Page 17 of Please, Stay

How could she stand there and take that?

Strange, but she hadn’t looked scared by her father’s outburst. He’d seen the pain on her face shift to shock and then embarrassment. No anger. The other customers had watched the exchange with an understanding and sympathy that made zero sense. In California, if anyone had grabbed someone like that, at least fifty people would call the police. Another fifty would videotape the entire thing. Here, it was a pat on the back from the nice lady with the gray hair and an extra slice of pie. What the hell?

Before the incident, he hadn’t been able to keep his focus off Juliana. He’d watched the odorous man ask her out. Hugh was okay with her dating a man that smelled like livestock but had a problem with him? That made no sense.

He shook his head and changed the channel. The same pawn shop commercial began again. Here he sat, inside a house built over 150 years ago, watching Paul, of Paul’s Pawns, describe the fine jewelry and great selection of firearms instead of on a tropical island somewhere. Too bad, he couldn’t convince Juliana to go to the islands with him. It’d put some distance between her and her dad while letting him take her out on a date. An amazing, two-week date. Alone.

A light knock sounded at the door. Grayson unfolded himself from the bed and took slow steps across the room. Had the paparazzi found him already?

He opened it, peeping through the crack before swinging the door open fully. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Juliana started to smile but looked down. “I swear I’m not stalking you. Becky said she saw you come here after lunch, and Ms. Roberts, the landlady, was my third-grade teacher, so…”

He stepped back. “So, Becky’s stalking me?” Her head shot up with a look of panic that made him laugh. “Come in. Please.” A sweet scent passed by him as she entered. “Are you okay?”

She stopped, barely inside his room. “I wanted to apologize for my dad.” Her fingers twisted in the bottom of her shirt beside a hole she’d probably already made doing the same thing.

Grayson traced four blue spots marring her skin with his finger, making his voice softer than the rage still slinking around inside. “Does he do this often?”

Her green eyes widened. “No, never! We’ve had a hard time, and he’s a little protective. First, my mom died, and then my sister eloped with a guy she barely knew instead of coming to the funeral.” She wrinkled her nose. “I know it doesn’t make sense. He’s worried I’ll leave, too.”

“Because hurting people is a great way to get them to stay.”

Juliana crossed her arms. “This isn’t your reality, Grayson. It’s mine. I’m handling it the best way I know how.”

It’d been years since someone had said his name with such frustration. Right then, he bet she didn’t give a damn about his fame. Grayson rested his hands on her shoulders.

She stiffened.

He softly massaged the tension in her neck. For the few moments in the diner, he’d held her incredible body against his. But it didn’t seem as though he’d get the opportunity again. The longer he touched her, the more she tensed.

He dropped his hands before she outright rejected him.

Juliana jumped back into the hallway. “Becky said you left the diner pretty mad. I hate it that you were hauled into our family drama. I wanted to make sure you were okay.” She twisted her hands at the bottom of her shirt again.

A couple inches of her stomach peeked out above the edge of her jeans. He’d seen women in much less clothing, but it’d never caused a light sweat to break out along the back of his neck because of a glimpse of skin. He took a deep, controlled breath. They were much too alone and far too close to his bed to have thoughts tumbling that direction.

“You should be the one mad. He didn’t grab me.” He ran his thumb over the blue fingerprints again. It was the best excuse he had to touch her. “Why do you put up with it? You’re old enough. You can leave.” At her sad smile, he cupped her elbow and pulled her back into his room. Just because she wasn’t the paparazzi didn’t mean people wouldn’t eavesdrop. “What is it?”

She covered his hand with her own. “It’s family, Grayson. I stay because he’s worth it. The chance to bring my sister home is worth it. Deep down, he’s the same man that would tell my mom that he’d punish us whenever we were in trouble. He made this big, loud announcement that we would learn our lesson this time. He’d walk us down to the lake and see who could skip stones the farthest.” Unshed tears made her green eyes glow.

Her perspective didn’t sound anything like the man he’d seen in the diner.

“Eliza, my sister, and I would come back home, pretending to be upset, and spend the rest of the night in our room. Daddy always said he knew the moment he looked at both of us that we’d have him wrapped around his pinkie. He needs my love and support. He and Eliza both said things that they regret that pushed her to leave.” Juliana wiped away the tears before they fell. “You wouldn’t give up on your family, would you?”

In that one question, a bucket of cold water fell over Grayson. He didn’t know how the hell to act with family. Trevor and Addie were the closest he had to a family he’d ever known. If Trevor had tried to tell him what to do before jerking him around…

Easy. Trevor wouldn’t be part of his life anymore. Walking away when things got complicated was what Grayson did.

He slipped his hand away from Juliana. “Well,” he said, crossing his arms. “I’m still looking forward to our date tomorrow.”

“Grayson…” She massaged her temples and closed her eyes.

He slipped his fingers through hers and pulled them away from her face. Seeing her stressed knotted him up for some reason. This connection to her made no sense. “Let me take you out.” She seemed so small. But not weak. Her eyes were sad but determined.

She pressed her lips together, but this time Grayson’s mood was still too fragile to think about kissing her. When his foster parents got tired of him, they complained to the judge. He was awarded a new fake family and a new set of rules he tried hard not to follow. Juliana had grown up in an almost perfect household, and her life was more of a puzzle than he ever could imagine.

“I want to." Her cell phone began to buzz. She glanced at the screen. “That’s Eliza, my sister. I’m pretty sure she’s heard the latest drama by now.”

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