I pulled into the restaurant and parked. I didn’t see Greyson’s truck right off, but the parking lot was pretty busy. It was possible he could have parked on the street somewhere.
I walked into the restaurant and took a deep breath. I had rehearsed what I wanted to say to him a hundred times in my head. Now I wasn’t sure what to say to him at all. I owed him an apology, that much I knew. But I still wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing here.
I glanced around the restaurant. The tables were full of happy smiling families, couples, and groups of people. I glanced from side to side, anxious to see the familiar face I was looking for.
Maybe I was early and he wasn’t here yet? He was usually so punctual.
“Table for one, miss?” the restaurant host asked, interrupting my thoughts.
“Uh, yeah. I mean no, two. Sorry. I’m meeting someone,” I stammered. I tried to fight back the moisture collecting in my eyes as I sat down at the table. Alone.
Chapter 25
Ninety seconds. That’s how long I sat at the table before hot tears slowly slid down my face. Greyson wasn’t here. He wasn’t in the chair across from me, or at a different table. He wasn’t walking into the restaurant or standing near the hostess podium. Greyson did not show up to meet me.
My heart ached. I wasn’t even here out of longing for a romantic ending to whatever this relationship was. I was here more so to somehow fix what I had done wrong. To apologize to him for not listening to his explanation. To thank him for the effort he at least made in all this, when maybe I didn’t live up to my end of the bargain.
He promised he would be here. Apparently that was one lie he did in fact tell. Tears continued to pour down my face as a waiter approached me.
“Good evening miss, are you waiting for one more?” he asked politely. I looked up at him with my sad eyes and I couldn’t respond.
“Oh no, shit. You’re… you…” he stammered. “Christy!” he shouted across the restaurant to a young girl standing in the hostess area. He motioned at me as he said it, and the girl quickly made her way over to me.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” she said as she approached the table, looking a little frazzled. “I was supposed to catch you when you came in. I feel terrible. I am so sorry,” she said again as she pulled a small envelope out of her apron pocket. She gave me a sympathetic smile and walked back to the hostess area. The waiter simply nodded at me and walked away.
I slowly opened the envelope with my shaking hands. I wiped the tears off my face and took a deep breath, totally unsure of what was happening.
I pulled out a silver key, taped to a note that simply read ‘The Unexpected.’ That was it. No further indication as to what the key was for, or what I was supposed to do next. It seemed so typical of Greyson, which in turn frustrated me.
I eyed the key suspiciously. It definitely looked like a house key, but it was different from the one I already gave back to Greyson for his apartment. It was too small and simple for a car key, but too big to belong to something like a safe or a luggage lock.
If it was a house key, that seemed ironic, considering I didn’t have a house. Why didn’t he include more on the note? I stared at the words on the piece of paper in my hands. ‘The Unexpected.’ What was Greyson doing?
I wiped off my face one last time and regained my composure, walking out of the restaurant with very little pride and a useless key. I stood outside my car for a moment, unsure of where to go or what to do. Did I even want to drive to his house? I came out tonight to apologize to him, not for a scavenger hunt. I felt frustrated and uncertain, and I wasn’t sure what I was expected to do. This guy made me crazy from the first time I met him. How was he still getting under my skin?
I got in my car and started driving, aimlessly really, though still in the direction of Greyson’s condo. Downtown was full of life as tourists crossed streets, families laughed and filled up ice cream shops, and lights twinkled overhead. The world seemed calm. Certainly less chaotic than everything that had happened over the last week.
As I turned right onto Dixon Drive, I remembered the night Greyson brought me to the property he wanted to buy. The way his face lit up as he talked about something he wanted so badly. He had that same look on his face when he talked about wanting me too. At least that was something genuine, something real about him. Instinctively I pulled into the parking lot where we talked that night, and where I had yelled at him just days ago. There were no other cars in the parking lot, but I wanted to just sit in silence for a moment. I needed to figure out what I was doing and what I even wanted.
Perhaps it was the glare of the setting sun, but it almost looked like there were lights on inside the building.
I shut my car off, still hoping to have a few minutes of quiet to gather my thoughts, but my eyes caught a glimpse inside. There were lights on in there. As I took a closer look, I could see there were also beautiful illuminated counters, menu boards hung on the wall, and… were those bakery cases?
For a moment I felt sad. Sad to think someone had bought this property when I knew Greyson wanted it so bad. I knew he would be heartbroken when he found out, if he didn’t know already. I climbed out of my car, looking around the building. There were definitely lights on inside, but where were the people? There were no other cars nearby. No other signs of life.
I walked up to the window and peeked inside. The place was freshly painted, and I could tell the new owners were putting a lot of work into it. The bakery cases I noticed earlier were full of cake slices. That seemed very odd, given that the place clearly wasn’t open for business yet.
Oh. Wait a minute. No.
My brain felt on fire as I turned the key from Greyson around in my left hand. I knew I would feel like an idiot immediately after putting this key into the door lock, but something compelled me to do it anyway.
Click. Shit. The key worked.
I slowly opened the door, completely freaked out by whatever was happening. The space was amazing, and I was in awe of how far it had come from the night I first saw it; dirty, rundown, and unimpressive.
“Hello?” I said softly.
I heard a loud noise, as if someone was setting something down on the concrete floor tucked back in what would presumably be the kitchen area. Greyson appeared, his blue shirt and jeans marked with paint. His blonde hair was messy and his blue eyes looked sincere as they met mine.
“You knew where to find me,” he said quietly, looking vulnerable as he put his hands in his pockets.
“Not really. I thought the key was for your house, or maybe for something in your house. I was just driving by this way, and, I don’t know. I just wanted to stop for a minute to think, and then I saw the lights,” I replied.
“You thought the key was for my house? So you were driving there to move in with me?” he asked coyly. I could tell by his smirk he was prepared to completely pull me in all over again.
“Not exactly,” I stated as he slowly walked towards me. "Why weren't you at the restaurant?"
"I didn't want to be stood up again twice by the same girl. Actually, that would be three times. You didn't show up after the last note I sent you. I got scared, I guess. I really didn't think you would show up tonight. The thought of you not coming crushed me, and I couldn't do it. So I just left the envelope, just in case there was even the slightest chance you still went."
“I can’t believe you bought this place,” I said in awe, looking around the building.
“I didn’t,” he replied, standing in front of me.
“What do you mean? You’re in here painting. Did you break in?” I asked sarcastically.
Greyson didn’t reply. He just stared at me with his piercing eyes. He had an ever-so-slight smile on his lips.
“Greyson, seriously. What are you doing here then? What are those?” I asked, pointing to the bakery case. It appeared to be full of cake slices. As I approached the case and looked closer, I realized they were all slices of carrot cake. “What’s going on
?” I asked curiously.
“I wasn’t sure which carrot cake you liked best from which restaurant,” he said shrugging. “So I just got a piece from every place in town that carried it. In case you came by.”
“Greyson, I still don’t understand. You really bought this place? It’s yours now?” I asked again.
“No,” Greyson said, hesitating. “This place is yours, Mal. I mean, hopefully if you’ll say yes, this place could be ours.”
“Greyson, what would you… what are you…” I struggled to form any rational sentences.
“I know you don’t want me to fix anything, Mal. I get that. But what you don’t understand is, you’re not broken. There is nothing about you I would want to fix or change. I love everything about you the way you are. I just want to be with you, Mal. That’s it. Just you. Me. Rules or no rules, I don’t care. I just… I just want to go through life with you. I want to wake up with you and cook you breakfast. I want to laugh with you, and lay in the sun with you, and make you try all the food I cook. I want to spend family dinners with you and late nights with you. Even when you’re yelling at me, I can’t help it. I still just want to be with you. You make me crazy in the best way, Mal.”
I stared at Greyson, speechless. I hadn’t even apologized yet for the art festival fight we had, and yet here he was, not even mad about me not listening to him.
“Greyson, are you serious? I’m stubborn, and opinionated, and busy, and…”
“So be busy with me, here,” he said, interrupting me, raising his hands at the room we were in. “Then even if we’re insanely busy, we’re still together.”
“It’s only been three weeks Greyson. That’s crazy,” I said, shaking my head.
“So be crazy with me,” he responded, putting his arms at my waist. “If you want, if it will make you feel better about all of this, I’ll give you a ring for that key,” he said with a smirk. He reached into his pocket and pulled out my bird key chain. As he handed it over to me, I noticed there was a square cut pink sapphire ring hanging from the key ring. “Don’t freak out on me, it’s just a gift. I couldn't just re-gift you back your own bird. I know you said being a Virgo means nothing to you, but it at least means sapphire is your birthstone, right? So your birthday is coming up really soon?”
I nodded my head, still unable to speak.
“So you can tell yourself this is just a birthday present if you don’t want to look anymore into it. But what I’m trying to say is, I’m serious about this. About us. And I know it’s only been three weeks, and I know it hasn’t been perfect. But I do know that I will give this everything I have.”
My eyes felt moist and I still felt at a loss for words. All of this came out of nowhere. I never saw Greyson coming and certainly never saw where any of this was going.
“Don’t say no," he pleaded.
"Are you still trying to tell me what to do?" I asked with a slight smile.
"Sorry, no. Look, you don't even have to give me an answer until you’ve tried every piece of carrot cake in here,” he said, motioning to the bakery case.
“Is that bribery?” I asked softly. “I don’t say no to carrot cake.”
Greyson put his hand on my face and kissed me gently.
“Good. Then I’m feeding you a piece of carrot cake every day for the rest of your life,” he responded. Greyson swept me up into his arms and set me on the countertop.
“I don’t know, carrot cake every day? That seems a little predictable,” I mused. “I think I’d rather be surprised. After all, we both know I prefer the unexpected.”
Six Rules: Book Two in the SIX Series Page 16
