Page 49 of Return to Us
My heart drops to my stomach because that was what we did. For hours, we’d hide ourselves away and tell the universe what life we wanted because then it could be true.
And I denied that earlier.
“Then why did you want to marry her?”
“Because if I wasn’t going to marry the woman I loved, I might as well marry the one who wanted to marry me.”
The ache in my chest is throbbing. “That’s . . .”
“The truth, Jess. However, I was prepared to start my life because you weren’t coming back. You were flying around the world and enjoying life. I was in Willow Creek, living the life that was demanded of me. But Yvonne, she wasn’t horrible, not until we found out she was pregnant.”
I stay quiet, trying to keep my breathing silent, already knowing this part of the story ends with Grayson being a single father.
Grayson doesn’t say anything, so I reach out, resting my hand on his. “You don’t have to say anything more.”
His eyes close as he leans over, kissing the side of my head. “We all suffer with different forms of nightmares. Yours haunt your dreams, and mine lives in Paris.” He stands, his tall frame blocking the moonlight, but I can feel his gaze. “We both need to sleep.” He pulls back the covers, holding them up so I can get underneath.
I’m not sure what possesses me to obey his silent command, but I do. I get in, and he pulls the covers around me.
“Arms in or out?”
“In.” He starts to tuck the blankets in around me, starting at my legs and moving up until I’m in a cocoon. “Snug as a bug in a rug,” I say, hoping to lighten the mood.
He laughs. “I’ve learned that girls like to be held tight, and since it’s a bad idea to sleep in here, this is the next best thing.”
“Thank you again,” I say, my arms unable to move a smidge.
Grayson doesn’t acknowledge it. He just presses his lips to my forehead, and I wish it was my lips. “I mean it, if you need me, I’m right down the hall.”
And I’ll be forcing myself to stay right here.
* * *
Delia and I are walking arm and arm down the shoreline. I couldn’t be in the house anymore. Everyone was still asleep when I snuck into her room, waking her and forcing her to come with me.
“So, the nightmare was bad?”
I nod. “It was like I was on the outside of it though.”
“Is that normal?”
“Not even a little.”
“Okay, why do you think it was different then?”
“I kissed Grayson,” I admit.
Delia stops in her tracks, causing me to jerk back. “You what?”
I get her moving again as I fill her in on all the things that happened once she and Jack took off.
“As your best friend, I feel it’s my duty to tell you that you’re a goddamn idiot.”
“Well, thanks. I already knew this.”
Delia huffs and then pulls my arm to stop me. “No, not because you kissed him, but because the two of you are so damn obvious about what you feel for each other. Grayson stares at you all the damn time. When you move, it’s like he subconsciously tracks you, always watching, which is how it was when we were kids.”
“It wasn’t like that.”
