Zoey

The tension between me and Carter was getting worse. I sat and watched his reaction when Nora told him she wanted to spend the rest of her time at their Malibu beach house. His face went pale, and before answering her, he swallowed hard. That place must have held a lot of memories. Not just memories of Nora, but of him and Angelique. He looked frightened and I’d wondered how long it had been since he’d been there.

When I arrived back home in Greenwich, my dads welcomed me with open arms, even if I was only there for a few minutes. As I was in my room, packing some of my clothes, both Scott and John sat on the edge of my bed.

“You’re okay with this trip, right?” Scott asked.

“Of course.” I smiled. “I go to where my job takes me. Their house is on the beach, so it’ll be a nice change to get out of the city setting for a while.”

“We’ll miss you.” John pouted.

“I’ll miss both of you too. But we can facetime every day if you want. Well, I think that’s all I’m bringing,” I spoke as I looked down at my small suitcase.

Both of them walked me to the door and each hugged me tightly goodbye.

“Have a safe trip, sweetheart,” John spoke.

“I will. I love you both very much.”

“We love you too, baby.” Scott kissed my head.

I returned to Carter’s penthouse and took my suitcase to my room. As I passed by his office, the door was slightly ajar and Unchained Melody was quietly playing. I debated whether or not to tap on the door to let him know I was back, but for fear of getting yelled at, I decided to send him a text instead.

“I just wanted you to know that I’m back.”

No response.

I went into Nora’s room to check on her and found that she was sleeping. I didn’t want to wake her, but I needed to check her vitals, so I did it as quietly as I could.

“Hey.” She smiled as she slowly opened her eyes.

“Hi. I’m sorry I woke you.”

“You didn’t. I wasn’t fully asleep anyway. Are you all packed for California?”

“I am.” I grinned. “Tomorrow I’ll help you get packed.”

“Thanks.”

“You’re awake,” Carter spoke as he walked into the room.

“Not for long.” She softly smiled. “I’m really tired.”

“Do you need anything before you go to sleep?” I asked.

“No. I’m fine,” she whispered.

“Okay, get some rest.” I patted her hand.

“Good night, Nora,” Carter spoke as he walked over and kissed her head.

Just as we were walking out of the room, Nora called out Carter’s name.

“Yes?” He turned around.

“Thank you.”

He gave her a gentle smile and then went to the living room and poured himself a drink.

“Is this okay now?” His brow arched as he asked in a sarcastic tone.

“It’s your house. Do whatever you want,” I replied as I went into the kitchen.

I hadn’t eaten dinner and I was hungry. Opening up the refrigerator, I pulled out some left over chicken casserole Sadie had made. After heating it up, I took a seat at the island and Carter walked in.

“That smells good.”

“Would you like some?” I asked.

“Yeah. Actually, I think I will have some.” He took the seat next to me.

I looked at him and wondered why he was sitting down instead of heating up his food. I continued to eat and caught him staring at me out of the corner of my eye.

“What?” I asked.

“Aren’t you going to heat it up for me?”

“No. Why would I?”

“You asked if I wanted some.”

“That didn’t mean that I would heat it up for you.” I cocked my head.

He sat there with a narrowed eye and slowly nodded his head.

“This is payback for the coffee, isn’t it?”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

He sighed, got up from the stool, and heated himself a plate. Inside, I was silently laughing because it was payback for the coffee incident.

****

Carter

I rented a private jet to fly us to California. When we arrived at our beach house, a sickness filled me. I slowly closed my eyes as I took in a deep breath. Our driver brought Nora’s wheelchair up to the porch while I inserted the key and unlocked the door. Sadie and Zoey stepped inside while I went back to the car to get Nora. After setting her in her wheelchair, I stood in the foyer as all the memories came flooding back in my mind.

“This is beautiful,” Zoey spoke.

“Welcome to Casa Grayson in Malibu.” Nora smiled.

“I had one of the rooms down here made up for you,” I spoke to Nora.

“Thanks, big brother. Hey, are you okay?” She lightly grabbed my hand.

“I’m fine.”

“I want to go down to the beach,” she spoke.

“Now?” I asked. “I think we should get settled first.”

“I’ll take her.” Zoey smiled.

“Fine. Maybe I’ll come down in a while,” I spoke as I walked away.

I took my bags up to my bedroom, and I swallowed hard as my hand slowly turned the knob and I opened the door. I stood there, paralyzed, as I stared into the room.

“It’s a beautiful day to spend on the beach.” She smiled as her lips pressed against my chest.

“Is that what we’re doing today?” I kissed the top of her head.

“Do you have a better idea?” she asked.

“I think I might.” I rolled her on her back and hovered over her.

“Is that so?” She grinned.

“It is. But it’s a surprise. So you’ll have to wait.”

“Not too long, I hope. Now you have me in suspense. I love surprises.”

“And I love surprising you.” My lips softly brushed against hers.

My eyes started to fill with tears, but I needed to remember why I was here.