Fall For You: A Reverse Grump Romantic Comedy (A Season's Detour, Book 2)

by Hayleigh Sol

  Yes, in fact, we do.

  “I’m so excited about this weekend, I couldn’t sleep last night.”

  Hmm, insomnia must be going around.

  “Do you ever get restless at night, Garrett?”

  Involuntarily, the corner of my mouth turned down at what sounded like an innocent‌–‌enough question but carried the undertone of suggestion.

  The object of that innuendo spotted my half‌–‌frown‌—‌probably because he kept looking at me‌—‌and I glanced up at precisely the right moment to catch the corner of his mouth turn up in a half‌–‌smile.

  Great, now he’s going to assume I’m jealous.

  “Sometimes. How about you, Bailey? Have you been sleeping well this week?”

  “Yep.”

  Ashley crossed one leg over the other and leaned forward in her seat. “Tracie was telling me you sail, Garrett, and that you might take us out on the water this weekend. She also said you used to race in college? I think that is so amazing.”

  He chuckled and focused on Ashley. Finally. “I don’t know about ‘amazing’, but for a while there, we were ranked in the top ten. The sailing program was one of the reasons I went to UC Santa Barbara. Have you been out in a boat before?”

  “No, but I’ve always wanted to. Will you show me what it takes to be your first mate?”

  I managed to hide my chortle with a cough, just barely. Maybe not as well as I thought, since Ashley’s head swiveled in my direction. “Sorry, must have a little tickle from the champagne bubbles.”

  “Have you ever been sailing, Bailey? When we talked about it before, you didn’t say.”

  Was he deliberately reminding me of that first night in his apartment? Like I could forget.

  “Yeah, uh‌…‌my dad took my brother and me out a few times when we were really young.”

  The light of understanding in his eyes as he nodded slowly made me feel like we were alone. “And you haven’t been out since you were little? We’ll have to change that this weekend.”

  “Hey, did you guys bring costumes for tomorrow night? I couldn’t think of anything, so I just picked up some cat ears and I’m wearing a little black dress.” Ashley shrugged, still focusing most of her attention on Garrett.

  “Black cats on Halloween are always a good bet,” I said, smiling reassurance at her. Coming up with a costume had been pretty challenging for me, until I’d thought about the why and who of the weekend.

  “With what you do for a living, I bet you came up with something great, Bailey.”

  I was pretty pleased with my choice, actually, but not ready to reveal all. “I think I did okay. How about you, best man? Will you be participating in any costume contests?”

  “We’ll see.” Ah, Garrett was keeping mum about his own plan; he looked happy with himself, though. “The expert here will have to let me know if I’ve played up my assets and downplayed my flaws.”

  Ha! What flaws?

  Ashley glanced at me, then back at him, not missing the way he continued to eye‌–‌flirt like crazy with me. It made my skin tingle and my throat dry. Exactly the reaction I was trying to avoid by keeping my distance from him this morning. Still, I was finding it difficult not to return his knowing half‌–‌smile. The kind people who’d seen each other naked exchanged.

  “Garrett”‌—‌Ashley placed a hand on his thigh, drawing his attention her way‌—‌“tell me about your restaurants. Lately, I’ve been craving something delicious from Bite Me.”

  Despite a heroic effort, my eyes dipped down to the manicured fingers still on Garrett’s leg. When had Ashley been to his restaurant? And had he “tested out new menu items” on her, too? I felt my nose flare, like a jealous twit. I forced myself to look out the window next to me.

  Ahh, yes, fluffy white clouds. How scenic.

  Hearing Garrett talk about his newest restaurant, I wanted to ask questions of my own, surprised to hear he’d already implemented one of the changes I’d casually suggested when we’d been discussing it in bed last week. I fidgeted in my seat, fighting the urge to engage. If Ashley wanted him, she could have him. Didn’t mean anything to me.

  “What do you think, Bailey? Does that seem like the kind of spicy‌–‌sweet combo you’d enjoy?” He’d been describing a new menu item that was his take on a fruit salad. Continuing to ignore them would make my little green monster evident, so I turned a sunny smile on him and agreed that it sounded delicious. I did one better and asked if he’d make it for all of us this weekend.

  “Oh, it does sound wonderful, but I really have to watch my carbs. If I ate all that fruit you did earlier, Bailey, I’d be big as a house.” Ashley patted her flat belly.

  What a pity. Ashley thought we were in some kind of competition over Garrett. She’d made her comment seem like a compliment but, really, she was trying to prove to a potential mate that she was a superior choice because she cared more about her diet.

  Maybe it was snarky of me, but she’d poked the bear. And I did have a decent background in nutrition. “Actually, fruit isn’t the kind of carb you need to watch out for. Simple carbs like pizza are what’ll kill ya.”

  Garrett, the former pizza lover, grinned. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s not on Drill Sergeant Bailey’s approved menu. What would a slice of the good stuff earn me in your brutal boot camp? Twenty pushups? No, fifty burpees. I seem to recall those are your personal favorites.”

  “Both.” I smirked at him, until I spotted Ashley’s confused look and explained that I taught a class on Sundays.

  “Gosh, I didn’t realize you two had gotten to know each other so well.”

  Tilting his head at me, Garrett pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow, waiting me out.

  “Oh, you know”‌—‌I aimed for breezy‌—‌“it’s probably a side effect of all this maid of honor, best man stuff. Planning this weekend and‌…‌other‌…‌stuff for the wedding.”

  Simone would make me list every synonym for “stuff” known to the English language if she’d heard me just now.

  Ashley and Garrett didn’t seem bothered by my inarticulateness‌—‌hmmph, where were you a second ago, brain?‌—‌and they started talking about the last wedding she’d coordinated and how exhausting it had been.

  She yawned, then laughed about proving her point.

  Garrett pointed across the aisle. “You should stretch out on one of the couches. Look, Kev’s already claimed the other one.”

  “Oh‌…‌well, I wouldn’t want to couch‌–‌block anyone else.”

  No, what you mean to say is you’d love it if the best man joined you. She probably hadn’t intended for Garrett to send her away from their cozy chat. I had to give her points for “couch‌–‌block”, though; that was funny.

  “Don’t worry about that. The lovebirds will probably be working or gaming the entire flight and these recliners convert into beds if Bailey and I want to stretch out. You go ahead, Ashley. We wouldn’t want you to crash when we get to the beach house and miss out on whatever we end up doing tonight.”

  With a slightly mystified look, Ashley thanked him for the suggestion and wandered to the sofa at the back of the plane. She wouldn’t even be able to keep an eye on Garrett without making it obvious. I watched her for a moment, then turned back to the man in the seat across from me.

  His too‌–‌perfect smile spread. “Alone at last.”

  When the flight attendant offered to freshen up my mimosa, I asked for only half a glass. I wanted to take the edge off my nerves without lowering my inhibitions to the point that I did something foolish.

  Like climbing into Garrett’s lap and kissing that gorgeous mouth of his.

  “I think you have an admirer.”

  “Who?” I gave him an unimpressed look. “Ashley? Or were you referring to yourself?”

  And there was the half‌–‌smile I’d once accused of being a smirk. Knowing him better now‌—‌dammit, Ashley was right‌—‌I knew this was Garrett being playful. He wasn’
t really the cocky type. Comfortable in who he was, yes, but never swaggering.

  He shook his head and gave me a chastising look. “Nah, you couldn’t have meant yourself. You’ve been playing text possum this week.”

  “Text possum?”

  Sexy grin. Oh, how I loved that sexy grin. “Yep, the only way I could get you to respond was by asking a question. You were too polite to ignore me then.”

  I’d thought that was what he was up to. After the concert and sleepover‌–‌slash‌–‌gabfest, I’d tried to put a little space in our hookup scenario‌—‌our situationship? Apparently, Garrett had seen what I was doing as easily as I’d figured him out.

  Was it crazy to find some comfort in that?

  “I’d say my mama raised me right, but I’m pretty pissed at her right now and don’t really want to give her the credit for my texting etiquette.” I waved a hand through the air when he raised his eyebrows. “Long story.”

  “Long flight,” he countered.

  “Garrett‌…‌”

  “Bailey‌…‌” His brow furrowed in mock seriousness.

  I laughed, I couldn’t help myself. He was just so‌…‌irresistible.

  “So, do you want to first tell me why you’ve been avoiding me or why you’re pissed at your mom? Actually, scratch that. I know why you’ve been avoiding me.”

  It was my turn for do‌–‌tell eyebrows.

  He sighed. “Last weekend felt a bit too close to a real date and you freaked out because you enjoyed it. Even the snuggles.” We both smiled a little at that. “You’re worried because you like me and I like you and that’s not something you allow to happen very often. Maybe never.” His smile faded and he watched me with those all‌–‌seeing eyes.

  Yep, he got me alright.

  I swallowed, proud when my voice came out steady. “You might be right about some of that.”

  “Oh, please, don’t even pretend you didn’t love the snuggles.”

  Laughter burst out of me. Tracie glanced over, cocked an eyebrow and smirked‌—‌yep, smirked‌—‌at me.

  “And since you’re not going to deny what we both know is true, I think one of us should sneak into the other’s room tonight. You get to pick who comes to whom. I”‌—‌he placed a hand on his chest proudly‌—‌“am a feminist.”

  I chuckled and shook my head at him. “As everyone should be, since feminism simply means equality between the sexes. Why anyone would find half the population inferior based on their chromosomal makeup is beyond me.”

  “Don’t try to distract me with your sexy brain. We were discussing who’s going to take advantage of whom tonight.”

  Boy, this was tough. Half of me wanted to keep the saucy banter going until we decided it didn’t matter who went where, as long as we spent the night tangled up in the same set of sheets. Then I remembered last night’s twisted sheets and my dreams of Garrett and Aaron, Aaron morphing into Garrett. He was right, I was freaked out. No sense in denying it. Denial wouldn’t change anything, including the way I’d chosen to live my life.

  “Garrett‌—‌”

  “Uh oh, you’ve got breakup‌–‌face on. And here I thought we weren’t doing anything that would allow for a breakup. Didn’t we agree we were just doing ‘fun stuff and hanging out’?”

  He surprised another laugh out of me. “You know, you say that, but I can’t help but feel like that’s not what you’re thinking.”

  “That’s because of your chromosomal makeup. Everyone knows your type likes to think my type is way more cerebral than we are.”

  I opened my mouth to argue, unsure if I intended to defend the women or the men in his statement, but he raised a staying hand.

  “Let me finish. Please.” He took a breath when I nodded and pressed my lips together. “These past couple of months with you have been fun and I think it’s pretty clear that we like each other.

  “Could that eventually become something more? I don’t know. And neither do you. I haven’t pressured you into anything and I won’t. But you’re an intelligent woman who knows her own mind. You’d never allow anyone to talk you into something you didn’t want anyway. So, do me a favor and remember that we both have a say in when and how we spend time together.”

  My shoulders relaxed, I hadn’t even realized how much tension I was holding there. Hearing Garrett’s reassurance that I had a say in our‌…‌situation helped me feel more in control. I needed that.

  Sure, I was still grappling with family stuff and what my friends had said last night. And wanting to spend more time with Garrett still made me nervous as hell.

  But all he’d said was that we liked each other. I could handle like.

  “One more thing, because I know there’s been some ambiguity from some of the people in your past.” Those clear blue eyes captured mine. “I’m not confused about my feelings for you, Bailey. You’re the opposite of invisible to me.”

  Fuuuck.

  Chapter 18

  Room assignments at the beach house were given by Ashley, who was in full coordinator mode after an apparently excellent nap on the plane. She managed to play it off as casual, but it was clear to me that she’d positioned her room next to Garrett’s. And mine the farthest away, down a long hall.

  I didn’t protest. Especially once I saw the breathtaking view of the ocean from my private balcony, which boasted a cozy table and chairs for two and a padded lounge chair that beckoned me to stretch out and read a good book with the breaking waves for my soundtrack. My stomach let loose a lengthy growl, reminding me it was dinnertime. With the time change and our having stopped at a grocery store on the way to the house from the airport, the night sky beyond the house was black as pitch and dotted with stars.

  From downstairs, I heard the telltale whir of a blender and followed my ears to the margaritas Ashley had offered to make as a compliment to Garrett’s fajitas. The chef was grilling onions and bell peppers, laughing at something Ashley had said as I reached the entrance to the kitchen. Seeing the answering smile on her face as she set a frothy glass on the counter beside his cutting board, I was struck by the domesticity of the scene. Suddenly feeling like a third wheel, I nearly turned around.

  But that wasn’t like me. Slinking away when I saw the guy I’d screwed around with flirting with another chick. Even the me I’d been with Aaron had bigger lady‌–‌nuts than that.

  “Excellent, I thought the rest of you slackers were gonna let Ashley and me do all the work here.” Garrett’s wide smile had me venturing farther into the space he’d already claimed as his domain. Once we’d carted all the groceries in, he’d basically told us to scram so he could set up the kitchen to his specifications.

  He’d be such a diva to live with.

  I shook my head to clear that nonsense from it and sauntered over to snag a chopped mushroom. “Is there anything we lowly peasants can do that won’t interfere with your process, Chef?”

  With a growl that was sexier than I wanted to admit, Garrett smacked the back of my hand as I reached for another bite. “Always a smartass. I think we can trust you with setting up the tortillas and toppings over there; we’re doing this buffet style.”

  A sassy retort was on the tip of my tongue when the blender fired up again. Our mixologist didn’t seem thrilled with the banter. I shrugged that off and moved to search the cabinets for dishes to do Garrett’s bidding, nimbly swiping a black olive on my way. His shoulders dropped in frustration, but I spotted the half smile as he continued chopping.

  The other half of our sextet wandered in and we all stuffed ourselves with Garrett’s excellent cooking. Someone started a chant for tequila shots and, obliging wedding party that we were, the fun‌–‌and‌–‌games portion of the evening commenced with a revealing game of Never Have I Ever.

  Noah drank on dumped someone over text, which confirmed my suspicions of his douchiness, but he was quick to explain that they’d only been on a few dates and she’d gotten drunk enough during their last that she�
�d admitted to being on the hunt for a “rich techy guy”.

  Okay, justifiable text breakup.

  Tracie kissed him on the cheek and joked that she was with him for the same reason but was smart enough not to tell him.

  Quiet Kevin drank on been arrested, which shocked the entire group. Except Noah, who’d apparently posted his bail. The story was something about sneaking into a locked building on campus one night and the silent alarm he hadn’t realized he’d tripped. Noah had been involved in some way but neither of them were divulging additional details and the solemn nod they gave each other only made the rest of us more curious.

  As always happens with the game, the more toasted we got, the dirtier‌—‌and slurrier‌—‌the statements got.

  “Never hever‌—‌wait, hever never‌—‌no, wait.” Ashley sipped her chaser margarita, as if more alcohol was what was needed here. “Never have I ever been shkinny dipping.”

  We all drank on that one, even Ashley. Another side effect of the increasing inebriation with this game was calling oneself out, whether intentionally or not.

  “Ohmygod, you guys! There’s a giant ocean right outshide, we should totally go shkinny dip!”

  I nudged a glass of water closer to her as Tracie explained how cold the ocean would be. Kevin followed trend and announced he’d never made out with a girl, threw back a shot, and stared at the three women present with all the eagerness of a man watching a female makeout session already underway. Garrett rolled his eyes and took a drink.

  My own glass tipped back, I noticed Tracie attempt to discreetly sip from hers. Noah and I both raised eyebrows at her and she shrugged a shoulder. “What? It was in college.”

  As a giggle snuck out of me‌—‌a sure sign I was on my way to drunky‌–‌drunk land‌—‌I spotted Garrett with his own questioning eyebrow, watching me. I copied Tracie’s shrug. “I mean, who hasn’t wondered if being with chicks would save them a whole lotta boy trouble? Not that I believe sexuality is something we really choose. But, I figured, how do I know I’m not into women if I never try? So I did.”