Page 36 of The Grump I Loathe (The Lockhart Brothers #3)

CONNOR

A n uncomfortable weight settled in my gut after Eddie walked away from me. It roiled, leaving me queasy, but I shoved it down.

…maybe there shouldn’t be an “us” anymore.

The words cut, leaving a jagged path down my ribs, prodding at my heart. But I couldn’t focus on that right now. Fuck . What a disaster. Sawyer and the lawyer and Grace and the tower of goddamn cocktails that had ended up on the floor. And Eddie.

Eddie.

Eddie .

No. Stuff it down. Pack it away. Right now, I needed to focus on Grace, make sure she was okay after the debacle with Ali, and then make sure things were smoothed over with Mr. Singh in case Sawyer had been whispering in his ear.

I glanced through the sea of guests, searching for Grace. A tinkle of glass caught my attention, and I twisted to see the staff hurriedly sweeping up the mess under the guidance of an uptight manager. And there, staring at them, was Grace.

“Grace,” I called, surging back to her side to comfort her.

She flinched away from me, and my heart twinged. “I’m sorry I yelled earlier,” I said, leaning over to look her in the eye. “I know that was scary; I was just worried that you’d been hurt.” I reached for her shoulder, but she lurched away from the touch. I frowned. “What’s the matter, sweetheart?”

She scoffed. “I’m mad at you!”

I blinked at her. Mad at me? “What, why?”

Her eyes narrowed, her little nostrils flaring. “I followed you. I heard what you said to Eddie when you blamed her for the mess.”

“You don’t have to worry about that,” I assured her. “It was nothing serious. Just grownups talking.”

“Why are you talking to me like I don’t understand?” She stomped her foot, crossing her arms in such a perfect copy of Ali that it hurt to watch. “She said the two of you were together! And you hid it from me!”

“Grace, you don’t have to worry about anything happening between me and Eddie.”

“That’s not why I’m mad!” she huffed. “You pushed Eddie away for me without even asking me how I felt about it. At least Eddie wanted to ask me!” Her eyes narrowed even more. “You’re just like Mom, bringing Sawyer around without even talking to me!”

Shock filled me. I was stung by the comparison. All I’d wanted to do was protect Grace from having to worry about someone new waltzing into her life so soon after the divorce. Despite my good intentions, I’d obviously managed to screw it up anyway .

“Why didn’t you tell me about Eddie?” she demanded.

“I was…worried about things changing for you after Mom and I split.”

Grace snorted. “We’re literally standing in Mom’s wedding.”

“Exactly, honey. That felt like enough change.”

“No,” Grace declared. “I mean things have already changed for me. And I handled it! I could have handled this too! I like Eddie. And I’m not a baby.”

Yes, she was. She was my baby, and she always would be. And I felt the same need to protect her that I’d felt since the first time the nurse put her in my arms. But saying that wouldn’t help right now.

“You’re right, you’re not. I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you about it before now.

And I’m sorry this night has been so tough.

” I tried to stamp down on the emotion that bubbled in my chest, threatening to overwhelm me.

I just wanted to get the hell out of this ballroom.

“We can go back to the room now if you want.”

“No,” she said, sticking her nose up at me. “I don’t want to leave. You can go.”

And with that, she turned and marched away, her fists clenched by her sides. I didn’t have any way to convince her to leave, and I wasn’t about to abandon her here, so I did the only thing I could and made my way back to our table, debating if I wanted another drink.

It only took a minute to decide the answer was no—tonight was not the night to drown my sorrows. Not while I was still responsible for Grace. So I sat there and watched my daughter dance with everyone except me.

I was fine.

This didn’t hurt .

I’d done the right thing pushing Eddie away.

Getting involved with her had been a terrible idea from the start.

Avoiding precisely this situation was why I’d instituted the no-dating policy in the first place.

I’d let my own selfish desires creep in, and the mess had blown up in my face, as I should have known it would.

Eddie had wormed her way past my professional distance with her fun lessons and her endless positivity and that fiery rebuttal that was always on the tip of her tongue. And I’d let her!

But no more of that. Eddie was right. Things were over between us.

Because no matter how bad things had gotten with the divorce, Grace had never once said she was angry with me . And now she wouldn’t even look at me.

I pulled my phone from my pocket, desperate for a distraction, but it was still too early for Mom to be awake. I considered texting my brothers, but they’d only realize something was wrong, and I wasn’t in the mood to explain.

More frustration surged through me. I was pissed that Mom had barely checked in this weekend. She knew how difficult this was going to be for me. Was she so wrapped up in her romance that her own family didn’t matter to her anymore, either?

My hand trembled, and I clenched my fist. Why did it feel like I was losing Mom, Grace, and Eddie in the same weekend?

Sleeping with Eddie had been a mistake. Coming to this wedding had been a mistake.

Letting Grace get dragged into the middle of all this drama had been the biggest mistake of all.

She was a kid. She should be focused on just being a kid .

Nothing more. That was the life I wanted for her. Not one stressing over her parents.

I didn’t want her to have to grow up too fast. I didn’t want her to have my childhood .

I was ruining everything.

I sighed heavily, throwing my phone down on the table.

What I needed was a night to get my head screwed on straight.

Tomorrow, I would knuckle down, deal with the lawyer, patch up any concerns with Mr. Singh, and pray Pavilion Games was still coming to the table to sign the distribution deal.

Songs stopped and started, the emcee made more announcements, and what felt like eons later, Grace slumped toward me, looking moody but exhausted.

“I’m still mad at you,” she announced. “But I’m ready to go back to the room now.” She marched past me, stopped, then held her hand out for me. “You can tuck me in.”

I swallowed the glob of emotion in my throat. Maybe she wouldn’t forgive me tonight, but tomorrow would be a new day. I blinked away the sudden weight behind my eyes as I took her hand. I squeezed gently and she squeezed back. We’d be okay, me and Grace. And that’s all that mattered.

Not the way my chest constricted as Eddie’s words replayed in my mind.

Not the look on her face as I’d refused to give her a reason to stay.

Not the way my heart was shattering.

Not the way I’d miss her warmth next to me in bed.

I held Grace’s hand as we crossed the lobby to wait for the elevator, and my eyes burned. I clenched my jaw, fighting off the desire to find Eddie, pull her close, hold her.

That was over now.

It had to be.

My phone buzzed before the elevator arrived, and I looked at it, hoping it was finally Mom. Instead, I found a text from Leigh .

She’s safe, by the way , Leigh wrote. Doctor cleared her with a minor concussion.

My heart hammered in my chest. A concussion? I hadn’t even realized she’d hit her head. I started to respond when another message from Leigh flashed across the screen.

Not that you apparently care.