Page 39 of Please, Stay

“What did you want to do afterward?” He pulled out his phone. “I can make reservations somewhere.”

“I’m not sure I can stay.”

He sighed. “Juliana—” he tapped something on his phone as he shook his head “—I don’t think you give your friends and me enough credit. Becky has you covered. She’s going to tell your dad that she wanted to come to meet you for dinner, but she’s actually going to help Eliza with her packing.”

“When did that happen?”

“Yesterday.” His tone deepened. “I got Cameron’s number from Addie. He called me back after he talked to Becky.”

“Grayson—”

He stopped her with a hand on her knee. “Hold that thought.” He placed the phone against his ear. When he moved his hand from her knee, she relaxed. Too bad, he set his sights on her poor fingers instead.

Prying her right hand from the steering wheel, he kissed each finger, one at a time. There it was, that slow, deep burn between them. Something biological that didn’t make any sense. The gorgeous movie star and the plain Jane.

She swallowed. Her eyes wanted to watch his lips, memorize the way it felt as he trailed them over the back of her hand before turning it over and kissing the pulse of her inner wrist. Instead, she glued her eyes to the road. Although having him feast on her hand was close to Heaven, she wasn’t in a rush to get there in spirit by veering off the highway.

“Trev, wake up again.” He threaded his fingers through hers. Didn’t he know she needed her hand to drive? “I need you to make a reservation.”

Why didn’t he call the restaurant himself?

“Somewhere nice. Yes.” He smiled and then kissed the back of her hand. “Yes, with Juliana in Atlanta.” Grayson grinned like a little kid. He nodded his head a few times before becoming still. He dropped her hand and looked out his window, running his hand over his mouth.

Had Trevor said something to upset him?

“I don’t know. Do you think…no, I hadn’t ever considered that.” His serious voice made her want to snatch the phone from his hand and tell Trevor to not kill Grayson’s good mood. He picked up her hand again, laying her palm out flat on his own, his so much larger it wasn’t even comparable.

“We can both agree this is an unusual circumstance.” Grayson laughed. “That’s why I called you. Oh please, we’re in the same time zone. Just make the arrangements like you mentioned. I’ll be fine. Thanks.” He tapped the screen and set his phone down.

“You called your agent to make a reservation for you?”

Grayson shrugged. “He earns a substantial amount of money from my contracts. Besides, he knows how to get things done that I usually can’t get past saying my name, and the whole thing ends up in a media frenzy.”

“So, he’s like your Clark Kent?” She slid her hand away from him and gripped the wheel again. “You know if we pretended Clark Kent and Superman were two different people.”

“But, they’re not.”

She blew out a huffy breath. “I said, pretend. You’re an actor.” She fluttered her hand in the air. “So, act.”

“It’s hard to pretend I’m Superman.”

Juliana pressed her lips together. He’d already rescued her from the rut her life had tumbled into recently.

He set his hand on the bare skin of her knee. “What made you choose journalism?”

“My great-grandfather started theStatemDispatch, and I always wanted to carry on the tradition. I was the first person in the family to go to college, a few years late, but I always knew what I wanted to study.” She focused on the horizon. “And even though I’m happy that I’m taking over the paper, I’d also hoped it might give me a way out before I settled down. Travelling the world, writing interesting articles.” But those dreams vanished when Eliza did. She’d resigned herself to

His serious expression brought a new severity to his features. Like a Matador, facing down a bull.

“That’s why I went into acting.” He crossed his arms and sat up, his head brushing the ceiling of the car. “It was a way out. I wanted to see the world.”

“And you’re doing it.” She touched his forearm and squeezed his tight muscles. Wherever his mind had wandered, she wanted to bring him back. He’d let his guard down. Even a small glimpse into his life, seeing the real Grayson, reassured her that this attraction wasn’t one-sided. That he trusted her.

A few hours later, she pulled into a parking spot in the lot adjacent to the Capitol building. Grayson climbed out of the car first. She wiped her damp palms on the cloth seat next to her legs. A good first impression set her up for future stories.

Grayson opened her door. “Are you going in?”

“Yes,” she mumbled and reached in the backseat for her leather portfolio. He held her hand as she climbed out.

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