“I can get you a glass of wine,” I said.
“I shouldn’t.”
“Oh, you must,” I insisted. “Tomorrow’s the weekend, so you don’t have to worry about going to the school, and it’s only one glass. I’ve got your favorite bottle of Grignolino.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You remember my favorite brand of wine?”
I beamed a smile at him. “If I want to make Daddy happy, I have to remember what Daddy likes.”
He hesitated, then nodded. “I suppose one glass can’t hurt.”
“And are you sure I can’t help you in the bath?” I lowered my eyelashes seductively, so he knew exactly what I was offering. The same thing he rejected a few nights ago.
The doorbell rang, and I straightened. I glanced at the clock on the microwave. Fucking perfect. Mr. Police Officer was here, right on time.
“Hmm, I wonder who that is.”
I shrugged, and he walked out of the kitchen to get the door. I shuffled closer so I could hear what was being said while staying out of the way. Daddy couldn’t know that I’d set this up. I had to be the innocent one in all this. I needed Daddy’s anger to be generated at Nathan, not me.
“Nathan?” Daddy said, his voice frosty. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to see Ari. I mean, you did say I can’t pick him up in my uniform, so I took a shower and changed.”
“What do you want with Ari?”
“Just to hang out.”
“Where are you taking him?”
“I don’t know. I was thinking maybe that diner on Main Street and after we could go back to my place.”
“Yeah? You think you’re going to get lucky tonight, Graham?”
“I can hope. So what do you think?” Nathan didn’t seem to notice the hostility in Shaw’s voice. “Do I have a chance with Ari?”
“He’s seeing someone else.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what’s so hard to understand. He’s with someone else.”
“But he didn’t say that.”
“You talked to him?” Shaw asked.
Shit. Fuck. Shit. It was all coming out.
“Yeah, when I ran into him at the supermarket earlier today. He said if I got your approval, we could date. So come on. Don’t block me here. I’m really interested in him.”
“Like I said, Graham. He’s not interested. Ari’s a flirt. You can’t take what he says seriously.”
Was that truly how he felt about me?
“I don’t know. With all due respect, he was really feeling me today. I think—”
The door slammed shut, and I jumped. Heart pounding in my chest, I backed away into the kitchen.
“You saw Nathan today?”