Page 49 of Lovers at Seaside
“Good, then hear me out. The way I see it, all we know right now is that you’re leaving next week to go back to California, and I’ll join you a few weeks later, when I finish the railing. We’ll spend a week together, and then I’ll head out to Texas to work on the piece for the foundation.” Grayson’s calming voice soothed her nerves. “And beyond that, we have no idea about your schedule. Do I have that right?”
“Yes, I think so. When it was just me, having an ever-changing schedule was fine. But I hate it now, and I know it’s not going to be easy. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, and don’t worry. We both have important careers. We’ll figure this out. Maybe not today, or next week, but if we want this to work, we’ll find a way.”
“But what if we can’t find a solution, and we miss each other too much?”
“Then we deal with it and make whatever changes need to be made. I spent today tied in knots about not having the answers, and it sucked. But I realized we don’t need an answer today, baby, or tomorrow. All we need is the trust that we’ll work together to figure it out. This is our real life. Now, here, us.”
Christmas lifted his head.
“And your boy,” he said, making her love him even more. “Parker, in all the months we were emailing, I was never once with anyone else.”
Shocked at his confession, it was all she could do to remember to breathe. She blinked up at him, trying to process the new, heartwarming information.
“I wasn’t either,” she finally managed. “But I’ve never dated a lot, so that’s not unusual for me. But you? I’ve seen women checking you out everywhere we go, and you’re so sexual. I’m surprised that you would do that, when we weren’t even a couple.”
His eyes warmed. “I told you I felt like we had something special, and I’d hoped that once we saw each other we’d see we had more. Sweetheart, I’m the way I am with you because of what I feel for you. But before you, sex was just sex, totally different from what we have together. I don’t want you to worry about me being faithful, no matter how long we’re separated.”
“Grayson, I’d never—”
He silenced her with a kiss.
“I never thought you would, but I wanted you to know I wouldn’t. There’s no one else for me, Parker. Just you.”
“For me, too. There’s only you, Grayson. I love you so much. I’ve been afraid to say it, because what if we can’t figure out how to make it work? I thought it would hurt more if I’d said the words, which was really stupid. It would probably hurt more if I’d never told you how much I love you and that I think I was falling for you over all those months we were emailing. And now I’m rambling, and…” She drew in a deep breath. “I love you, Grayson. I love you so much.”
“Trust me, baby, even if you’d never told me, I knew you loved me.”
“I do trust you. I’ve trusted you since day one. Just look at our perfect kiss. That is a kiss of trust.”
He wrinkled his brow and followed her gaze to the picture Sky had given her, which she’d proudly placed on the coffee table, and he shook his head.
“Oh, stop. Sky gave it to us. You know you love it as much as I do.”
“Kissing you? Darn right I do. At least all those Hollywood hotshots will know you’re taken.” He ran his hand down her hip. “You look gorgeous in this sexy little dress. Maybe you shouldn’t wear it when I’m not around.”
“Mm. You look pretty hot yourself.” She ran her hands over his shoulders. “Maybe you shouldn’t wearanyclothes whenI’maround.”
“Your wish is my command.” He reached behind him and tugged his shirt off. Every time he did that it sent shivers from her head to her toes.
“I got you a surprise today.”
“Yeah?” He kissed her collarbone.
“Mm-hm. It’s on me. You’ll have to find it.”
“I do love a challenge.” His mouth took a leisurely stroll along her shoulder, placing tantalizing kisses all the way down her arm to the tips of each of her fingers.
His eyes narrowed seductively. “I’m going to have to be excruciatingly thorough.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Chapter Nineteen
GRAYSON AWOKE TO the sound of his cell phone vibrating on the bedside table. A quick glance at the clock told his fuzzy brain they’d gone to sleep only two hours ago. Parker sighed in her sleep beside him. He grabbed the phone with two fears racing through his mind—Dad, Abe—and slipped silently from the room to answer it.
The relief he felt that the call wasn’t about his father was short-lived. He returned to the bedroom with a heavy heart, hating the world for crashing down around Parker once again. He hadn’t told Parker he’d kept in touch with Abe’s nurse, because Parker was doing so well, and he knew her world would be shaken up again soon enough. There was no reason to upset her in the time between coming to grips with Abe’s wishes and this difficult moment.
