are you sure you feel up for this?
BELLA
yes, I’m not made of glass
GRAYSON
sounds like you need a reminder of where you slept just two nights ago
BELLA
in a bed?
GRAYSON
cheeky
BELLA
not as cheeky as the dogs I hope to see today
I hope you’re not trying to get rid of me, are you, Crawford?
GRAYSON
I would never dream of doing such a thing
“I’m screwed, Layla. Well and truly screwed.” I bite down on the inside of my cheek. “It’s one thing to buy me gifts, but you should have seen how he was with my mom. He downloaded all of her thriller books that have been sitting in her room collectingdust.”
Layla’s eyes widen. “All of them?”
“All of them.” I wave my hand between us in my car. “I mean, do you know how much audiobooks are? They’re ridiculously expensive, and he didn’t bat an eye at it! He would have had to drop hundreds on the number of titles he downloaded.”
Layla clutches her chest. “Stop, that’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard. The book lover in me is freaking out.”
I hold up my finger as we come to a stop at a red light. “That’s not all.” I couldn’t believe my mom when she first told me, but once it processed, my view on Grayson shifted completely. “When he drove my mom home from the hospital, he stayed behind and read to her…for hours.”
Layla gasps, spinning in the passenger seat to face me fully. “No, he didn’t!”
“Oh, yes, he did.”
“He’s perfect,” she whispers.
“A little too perfect if you ask me.”
“You’re in your hating-all-men phase?—”
“Not a phase, believe me.”
Layla snorts at that. “Well, Grayson shouldn’t be lumped into the ‘all men’ category. He’s proven to you who he is.”
I can’t disagree with that. “Fuck, Lil, what am I going to do?”
She looks at me out of the corner of her eye. “Do about what?” she asks cautiously.
“You know what,” I say through clenched teeth.
“No,” she says sweetly, linking her fingers together on her lap. “I don’t think I know what you’re talking about. You’re going to have to say it.”
