Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 74330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 372(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
“I can see them doing that.” She chuckles, handing my phone back to me.
“Thank you, Laken. I enjoyed your company.” I relish holding her in my arms and the feel of her lips pressed to mine.
“It was the best first date.”
“Definitely. Lock up after me.” I lean in and kiss the corner of her mouth. “Night, Laken.”
“Night, Grayson. Drive safe.”
“Always.” I step outside and wait until I hear the lock slide into place before walking back to my truck. The entire drive home, I let the night play on repeat.
The fear, the nerves, the guilt, it’s all disappeared. One night with the gorgeous redhead, and she’s managed to ease them all.
Chapter 13
Laken
My alarm blares in my ear at fifteen minutes before seven. I don’t open the store until eight, but I’m still exhausted. I stayed up way too late talking to Grayson on the phone once the girls went to bed. This has become our nightly ritual over the last two weeks. This coming weekend the girls are staying with their grandparents, so that means it's date night, and I’m excited to get to spend some time with him one-on-one.
I feel a little guilty being excited that the girls are going to stay with their grandparents. It’s not that I don’t want them with us, but Grayson isn’t ready to tell them about us, and I understand that. So we haven’t been on another date since our first. Well, we have, if you count me stopping by to bake cookies with the girls and stealing kisses with Grayson.
I also go over a couple of nights a week after the girls are in bed. Thankfully, it’s summer, so we cuddle out on the back deck underneath the stars. I feel as if we’re teenagers sneaking around, but I understand why we’re doing it. His daughters need to come first, and I not only understand that, but I respect it.
Grabbing my phone, I’m already smiling before I even see his message. That’s become a new routine for us as well. Good morning and goodnight texts. They’re the highlight of my day. What am I saying? Any messages, or calls, or visits from Grayson are the highlight of my day.
Today, he’s coming to the store to eat lunch with me. We’re not hiding from the town, just his daughters. I asked him what he would do if someone mentioned us in front of the girls. He said he didn’t think anyone in Mason Creek would do that, and I happen to agree. They might be nosey as hell and be all up in everyone’s business, but they wouldn’t involve the girls in that gossip. Everyone in our small town knows they lost their mother tragically, and they also know that I’m the first woman Grayson has dated since his wife. They’ll tread carefully as they talk about us.
Gotta love small-town living.
Grayson’s message is a picture of him lying in bed. The spot next to him is empty.
Grayson: Wish you were here.
I smile and take a similar photo to send back to him.
Me: I have a spot for you too.
That’s one of the things that I love about our relationship. We’ve spent a lot of time talking and getting to know one another, and there is an honesty and a trust between us that I’ve never had with any other man.
Grayson: I like the sound of that.
Grayson: Are we still on for lunch today?
Me: Yep.
Grayson: Noon?
Me: I’m flexible.
Grayson: As long as we don’t get a run around then, I’ll be there.
Me: Be safe.
Tossing my phone on the bed, I throw off the covers and get moving. I need to shower and put the Crock-Pot on low. I made beef and noodles yesterday, and I figure we can eat that with lunch and the homemade biscuits I made last night while Grayson and I were on the phone. I know he’ll have to get back to the station, and I didn’t want to spend half of our lunch together with him having to go and grab something for us. That happened last week. This week, I’m being selfish.
I want all of his time that he has to offer me.
At precisely noon on the dot, the chime on the door alerts me to a customer. Glancing toward the door, I smile when I see Grayson. My smile grows even wider when I remember that my last customer just left, and we have the place to ourselves, at least until the next customer arrives. I don’t know how long that will be, so I rush out from behind the counter and meet him halfway. A quick peck to his lips is all he gets before I’m taking him by the hand and dragging him with me to the foyer that leads to my place. I can hear the door and even see it from this angle, but they won’t be able to see us.