Mia Hill. College bound with an athletic scholarship. A go-getter with big dreams and a fully thought out plan to make sure they come true.
But with her father's release from prison looming and the inevitable stresses of adulting, everything she wa...
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Hello. My name is Grayson Adler and I'm a shameless eavesdropper.
You heard that right. No matter how many manners my parents pressed into my skull growing up, my favorite girl is getting a talking to in the next room, and nothing could keep me from listening to the conversation going on in there.
"We didn't even have dinner yet," her mom whisper shouts. "We were still getting the tour!"
"You made yourself part of the tour," her dad chimes in. "What were you thinking?"
"I think we all know what she was thinking," Brooke interjects, snort laughing. I like that girl.
"Brooke, not the time," Mia's mom sighs, the frustration in her voice making me hold my breath. I can't believe we got caught by the parents. And apparently all the siblings, too. Thankfully, I know Cece will cut me a break. But I have a feeling Mia's brother and sister will never let her live this one down. "Mia, do you have any idea how bad this looks?"
"How bad it looks?" Tommy speaks up. "More like how bad this is. It doesn't matter how it looks, what matters is that it happened at all. It was completely inappropriate."
"Okay, let's calm down," Amber mutters. "Mia, it was inappropriate, but I'm not going to gripe on that too much because I think you already know that well enough. I'll leave it at this..." Her sigh seems to resound through the house. "I know how easy it can be to get swept up in a moment, but there is such a thing as time and place. Okay?"
Solid advice.
"Look, I'm sorry," Mia says. The softness of her voice reaches into my chest and squeezes my heart. "It was a bad call."
"That's putting it mildly." Tommy's voice is full of disappointment now, a heavy breath filling the room as he lets everything out. I feel like running in there to rescue my girl, maybe hiding out with her for a while, holding her captive in my arms while the air clears. I know we both made a bad impression on our families tonight and I don't like her getting in trouble for it.
"Grayson..." Behind me, Mom's voice shares a touch of Mr. Sallow's disappointment, punctuated with an edge of warning that makes me freeze in the doorway. Looks like I'm about to take my share of the trouble.
Turning around slowly, I hold my breath again as I face my family. "Yes, Mother?"
"Don't you Yes, Mother me," Mom says. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
"That house tours are awkward, outdated ways of showing off? And they exist only to ease discomfort when meeting someone for the first time?"
Across the island, Dad tries to stifle a laugh, failing at the task. Mom's smack against his shoulder reverberates through the kitchen.
"Sorry," he mutters, clearing his throat, but still holding back some amusement as he looks at me. "This is a serious situation, Gray. Listen to your beautiful mother."
