Seaside Lovers: Grayson Lacroux (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers)

by Melissa Foster

  Grayson’s leg pressed against hers, drawing her attention back to him as his watchful eyes scanned their surroundings. He was taking his bodyguard duties quite seriously. He’d had his arm around her all night, and she’d let herself fall into the comfort of his touch and his attention. He’d leaned in a dozen times to ask her if she was having fun, offer her a drink, or make a comment.

  She knew they existed in a bit of a bubble here on the dunes with his friends and family, a world away from her real life. But she liked this bubble. She felt more like Polly tonight than she had in a very long time. Even more than when she was holed up in her house. Maybe even more than when she was with Bert, because Bert would have had serious issues with her leaving the house in the shape she had tonight, and Grayson had encouraged it. She wondered what Bert would have thought of the way Grayson had kidnapped her. She happened to love it, despite worrying about being spotted without her Parker face on.

  The girls laughed again, and Parker realized she’d had Grayson on her brain again. He was talking with the guys, paying close attention to everything Jamie and Pete were saying. She liked seeing him in his world, with his friends. It was easy to see how important they all were to each other.

  “How long are you in town?” Sky asked.

  “I’m not sure yet, probably a couple of weeks.” She wasn’t in a hurry to rush back to California, which was surprising to her, given her tendency to keep herself too busy to think. She knew Luce would have contacted Phillipa to let her know she was okay, but she made a mental note to touch base with her agent after wrapping up her visit with Abe.

  “Oh, good! Maybe you can visit me at my tattoo shop in Provincetown,” Sky said excitedly. “I’d love to introduce you to my friend Lizzie. She owns the flower shop next door.”

  “That sounds like fun.” Parker wondered if Sky sensed how much it meant to her that she wanted to introduce her to her friend.

  “Will Grayson be here that long, too?” Jana asked.

  I hope so. She looked at Grayson, and the seductive look in his eyes told her he did, too, but she didn’t want to appear possessive over a man who wasn’t really hers. “I guess that’s up to Grayson,” she finally answered.

  “Well,” Bella said with a smirk. “Based on the smoke rising from that side of the table, I’d say he’s staying however long you are.”

  Parker’s pulse raced at the thought of Grayson’s friends recognizing what she’d felt all along.

  “Maybe he and the guys can get together and we can have a girls’ day or something,” Jana suggested.

  “Yes!” Jenna said, and immediately launched into a discussion about potential outings.

  “Careful,” Leanna said to Parker. “Bella will have you married off before you even leave the Cape.”

  “Hey, I just call it like I see it,” Bella said. “I can’t help it if I’m always right.”

  Grayson squeezed Parker’s shoulder, and in that moment she realized she’d made a mistake. She’d thought she was the only one who could read the interest in his eyes, but his gaze held all the confirmation anyone needed.

  “Dance with me?” Grayson didn’t wait for an answer as he rose to his feet, bringing her up with him, and sliding an arm around her waist.

  There was barely room to move on the dance floor, but she didn’t mind. She wound her arms around his neck, her fingers playing over his skin as they gazed into each other’s eyes. She felt like she’d been waiting for this moment all her life. To be looked at the way Grayson looked at her, like he saw more than just a pretty celebrity. He made her feel special, precious, and cared for, when he checked in with her so often.

  “Are you as okay as you appear, or is this an act?” His eyes held a tease, but she heard the seriousness of his concern in his tone.

  “I’m not a good enough actress to fake how happy I feel,” she admitted. “I needed this.” I needed you.

  “My friends can be a little intrusive. By the time we leave, they’ll all have your phone number and will bug you the whole time you’re in town.”

  His hand moved to the base of her spine, bringing their bodies together. He didn’t move his body in an overtly sexual way, or leer like other guys often did. This didn’t feel like a prelude to an expectation of more. Grayson moved sensually but carefully, as if he was enjoying their connection as much as she was and was in no hurry for it to end.

  “They’re wonderful. So that would be okay with me. And your brothers and sister are really great.”

  “They’re pretty cool,” he said casually, but she’d witnessed the way he lit up when he was teasing Pete and Hunter and how serious he became when their conversation turned to their father and worries of him working too hard. He’d gone just as serious when he’d asked Sky about her tattoo business, as if he were analyzing her answers, making sure she’d made good decisions.

  She wondered if he’d kept tabs on Sky with calls, texts, or emails when he was traveling for CCF, reminding her again of all he’d given up for his brother’s relationship.

  “You’d like my other brother, Matt,” he said. “He teaches at Princeton.”

  “You mentioned him in an email over the holidays. You’re lucky to have so many people who love you. I don’t really have that type of group to fall back on. I have Luce, my PR rep who also happens to be a good friend, but she has so many clients and she lives half the time in New York, so we don’t see each other that often.”

  “I think you’ve got them now, too.” He searched her eyes, and she wondered if he could see her holding on to that offer with hope that it was true, or if her burgeoning emotions for him were blocking sight of it.

  “I can only imagine how hard it’s been going through this alone,” he said, holding her a little tighter. “When I lost my mom, I was terrified that I’d forget things about her. So I closed myself off, thinking I needed to focus all my energy on remembering her. Eventually I realized I could never forget her. She’d been too big a part of my life. I see traces of her in everything I do and say and feel.”

  “You really do get it.” Her voice cracked with emotion. She couldn’t imagine Grayson being afraid of anything, but the fear he described was so real for her, she knew he must have experienced it firsthand. “It’s hard knowing Bert’s no longer a phone call away.” They were barely dancing now, lost in a world where only they existed.

  “I really like you, Parker. You’re funny, and smart, and trying so hard to be brave in the face of losing the person you loved most. We spent months getting to know each other, and I wish I’d known about Bert so I could have been there for you sooner. But I’m here now, and I want to get to know you better and be here for you. If you’ll let me.”

  She struggled against the lump in her throat. She’d thought about being with him for so many months, wondering, hoping what she’d felt wasn’t fabricated from loneliness. But she hadn’t imagined she’d be dealing with losing Bert, or finding Abe and trying to find herself again at the same time. She couldn’t believe he still wanted to be with her, given all that she was dealing with, when he could have any woman he wanted. She wasn’t blind to the looks pretty girls had cast his way all evening, though he acted as though he was. He could have a life unencumbered by film sets and unwanted photographers. Her life was across the country, and she spent it moving from one film set to the next. She knew emails would never again be enough. She had been falling for him for months, and in just the last two days she’d fallen even harder. What would happen if she allowed herself to really get close to him? Tell him all her secrets, follow her desires and her heart?

  “I can see you overthinking this,” he said with a knowing smile. “If you’re worried about us not knowing each other very well, we’re getting to know each other better. That’s what people do.”

  “This feels very far away from my real life,” she said honestly. “I know that’s a strange thing to say, but what you have here with your family and friends is beautiful and special, and it’s very different f
rom the world I live in.” But it’s the life I’ve always wanted. “My schedule is never mine, the way it has been here. I’m usually bogged down with meetings, films, or public-relations events.”

  “I realize this isn’t what you’re used to. But you’re here now. You’re living your life. For tonight, for now, this is your real life.”

  He moved his hands up to her neck, and his thumbs grazed her jaw like they had right before he’d kissed her in the elevator. Her body remembered, heating, melting, aching for his glorious mouth to claim her.

  “You mean you want this for tonight? Us for tonight?” She didn’t do one-night stands, and she didn’t want to start. Not even for Grayson.

  His eyes warmed. “I mean I want to spend time with you. Tonight. Tomorrow. A week from now. We can see what happens, let time decide what real life is for both of us.”

  “Grayson...?” She sounded as breathless as she felt.

  “Let’s not overthink this.”

  His mouth came coaxingly down over hers, and for a second panic stole through her. Cell phone pictures! Rag magazines! But those thoughts were no match for Grayson’s kisses. She wanted this. His kiss, his touch, his caring, intense affection. For the first time since she’d lost Bert, she felt safe enough to let it all go and gave herself over to the sweet tenderness of their kiss.

  Chapter Seven

  LATER THAT EVENING Grayson pulled into Parker’s driveway and cut the engine. “Why don’t we let Christmas out and sit outside for a while? Unless you’re too tired and would rather I went home?”

  “Stay. That sounds great.” She wasn’t ready for the evening to end either. After they’d danced—and shared more magical kisses—they’d spent time with Grayson’s family and friends. Parker was delighted when, as Grayson had anticipated, the girls wanted to exchange numbers. She was starting to think Grayson had some type of weird cosmic connection to her. How did he know they’d want to bring her into their circle?

  Christmas smothered them with kisses before running off into the yard. Parker grabbed a blanket from the house, and they went out back and spread it over the grass by the edge of the bluff. Grayson put his arm around her and tucked her against his side.

  “I heard Sky say we make a cute couple,” he said casually. They hadn’t been a couple when they’d arrived, but somehow, in the space of a few short hours, they’d become one. “Are you okay with that?”

  She wondered how she could be sending vibes that told him she might not be okay with any part of this. “Are you okay with it?”

  “What do you think?” He lifted her chin and pressed his lips to hers. “But you’re pretty image conscious, and I don’t want to screw anything up for you.”

  “Grayson, it’s not that I’m image conscious. I’m conscious of my public image because I have to be. It’s my career.”

  “So I’m learning. But that doesn’t negate the fact that I don’t want to screw things up for you.”

  “Well, that’s really nice of you, but dating you can’t screw things up for me, unless you have a torrid past you’re not telling me about.”

  “No torrid past. I’ve never been a saint, but I wasn’t a scoundrel.”

  “Then what’s not to be okay with?”

  He shrugged. “Just making sure. How about you? Anything in your past that might tarnish my reputation?”

  “No. Embarrassingly, I’ve always been a good girl.”

  “I bet you have.” He kissed her again, a little longer this time. “I’ll never make fun of your goodness, but I might bring out your naughty side.”

  “How do you know I have a naughty side?” Do I have a naughty side?

  “Just a sense I get, that there’s a lot more to you than you let on.”

  There he went again, seeing her more clearly than anyone else ever had. Could he also see that she was nervous about what was happening between them?

  “I haven’t been in a relationship for so long,” she admitted. “I don’t know if I remember how.” The sea air swept up the bluff, serenaded by the sounds of the bay. She soaked up the peacefulness of the evening and the pulse-quickening waves of anticipation for what was yet to come.

  “I guess that makes two of us. We’ll figure it out.” He laced their fingers together and gazed out at the water. “Tell me about your relationship with Polly.”

  “Polly?” She couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice.

  “You mentioned her last night. You said, ‘Parker can’t do things like cry, or curse, or eat an entire jumbo bag of M&M’s and watch horror movies until her eyes nearly bleed without being judged. Only Polly can do that.’ I thought she might be your sister, but you said you had no family.”

  “I…She’s…” She looked up at the starry sky, wanting not only to share her past with him, but also to climb out from under the weight of it. Before she could talk herself out of it, she said, “I’m Polly.”

  “Oh. Is Parker your stage name? Is that what they call it?”

  She was shocked and relieved by his unfazed reaction to what felt to her like a huge reveal. “Yes. My real name is Polly Collins. My agent said Polly was too ‘Pollyanna.’ ‘Being Polly’ means being a normal person without worries about paparazzi or bad press, being able to go out with friends like we did tonight, without constantly looking over my shoulder. Which, by the way, you were right about that place. It was dark, loud, crowded, and I totally blended in with everyone. But it’s not like that where I live. Paparazzi come out of the woodwork back home, in the grocery store, restaurants, beaches. They’re everywhere. I want to be Polly so badly sometimes I can’t see straight.”

  She pressed her hand to her chest, breathing deeply. “Wow, it feels so good to say that out loud. I’ve spent my entire adult life pretending to be Parker and, for much of that time, wishing I could be Polly in public, even for a day.”

  “I really like this side of you, whoever you are right now. Polly, Parker, Parky. Yeah, maybe that’s a better name for you.”

  “Do not call me Parky.” They both laughed at that.

  “Thanks for trusting me enough to tell me. I won’t out you to the press.”

  She playfully nudged him with her shoulder. “You joke, but you have no idea what this feels like. Do you know how many people I’ve kept that from? Directors, producers, actors.”

  “And a lowly steelworker got it out of you,” he teased.

  “Lowly nothing. You’re more talented at what you do than half the actors I know are at acting.”

  He shrugged, a humble smile curving his lips.

  “I’m telling you the truth. I created that two-year contract because you and Hunter are so talented. Your work is striking. When I saw the model of your gazebo, I wanted to climb inside it with a good book, a comfy blanket, and some chocolate and hunker down for a month.”

  “Then I’ll have to build you one for the yard so you can do just that. And I’m pretty sure Christmas would be upset if you didn’t hunker down with him.” He put his cheek beside hers and said in a low whisper, “I might want to do some hunkering myself.”

  Yes, please. “Build me a gazebo and I might let you. Did you always know you wanted to work with metal?”

  “I never wanted to do anything else, so I guess you could say that. My father owns a hardware store, and he didn’t have much free time when we were growing up, but he made time to help us find hobbies we enjoyed. Probably to keep the chaos level down. I’m sure we were a handful. He built Sky a small shed that they made into an art studio. Bought Matt every book under the sun and taught Pete to refinish boats. It’s a little embarrassing to admit, and if you ever tell this to Hunter I’ll deny it, but I always thought Hunter was so cool, you know? He’s always been a bit surly, rougher around the edges than Pete and Matt. He wanted to forge metal, and I pushed my way into the lessons.”

  “You’re so confident. I can’t imagine you thinking anyone is cooler than you. You were probably competitive and wanted to do it better than him.”

  H
e laughed under his breath. “That’s probably what I should have said, but it wouldn’t be true. He’s my older brother. I looked up to him. Wanna know a secret?”

  “Who doesn’t love a juicy secret?” She loved these intimate glimpses into his youth.

  “I still think he’s pretty cool.”

  Hearing such a virile man admit something like that, she found him even more attractive. “And I had you nailed as such a tough guy.”

  Christmas ambled over and stretched out on the blanket by their feet. Grayson slipped off his shoes and rubbed his foot along the pup’s fur. “I am tough.”

  “Yeah, I can see that,” she teased.

  “What? How can you resist him?” He leaned forward and petted Christmas’s head.

  “I can’t.” Just like I can’t resist you.

  **

  GRAYSON DIDN’T KNOW what it was about Parker that made him feel like he wanted to tell her all his secrets, but the caring look in her eyes drew the truth right out of him.

  “I’ve always played my cards pretty close to my chest, but that’s impossible when I’m with you. With you, I’m more like my mother was. She couldn’t hide her emotions if her life depended on it, and you bring that out in me. No one has ever done that before.”

  “I think your mom would be happy that you’re taking after her,” she said sweetly. “You must miss her.”

  “I do. I miss a lot of things about her, like the way she’d hum when she was hiding something. She was terrible at keeping secrets, even about birthday presents. She’d nearly burst, wanting to tell us what they were.” He smiled with the memory. “And her homemade steak pie, which sounds really bad, was delicious. But what I miss most is that feeling of walking in the door and seeing her face light up, even when I was a teenager and a pain in the ass. Or when I’d call her on the phone and hear a smile in her voice, you know? Like she could push aside the annoying things we did and see the good in us all the time.”