The lie tastes bitter on my tongue, but it’s too late to take back.
“Right.” Jessa snorts and rolls her eyes. “And I’m not head-over-heels in love with your brother.”
“Sorry to interrupt, but I have a big, big favor to ask.”
I turn at the sound of Grayson’s voice. He’s standing in the doorway, looking at Jessa.
Damn it, I wonder how much of that conversation he heard.
“How long have you been standing there?” I ask, feeling my stomach twist.
“Long enough,” he says, not looking at me.
Great, I’ve offended him. And it was a complete lie. He’s insanely attractive. I just said what I did to get Jessa off my back.
Jessa clears her throat and steps toward Grayson.
“What’s up?” she asks, and then her eyes widen. “Gum!”
“What about gum?” I ask, looking between the two.
Jessa pulls her phone out and starts tapping on her screen.
“Jack accidentally lost his gum earlier this evening, and it conveniently landed in Emma’s hair,” Grayson says, looking over Jessa’s shoulder at her phone.
“I can help.”
“You can?” Finally, he looks at me, and the knot in my gut loosens a bit.
I nod and nudge Jessa. “You can stop searching the internet. I’ve got this. Where’s your coconut oil?”
Jessa looks up and pushes her phone into her back pocket. “Coconut oil?”
“In the cabinet with the spices,” Nick says, walking into the kitchen with Emma and Henry wrapped around his legs.
“I knew that.” Jessa searches the cabinet, grabs the coconut oil, and hands it to me. “What are you going to do with it?”
“You’ll see.” I hold my hand out to Emma. She untangles herself from around my brother’s leg and stands up.
“Are you gonna get da gum outta my hair?”
“Yep.”
She slips her tiny hand in mine and walks with me to the bathroom.
“Is it gonna hurt?”
“Not at all.”
“You pwomise?”
I lift her onto the counter beside the sink. “I promise.”
I twist off the lid, scoop out some coconut oil, and rub it between my hands to warm it up. Then I smear it over the pink glob of gum in her hair. I keep rubbing, adding a little more when necessary, and eventually the gum starts to break apart.
“You’re good at that,” Grayson says.
“Thanks.” I glance over my shoulder to see him walk into the bathroom. He sits on the toilet seat and watches me work. “I’ve done this a time or two.”