Midnight Heat (Firework Girls #2) by J. L. White Page B

thank god.
    I steel myself. I can do this.
    I smile at her, thank the kid, and head over, trying not to look at Grayson even though I can feel him watching me approach.
    Bobby is there too, chatting with a girl with big blonde hair and a bright pink shorts outfit. She looks like a big bag of cotton candy. She even has on big hoop earrings and heels. Where in the hell does she think she’s going in that outfit?
    Bobby looks a little too absorbed in this girl for my taste. I say hi to Sam and Grayson—grateful for a reason to keep it brief—then put my hand on Bobby’s arm, drawing his attention.
    He sees me and smiles. “Hey, you made it. Feeling better?”
    “Yeah,” I say, accepting a hug from him. Miss Cotton Candy gives me a cold, appraising look, taking in my denim shorts and olive green tank top.
    Oh please. Who is this girl?
    “Chloe, this is Scarlett,” Bobby says. Scarlett? Seriously? This day just gets better and better. She’s giving me that thinly-veiled, stay-away-from-my-territory look. “She’s Shane’s cousin,” Bobby continues. “Scarlett, this is my sister, Chloe.”
    “Oh!” she says, in a ridiculously high voice, her face lighting up. “Your sister! Well, hi sweetie.” She launches at me and envelopes me in a hug. I try not to cough, surrounded in a cloud of her perfume. “I’m sure we’ll get to be fast friends!” she says.
    “Uh huh,” I say, trying not to be impolite, but she’s already gone back to being absorbed in my little brother. Idiot that he is, he’s lapping it up. What is it with the male species sometimes?
    “There are the vans,” Grayson says.
    My eyes swing to his face involuntarily. It’s the first time I’ve looked at him—really looked at him, close up—since he got here. I can’t keep my heart from reacting, but I’m trying to settle it down. I really am.
    He’s not looking at me, and wasn’t talking to me specifically. Just the group. He nods his head toward the circular drive in front of the lobby, which we can see through the big glass windows. Indeed, there are a couple of large, luxurious-looking charter vans pulling in. They’re actually more like little busses than vans.
    “Okay everybody.” Shane’s commanding but friendly voice booms over the crowd. “The vans are here. The first one will take you down to the beach with us. The second goes up to the zip line. Have fun. We’ll see you back here for dinner. Six o’clock.”
    Some people in the crowd start shuffling toward the lobby doors, while others are a little slower getting started.
    “I actually think I’d rather go to the beach,” Sam says.
    Grayson and I both look at her.
    “I’m not really a zip line fan.” She seems a little irritated, but I’m not sure because she gives Grayson a smile.
    “You’re not coming?” Grayson asks, clearly surprised she’s backing out.
    “Don’t worry, you won’t be alone , ” she says lightly, but I can see the determination underneath. She puts her hand on his chest and smiles at him. I frown. “Bobby will keep you company,” Sam continues. “You two seemed to hit it off at dinner last night.”
    I glance at Bobby. He hasn’t heard a word, absorbed as he is with Miss Cotton Candy. My frown deepens.
    “And you can get to know Chloe,” Sam presses on, gesturing to me.
    Grayson and I exchange glances. I can’t figure out which I feel more right now: panic or irritation. I think I see a glimpse of something like panic in Grayson’s eyes too.
    “You said you’d come,” Grayson says, returning to Sam.
    Maybe he thinks he can persuade her to change her mind, but it’s pretty clear to me there’s no going back now. He can either go with Sam or go zip lining alone, but she’s not coming. Apparently he hasn’t yet figured out that Sam does what Sam wants to do and not one thing more.
    But the joke’s really on me, because here’s what I just figured out.
    By not telling Sam about my history with Grayson, I’ve basically given