Smile Like You Mean It (Charlotte Reynolds Book 1)

by Willow Hadley

  “Yeah, Arthur saved it in my phone for me.”

  We promise to keep in touch, and we say our goodbyes before going downstairs to rejoin Arthur. They talk for a few more minutes, and she takes her leave. The house is quiet once we’re alone, since the boys are over at Grayson’s house now.

  Eventually, Arthur sighs. “Are you okay? I know I probably should have told you she was coming.”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. It was really good to see her.”

  Arthur gathers up the paperwork that’s sitting on the counter, and clears his throat awkwardly before smiling. “You want to head next door now? I’ll be over there in a few minutes.”

  I’m already missing my boys, so I happily agree. I grab the plate of cookies I’d secretly made for the barbeque and practically skip outside. I don’t bother knocking once I make it over to Grayson’s house, and I quietly slip inside.

  I nearly burst into giggles when I see the guys hiding outside the kitchen doorway, just out of view. They’re clearly eavesdropping, as I can hear Evelyn and Ava talking together in the next room. I slink up beside Remy, and he wraps his arm around my shoulders without startling at my sudden presence.

  “I just can’t believe Nicole is bailing! She knows I want to introduce her to Arthur!” Evelyn whines, clearly upset.

  Her wife sighs dramatically. “I told you it probably wasn’t a good idea anyways. Nicole just broke up with her boyfriend a couple of weeks ago. She’s not looking for anything serious yet, and Arthur has always been an all-or-nothing kind of guy.”

  I bite my lip hard, trying even more desperately to hold back my giggles. Seriously? This is what the guys are eavesdropping for? To hear about Evelyn’s plans to play matchmaker with Arthur? Grayson rolls his eyes and smiles at me when he catches me trying to hold it together.

  “But Arthur refuses to put himself out there! He needs our help!”

  Evelyn walks through the doorway where we’re hiding without warning, and she blinks in surprise when she sees us. I step forward with an angelic smile and hold up my plate of cookies. “I know you said not to cook or help with anything, but I couldn’t help myself!”

  She cackles and kisses my cheek as she takes the plate from me. “Oh, Charlotte, you’re such a doll! We’re about to put the burgers out on the grill. Did your uncle come over with you?”

  I tell her he’ll be over in just a minute, and she shoos me and the boys outside for the second time today. While we’re settling in around the pool, I finally break and giggle like mad. “You guys are seriously so dumb sometimes!” And adorable, but I leave that part out.

  Liam snorts and sits beside me at the edge of the pool, and we dip our feet in. Sebastian sits on my other side, and everyone else pulls some of the pool chairs closer to us.

  “You’ve got to admit it was interesting. I didn’t know Evelyn was trying to set Arthur up with her co-worker,” Liam says.

  Grayson rolls his eyes and makes a face. “Nicole isn’t even that pretty, and she has the most annoying voice ever.”

  Remy pushes his glasses up on his nose and asks, “She’s a bit older than him too, isn’t she?”

  Sebastian speaks up, but he’s staring down into the water instead of looking at us. “So what? My mom was older than him.”

  Elliot and Grayson meet my eyes, and I lean against Sebastian to offer him some comfort. I didn’t even stop to think that it might make him feel weird to think of Arthur dating somebody else.

  Sebastian turns his head and smiles at me, and his mismatched eyes make my heart flip. Liam clears his throat and mumbles, “Sorry, we weren’t thinking, dude.”

  “No, it’s cool.” Sebastian shakes his head. “Seriously, Grayson’s moms are probably right. Arthur should move on, you know. He deserves to be happy.”

  We murmur our agreements, and I smirk at Sebastian. “Evelyn’s taking me to work with her tomorrow so she can do my hair before school starts. I’ll scope out Nicole for Arthur, take some notes.”

  Elliot leans forward to ruffle my hair when the guys chuckle. “That’s our girl. How was your visit with Anne, gorgeous?”

  Our girl. God, has anything ever sounded so right or wonderful? I take a deep breath before answering, forcing myself to hide my feelings from them. I smile and tell them all about Anne’s visit, and I spend the rest of the afternoon in bliss surrounded by my favorite people in the universe.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The door opens shortly after I knock, and I’m pleasantly surprised when Grayson greets me with an adorable sleepy-eyed smile. “Good morning, Princess.”

  “What are you doing up already?” It’s just before ten, not that early. But the boys had been up pretty much all night playing video games. I’d stayed awake until about midnight, reading beside Sebastian on the couch.

  Grayson pulls me into a quick hug before leading me further into his house. “I’m gonna come with you to the salon if you don’t mind. I’m hoping my mom will let me take the car after you’re done so we can hang out before meeting up with the guys later.”

  My stomach flutters, and it’s hard to hide how happy and excited I am at his idea. Grayson and I never really get to spend much time together without Sebastian or the other guys, since neither of us have our own car. We’ve had plenty of late night phone conversations over the summer after everyone else was asleep, but it’s still not the same.

  Ava and Evelyn are already in the kitchen drinking coffee when we walk in. They’re leaning close and murmuring quietly, and they look so sweet that I feel bad for walking in and interrupting their moment.

  Evelyn grins as soon as she sees us and chirps, “Good morning! You all ready to go?”

  I nod and smile at her, and Ava kisses her wife’s cheek before raising her eyebrows at me. “Did you want something to eat, sweetie? Or maybe some coffee?”

  I shake my head. “I’m okay, thank you.”

  Evelyn walks over and starts running her fingers through my way-too-long hair. “Oh, I can’t wait to really get my hands on this!”

  Grayson snorts beside me, but Ava frowns. “Don’t let her go too crazy, Charlotte.”

  I smile innocently and giggle. “I was thinking of letting her chop it all off, actually. I think a super short pixie cut would be so cute!”

  Grayson reaches out and touches my hair, and he makes a ridiculous choking noise. “No! God, please...”

  I’m only joking around, but the horrified look on his face is so much more satisfying than I imagined it would be. Grayson’s moms are smirking at him for his outburst, and he’s starting to look embarrassed.

  It takes a lot of effort to keep myself from laughing, but I manage to widen my eyes and pout. “You don’t think it would be cute?”

  Grayson’s cheeks flush, and he opens his mouth to answer. But when his moms start giggling behind us, I crack and smile. Grayson closes his mouth and glares down at me, and he twines his fingers in my hair before dropping his hand back to his side.

  “It’s too early for you to be so mean, Princess.” His voice is low and sexy, and I can see a playful glimmer in his eyes even though he’s trying to look angry.

  My stomach flutters for the second time this morning, and I’m at a complete loss for words. Grayson always calls me Princess when we’re alone or in front of the guys, but he’s never called me that in front of Arthur or his moms before. Despite the butterflies, I feel self-conscious.

  Evelyn laughs at us and pinches Grayson’s cheek. “Oh, you’re both so adorable. If you’re ready, let’s go!”

  We say goodbye to Ava and walk outside, and Grayson opens the passenger door of Evelyn’s car for me before sliding into the back. Evelyn talks nonstop while we’re driving, but I don’t mind at all. I’m really excited, for both my haircut and to see where she works. I haven’t had my hair cut in years. I really don’t want it short like I said in the kitchen, but it will be nice to have it cleaned up.

  Grayson is quiet in the back seat, but I’m so glad he’s coming along. I sm
ile at him over my shoulder several times during the drive, and he always smiles back. When we arrive, he’s quick to jump out and open my door for me.

  There’s already a flurry of activity in the salon when we walk in, and somebody screeches at Evelyn that they need her help. She rolls her eyes playfully and tells us to wait at her station before she trots over to the other side of the room.

  For a second, I completely freeze up. My eyes flit around the busy, chic-looking salon in near-panic. I seriously don’t know what’s wrong with me or why I’m like this. Whenever I’m with the guys, Arthur, or Grayson’s moms, I feel totally normal. I don’t feel overly nervous about saying the wrong thing or making a fool of myself. Even Adrian and some of the employees from the gym make me feel relatively comfortable while I’m training. But anytime else I’m around someone new, or in a crowded area, I almost always freak out and turn into the stupid, timid girl I hate so much.

  Grayson grabs my hand and squeezes gently, and I immediately feel grounded again. When I look up at him, he’s pressing his tongue against his lip ring so that his bottom lip is pushed out a bit. My eyes unwittingly settle on his mouth for a second too long, until his lips curve up in a slight smirk.

  I half expect him to tease me, or at least to say something flirty. But he simply mumbles, “Come on...” and leads me over to an empty salon chair. I sit down, but Grayson remains standing behind me and smiles at me in the mirror.

  I keep my eyes on his and relax a bit more, despite all of the chaotic background noise. “What do you think they needed your mom’s help with?”

  Grayson shrugs and glances over his shoulder like he’s looking for her. “No idea, but she won’t leave you for long no matter what the issue is.” He directs his gaze to my long dirty blonde hair and lightly tugs on the ends. “You’re not really going to ask her to cut it all off, right?”

  I hum noncommittally at first, but I don’t really want to tease Grayson anymore. “No, I like having long hair. It’s just too long right now, and I’m sure I have a lot of split ends.”

  “I like your long hair too,” Grayson says in his sexy, deep voice. He meets my eyes in the mirror and gives me a shy half-smile. “You would look beautiful no matter what. I was just being an idiot earlier.”

  “Thanks.” I look away as soon as I start feeling butterflies flutter in my stomach, and bite my tongue so I don’t say anything stupid. I clear my throat and look around the salon, trying to think of a way to change the subject. I see Evelyn on the other side of the room talking to a couple of women and ask, “Which one is Nicole?”

  Grayson chuckles, and I’m glad that he doesn’t seem offended by the way I brushed off his compliment. He swivels my chair to the side and leans over so our faces are close together. He nods his head towards a woman working on someone’s hair a few stations away from ours, talking animatedly to her client.

  “Nicole is the redhead there. I guarantee she’ll come over here to talk to you the second she’s free. She’s really nosy. Most of the women who work here are.”

  He’s making the silliest face, causing me to giggle like crazy. I’m so distracted that I don’t notice Evelyn walk up until she’s already right behind me. She bumps her hip against Grayson’s to make him get out of the way, and she turns my chair so that I’m facing the mirror while she begins running her fingers through my hair.

  Evelyn meets my eyes in the mirror with an excited grin and squeals, “Makeover time! Finally!”

  ***

  “You were so right.” I shake my head and whisper as I lean closer to Grayson. “She’s not right for Arthur at all!”

  Grayson bursts out laughing and nods in agreement. “I fucking told you! Now you need to convince my mom to stop trying to set him up with her friends.”

  We’re still laughing together when Evelyn walks over to where we’re waiting by the entrance. It’s more chaotic in here than it was earlier, and Evelyn’s next client is already being demanding after only being here five minutes.

  Evelyn narrows her eyes and hands Grayson her car keys. “Please be careful. And absolutely no texting and driving!”

  “I know, mom.” Grayson rolls his eyes, and turns to me with an adorably cheesy smile.

  I’m so excited to hang out with him now. We’re planning on heading to the mall. The other guys never want to hang out there, usually opting for going downtown instead. So, there are a lot of stores I haven’t been in yet, and I’m sure we’ll end up getting something to eat too. I had a lot of fun hanging out at the salon, and Evelyn did an amazing job on my hair. But the noise and chaos is definitely taking its toll on me, and Evelyn’s co-workers were beyond overwhelming. Nicole especially. So nosy and obnoxious, just like Grayson had said. They’d talked so much that I don’t think they noticed I’d barely uttered a word.

  Evelyn wraps her arms around me in a warm, motherly hug. “Have fun, sweetie! Make sure Grayson is a gentleman and pays for your lunch!”

  “Thank you for everything. I love my hair so much!” I brush my hair over my shoulder and smile. It’s a few inches shorter with highlights, and it’s so silky and smooth from whatever products Evelyn had used. It’s not a drastic change, but I feel so much lighter and prettier.

  She spends a few more seconds fussing over us before she gets called away by her client. Grayson and I say goodbye, and he takes my hand and leads me out of the salon. Once we reach the car, Grayson opens my door for me before hopping into the driver’s seat.

  He grins excitedly and turns the car on, immediately connecting his phone to the radio. “Fuck yes! I hardly ever get to drive. I’m pretty sure my mom’s only letting me take the car because she loves you so much.” Grayson glances sideways at me when I giggle in response. “Anything in particular you wanna listen to, Princess?”

  I shake my head and smile when he turns on his usual playlist. He keeps the volume on low so we’ll still be able to talk. I stay quiet, just enjoying looking out the window with Grayson at my side. Eventually, I turn and look at the handsome blond boy beside me. His features are so striking, and his springtime eyes are bright today. My eyes travel down to his lean, muscular arms and shoulders that I can’t help admiring. He’s completely concentrated on the road with both hands on the steering wheel, so I don’t think he notices my staring.

  “You okay?” he asks, glancing at me quickly. Crap, I guess he did notice.

  “Yeah.” I clear my throat. I know I’m blushing, and it’s only because I’m pretty sure Grayson knows how cute I think he is. Evelyn’s co-workers had been very obvious with their little hints and insinuations that Grayson and I would be good together. I try to push that out of my mind and ask, “Are you excited for school on Monday?”

  Grayson snorts and shakes his head. “No, not at all. This summer has been amazing, and it’s going to suck not being able to just chill and do whatever every day with you and the guys.”

  “That’s true,” I admit with a giggle. “But at least we all have most of our classes together.”

  The only class I don’t share with at least one of the guys is my English class, and that’s only because it’s an Honors class. The guys had gotten as lucky as me. It’s probably because it’s a smaller school, but I’m still so relieved and ecstatic.

  “Having you go to school with us this year will definitely make things a lot better.” Grayson nods his head. “Because everyone else seriously fucking sucks.”

  Judging by my run-ins with Mike and Tim from the football team when I first moved here, as well as meeting Madison at school when I’d signed up for classes, I know Grayson is probably right. Liam’s sister Olivia seemed nice, and so did Zack and Ethan, but I haven’t even seen any of them since first meeting them earlier this summer.

  “I’m sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean to sound like such an asshole.” Grayson reaches over to squeeze my hand, and I realize I’ve been quiet for too long. “It’s cool that you’re excited, and I’m sure this year is going to be awesome!”

  “It’
s okay. It’s just...” I knit my eyebrows together while I think of the best way to explain. “School in juvie was such a joke, and the school I went to for the short time I was in the group home was honestly scary. It wasn’t in the nicest part of town. And even before all that when I still lived with my mom, I didn’t have any friends and was a totally pathetic loner. I thought this year might finally be different now that I have you guys.”

  Grayson squeezes my hand tightly and lets out a breath, and he smiles when he turns toward me. “It will be different, Charlotte. I promise.”

  My stomach flips when he uses my name instead of calling me Princess. Great. Now I get butterflies whether he calls me by a nickname or not. Stupid, stupid crush.

  “I still get all weird and quiet around people.” I roll my eyes and laugh awkwardly. “I completely freaked out when we got to the salon.”

  Grayson pulls into the parking lot of the mall, and he parks closer to the back where there aren’t as many cars. He doesn’t respond to me until he has the car off, and he turns so he can face me while still holding my hand.

  “There’s nothing wrong with being quiet or shy. It doesn’t make you weird. If people don’t want to take the time to get to know you because of that, it’s their loss. You’re the coolest, funniest, sweetest girl I’ve ever met. I always have fun with you no matter what we’re doing, even if you’re having a quiet day.”

  The guys are always so nice and sweet to me, and they always know the exact thing to say to make me feel better. I look down at our intertwined hands—Grayson’s fingers are slightly calloused from playing guitar—and glance up at him through my eyelashes.

  “Thank you, Grayson.”

  He doesn’t break eye contact, and his cheeks flush until they’re bright pink. He presses his tongue against his lip ring and swallows audibly before speaking in a deeper, quieter voice than usual. “You’re welcome, Princess.”

  We’re totally having a moment. Before I can start feeling flustered, Grayson grins broadly and moves to get out of the car. “Come on! They’ve got a really cool music store here I wanna show you. Plus, there’s a Disney store and a Barnes and Noble.”