The rest of the ride along was uneventful. Grayson didn’t even make a single traffic stop. I was starting to think he was right when he said most of the time the job was boring and mundane.

I didn’t take the nap we had talked about. Instead, we passed the time talking quietly together, enjoying the peace and calm of a warm summer night. More and more I was getting addicted to spending time with Grayson.

After the shift was over, I grabbed a quick breakfast with him, and then I headed to Witches’ Brew. I was behind on my hours, and I needed to make some money. I worked until noon and then agreed to cover a shift for a friend that evening. I would miss my ride along, but I was struggling to juggle classes, work, sleep, and ride alongs.

I needed a break. Thank goodness I didn’t have any classes for the rest of the week, but I knew I needed to start editing the video I had collected soon.

At noon I went back to my dorm room, ate a tasteless sandwich, and then settled down for a nap. At two I was back up, feeling refreshed, and I headed back to Grayson’s house to help him with his tile project.

Grayson met me at the door with a kiss and a smile. “Hey! Did you get any rest at all?” He tucked a wayward curl behind my ear, and he kissed me one more time for good measure.

“I took a sweet nap. But I have to go back to work for a few hours tonight, so I won’t be able to ride with you on your next shift.” I walked into the house and followed Grayson to the master bathroom.

Grayson had removed the old tile before we started dating.

He waved his arm around the bathroom as he told me about it. “Now it’s just a matter of measuring the space and cutting each tile to fit, when necessary. Then we lay the tile, put spacers between each one to keep it uniform, and at some point, we will mix mortar, and spread it all over the tile.” Grayson showed me his new double sink vanity, already in position. “We will work on the walls today, and come back and do the floor later.”

“Seems simple enough.” I went to stand next to him, and I watched him work for a minute to get a feel for what needed to be done.

“It is simple enough until I screw up the math.” He grinned. “But maybe that’s why I invited you to help.”

“Don’t look at me. This better not involve any complicated angles or geometry. Math is definitely not my thing.” I started unstacking tiles and handed them to him one by one to put in place.

As we worked, we settled into a comfortable rhythm, and the conversation flowed.

“Tell me about your dad.” Grayson’s face screwed up in concentration as he taped a tile to hold it in place for the mortar.

“I don’t remember a lot of stuff, but what I do remember is wonderful.” My tone was wistful. “His dad was a sheriff’s deputy, and so he grew up in the law enforcement community. My grandmother said he always wanted to be a police officer.” I handed him another tile, and opened the next box.

“That’s kind of cool, don’t you think? He was carrying on a family legacy of sorts.” Grayson took the tile and carefully put it into place.

I moved a stack of tiles closer to me to make it easier to hand off tiles to Grayson. “Yes, I think so. My grandmother was very proud of him.”

I hadn’t thought about law enforcement being a family legacy, but Grayson had a good point. It was kind of cool.

“You said you don’t remember a lot of stuff. So what do you remember about him?” He took another tile from me.

“My dad would always drink coffee in the morning, and read the newspaper. That’s how I learned to read.” I smiled at the memory. “He would drink his coffee, and cross one leg over the other, making kind of a box with his legs. I would get in between his legs and pick out words in the newsprint. He would correct me when I made a mistake and show me new words, and soon I was reading.”

I handed Grayson another tile. “I remember how proud he was that I reading the newspaper with him.”

I smiled just thinking about it. I enjoyed that feeling of safety, of being held by him and learning new things.

“That’s a good memory.” Grayson took a pencil from his back pocket and marked the tile for cutting.

He moved to the tile cutter and cut the end of the tile along his cut marks. Then we resumed our rhythm.

“I don’t have any memories at all of my dad, and my mother didn’t have a lot of happy stories to share with me.” Grayson spread mortar on the back of the tile and pressed it to the wall. “I don’t think she liked to think about him.”

I remembered Grayson telling me his dad left before he was even born.

“I can understand that, but it must have been hard for you.” At least I had a few memories of my father, and I had grown up in a community who still honored him as a hero to this day. Grayson had been abandoned. “Do you know where he is now?”

“Nope. Not a clue. Never looked for him, and as far as I know, he’s never looked for me.” Grayson put another tile in place.

I was surprised at how much of the wall we had already covered.

“Do you ever want to find him? Or want him to find you?” I helped him measure water for the mortar.

“No.” Grayson’s tone was firm. “Sometimes I wonder why he left. Mostly I just accept that he was a weak asshole who ran from his responsibilities.”

Okay, then.

“He’s the one who missed out the most.” I stirred the powdery mixture. “I don’t understand how he can know he had a child and not be curious about how that child turned out.”

“I don’t even think about him anymore.” Grayson took over the mortar bucket, and I enjoyed watching the flexing of his muscles as he worked the mixture over.

He caught the direction of my gaze and smirked. “What are you thinking about now, baby?”

“I’m thinking that I’m glad we are making progress on this bathroom, but I’d really like to spend the day in bed with you.” My cheeks heated a bit at my forward words, but I was unapologetic.

I wanted Grayson, and I wasn’t going to waste time feeling embarrassed about that.

Grayson laughed. “Let’s work faster so we can make time for your idea.”

Sounded good to me.

***

BY THE TIME FRIDAY night rolled around, I was a puddle of nerves about my first “real” date with Grayson, as he put it. I don’t know why I was nervous. We saw each other every day. In fact, most nights I slept at his house. And, of course, sometimes I even went to work with him.

I shouldn’t be nervous just because this was the first time I would be wearing heels and a nice dress for him. He had even seen me dressed up before, for my dates with Colton and Charlie.

That didn’t stop my heart from fluttering when I opened my dorm room door to find Grayson standing on the other side holding a bouquet of flowers. He looked sharp and smelled extra sexy.

“Lucy.” Grayson stopped and had to clear his throat. His eyes covered me from head to toe, and back again. “You look fantastic.”

I had spent a long time getting ready for this evening. I changed outfits multiple times and finally settled on a gray dress that matched his eyes. Black heels and a long, sexy strand of pearls completed the look.

In an awkward move, he handed me the bouquet. “Here. For you.”

That’s when I realized Grayson was nervous, too.

“Thank you.” Touched, I held the door open wider. “Come on in, and I’ll find something to put these flowers in.”

Grayson walked in the door, and his alpha male presence filled my tiny door room and spilled out the open door. “Don’t put them in water, because you aren’t staying here tonight. I’m hoping if I play my cards right, you’ll come home with me.”

He grinned a crooked grin at me. “The flowers might as well come, too.”

I laughed. “Play your cards right? You think if you come up with the right lines, I’ll fall into your bed?”

Grayson hooked an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him. “Bed. Couch. Back seat. I’m not particular. As long as I get you naked.”

Just like that, my nerves were gone. “I seem to remember making use of the hood of your car that one time.”

I loved flirting with Grayson.

“Yep. Anywhere works. I just need you naked and in my arms.” He kissed the tip of my nose.

“You better have some great lines then, if you expect me to get naked.” I smiled up at him.

Grayson winked. “Wait and see, baby.”

Sexy man.

We headed out of the city limits of Peacock and went instead to a neighboring town. We pulled up to a trendy Thai restaurant that had opened recently. I had been meaning to come try it out, but had never found the time.

Grayson laughed as he parked the car. “You know the citizens of this town tried to get this place shut down before it ever opened. It was quite the scandal.”

“What? Why? I love Thai food, and it’s hard to find around here.” I smoothed my dress down over my hips and took his arm as we walked toward the restaurant.

“Because of the name they picked out.” He held the door open for me.

“I don’t know even know what it’s called.” I really didn’t. “I heard a Thai place was coming, that’s all.”

I twisted around to look at the sign high on the wall. “Oh! ‘Thai You Down.’” I burst out laughing. “Well, that’s original, and maybe a touch scandalous.”

“I like the name. I think it’s clever, but the senior citizen committee didn’t care for it, or so I heard.” Grayson stepped back so I could go first as we followed the server to our table.

After we were seated and gave our drink orders, I nudged him with a flirtatious foot. “Let’s hear those pickup lines that are guaranteed to get me naked.”

Grayson smirked. “I don’t think I said guaranteed.”

“Close enough.” I closed my menu and looked across the table at him.

“Okay.” He thought for a moment. “Is your name Google? Because you’re the answer to everything I’m looking for.”

I snorted before I could stop myself. “That’s pretty good. But you are going to have to try harder than that.”

“Challenge accepted.” He took a drink of water. “Hey, girl. Are you Cinderella? Because I see that dress disappearing at midnight.”

I laughed aloud, throwing my head back in delight. “Getting closer.”

“My watch says you don’t have any panties on.” He raised his eyebrows at me and made a show of checking his watch.

“What? I’m wearing underwear, you goober.” I blushed as an old man walking by the table did a double take at my words.

Grayson laughed at that.

“It must be fifteen minutes fast then.” He waited for my reaction.

It took me a second to get it, and then I laughed even harder. “Where do you get all these ridiculous lines?”

“The Internet. Only thing it’s good for besides checking sports scores.” Grayson turned his head, distracted.

“See that man over there with the redhead?” He jerked his head towards the far corner of the restaurant.

“Yes? Who is that?” The couple he pointed out were strikingly attractive.

The man was older than the woman by a good twenty years, but they only had eyes for each other. They sat side by side, and shared kisses between bites of food.

“That’s Nathan Randolph and his new bride, Darby. I know you’ve heard of him. He owns Peacock Alley.” He waited for the server to take our orders and leave. “His wife, or rather his first wife, went missing after a sailing accident last year. He just remarried.”

“Oh, I remember that.” The tragedy had been in all the papers. Randolph was very wealthy and threw lavish parties on his old Southern plantation. “He seems to have gotten over her death from the way he’s eyeing his new bride.”

Grayson chuckled. “Seems like it to me. Maybe the redhead has some good lines of her own.”

He thought for a moment. “That reminds me. Is your name WiFi? Because I feel a connection.” He gave me an exaggerated wiggle of his eyebrows.

I had to put my hands over my mouth because I was laughing at his cheesy lines so much. “Grayson. That one was terrible.”

“I figure if I find the right line, you might be persuaded to take your panties off and hand them to me.” He leaned back and raised an eyebrow at me in a challenge.

I swallowed hard. “Maybe for the right line. I’m not sure you have it in you.”

His grin was cocky. “Do you mind if I walk you home? Because my mother always said to follow my dreams.”

“That one was okay, but you drove me here. You are going to have to step up your game, ace.” I bit my lip.

Grayson’s eyes darkened. “You must be a parking ticket because you have fine written all over you.”

That one gave me a fit of giggles. “My panties feel real comfortable right where they are.”

“Damn it. Let me think.” He tapped his butter knife on the edge of the table and stared off into space while he thought it over. “I thought happiness started with an h. Mine started with u.”

My heart skipped a beat, and I stood up in a rush. “I’ll be right back.”

I marched off to the ladies’ room, leaving Grayson at the table with a worried look on his face. I went into a stall and wiggled out of my panties. If I were a bold chick in a hot book, I would have taken them off right at the table. But I’m not. So here I am, hiding in a stall, trying to figure out how to make this maneuver sexy.

I balled my panties up in my fist to hide them, and I went back out to find Grayson. He stood, ever the Southern gentleman. Such perfect manners.

I hugged him, and kissed him on the cheek. At the same time, I slipped my panties into his pants pocket in a swift movement. Then I sat down, leaving him bewildered and feeling his pocket.

I saw the dawning realization when he figured out what I had done, and I laughed. “Can’t wait to figure out what to take off next, when you come up with the right pickup line.”

I loved the look of wonder on his face.