Chapter Ten
THE SECOND THEY walked out of Abe’s suite, Parker pressed her hand to her chest.
“I can hardly breathe! One second we were leaving and I thought he was the biggest jerk on earth, and the next—” She threw her arms around Grayson’s neck and kissed him, overwhelmed by the moment, the day, the week. Overwhelmed by his support. “Thank you.”
“I didn’t do anything. You got through to him in a way even his own brother never could. You were incredible.”
“You supported me and made me go in there when I wanted to run away and forget the whole thing. You did a lot more, too,” she said as they walked to the elevator. “You stood up for me and you backed down for me. You somehow knew how much I needed to do this, and last night you knew how much I needed to feel okay about being me. The real me.”
“And here I thought you might fall apart after we left the room,” he said with a warm smile.
“Fall apart? Maybe if we had walked out the door when we started to, but I’m so glad we didn’t. This is what I wanted, for him to know how much Bert loved him and for him to remember how much he loved Bert. I want to come back in a few days. He shouldn’t be alone.”
“I thought you might.”
“I do. I know I said too much about my own feelings, and he didn’t deserve to have that dumped on him. It was obviously misdirected, which he totally picked up on with the whole fairy-tale thing. I thought I had dealt with all that stuff years ago. But maybe it’ll always be there in the back of my mind. Maybe I should apologize next time I see him.”
“Next time we see him again.” The elevator arrived and they stepped inside. “That is, if you don’t mind me going along. Just until we know he’s not going to snap at you again.”
“How could I mind? I love being with you.”
He touched her cheeks and gazed into her eyes as the elevator doors closed. Her heart was beating fast, and her emotions were all over the place. She was on a high from what happened with Abe and pushed even higher by her feelings for Grayson and the fact that they were back in the elevator. Their kissing place. So high she couldn’t hold them back.
“This,” she said. “The way you’re holding me right now, with your thumbs against my jaw, holding my head up so you can look into my eyes. This position right here has become my favorite.”
“Careful, sweetheart,” he said with a serious slant of his brows. “For ten months I thought we were building a friendship that we both hoped might lead to more. I thought I’d kept all that anticipation under wraps, but the moment I saw you, liquored up and full of sweets and sorrow, I knew I didn’t stand a chance. I’ve come undone. What I feel for you is too big, and comments like that make it hard to reel back in.”
Her emotions whirled even higher. “Then don’t.”
His mouth covered hers hungrily, demanding a response, which she was all too happy to give—and take. The kiss seared through her veins with fierce possession, and boy did she ever want to be possessed by Grayson. He took the kiss deeper, held her tighter. She was disappearing into the kiss, into him, letting their passion consume her.
Someone cleared their throat, surprising both of them, and they reluctantly parted, turning to the small group of people apparently waiting for them to step out of the elevator. Embarrassment heated Parker’s cheeks as she took in the scene in two seconds flat: Two teenagers fiddled with their phones. A couple looked at her and Grayson with amusement in their eyes. An elderly man was shaking his head, and three teenage girls stood behind the group, whispering and giggling.
Grayson placed a possessive arm around her waist and held his head up high. “Excuse us,” he said, and guided a stunned Parker toward the exit.
It was the longest two seconds of Parker’s life, and only one thought registered—Thank goodness Grayson’s brain was functioning, because hers was still lost in the kiss.
Once outside the resort, he brushed his thumb beneath her lip and smiled so wide it made her laugh.
“Sorry about your lipstick. I think I got most of it off.”
“Yeah, you did.” She rubbed a smear of lipstick from his lips with a laugh. “What is it with us and elevators?”
“I don’t know, but I think you should add one to your house. And maybe I should, too.”
“I FEEL DIFFERENT,” Parker said as they pulled into her driveway. “More alive.”
“There’s definitely new light in your eyes and a spark in your voice that was probably tempered by worry before.” She’d talked about their visit with Abe the whole way back. They were both pleased with how things had turned around with Abe, but Grayson also felt relieved. He’d been worried about the toll these visits might take on her if things had continued the way they’d started.
“I hadn’t realized how much this was weighing on me, but I think Bert would be happy with how things turned out. I don’t want to sit around the house hiding anymore. Do you have time to hang out?”
“Do I have time? Baby, you’re my priority.”
She seemed to melt a little at that, even though he thought he’d already shown she was his priority through his actions.
“Why don’t you go inside and do whatever you have to, fix your makeup, do your hair, or whatever else is required before you can go out for an afternoon, and we’ll head up to Provincetown. We can bring Christmas. He’d probably like a change of scenery.”
She dug a mirror out of her purse. “Do I look that bad?”
“Of course not. You need a warning label you look so sexy.” He leaned across the car and kissed her. “I prefer you without lipstick so I can kiss you whenever I please, but I know you have to be photo and fan ready. I’m just trying to be supportive.”
He came around the car and opened her door. She snapped the mirror closed, and he pulled her into his arms again, taking her in another long kiss. When they finally parted, it took a few seconds for her eyes to flutter open and clear themselves of their hazy look of lust.
“I’m definitely not wearing lipstick today.”
“You sure?”
She nodded vehemently.
“You totally dig me,” he teased, and kissed her again. “Just don’t blame me for whatever not wearing lipstick does to your reputation. I don’t know how many of the celebrity-lifestyle rules we’re breaking. You might want to clue me in so I don’t mess something up.”
They loved up Christmas and let him out to do his business.
“You don’t strike me as a rule follower.” Parker dug through her purse and pulled out her cell phone.
Grayson realized it was the first time he’d even seen her look at a phone. “For you, I’ll try.” He eyed the phone. “Getting back into real life? That’s a good sign.” And another reminder that her real life was across the country. A reminder he still wasn’t ready to think about.
“I promised myself I’d start returning calls after I dealt with Abe. I need to call my agent and a few foundation members before they send out a search party.”
“I’ll give you some privacy.” He took a step away, and she reached for his hand.
“I don’t need privacy. I’ll call on the way into Provincetown, unless it’ll bother you?”
“Nothing you do bothers me.”
“That’s because I’ve been hiding out. Once I get back into the swing of things, you might feel differently.”
“Maybe,” he said. “But we won’t know until that happens.”
Her brows knitted, as if she hadn’t expected him to agree. “Oh?”
He gazed into her worried eyes and knew no matter how much it sucked to hear or say, he couldn’t hide from his thoughts forever. “This is new for both of us, and you have a full life thousands of miles away from my life here. I’ve got another fourteen months of working on site for the foundation, but my life is here, on the Cape. If we really make a go of this, which I hope we will, then we’ll have plenty of things to deal with.”
“I know,” she said quietly.
“Do you want to try to talk it out now? Figure out what those things are and how we’ll handle them? I’m happy to do that. Or we can deal with issues as they arise, which I’m also okay with. Waiting gives our relationship time to grow legs even stronger than the ones we have now.”
“What if we wait and we get really close and then we can’t make it work?” She began pacing.
Grayson pulled her to him again. “First things first. When something comes up, please don’t pull away. Issues seem bigger when you’re alone.” He tightened his grip around her, and a smile lifted her cheeks, the worry in her eyes softening. “If we can’t make it work, it means we don’t want it to work.”
“Okay. I like when you’re right.”
“So do I.” He gave her a chaste kiss, because if he kissed her the way he ached to, he’d end up scooping her into his arms and carrying her up to the bedroom—and her calls, and their outing, would be forgotten.