by Marie Force
“I will, thank you. Have fun in New York, and Happy New Year.”
“That’s the plan, and same to you.” Grayson waved and headed down the stairs, rejoining Emma and Simone at a huge display of doll clothes. “What’s the verdict, Simone?”
She held up a dark blue gown on a tiny hanger. “I think this dress would look nice on Ashley. Do you?”
Grayson gave the dress a careful examination. “I agree. That color would complement her eyes.”
Emma coughed, and when Grayson glanced at her, he saw that she was covering a laugh.
“Don’t you agree, Emma?” he asked.
“Absolutely.” She rubbed her hand over her lips, clearly trying not to lose it laughing.
“I would say she needs at least two more outfits to complete her wardrobe. What about this one?” He held up a suit with five different pieces as well as two pairs of shoes.
“I like that,” Simone said, eyeing it carefully. “Are you sure? One is fine.”
Could she be any sweeter? “I’m sure. Get that one and another one. Anything you want.”
She took a careful survey of all the options before landing on a set of red plaid flannel pajamas with a matching red robe and fuzzy slippers. “How about this one?”
“A girl definitely needs PJs,” Grayson said, taking note of the others she considered for future gifts. “Let’s hit the register and then hit the road.” He steered her toward the front of the store, with a side trip to the penny candy aisle to fill a small bag, before they checked out.
“Thank you so much,” Simone said, holding her big green bag by the handles as they made their way to the car.
“You’re very welcome. I can’t wait to see how she looks in her new outfits.”
He held the door for Simone and waited until she was settled before closing it.
“Thank you,” Emma said softly. “She loved that.”
“I did, too.”
“It complements her eyes. Really?”
“It did!”
Her gaze dropped to his lips and then returned to his eyes. “You’re too much.”
“Nah, I’m just enough.” He winked and waggled his brows. “We’ve got to go.”
“I know, but I don’t want to.”
“It’s going to be okay, Emma. Remember, I promised.”
She nodded and got into the car, but when he got in, he noticed she had tears sliding down her cheeks. That was when he knew he couldn’t keep his surprise from her any longer.
“Hey.”
She looked over at him.
He raised his hand to her face and brushed away her tears. “I was thinking I might come with you guys, if you don’t mind.” To his great horror, Emma began to cry harder. “Emma, honey.” He glanced at Simone, who also seemed on the verge of tears. This surprise was not going as he’d planned.
And then Emma released her seat belt and reached for him.
Grayson pulled her in as close as he could get her with the center console between them. “Shhh. I don’t have to go if you don’t want me to.”
Emma shook her head. “I want you to,” she said softly. “I can’t believe you’re actually coming with us.”
“Only if it’s okay with you guys.” He looked to Simone, who nodded enthusiastically.
“It’s more than okay.” Right there, in front of her child, Emma kissed him square on the lips.
“Ewww,” Simone said, covering her eyes.
“That’s a relief,” Grayson said. “For a second there, I thought I’d read this all wrong.”
“You didn’t. I can’t believe this. I was so sad this morning to have to leave you here.”
He felt breathless and off-kilter when he stared at her lovely face. “You know this is totally crazy, right?”
“Totally.” She reached for his hand and held on tight. “The best kind of crazy.”
Grayson looked into the backseat, where Simone was still hiding behind her hand. “It’s safe to come out now.”
She spread her fingers.
“Are you okay with me coming with you guys?”
“Will you stay with us?” she asked.
“If that’s all right with you.”
“Sure. That’ll be fun. I can show you my room, and you can meet my friends.”
“I’d love to meet your friends.”
Emma squeezed his hand again.
He started the car and tried to focus on driving on the way out of town, but he stole frequent glances at Emma. More than once, he caught her looking at him, as if she still couldn’t believe this was happening. He knew how she felt. He couldn’t believe it either, but if this was crazy, he never wanted to be sane again.
He was coming home with them! Emma could barely contain the excitement that came from knowing they had more time together. She didn’t have to leave him and go back to her “normal” life and be forced to pretend that nothing had changed when everything had.
The relief was so profound it left her feeling dizzy and off kilter. She held on to his hand and repeatedly looked over at him, trying to confirm he was real, that this was real. Emma had never experienced this kind of joyful excitement, except in relation to her daughter. But that was a different kind of excitement. This, with him, was something all new, something private and deeply personal.
The man who’d fathered Simone had been the only real “boyfriend” she’d ever had, and it was a stretch to call him a boyfriend or what they’d had a real relationship. Grayson was the first man she’d ever been seriously involved with, and she couldn’t wait to show him their home, introduce him to their friends and spend more time with him.
Under normal circumstances, she’d never have introduced a new man to her daughter so soon. However, Simone had been a part of “them” from the beginning, acting as a matchmaker by encouraging Grayson to ask her to dance at Hunter’s wedding. Simone liked him. He liked her. Was it too soon for the three of them to be acting like a little family? Absolutely, but she couldn’t seem to find the wherewithal to take a step back from something that felt so damned good.
She glanced over at him again, and he caught her looking.
“What?” he asked.
Emma turned to check on Simone, who was listening to the music Lucy had put on the phone for her, earbuds in place, her gaze focused on the scenery. “Just doing a reality check.”
“What do you mean?”
“Making sure you’re real and you’re really coming with us.”
“I’m really coming, and this is as real as it gets, at least for me.”
“For me, too,” Emma said softly. “It’s kind of scary.”
“What is?”
“How fast it all happened.” She ventured another look at him, and her gaze connected with his until he returned his attention to the road. There was no denying the powerful connection that zinged between them, and when he looked at her that way… Her heart raced, and the surge of emotion was almost too much to process.
“I’ve decided that something that feels this good can’t be treated lightly. I want to run with it, and I hope you’ll run with me.”
She raised her free hand to her chest. “My heart is racing.”
“Mine, too, sweetheart.”
“We’re crazy. This is crazy. I don’t do things like this.”
“Neither do I,” he said, smiling as he glanced over at her. “At least I never have before.”
“What did your mom say about you coming to New York?”
“She was…”
“Less than thrilled?”
“That’s one way of putting it, but please know that her issues have nothing at all to do with you. She doesn’t even know you. If she did, she wouldn’t have the first objection.”
“I’m sorry if her concerns are taking something away from your happiness. I hate that for you, especially after all you’ve done for her over the years.”
“It’s sweet of you to say that, but I’m used to it. She’s an unhappy person. Has been since m
y dad left.”
“Does she know that he’s resurfaced?”
“I told her this morning, which didn’t help anything. She’s furious.”
“With good reason.”
“Speaking of that,” Grayson said as he signaled to exit the highway. “I have to make a quick stop to be tested. Should only take a minute.”
Emma gave his hand a squeeze, wishing there was more she could do to support him in this situation with his father.
“Be right back,” he said when he’d parked in front of a walk-in clinic, leaving the car running so they’d have heat.
Emma watched him go in the main doors and could see him speaking to a receptionist inside.
“Mom,” Simone said from the backseat.
Emma turned to her.
“Is Grayson really coming back to New York with us?”
Emma nodded. “Are you sure that’s okay with you?”
“Where is he going to sleep?”
“On the sofa.”
“It’s not very big, and he’s kinda tall.”
Emma didn’t mention that Grayson would spend most of the nights in her bed. “He’ll be fine.” She was so damned thankful that they didn’t have to say good-bye today. She wasn’t anywhere near ready to leave him.
“I’m glad he’s coming. It’ll be fun.”
“Yes, it will.”
Ten minutes after he entered the clinic, Grayson emerged with a woman who Emma recognized as his sister Isabella. She followed him to the car. He got in and put down the driver’s side window.
“I hear you’re stealing my brother away for an extended vacation,” Isabella said with a friendly smile.
“This is all his idea,” Emma said, returning her smile. The woman they called Izzy was stunning, with curly auburn hair and striking green eyes.
“Have a good time.”
“We will,” Gray said. “Gotta run. We’ve got a plane to catch. Happy New Year.”
“Same to you. Safe travels. Bye, Simone.”
“Bye,” Simone said from the backseat. When they were back on the highway, Simone said, “She’s your sister, right?”
“That’s right,” Grayson said. “I also have Vanessa, Ally and Sarah and three brothers, Noah, Jackson and Henry.”
“You’re so lucky to have all those brothers and sisters. I wish I had one.”
Emma sucked in a sharp deep breath. Simone had never said that before.
“Maybe someday you will,” Grayson said to Simone, looking up to catch her gaze in the rearview mirror.
“Maybe.”
Emma turned to say something to Simone, but she’d put her earbuds back in and was once again watching the world go by out the window. Emma turned back to face the front.
“I take it she hasn’t said that before?”
“Never,” Emma said softly. “I had no idea she felt that way.”
He reached for her hand. “It’s probably all the time with the Abbotts that made her see what it’s like to have a lot of siblings around.”
“Maybe.”
“Hey,” he said, meeting her gaze. “Don’t let it bum you out. From what I can see, she lacks for none of the important things, thanks to her amazing mom, who makes sure she has the best of everything.”
“I’ve tried.”
“And you’ve succeeded. She’s the nicest, sweetest little girl. You have so much to be proud of where she’s concerned.”
“Thank you. That means a lot to me. I got really lucky that she was a sweetheart from day one. She makes it easy. For now, anyway. I’m dreading the looming teenage years.”
“She’ll be fine. She doesn’t have it in her to be a monster.”
“Time will tell.”
“What were you like as a teenager?”
“I was as rebellious as I could be given that my mom was sick for most of my teenage years. I got away with murder because they weren’t really paying attention. That’s how I ended up with a dirtbag boyfriend who treated me badly.”
“I’m trying to picture you rebellious.”
“I was quite feisty back then,” she said, smiling at him. “Now I’m a very upstanding, responsible mother who leads a life of routine and predictability and is focused entirely on my child. Until recently, that is.”
“What happened recently?” he asked with a teasing grin.
“I met this guy, you see, and he’s got me doing all sorts of things I’ve never done before, and now he’s running away with me and my daughter.”
“You’re sure it’s okay if I come with you?”
“Yes, Grayson,” she said with a soft laugh, “it’s very okay.”
“If it’s too much for Simone, I can stay elsewhere. That’s not a problem.”
“She’s glad you’re coming.”
“She is? How do you know?”
“She told me so when you were in the clinic.”
“Oh,” he said. “That’s good. That’s really good.”
“I can’t remember the last time I felt as happy as I do right now.”
“I can’t either.” Grayson grasped her hand a little tighter and looked over at her with a fierce expression on his face that had her counting the hours until bedtime.
Chapter 20
If you find someone you love in your life,
then hang on to that love.
—Princess Diana
After seeing off Emma and Simone, Lucy went to the office at the store to spend a few hours working with Cameron. With the store’s long-awaited website due to go live on January first, they were running final tests, making sure any potential bugs had been addressed and generally being their usual anal-retentive selves when it came to launching a new site.
“This is the best work we’ve ever done,” Lucy said when they took a break after two hours of intense concentration. If you’d told her in high school that anything would ever hold her attention for that long, she’d have said you were crazy. But she loved her work and found it easy to get lost in the details, despite battling attention deficit disorder. Cameron was the same way, and they’d bonded over their ADD as well as their love of technology.
“I don’t know how I’ll ever top this project,” Cameron said. “Everything else will seem boring in comparison.”
“This was a true labor of love for you, and that comes through in every page on this site. You’ll have plenty to keep you busy managing it and adding to it when the catalog comes to fruition. Not to mention the sex toys,” Lucy added with a dirty laugh.
Cameron rolled her eyes. “I can’t wait to build those pages.”
“What’s the timeline for that product line?”
“Linc is aiming for March to roll it out, which means the staff training will happen in February. That ought to be interesting. All those grandmothers who work on the floor are going to get quite an education.”
“Oh to be a fly on the wall.” Lucy checked the time. “I’d better get back to the mountain to deal with the rest of our clients.”
“How are things with the business? I’ve been so absorbed in this site that I haven’t even asked. Worst ex-partner ever.”
“Amazingly, we’re making it work. Diana has been a godsend. She’s fantastic at bringing in the new business and running the office while I’m here, and I’m doing a lot more of the hands-on development than I’ve done in years.”
“Is that a good thing?”
“I love it. That’s the reason we got into this business, and having the time to be creative and to just breathe is such a relief.”
“I know what you mean. Sometimes I wonder how much longer I would’ve been able to keep up that pace in the city if I hadn’t met Will and ended up here.”
“And look at you now—married and thoroughly knocked up.”
Cameron’s smile stretched across her pretty face. “I was dying to tell you, but we’d agreed to wait a bit. I’m superstitious that way.”
“Can’t say I blame you, but passing out in front of the whole family messe
d with your plans.”
“That was so embarrassing.”
“The only thing that matters is that you’re all right.”
“I’m fine, but I’m staying away from sweaters and fireplaces for the next few months. The heat was what took me down.”
Lucy stood and put on her coat. “Congratulations on the site launch, the marriage, the baby, all of it. Seeing you happy makes me happy.”
“Never could’ve done it without your support of me moving. You made it easy for me.”
“What’re we going to do about Emma, who’s gone stupid over Grayson this week?”
“I don’t know. I was saying to Will last night that theirs is a much more complicated situation with Simone in the mix. Emma can’t just up and move here, and he just left one city to move home for a simpler life. I don’t envy them that dilemma.”
“I suppose if it’s meant to be, they’ll figure it out the same way we did.”
“I guess. Wouldn’t it be something to have her and Simone here?”
“It would be fantastic, but can you picture what Troy would have to say about it?” Cameron asked of their close friend in New York.
Lucy grimaced. “Yeah, and it won’t be pretty.”
“I feel bad for him. I know how I’d feel if all you guys had moved and left me alone in the city.”
“Very true. I’ll check in tomorrow to see if you need anything for the launch.”
“Thanks again for all the help.”
“Always a pleasure to have the chance to work with you.”
“Same here.”
Lucy left the office and got into the four-wheel-drive SUV she’d bought to get around in Vermont and headed back up to the mountain where she lived with Colton. As she drove through town to the one-lane covered bridge and then past Hell’s Peak Road, where the Abbotts lived in their big red barn, she thought about everything that’d happened in the months since she met Colton. She’d come to Vermont with Cameron to present the first cut of the website and had taken one look at the burly mountain man, and her entire life had changed for the better.
She, who’d never needed a man to make her feel whole, now needed him as much as she needed air and water and food to survive. He was everything to her, and the life they’d put together between Vermont and New York worked far better than she’d ever expected it to. For the next few months, Vermont would be home during the upcoming sugaring season that she couldn’t wait to experience firsthand after hearing so much about it. This year, the season promised to be more intense than ever before due to the additional acreage the family had procured on the mountain, adding more than ten thousand new sap-producing trees to the twenty-five thousand they already had.
