridiculous.”
“It’s definitely a leaf.” Margo plucks it from my hair and holds it up between us like evidence in a trial. “I haven’t even seen another plant in here with leaves like this one.”
I open my mouth, but no coherent excuse materializes. My brain is still foggy from the back-to-back orgasms Grant gave me, and I’m completely certain my sister can read every dirty, raunchy detail written all over my face.
Grant clears his throat beside me. “There was a problem with one of the—”
“Hey, Parker!” Noah’s voice cuts across the room as he works his way through the mingling crowd. “There you are, man. I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
Margo’s attention shifts to Noah for half a second, and I feel my shoulders slump as Grant places a reassuring hand at the small of my back. Noah’s interruption has just saved us from floundering in front of my sister, but only for a few minutes.
I know Margo better than anyone on the planet, and she’s tenacious. Like a dog with a bone. She’ll hold that damn leaf up to every plant in this room if she thinks she’s caught me in a lie.
For now, she’s all smiles as she kisses her husband. “Having a good time?”
“Great time,” Noah says, but his focus is already on Grant.
“Listen, the auction people want you back up there. Apparently proving you’re an actual human being who can sing means you have to do it again.
You know, to really convince everyone you’re not an alien who body-snatched the real Grant Parker. ”
Grant’s jaw tightens. “I already sang. Badly.”
“Exactly. Which means the impossible has already happened. Might as well lean into it.” Noah claps him on the shoulder. “Come on, before they start the bidding for ‘One More Song from Grant Parker.’ I heard someone already offering five grand.”
“That’s not—”
“Five grand for the shelter,” Noah interrupts, raising his eyebrows meaningfully. “For Heather’s shelter.”
I see the moment Grant realizes he’s trapped. I know he doesn’t want to sing again, but he looks more concerned about leaving me alone with Margo. But that’s just one more reminder of how selfless he really is.
Then again, it might be best if Margo and I have this inevitably awkward conversation alone.
“Might as well get it over with,” I offer with a sympathetic smile. “At least most of the people here are already distracted now. You won’t have them all staring at you like last time.”
“Everyone’s drunk enough to sing along, most likely,” Noah offers, although I’m not sure if that’s quite the selling point he thinks it is.
“Fine.” Grant heaves a sigh that would be dramatic coming from anyone else. From him, in this moment, I’m pretty sure it’s justified. “One more song. But only one.”
“That’s the spirit,” Noah says, already steering him away. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure he doesn’t escape,” he calls back to me over his shoulder.
Grant glances back one more time before Noah pulls him into the crowd, and I’m left standing there with my sister and a leaf that may as well be a signed confession.
The second Grant and Noah disappear from view, Margo turns back to me with eyes so wide I’m surprised they don’t fall right out of her head.
“Oh my god.” She grabs my arm and practically drags me toward a quieter corner near the bar. “Oh my god, Heather. Tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you and Grant didn’t just sneak off together to hook up.”
“Margo, stop.”
“Because it really looks like you did.” She’s speaking in a rushed whisper now, her words tumbling over each other. “The leaf. The way you both look. The fact that you’ve been gone for like half an hour. You have to tell me what’s going on. Please?”
I look around to make sure no one is paying attention to us. My face feels like it’s on fire. “Can we not do this here?”
“So I’m right.” Her mouth drops open. “Holy shit, I’m right.”
“Keep your voice down,” I hiss, but I can’t seem to stop the tiny smile that’s tugging at my lips.
The truth is, it’s actually a relief to have someone to talk to about this whole situation with Grant. I’ve been carrying it around like a secret for weeks now, and keeping things from Margo has been harder than I expected.
“I can’t believe this,” Margo says, but she’s grinning now. “You and Grant Parker. When did this happen? How did this happen?”
I take a deep breath and glance around one more time before meeting her eyes. “Things started to change after I moved in with him. We started hanging out together more, and it wasn’t just about April or the living situation. We’d talk. Really talk. And then one night in his sauna…”
“In his sauna?” Margo’s eyebrows shoot up. “You’re telling me you hooked up with Grant Parker in his sauna?”
“Not exactly.” I can still remember that night vividly, like it was yesterday, and I have to stop myself from reliving every detail in my mind. “But something happened that night, and then things were different. One thing led to another, and it just kind of spiraled from there.”
Margo leans in closer, her eyes still comically wide. “Tell me everything.”
So I do. I tell her about the nights we spent talking after April went to bed. About the way he looked at me when he didn’t think I was paying attention. About the tension that built between us until it became impossible to ignore.
“And then what?”
“And then…” I pause, debating how much to share. But this is Margo. My sister. The person who’s been there for me through everything. “We spent the weekend together. Pretty much the entire weekend. In bed.”
Margo’s jaw drops again. “The entire weekend?”
“It was the weekend when April was with you. We had the house to ourselves and we just…” I trail off, feeling my face get even hotter. “We couldn’t stop.”
“Oh my god.” Her mouth is hanging open as she stares at me in silence for at least five seconds that feel more like hours. “This is huge. And crazy. When are you going public with it?”
“Never? It’s nothing serious.” The words come out quickly, probably too quickly to be completely believable. “It’s just sex. Really good sex, but that’s all it is. We both agreed not to make a huge deal out of it for now.”
I can tell from the look she’s giving me—the exasperated half-smile and the single, arched brow—that she sees right through my bullshit.
“What?” I ask, crossing my arms defensively.
“Does it have to be just sex?” She leans in closer again and lowers her voice. “Look, if that’s really what it is, then fine. But don’t hold yourself back from being happy just because you’re scared. You deserve more than that.”
“I’m not holding myself back, and I’m not scared.”
She bats away my half-hearted objections like the lies they are. Well, they aren’t total lies, but they certainly aren’t the whole truth.
“Three weeks ago, you came to my place glowing. Actually glowing. I haven’t seen you look that happy in years, and now I understand why.” She offers a genuine, sisterly smile. “I think Grant is good for you. Really good for you.”
I want to argue, to tell her she’s reading too much into this, but the words stick in my throat.
“And you’re clearly good for him too.” Margo gestures across the room to where Grant is standing on the small stage with Noah and a few other teammates.
They’re laughing about something, and Grant looks more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him in public.
“That man over there? The one who’s about to sing karaoke at a charity event?
In front of hundreds of people? He never would’ve done something like this before. You know that, right?”
I follow her gaze and watch as Grant accepts a microphone from Noah. He looks uncomfortable but determined, and when his eyes scan the crowd and find mine, my chest gets all fluttery in that way that I’ve come to associate with him.
And only him.
“Maybe,” I admit. “But that doesn’t mean we’re both ready for whatever is supposed to come next. We’re still figuring things out.”
“That’s okay.” Margo gives a quick, encouraging nod. “You don’t have to have it all figured out right now. And don’t worry, because you know I won’t say anything to anyone. Your secret is completely safe with me.”
“Thank you.”
“But Heather?” She waits until I meet her eyes. “It’s okay to let yourself take a leap if that’s what you want. It’s okay to let yourself be happy. You’ve spent so long taking care of everyone else. Maybe it’s time to let someone take care of you for a change.”
My throat tightens. “I don’t know if I remember how.”
“Then maybe it’s time to learn.” She pulls me into a quick hug, then steps back with a smile. “Now come on. Let’s go watch your man embarrass himself with whatever song Noah talked him into singing.”
“He’s not my—” I start, but Margo just laughs and takes my arm, pulling me back toward the crowd.
And as we make our way closer to the stage, I catch Grant’s eye again. He looks nervous and out of place and completely unlike himself up there.
But he’s doing it anyway.
For the shelter. For me.
And maybe Margo is right. Maybe it is okay to let myself want something more than just sex. Maybe it’s okay to want him.