Page 45 of Yours, Always

Prudence kept pacing, starting to get impatient. She couldn’t lose her nerve now.I am the one that knows Greyson, I know who he is under the fame. Does Samantha Crane know he likes to unwind with cozy mystery novels? Does she know how often he visits the children’s hospitals without the press involved?Does she know how hard he’d taken the death of his grandfather?

She could remember that forlorn time when nothing seemed to make him happy. That she’d rejoice if she could just put a smile on his face, and she’d tried so hard to make him smile. To try to get him to makehimselfhappy. He’d finally come out of that dark period, a stronger man but a more cautious man. He took less risks, emotionally, with a string of relationships with beautiful, yet…intellectually challenged women. She’d been there for it all. Now? She was ready for it to be her time. She’d brave more than the awards and red carpets if that’s what it meant to finally be with Greyson.

The fact that he didn’t remember the night of his concussion wasn’t going to stop her. Yeah, she was a little abashed, she wanted to think that no one could forget the things they’d done that night but was willing to put herself out there. If it had happened at all, that must mean something, right? If he had no feelings for her, he wouldn’t have made that beautiful speech. That alone made her realize he must have thought a lot about what he wanted, and even if he couldn’t remember it…well, it was going to be her job to make him remember. Her skin raised in goosebumps thinking of what that would entail. If a few days ago was any indication, it should be amazing.

She heard Annabelle hoot, followed a minute later by Greyson’s shout, “Pru? Where are you?”

“I’m over here!” Her heartbeat skittered.Get it together, Hardwick.

“It sounds like there’s an owl around here.” Greyson turned the corner. “I always thought they were nocturnal?”

“Maybe it has insomnia? Day-somnia? I guess that just because they’re nocturnal doesn’t mean that they’re never awake during the day. There are lots of things that happen nocturnally…” Prudence was rambling.Damn, I’m more nervous than I thought I’d be.

“I guess.” Greyson laughed. “Did Annabelle send you in here to double-check the maze paths? She said one of the volunteers got stuck.” He put a hand on the small of her back and guided her around a corner. “She said I’ve gotten off easy because of my concussion, but it was time to start pulling my weight. I saw her original list. I didn’t think she was serious about giving me so many things to do.”

“You know you can’t be in Amber Falls and not be involved in the Fall Festival,” Prudence said matter-of-factly. They walked through the maze in silence, side by side, until Prudence leaned her shoulder into his, playfully. “You’ve been away for too long if you’ve forgotten that already.”

Greyson turned his head. “It was too long,” he said, “but after my grandpa died and my parents left, it just didn’t feel the same. I can’t explain it.” He shook his head and continued walking, as though trying to outrun his memories. Something in the air had changed. The mood was no longer congenial and ambling. They were ready.

Prudence hurried to catch up. “You don’t have to explain it, Grey. I was there, remember? Maybe not physically, but as much as I could. You had Gabe and the house. You had all your friends.” She reached out to grab his hand when he didn’t slow. “You had me.”

Greyson spun, pulling his hand away. “No, I didn’t,” he ground out, surprised by his anger. This was not how he’d expected things to go, how affected he was by her relationship with Chuck. “I’ve never had you, Pru.” He looked around, choosing another path. “You’ve always been out of reach to me. You’ve been on this pedestal for so long—”

“What?” Prudence interrupted, shaking her head. “What are you talking about? I never wanted to be on a pedestal, I never asked to be put there. You know me better than that.”

Greyson continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I was a mess and would’ve just dragged you into it. For what? To close your business here and come be my savior? By then so much time had passed it seemed like it was impossible. But now? You have Chuck.” He turned his back to her, needing to gather his thoughts. He’d had a plan when he came back to Amber Falls, to win Prudence, or at least try, but he hadn’t planned on another man being in the picture, especially one he knew. His voice cracked. “Why would you choose Chuck?”

“You just said it, Greyson, you weren’t here. After your parents moved, visits stopped altogether.” Prudence reached out her hand to Greyson’s back, as if to ease the tension that had built in his shoulders, but dropped it back to her side. “You were never here, Grey. You left”–Greyson turned to interrupt, but Prudence held up a hand–“and I’m not ever going to fault you for that, we both had to follow our own paths, but please don’t tell me that I didn’t have every right to try to have a happy life. It’s not like you haven’t had your share of women. Trust me, I’ve had the unique experience of hearing about all of them from both you and the tabloids. Case in point, Samantha Crane.”

Greyson snorted and walked past Prudence, straight into the dead-end. “That’s not the same, they didn’t mean anything to me. She doesn’t mean anything to me.”

“It’s not? You’ve moved from one woman to another with no indication that you’d ever wanted them for anything more than publicity or a hook-up. And I’m supposed to gather from that that you’ve been carrying around this torch for me since college?”

“Dammit, there really is no way out of this maze.”

“Greyson, you can’t run. We have to finish this conversation.”

“I don’t want to run!” Greyson hollered. “I came back for you, Pru. I had this all planned out, I’d come home, tell you how I felt, and you’d come running into my arms.” He sighed, staring at the ground. “You’re with Chuck and I’m leaving soon. That seems like a definitive end.”

“Chuck and I are over,” Prudence whispered, her eyes never leaving Greyson. His head popped up, and he immediately winced. Prudence bolted off the hay bale and rushed over, reaching her hand to his head, laying her palm on his cheek. “It still hurts?” she questioned, her voice barely registering, running her hand through his hair, their bodies swaying toward each other.

“Just a little, if I move too quickly.” He leaned his head into her hand. It felt so right, finally having someplace to rest.

“It’s only been a few days. I’d expect you might have some soreness to go with the memory loss.” Prudence’s face reddened with those words.

“This isn’t how I wanted anything to go. I should’ve done this so differently, especially after what happened after my concussion.”

Prudence’s hand dropped from his head, and she looked at him like he’d just admitted he thought the earth was flat. “Excuse me?”

“Prudence. I remember everything.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Prudence’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “What did you just say?”

Greyson slowly backed away. “I remember everything?”

Prudence’s jaw dropped. “What the hell?” She reached out and punched his shoulder, hard, not believing what he’d just said. “You let me believe the next morning you didn’t remember anything you said!” She punched him again. “Or did!”

---