Page 40 of Keeping You

“You and your sister seem close,” I say.

He smiles broadly. “Yeah. Growing up, we fought like cats and dogs. Mom was always yelling at us, trying to get us to play nice and get along. It wasn’t until I was in high school that we started to get along better. Now, I’d say she’s probably my best friend. We text and call regularly.”

“I wish I had a sibling,” I say softly. I feel Grayson’s eyes on me. “Growing up as an only child was lonely. I had no one to hang out with, and it was even worse when my parents split. Spending opposite weeks with each parent meant that it was harder to make friends with the kids in my neighbourhood, because I wasn’t around all the time.”

Grayson is silent for a minute before he says, “I’m sorry you had to experience that, Hannah. I could never imagine what it’s like to grow up with split parents and no one else who understands that feeling.”

I nod, grateful for his words, but also needing to move on from the topic. “I’m sure it’s nice to be home and spend time with her in person. She hasn’t visited you in the city, has she?”

He grips the back of neck. “It is nice to be home. I’m glad I get to spend time with her while I’m here. She hasn’t been able to come visit. It’s a decent drive and big time commitment. I try to come for a couple of days at least every summer.”

Walking up to the house, I see Melanie and Chloe sitting on the back deck and Randy standing in front of the barbeque. We walk into the kitchen, and I wash my hands before moving to the side so Grayson can wash his. I pass him the hand towel to dry his hands and can feel his eyes taking in every inch of me. It has me on edge, feeling like my skin might catch flame under his gaze. Luckily, his sister comes in to grab a bowl of salad, drawing Grayson’s attention.

“Come on, you two. Dinner’s just about done then Dad’s gonna start a bonfire. I bought all the fixin’s for s’mores.”

I follow Chloe outside and feel Grayson’s eyes on me the entire time. I’m eventually going to need to do something about this building tension, because it’s got me wound up and I need release. Being stuck here with his parents and sharing a room with Grayson for a week is going to make finding that release very difficult.

After a minute, Grayson joins us at the table, Micky settling under the table at our feet. I enjoy watching how Grayson and Chloe poke fun at each other and how much he truly enjoys being back with his family. They all embrace me as part of the group, asking questions about my work and family.

They don’t pry much when I give them the bare minimum on my mom, but I tell them about my dad and some of my favourite memories growing up with him. Some of the hockey games he took me to when I was really young. I remember enjoying it despite knowing nothing about hockey. Getting to spend that time with my dad was everything to me. We did dinner before, and I got to stay up late.

When dinner is over, I change into pants and a hoodie as Grayson warns me about the attack of the mosquitos that happens when it gets late. We create a circle of chairs around the large fire pit they have dug in the backyard. I watch as Grayson helps his dad place logs and light it. His every movement is like second nature to him. It’s like watching him on the ice. I’d never tell him this, but out there, he looks so strong and capable. If I hadn’t spent the last few years hating the guy, I’d say it’s panty melting. I hate to admit to myself that over the last few weeks, he’s been wearing me down, and seeing him do these things is having an effect on me.

When the fire is lit and going strong, he grabs a seat beside me. I watch Chloe and Grayson prep their marshmallowsand hold them over the fire. I bite my lip, focusing on their technique. Grayson looks over at me and raises a brow.

“You not making one, Spitfire?”

I shake my head. I don’t really want to admit that I’ve never roasted a marshmallow or made a s’more before.

“Come on, you’ve got to. It’s Maxwell tradition, the first night Grayson’s home we make ’em,” Chloe says.

I adjust myself in my seat. “I’m good.”

Grayson sits further back in his chair and leans over the arm to be closer to me. He drops his voice so only I can hear him. “Spitfire, what’s up?” I shake my head, but he pushes. “Hannah.”

“I’ve never made one before.”

I expect Grayson to laugh or say some quick-witted remark, but he doesn’t. I turn and face him, and he’s grinning at me. It’s all warm and inviting, and it has me wanting to see it more. Ugh. What is this man doing to me? I’ve gone from hating his guts to wanting to be close to him, to being reminded of why I hated him, and back to wanting to be near him and see him smile at me. This is so draining, emotionally and mentally.

“Spitfire, it’s all good.” Grayson’s words pull me out of my thoughts. “I can show you, and we can have you all s’mored up in no time.”

He quickly pulls his marshmallow off his stick and plops it in his mouth before loading it with a fresh one. He passes me the stick and says, “Okay, so you want to hold it over the coals. You want to avoid the flames ’cause it will catch the marshmallow on fire and burn the outside and leave the inside pretty raw. Just rotate it slowly until it’s the colour you want it.”

I follow his instructions, his hand coming to my wrist every once and a while to get me to spin the stick. His light touch has goosebumps scattering up my arms. I peak over at him, and his attention is focused on the marshmallow, making sure it doesn’tburn. I take in his features while I can. He looks genuinely relaxed here.

After a few minutes, I pull it out and it’s this beautiful, golden brown around the entire outside. Grayson grabs some graham crackers and lays two pieces of chocolate on one. He places the cracker with chocolate under the marshmallow and the other cracker at the base. He drags it off slowly, and I watch as strings of marshmallow are left behind. He sandwiches it and passes it to me. I take a bite and feel how the heat of the marshmallow has melted the chocolate. It’s so freaking sweet, but it’s so good. I can’t help the moan that leaves me as I take the second bite.

Grayson clears his throat. “Good, right?”

I nod as I finish the last bite. He chuckles and loads another marshmallow and makes himself one. After a while, his parents say their good nights and head inside, leaving just the three of us. Chloe grins before she grabs her blanket and follows her parents as she calls, “Good night. Remember, old house means thin walls.”

Grayson shakes his head as he says good night. Despite the heat from the fire, the air is still cold enough that a shiver runs through me when a small breeze comes through. Grayson notices and holds his blanket up and pats his lap. I don’t move.

He reaches over and delicately runs his hand over my arm, causing me to shiver again, but this time it’s not from the cold.

“Come on, Spitfire. You’re cold, don’t punish yourself by staying over there.”

The breeze comes through again, this time a little stronger. I push up from my chair and position myself on his lap. He brings the blanket over my legs as he wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me in close. I don’t know why I crawled into his lap so easily when I could have just gone inside, but something about him today has been pulling me in, making me want to be close to him. I allow myself to relax into him and absorb his body heat.

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