“I’m being serious. You’ve never had a mother figure, so I’m stepping in. Here’s what my mom told me when I was about thirteen: Boys can be stupid. And they can be smart. And sometimes they can be stupid when they think they’re being smart. It’s very confusing to be a boy.”
“That’s not very helpful,” Parker said. “Grayson isn’t stupid. He knew I needed to go see Abe when I wasn’t so sure myself. And he knew I’d have a hard time if I didn’t get to give Abe one last hug before he passed away.” And roots. He knew I needed stable, unbreakable roots.
“He’s not stupid, because he’s not a boy,” Luce said evenly. “When I was eighteen my mother told me guys could be assholes, but usually they didn’t realize when they were being assholes. That was the year my boyfriend cheated on me with the class slut.”
“Are you calling Grayson an asshole? Because he’s not an asshole. He thought he was doing the right thing. He wasn’t trying to hurt me, Luce. He was trying to connect the stupid dots that probably don’t connect at all, but that doesn’t matter.” Her head was spinning, and her thoughts kept falling out. “He didn’t want to give up on finding my family, and he was trying to keep me from worrying about it just in case, so don’t call him an asshole. And you know what else? I don’t know what kind of cockamamy bullshit that was on Perez Hilton, but I know Grayson, and he wouldn’t...” She turned away, unable to say the words. He wouldn’t cheat? Would it even be considered cheating anymore? Were they still together? Did she break up with him? She didn’t even know how they’d left things.
Luce spun her around again. “Don’t turn away from your mother.”
“Then don’t call him an asshole,” she fumed.
“He’s not an asshole,” Luce agreed. “Grayson’s not a guy. He’s a man. When I graduated from college and all my friends were falling in love, and then falling apart, my mother told me this: Men lose their minds when they fall in love. They will do everything and anything to protect the woman they love. Sometimes, they get it wrong, and they do stupid things that make them look like assholes because they’re so in love they can’t see straight.”
“Luce!” Parker threw her hands up in the air and groaned. “He would do anything for me. He did everything for me. He…” Oh God, what have I done? She looked at Luce, whose gratified smile told her she’d been leading Parker down this path like a horse following a carrot. “What kind of friend are you? Why didn’t you just slap me and tell me I was being a stupid asshole?”
“I tried, but you’re stubborn.” Luce opened her arms.
“I’m too annoyed to hug you. Fuck the audition. Please can you cancel it, or reschedule, or whatever needs to be done? I don’t even care right now. And fuck Perez Hilton, the gossipmonger. Do something to him, too, please.”
“Anything for you, dear daughter,” Luce teased.
Parker pulled the clip from her hair and handed it to Luce. “Thank you for trying to make me beautiful, but I’m not feeling Parker beautiful at the moment, and I don’t want to fake it to make it. And you know what? That’s okay.”
She grabbed her purse and headed out the bathroom door.
“Where are you going?” Luce called after her.
“To call my man and tell him he’s a stupid crazy asshole who loves me too much.”
**
PARKER HOOKED UP her Bluetooth and called Grayson as she drove toward her house. Pick up. Please pick up. Her heart raced and her mind spun. What if he didn’t answer? What if the picture on Perez Hilton was from last night, and he really was with Bailey Bray? How did he even know her?
Her call went to voicemail. “Grayson, it’s Parker.” Duh. “I…Can we talk? Please? Call me.” She called Grunter’s, hoping he was there.
“Grunter’s Ironworks.”
“Hi. Is Grayson around? This is Parker.”
“Hey, Parker. It’s Clark. He’s out at meetings.”
Meetings. Great. That sounded like an excuse. “Okay, thanks.”
She ended the call and tried Grayson’s number again. It rang three times and went to voicemail. In all the time they’d been together he hadn’t had a single meeting. He was definitely avoiding her. She was sure of it. She could feel it in her gut. Maybe she’d already lost him for good.
Twenty minutes, and way too many bad thoughts later, she pulled into her driveway. Her phone rang as she stepped from the car. Her heart skipped a beat when Grayson’s name appeared on the screen.
“Grayson?”
“Hey.” He sounded tentative.
He never sounded tentative.
She froze. He’s given up on me. Please, please, don’t give up on me. “Grayson, I’m sorry I overreacted. I know you were trying to do the right thing.”
He was quiet for a long moment, and just as she began to panic, he said, “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I never should have gone against your wishes. I’ll never, ever do that again.”
Sweetheart. Tears filled her eyes. “Thank you, because even if you were being a stupid crazy asshole who loves me too much, it’s no excuse to go behind my back. Ever.”
“A stupid, crazy…I promise, baby. Never again. I… Aw, hell.”
“What?” Her stomach lurched.
“I might have gone behind your back one other time.”
“Oh God, Grayson.” Praying he hadn’t done something else as bad, she walked up the slate steps to her front door. “What did you do? Wait. Don’t tell me yet. Tell me over Skype, so if it’s really, really bad, I can turn off Skype, which is about as good as slamming a phone down.”
He laughed at that. “It’s not really, really bad, baby. But yes, let’s Skype.”
“Promise it’s not that bad?”
“Yes.”
She froze. “Grayson, does this have to do with Bailey Bray?”
“Bailey? Leanna’s little sister? No. Why would it? I haven’t seen her in more than a year. When she came down to play at the Beachcomber last time, we all went to see her.”
Leanna’s little sister? “A year ago? I saw a picture on Perez Hilton of you two sitting together.”
He laughed. “Then your goddamn LA photogs hijacked it from last year, and just so you know, I’ve never gone out with Bailey.”
Breathing easier, and harder, she was even more anxious to see him now.
“Okay. Stay on the phone with me. I need two minutes to get inside.”
“I’m here, sweetheart. Take your time. I can’t wait to see your beautiful face.”
She unlocked the door, threw it open, and stepped inside. “Hold on. I—”
Her purse and phone dropped to the floor. Grayson stood in the center of the room with his arm draped possessively around Christmas, who looked happier than he had in days, and Grayson—beautiful, crazy, loved-too-hard Grayson—looked like he hadn’t slept in days. He sported at least three days’ scruff, with dark crescents underscoring tired, loving eyes, bringing tears to hers.
**
“GRAYSON.”
Christmas woofed and went to greet Parker.
It was all Grayson could do to try to find his voice at the sight of the woman he’d thought he’d lost. His throat was already thick with emotion from their phone call, and then she said his name in that way that answered all the questions he’d spent the past two days worrying over—she loved him. She was hurt, sad, and angry, but she loved him, and God knew he loved her.
“You’re here,” she said softly.
He cleared his throat, hoping to find his voice. “I told you if we weren’t physically in the same place when you needed me, I’d be there as fast as I could.”
She wiped her tears. “You told me at the very beginning, when something comes up, not to pull away, because issues seem bigger when we’re alone. I pulled away, Grayson, and you were right. It was worse.”
He drew her into his arms, and his heart swelled. Christmas tried to nose between them, but just this once Grayson needed Parker close. He reached down and petted her boy, hoping she knew there was no wa
y he was letting either of them go again.
“I might have been right about that, but I was wrong to do what I did. I’m so sorry, sweetheart, and if you’ll forgive me, I…” He framed her beautiful face with his hands and gazed into her eyes, recognizing how big of a gift she was giving him by taking him back.
“I’ve spent the last two days trying to figure out what I could give you or what I could say to signify that I truly understand how badly I’ve messed up. That’s why I didn’t come on the next plane out of town after you left. But no matter how many times I went over it in my head, or tried to make you something that would prove to you how sorry I am, nothing came close. I finally gave up and got on a plane, and here I am.” He took her hand in his and laid his heart out before them.
“I don’t expect you to trust me again for a long time, but please know I love you. It’s not an excuse, and what I did was wrong on many levels, but I really did do it out of love. It was stupid and overprotective in the wrong way, and I will never make that mistake again. We can call and cancel the test. You’ll never have to think about it again.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. “When you brought up having a DNA test done after we saw Sarah, I was so scared. I didn’t want to think about Miriam not being alive. I was scared for Sarah, and for myself, about what connecting those dots would mean if the test came back positive. I didn’t want to think that my mother could have been in the wrong place at the wrong time because Abe had driven her away or because her mother didn’t fight hard enough for her.”
She swallowed hard, and he tightened his hold on her hand, wanting so badly to take her in his arms, but he knew she needed to get this out—and he needed to hear everything she had to say.
“I can’t change the circumstances that brought me into this world or that took my mother away. But I had Bert, and in a sense I had Abe, even if it was only for a short time. And, Grayson, I have you. I thought that was enough. But it wasn’t enough for you. You wanted to give me everything, even if the possibilities were nearly nonexistent, just like you tried to tell me.”
“I do, sweetheart. I want to give you everything. But I’ll never make the mistake of going around you again.”
“I know you won’t. You made sure I’ve had the opportunity to do things that I needed or wanted to do, even when I was scared and wanted to walk away. You’ve always known what I needed, Grayson. I don’t know how or why, but you have.”
“Sky would say it’s not me or you knowing anything. It’s the universe stepping in when we needed it most,” he said.
“I think she’d be right. She said I needed to be loved so I could heal, and she said you were ready. I didn’t understand what she meant before, but I think I do now. You were ready to love me, to be my rock, even if it meant doing hard things. I don’t want to cancel the DNA test. I need to know the truth. Thank you for not giving up on me.”
“I’ll never give up on you, baby. Not in a million years.” He leaned in for a kiss, and she pressed her hand to his chest, holding him an inch away.
“Wait. How did you get in here?”
“Luce.”
Her eyes widened. “Luce? You were her urgent call?”
He was indeed her urgent call. She’d read him the riot act before agreeing to meet him and let him into Parker’s house. “She’s wonderful.”
“She’s sneaky.” She wound her arms around his neck. “Like you.”
“Never again, sweetheart. From now on I’m an open book.”
Her eyes filled with wickedness. “Tell me about the juicy pages.”
“I’ve got a better idea.” He kissed her softly. “How about if I show you?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
PARKER LAY IN bed staring up at the ceiling, listening to what she lovingly deemed as her boys’ morning ritual—the familiar tapping of Christmas’s nails on the hardwood floor and Grayson’s sleepy, and always delightful, voice as he reminded Christmas to stay out of trouble and told their big dog he loved him before letting him outside each morning. Grayson spoiled their boy rotten. And she loved him even more for it. It had been eight weeks since she’d returned to California, six weeks since they’d received the DNA test results and learned that Miriam had indeed been Parker’s mother, and one week since she’d come back home to Wellfleet. In the span of a few weeks, she’d lost a man she loved and gained more than she’d ever imagined possible—a grandmother whom she was enjoying getting to know, a boyfriend who loved and adored her, and a sense of peace and belonging.
As if his ears were burning, Grayson sauntered into the bedroom wearing only a pair of black briefs and a sleepy, sexy-as-sin smile. “Hey, baby. Miss me?”
He leaned down to kiss her, and her heart turned over in her chest. She hadn’t fully comprehended how deeply a person could love another human being. But she was learning, because every single day she fell even more in love with Grayson.
Christmas leaped onto the bed and licked her face.
Parker fanned his breath away. “Did you give him peanut butter again?”
“Just one cookie,” Grayson said with wide, anything-but-innocent eyes. “You can’t blame me. He gave me those eyes again.”
She laughed as he sat down beside her on the bed. “Those are the only eyes he has.”
He leaned in for another kiss. “I’m a sucker for them, the same way I’m a sucker for you.”
“Lucky us.” She giggled, and he kissed her again. “Did you decide what you want to do today?” She’d wanted to go to Martha’s Vineyard, but Grayson needed to meet with a client later in the afternoon. They’d been batting around other ideas, but he seemed a bit distracted.
“You mean besides you?” He lifted her onto his lap and took her in a long, languid kiss, drugging her with his affection. He deepened the kiss, drawing hungry moans from both of them.
“Do you think we’re turning into sex maniacs?” she teased.
“I’m not sure.” He nipped her neck. “But I think we should investigate the possibility.” He waggled his brows and Christmas barked, then whimpered.
“He wants another cookie. You’ve spoiled him.”
Grayson laughed. “Actually, I think he had a burr beneath his collar. Can you check? I tried, but I had a hard time dodging his tongue long enough to get a good look.”
She rolled off his lap and began feeling Christmas’s neck. “Come here, you big peanut-butter-loving mutt—” She felt something odd under his chin. “What the heck?” She lifted Christmas’s face and spotted a little silver pouch dangling from his collar. She whipped her head around, her eyes filling with tears as she met Grayson’s loving gaze. Shivers raced down her spine, and she knew—before he had a chance to say a word, before he had a chance to blink, she threw her arms around Grayson’s neck and kissed him square on the lips.
Christmas barked, and she laughed and kissed Grayson again. Her heart didn’t just turn over. It tumbled inside her chest.
“What is all this for? Did you find the burr?”
She swatted him, laughing as their mouths came together again and Christmas pushed in between them.
“All this for a little silver pouch?” Grayson teased. “Damn. What would you give me for a peanut-butter cookie?” He wiped tears of joy from her eyes and, thankfully—because she was shaking too badly to move and clinging to him so tightly not even air could fit between them—he removed the pouch from Christmas’s collar.
“I really wanted to get down on one knee and do this right,” he said with the biggest, most loving smile she’d ever seen. He rose with Parker in his arms, dropped to one knee, and set her on the other. Christmas jumped off the bed and stood beside them, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.
“Parker Polly Collins, my sweet, amazing girl.” His voice was thick with emotion. He swallowed hard, his eyes suspiciously glassy, while a river of joy flowed from Parker’s. She didn’t even try to wipe her tears away. She didn’t want to miss one second of seeing the love on Grayson’s face.
> “I had a whole speech memorized, but, baby, you’re looking at me like that, and I’m so nervous I feel like I’m going to pass out.”
“Don’t pass out,” she said quickly. “Not until you ask me!”
“Don’t worry. I brought backup.” He opened the silver pouch and handed her a slip of paper.
Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks as she read it. “Parker Polly Collins, my sweet amazing girl, if you’re reading this, I must be out cold. I’m sorry.” She looked up and smiled.
He covered the note. “Don’t read the rest. I think I can cover it. Parker, I spent months falling in love with you from thousands of miles away, and the minute I saw you, in your sexy sweatpants, with tequila breath and your badass guard dog, I knew I was a goner.”
A half laugh, half sob burst from her lips. “Ohmygod, Grayson,” she whispered.
“Every day I learn more about you and fall in love with you all over again.”
“Grayson,” she said through her tears. “I’m not going to be able to speak by the time you’re done. Will you marry me?”
“Christ, baby,” he muttered with a smile. “I wanted to make this perfect for you.”
“Don’t you see? You already have. You gave me the family I never knew existed, and now you’ve given me something even better. A chance for our own family.”
He gazed deeply into her eyes, and her throat clogged with emotions. “Baby, will you marry me? Crazy cross-country schedules and all?”
“Yes!”
He pressed his lips to hers, half kissing, half laughing, and said, “I love you so much.”
“Good, then shut up and kiss me. I’ve never kissed a fiancé before, and I want to see if he’s as good as my boyfriend was.”
“Don’t you want to see your ring…?”
There went her thoughtful man again, trying to make her life wonderful.
“Later,” she said as their mouths came together and he carried her to the bed.
**
GRAYSON STOOD IN his yard, listening to the sounds of love surrounding him. Summer and Hannah giggled at the water’s edge. The other Seaside babies played on blankets on the shore, while their parents chatted happily around them. On the other side of the dock, Mira watched her son chase Christmas, Pepper, and Joey, who were too busy running after birds to notice. Occasional barks floated in the breezy summer afternoon.
Seaside Lovers: Grayson Lacroux (Love in Bloom: Seaside Summers) Page 22