Page 53 of Please, Stay

He kept his face passive. “I think so.”

“Did Jules have agoodmorning?” Eliza drummed her fingers on the table.

Becky shifted a little closer. “And a reallygoodnight?”

Juliana walked into the kitchen. She set her hand on her hip, and her lips pressed together in irritation. “Y’all?”

With two identically dejected sounding sighs, Becky and Eliza rose from the table and trudged out of the kitchen. Grayson smiled at the one-word way to get them to drop the subject. He might have to try that sometime, although he didn’t think Trevor would respond the same.

“Did you want to hang out here today?” She poured herself a cup of coffee. “I was fixin’ to write an article about the road expansion.”

Yes. He wanted to. Lazy around with her, find a room with a three-inch dead-bolt to keep Becky out, but even if she didn’t realize it, she needed time with her sister and Carrie.

He stared at his coffee cup. “I have a few things to take care of this weekend, scripts I need to read and…things. I know you need time to get settled with your sister, so maybe I’ll come to the diner on Monday for lunch? That’s when you’re going to let your dad see Carrie, right?”

“Yes.”

He kept his eyes averted from her confused gaze. It wouldn’t make sense to her why he had to give her some space. If this morning proved anything, besides the fact that privacy was elusive with Becky in the house, it was that things between the two of them amplified overnight. Sweet, simple dating had flown out the window the moment he’d thrown Lawrence into the wall.

No. Maybe it was when he’d opened up at the zoo. Or when he’d traced the bruises over her ivory skin from her father’s grip. He drained the rest of his coffee, shuddering when he chewed on the drizzle of sugar that poured out at the end.

If he couldn’t have Juliana in his life all the way, then he needed to walk away while he still could. He had a feeling that if he took a full drink of everything she offered, her friendship and body, he would never leave Statem.

17

Taylor Swift’sShake It Offblared out of the office door and down the stairwell. Juliana took the stairs two at a time to make it back to the office she shared with her dad. Of all the times to leave her phone on the table to go and grab a bottle of water. Was it Grayson? She’d waited for him to call Sunday, but he’d seemed intent on giving her space with her sister like he’d said.

She gripped the door frame to keep from launching herself at her dad while he held her cell phone in his hand.

“Who did you say you were? Well, no, I didn’t expect you to be calling my daughter’s cell phone.”

His voice sounded irritated, but his face was clear of his signature angry red hue. Ms. Iris deserved a medal for the change she’d made in him.

He motioned Juliana inside. “Yes, Governor, I understand. Juliana is right here. Thank you, she is a lovely woman.” He smiled. Then he looked like he choked on a sardine. “Her…boyfriend?”

She squeezed her eyes shut. And there it was. The red, steaming mad face that would put a tomato to shame. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he cleared his throat.

“Yes. Here she is.” Her dad stalked across the room and thrust out the phone. They studied each other, both skeptical. If he expected her to own up to the “boyfriend” comment, he had a long time to wait. She didn’t have any intention of inviting that argument to the table with his first meeting with Carrie only a couple minutes away.

She turned away to concentrate on the Governor. “Yes, sir?”

“Juliana, I have some wonderful news.” His voice sounded exactly like his commercials she’d seen when he ran for office. Smooth and Southern, like he was her best friend. “The engineers think that they can shift the highway away from the city park. We’re going to put the entire project on hold until after the holidays. It will give them time to develop revised plans. Turns out, there’s an engineer on staff who offered to come down and head it up himself. Says he’s from around there and wants to make sure it’s right.”

“That’s wonderful, Mr. Governor.” Juliana hoped her voice sounded excited despite the glare her dad aimed her way. “Can I quote you on that?” She gave her dad a cheesy thumbs-up signal, reminding him that they got the story. He continued to glower.

“I’d hoped you would, Juliana. Never hurts to show that I care about all the people in my great state.”

Thank goodness he hadn’t said, “All thelittlepeople.”

“I can tell you do. Truly.” Did she sound too sweet? Hard to tell with the rush of nerves causing tingles over her skin as her dad paced the room like a caged animal. He was going to lose it. She didn’t need this. Not right now.

On the upside, at least one person in the universe considered Grayson her boyfriend. That warmed her heart even though she knew, without a doubt, that it wasn’t the truth. A boyfriend meant a commitment. Grayson had never shied away from the fact he had to leave soon after Christmas. This Saturday. They didn’t have much time left. And now that she understood his past, she understood why he kept his distance.

“Oh, Juliana?” The Governor cleared his throat. “Can you send me a copy of the article when it’s finished? I’d like our PR department to go over it once before it’s printed.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll have it done by this afternoon and send it over. It’d be a nice Christmas present for the town, so we’d like to run it this weekend.” She nodded her head at her dad. He pressed his lips together, watching her, before shrugging. His anger seemed to decrease the longer she stayed on the phone. How long could she really keep talking to the Governor?

At least until after lunch.

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