“So her answer to addressing those issues was to leave home?”
“Pretty much.”
India whistled. “I understand why emotionally you’d still be rough around the edges.”
“Tell me about it,” Graydon said with a sad shake of his head.
“Speaking of, ah, rocky former significant others…the guy I was hooked up with left the morning I told him I was pregnant with his child.”
“No-o-o-o.”
“Yes.”
“How far along are you?”
“Six weeks, so the whole scorned-lover thing is kinda new, but with hormones raging and all, I’m catching on fast.”
Pregnant.
Wow. He hadn’t seen that coming.
As the night wore on, Graydon tried wiping that fact from his mind, but for him the knowledge was the room’s big pink elephant…the slap in the face he’d needed to remind himself why he’d come to this reunion: to once and for all prove to his old crowd that he was a changed man.
Nice speech, but where did that leave him in regard to his ever-growing fascination with India’s smile?
Chapter Three
A short while later, during a conversational lull, India revisited a topic she and Graydon had skipped over earlier. “So you live in Lake Placid, huh? As in New York?”
“Ever been?”
Ha! “This is my first trip outside of Ohio.” But thanks to her dad, she had lived in what had felt like darn near every city in the state.
“How can that be if this is your hometown? I mean, you did graduate from Silver Cliff High, right?”
“Um…” Nibbling the inside of her lower lip, India said, “I tried clearing that up earlier, but Tiffany got in the way. I didn’t exactly go to your school—or even graduate in 2004. Just got adopted by that pushy lady with the buttons. I wanted to explain, but she—”
“Trust me,” he said with a laugh, “you aren’t the first to be steamrolled by Miss Blanchard.”
After discussing her true high-school stats, he asked, “So? What brought you to town?”
India told him about Lyndsay having sung Silver Cliff’s praises enough to make her yearn for a slice of the mountain heaven. “I thought that with my sister here, there could be no better place to raise my baby.”
“What made your sister take off?”
“Don’t have a clue. I keep getting the voice-mail message on her cell.”
“Are you worried?”
“Not really. Of the two of us, Lyndsay’s always been more of a free spirit. I’m the homebody type.” Or, at least had wanted to be.
“She stay in touch with your folks?”
“Mom’s been gone for twenty years.”
“Like, dead?” He winced.
“Just gone.” After picking up a twig at her feet, India snipped it into quarter-inch sections, thrilled for the distraction.
“Bet that must’ve been rough.”
“In the beginning, but she was never really there in the first place, if you get my meaning.”
“Unfortunately, I do,” he said, hunching over and resting his elbows on his knees. “Reminds me of how I was as a father when Jake was born. Back then, I was pretty deep into the whole pro-circuit scene. Compete by day, party by night, travel so much in between that I’d wake not knowing where I was.”
She glanced his way. “That’s a heavy admission for a first date.”
“That what this is?” he asked, tucking a small pine bough behind her ear. “A date?”
Mouth dry, pulse racing, inordinately aware of him beside her—not just physically, but of his vulnerability and depth of spirit—she shrugged, making an effort to play it cool. At the end of the reunion, he’d be heading back to New York. She’d just landed a dream job in a dreamy town. It didn’t matter that with every fiber of her being, she ached to somehow soothe the sadness behind Graydon’s half smile. She had her own emotional wounds to heal. So, knowing all that, why couldn’t she stop herself from asking, “Would you want it to be? A date?”
In fading twilight, his gaze locking with hers in a dark-eyed stare so intense she almost stopped breathing, he nodded, then shook his head. Chuckling, he said, “I don’t know what I want, other than to sit here on this bench and spend the rest of the night watching fireworks with you.”
“And later? When the fireworks are over?”
He leaned in for a long, lingering, thoroughly enjoyable kiss. Softly, sweetly, he stroked her tongue, muddling her mind with heat and urges and needs she’d thought forever gone along with her lousy ex. Graydon tasted faintly of beer and watermelon and man—all man.
Turning to him in the darkness, easing her arms around his neck, sliding her fingers into his hair, India ignored the alarms ringing in her head. As a soon-to-be mom, she had no business making out on a very public park bench with a man she hardly knew. It didn’t matter that she felt as if she’d always known him. What mattered was providing a safe, secure home for her baby. A home in which all tension was removed, leaving only peace.
But then the evening’s show started with a glorious explosion of fireworks, mimicking the tiny explosions in her chest.
Why did her freshly wounded heart insist on galloping every time she met Graydon’s heated gaze? Shouldn’t she still be cautious after what had happened with Zack? Why, with everything in her, did she want to stay on this bench, Graydon beside her, till the crowd thinned, and longer still till the sun rose?
“Darlin’,” her “date” said, coming up for air, his handsome face reflecting the sky’s dazzling color, “as for what happens after the fireworks…I’ve got a sinking suspicion that where the two of us are concerned, they may never end.”
Knowing he was right, yet accepting the impossibility of their ever sharing much more than this one shining moment, India’s mood turned melancholy.
*
GRAYDON KISSED HER again, slowly, deeply, hoping to rock India’s soul as blasts rocked the ground at their feet. Something about the woman made him crazy. Kissing her was akin to snowboarding fresh powder faster than he knew was safe, but the high of her kisses stole all reason. Odds were, with the dozens of activities the reunion committee had planned, he wouldn’t get the chance to see this beauty again. Of course, he shouldn’t want to see India again. But something about her made the bad boy still in him stand up and roar.
Drawing back, he cupped her cheeks, his gaze locked with hers. At the unexpected sadness in her eyes, he asked, “Everything all right?”
She nodded.
“Then what’s with the pouty look?”
“I don’t pout.”
“News flash,” he teased, “you are now.”
She sighed, gently pushed him away. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”
“Talking?” His failed attempt to be serious had her shooting him a glare.
“You know what I mean. I’m about to be a parent. I’m setting down roots. I can’t just run around town kissing the first boy I meet.”
“Yeah,” he said, agreeing with her in that he, too, had no business indulging in a fling. “But I’m all man.”
“Stop,” she said, laughing while nudging him to the other side of the bench. “I mean it.”
“I know.”
“And?” she urged.
“And…as much as it sickens my male pride to admit it, you’re right.” But that’s as far as I’m willing to go. I’m not willing to apologize again for kissing you, when your lips are the best thing to happen to me in months. Hell—years! “Tonight should be the end of the road for us.”
“I agree. I’ve got a ton of stuff to do tomorrow.”
“Me, too.”
“So where does that leave us?”
Feeling all of ten, he reached for her hands, eased his fingers between hers, brushing her palms with the pads of his thumbs. A knot in the pit of his stomach had him damn near as low as the day he’d announced his early pro retirement from the sport he loved.
“Graydon?”
&nbs
p; He glanced up, to discover—unfortunately—that night’s shadows had made India prettier, more intriguing, than ever. A few runaway curls escaped her messy ponytail, giving him the asinine urge to capture one and use it to tug her to him for another kiss. Mouth dry, he somehow managed to swallow. “Yeah?”
“What do you want to do?”
He kissed her again.
A full, delicious minute later, she said, “That wasn’t exactly what I’d had in mind as an answer.”
“Complaining?”
“No, but…”
“I know.” Back to cupping her cheeks, he rested his forehead against hers and sighed. “In answer to your question where does all this leave us? While it’s depressing to admit, I’m afraid that after tonight, the two of us will probably just be a great memory.”
*
“YOUR ROOMIES TOLD ME I’d find you here.”
“Hey.” Friday morning, India glanced up from the newspaper’s apartment classifieds to find Graydon not in her mind’s eye but strolling through the door of the hotel employee’s lounge in all his handsome glory. Like every other place in the grand old hotel, the lounge was elegant, done in rich cream, with striking silver and jewel-toned accents. Hotel management believed that if employees felt special, their contentment would trickle down to the guests. So far, from everyone India had met, the theory proved out. Though she didn’t officially start her new career till Monday, already she felt at home among her future coworkers. The one place she didn’t feel quite at ease was in Graydon’s commanding presence. His piercing gaze caused her pulse to race. “Thought you were off hiking with your old pals.”
He shrugged, helping himself to the lounge chair beside hers. “I was, but…”
“But what?” His open-ended statement left her folding her newspaper with the circled ads facing out. It looked as though her apartment hunt was momentarily on hold.
“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “All that my buddies want to do is thrill-seeking stuff I have no business participating in.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“For starters, bungee jumping off Dead Man’s Gorge.”
“Mmm… Sounds like fun.” She winced.
He chuckled. “To be straight with you, it is.”
“Then how come you’re not up there taking the plunge?”
Sighing, he said, “I’m a dad. A professional. I have responsibilities not only to my son but to the boarders I coach. What if I got hurt? Who’d care for Jake? Who’d see my guys through their competitive seasons?”
“Well—” India angled in the overstuffed chair to face him “—in an emergency, your fellow coaches could take over your protégées and Tiffany could step in with Jake, don’t you think?”
Graydon snorted. “She already left him once. Who says she wouldn’t again? Besides which, supposedly, a big part of the reason she left me was because of my ‘wild, thrill-seeking ways.’ I don’t want to be like that anymore. Not just because it’s time I grew up, but so that Jake has a father he can rely on.”
With a considering nod, India digested what Graydon had just admitted. What kind of woman was Tiffany to have left him when he was apparently trying hard to overcome past sins? But then, not knowing the other woman’s side, maybe it was Tiffany’s drastic step that had jolted Graydon onto a straight-and-narrow path? For all India knew, part of his driving force to now be superdad could be to impress Tiffany into taking him back.
Mouth dry at the idea that the special moments they’d shared may have been little more than rebound kisses, India tucked her hair behind her ears. After swigging from the bottled water she’d found in the lounge fridge, she asked, “So then earlier—you know, when Tiffany thought you weren’t fit husband material—you feel you also let Jake down?”
“Yes. Maybe. I don’t know.” Tracing the upholstery’s swirling cream-on-cream pattern, he added, “How do you judge intangibles like that? I mean, since his birth, the little guy’s meant the world to me. His mother used to. Once Jake was walking and talking, I cut way back on my touring schedule—hell, cut my partying, too—but it was never enough, so I quit the pro tour altogether. Even that wasn’t sufficient.”
“Not that it’s any of my business, but did you ever think nothing would’ve been? Good enough, that is? Maybe while you were out on the road, earning a living for your family, Tiffany changed. For that matter, maybe you never knew her at all. That’s how it was for me with Zack.”
“Yeah, but you were only with him a few weeks. I was with Tiff years.”
“True.” Meaning what? That just because India’s time with her ex had been brief, albeit intense, it hadn’t mattered? That her pain wasn’t valid?
Sulking, India grabbed for her paper.
Apparently, the kind, compassionate man she’d been with the night before had been just a dream, because at the moment, she felt stung by the realities of the harsh light of day.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “about whatever happened with your wife, but even though Zack and I were together only a short while, trust me, I’m hurting, too. I may not be heartbroken, but I’m carrying his child, which comes with its own set of troubles. Like you, whether I like it or not, I’ll share a lifelong connection to an ex that I’d give anything to sever. Not that I don’t want this baby. Just that I wish he or she had been conceived under happier, more stable, circumstances.”
“Hey…”
Graydon’s voice had softened. He eased his fingers between hers. His touch felt indescribably natural. As if it wasn’t a place called home she’d been seeking, but a person. As if wherever this stranger who’d burst into her life would be, was also where she’d find safety and shelter and strength. All of which was ludicrous, considering she hadn’t yet known him twenty-four hours!
“Sorry,” he said. “That came out wrong. I in no way meant to imply that what you’re going through isn’t rough. And to prove it, how about letting me take you to breakfast?”
“Thanks,” she said, ire melting at his words, “but I already ate.” Besides which, as much as Tiffany apparently found you unpalatable, I could eat you up. And that, too, made no sense, given that in a few days he’d return to Lake Placid and she’d launch into her new life. As she knew only too well from her time with Zack, hot guys came and went, but opportunities like the one she’d been gifted with at the Silver Palace didn’t happen along every day.
“In that case,” Graydon said, snatching up her newspaper from where she’d placed it on the coffee table, “how about I show off my vast local knowledge by helping you find a great place to stay?”
India knew that as attracted to Graydon as she was, her best course would be flying solo on the apartment-hunting mission, but the prospect of spending more time with him was appealing. As a bonus, she’d get more done with him than without. After all, who better to have as her own personal guide than a man who’d grown up in the place she and her baby would from now on be living in?
“Well?” he asked, giving her shoulder a nudge. “I know some great, out-of-the-way places reserved for locals only. One word from me and doors will magically open.”
At his earnest expression, she laughed. “Think that highly of yourself, do you?”
Chapter Four
“Is it someone’s turn to apologize?” Graydon inquired, words nearly lost in the winding stream’s gurgle. As promised, he’d followed through in hooking up India with a great place to live. His mom’s old canasta buddy, Margaret Walters, was as sentimental as ever about leasing her furnished guesthouse—a pint-size, fairy-tale chalet tucked in a towering pine forest—to friends only. Her long-deceased husband had built the place, hoping to encourage their children and grandchildren to visit more often. Too bad for them that when they came now, there were so many that Margaret put them up at the Silver Palace. Meaning, India had just gotten lucky.
“There’s no way Margaret’s willing to rent something like this for so little. As adorable as it is, she could easily get double what she’s as
king.”
“True, but as she pointed out,” he said with a happy jingle of the keys, “it’s never been her practice to price-gouge a friend.”
“But I’m not her friend. She doesn’t know me from Adam.”
“Ever heard of a friend by association?”
“Sure, but—”
“Face it,” he said, drawing her into his arms for a hug, resting his chin atop her head, breathing in her clean, soapy smell, “you’ve now entered the twilight zone of small-town life. All hope of privacy has been lost, but you gain friendships that’ll last your whole life long.” Releasing her not because he wanted to but because, in the very act of her signing a yearlong lease with Margaret, India had also signed away any and all hope of exploring their relationship further, Graydon fought a flash of frustration. “Simply by knowing me, you now know everyone I do.” He snorted. “A fact that could be good or bad.”
Shaking her head and grinning, she released a good-natured groan, then mounted the steps to a deck overhanging the tumbling stream. She rested her elbows on the wooden railing, her expression serene. “You can’t imagine what a dream come true this is for me,” she said. “I grew up in seedy apartments that reeked of cooked cabbage and cheap cologne. To now have this…” She straightened, shifted her hands protectively over her stomach.
Never had Graydon seen a woman look more beautiful. Never had he wanted to kiss a woman more. Never had he been more acutely aware of his vow to become a changed man.
India was clearly getting her life on track. Everything was coming together for her. Job, house, personal life. There was no place in her world for him.
“How can I ever thank you?” she said, gesturing to her tranquil surroundings, voice husky.
“No need,” he replied, chest swelled with satisfaction at having provided not only pleasure but a haven for her during her pregnancy. Margaret would only be a few steps away if help was required. Shoot, for that matter, India would no doubt be a comfort to the older woman, as well. The fit was perfect. Unlike the attraction simmering between the two of them. “Glad I could help.”
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