Page 66 of Lovers at Seaside
“I know you won’t. You made sure I’ve had the opportunity to do things that I needed or wanted to do, even when I was scared and wanted to walk away. You’ve always known what I needed, Grayson. I don’t know how or why, but you have.”
“Sky would say it’s not me or you knowing anything. It’s the universe stepping in when we needed it most,” he said.
“I think she’d be right. She said I needed to be loved so I could heal, and she said you wereready. I didn’t understand what she meant before, but I think I do now. You were ready to love me, to be my rock, even if it meant doing hard things. I don’t want to cancel the DNA test. I need to know the truth. Thank you for not giving up on me.”
“I’ll never give up on you, baby. Not in a million years.” He leaned in for a kiss, and she pressed her hand to his chest, holding him an inch away.
“Wait. How did you get in here?”
“Luce.”
Her eyes widened. “Luce? You were her urgent call?”
He was indeed her urgent call. She’d read him the riot act before agreeing to meet him and let him into Parker’s house. “She’s wonderful.”
“She’s sneaky.” She wound her arms around his neck. “Like you.”
“Never again, sweetheart. From now on I’m an open book.”
Her eyes filled with wickedness. “Tell me about the juicy pages.”
“I’ve got a better idea.” He kissed her softly. “How about if I show you?”
Chapter Twenty-Six
PARKER LAY IN bed staring up at the ceiling, listening to what she lovingly deemed as her boys’ morning ritual—the familiar tapping of Christmas’s nails on the hardwood floor and Grayson’s sleepy, and always delightful, voice as he reminded Christmas to stay out of trouble and told their big dog he loved him before letting him outside each morning. Grayson spoiledtheir boyrotten. And she loved him even more for it. It had been eight weeks since she’d returned to California, six weeks since they’d received the DNA test results and learned that Miriam had indeed been Parker’s mother, and one week since she’d come back home to Wellfleet. In the span of a few weeks, she’d lost a man she loved and gained more than she’d ever imagined possible—a grandmother whom she was enjoying getting to know, a boyfriend who loved and adored her, and a sense of peace and belonging.
As if his ears were burning, Grayson sauntered into the bedroom wearing only a pair of black briefs and a sleepy, sexy-as-sin smile. “Hey, baby. Miss me?”
He leaned down to kiss her, and her heart turned over in her chest. She hadn’t fully comprehended how deeply a person could love another human being. But she was learning, because every single day she fell even more in love with Grayson.
Christmas leaped onto the bed and licked her face.
Parker fanned his breath away. “Did you give him peanut butter again?”
“Just one cookie,” Grayson said with wide, anything-but-innocent eyes. “You can’t blame me. He gave me those eyes again.”
She laughed as he sat down beside her on the bed. “Those are the only eyes he has.”
He leaned in for another kiss. “I’m a sucker for them, the same way I’m a sucker for you.”
“Lucky us.” She giggled, and he kissed her again. “Did you decide what you want to do today?” She’d wanted to go to Martha’s Vineyard, but Grayson needed to meet with a client later in the afternoon. They’d been batting around other ideas, but he seemed a bit distracted.
“You mean besidesyou?” He lifted her onto his lap and took her in a long, languid kiss, drugging her with his affection. He deepened the kiss, drawing hungry moans from both of them.
“Do you think we’re turning into sex maniacs?” she teased.
“I’m not sure.” He nipped her neck. “But I think we should investigate the possibility.” He waggled his brows and Christmas barked, then whimpered.
“He wants another cookie. You’ve spoiled him.”
Grayson laughed. “Actually, I think he had a burr beneath his collar. Can you check? I tried, but I had a hard time dodging his tongue long enough to get a good look.”
She rolled off his lap and began feeling Christmas’s neck. “Come here, you big peanut-butter-loving mutt—” She felt something odd under his chin. “What the heck?” She lifted Christmas’s face and spotted a little silver pouch dangling from his collar. She whipped her head around, her eyes filling with tears as she met Grayson’s loving gaze. Shivers raced down her spine, and sheknew—before he had a chance to say a word, before he had a chance to blink, she threw her arms around Grayson’s neck and kissed him square on the lips.
Christmas barked, and she laughed and kissed Grayson again. Her heart didn’t just turn over. It tumbled inside her chest.
“What is all this for? Did you find the burr?”
