Grey couldn’t understand all her legal mumbo jumbo, but he could read guilt and dread all over her face. “Slow down. What are you trying to tell me?”
“Basically, whatever remains of Andy’s equity in the house probably won’t be much more than the insurance settlement you were offered.”
Despite her palpable anguish, his muscles went rigid from his forehead to his feet, and two words escaped his throat in a whisper. “Fuck me.”
“Grey!”
He stared at her with defiance. “Don’t ask me to apologize for swearing right now, Bambi. I’ve had my fill of bad news for a lifetime this week.”
“It hasn’t been a cakewalk for me either, you know.”
“And yet you and your family have managed to come out on top, haven’t you?”
“I’m sorry, Grey.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I didn’t have a choice. I owe my parents the money. I had to sign the documents.”
“All this time I’ve been running down rabbit holes looking for options that wouldn’t hurt you, then you go and take away the only option that saves me from disaster.” He rubbed his temples. “Why didn’t you tell me first? Too busy conspiring? I was sick about hurting you yesterday. Barely slept last night. You could’ve spared me all kinds of upset if you’d have simply told me your precious house would be protected.”
“I didn’t know about it until I got home. Apparently Matt gave Andy the idea.”
“Well now I know why he was so cocky yesterday.” Grey spat out, planting his hands on his hips. “I can’t believe you didn’t call me, Avery. I would never have done something like this without warning you.”
“I’m sorry.” She began retreating into herself, putting on a stiff upper lip and relying on that backbone he’d previously admired. “My dad demanded my loyalty.”
“Did I get any consideration? For God’s sake, I’ve turned myself inside out these past months to keep this nightmare from touching you. I’ve changed therapists; I lived broke until last week. I refrained from going full force after your brother because of you. This is how you repay me? This is how little my feelings matter to you?”
“Grey.” She reached for his arm, but he shrugged away from her. Her family spilled into the hallway in time to see and hear his anger.
“What’s going on here?” Mr. Randall’s brusque voice cut through the air.
“Nothing. Nothing at all, it seems.” Grey’s voice was thick with disdain, disappointment, and anger.
“According to my daughter, you weren’t planning to sue Andy and take the house, so nothing done here today should make a difference, unless you were lying to her.” His gall only fueled Grey’s disgust.
A joyless laugh escaped Grey’s throat as he looked at Avery. “I just love how this keeps getting turned around on me when I’m the victim.” He turned toward her dad, practically bellowing, “I’m the damned victim!”
He watched Avery’s mom’s eyes widen, but he wouldn’t apologize. His head hurt, seething with betrayal and disillusionment. He raked his gaze over her family, letting it rest on Andy. “Speaking of which, I’m late for an appointment with the prosecutor.”
A little zing of vengeful thrill rippled through him as he watched Mr. Randall’s superior expression fade and his face go pale.
“You promised you weren’t going to do that, Grey.” Avery’s dismayed voice drifted through the hallway.
He whirled around to face her. “I was calling you to tell you I’d just been asked to give a victim impact statement, but you weren’t answering my calls. Seeing how you didn’t feel the need to give me a heads up on this little plan,” he said, “you’re in no position to judge.” He still couldn’t believe she’d undercut him that way—working against him instead of with him—knowing he had no fallback position. Closing his eyes briefly, he tried to figure out how to scrape his heart off the floor. “At least you won’t have to worry about avoiding my calls in the future.”
When he turned to walk away, she cried out. “Grey!”
He stopped, hoping she’d apologize or ask him to forgive her for how she’d basically spit on everything he’d been trying to build between them.
She came around to face him. Her splotchy cheeks and perspiration started to soften his attitude, until she spoke. “What are you going to tell the prosecutor?”
His breath caught as an avalanche of bruised pride, heartache, and humiliation crashed over him and carried him away. She didn’t care about him or their relationship. She only cared about her family and her house. Well, he hoped she’d be happy without him, because he’d had enough of being her fool.
“Good-bye, Avery.”
“Good-bye?” Her face crumpled as she clutched his forearm. “Wait! Don’t go. I’m sorry!”
He shook free and strode away. A pained sob erupted behind him, but then her father’s sharp voice silenced her with a single command. “Avery!”
Grey barreled down the hall and out the front door of the town hall without glancing back.
Avery hugged her body, only vaguely aware of her parents and Andy standing behind her. She watched Grey storm down the hallway and out of her life. The memory of his repulsed expression replayed in her mind, making her dizzy. She closed her eyes and squeezed her waist tighter, bending over slightly to avoid fainting.
When a hand touched her shoulder, she sprung away and turned to face her family. Her mother’s stunned expression stopped her from yelling. Avery looked at her dad and Andy, and shook her head. “Are you happy now? Do you feel good?”
Andy looked as white as the plaster walls. If Avery weren’t so devastated by Grey’s obvious hatred, she might feel sorry for her brother. “This is your fault, Dad! If you would’ve let me talk to Grey last night, he wouldn’t be making a beeline to the prosecutor’s office to throw Andy under the bus. He wouldn’t hate me, either. You’ve just ruined Andy’s last hope regarding a light sentence, and you’ve blown up my relationship. I should’ve listened to my heart.”
“If Grey Lowell were the man you thought he was, then he would’ve understood what we did here. He wouldn’t be blaming you or expecting you to side with him over your family.”
Avery straightened up. “He’s not furious because I signed those papers. He’s upset that I didn’t warn him. That I didn’t discuss it with him first. That we didn’t all sit down together to look for a fair solution, like he’d asked. Instead of working with him, we’ve stolen all the cards without so much as a hint.” Avery strained to control her breath, remembering how Grey had described his perfect relationship with Juliette: one of absolute honesty and trust, of having each other’s backs. No secrets.
In one fell swoop, Avery had just proven to herself and Grey that she wasn’t worthy of the love he’d shared with Juliette.
She grabbed her waist and bent over, breathing in through her nose and out through her mouth.
“I’m sorry, Avery.” Andy’s quiet voice echoed in the hallway. “I should’ve talked to you before going to Dad. I’ve just been feeling so guilty about putting the house and everything at risk, I charged ahead without thinking about how it would affect you and Grey. I didn’t realize he meant so much to you. You never said anything.”
Avery didn’t look up. She couldn’t argue that point. For weeks she’d been minimizing her relationship with Grey. Segregating her life to make it easier. To avoid getting hurt.
Ha! How stupid she’d been. Given that Grey’s brush-off just tossed her heart in a meat grinder, she hadn’t avoided being hurt at all.
Once her breathing settled, she stood and looked at Andy. “Now we’re all going to pay a high price for our pride and stupidity, aren’t we?” She glanced over Andy’s shoulder at her dad. “Even you, because it will be a long time before I have a kind word to say to you, Dad.” She only winced at her mother’s pained expression, but even that didn’t stop her from turning on her heel and walking away from them.