Page 25 of Please, Stay

“No. No, thank you.” Becky Gallagher scared him a little. “I can take it from here. Bye, Addie.”

“You can do this. It’s only a couple dates, Grayson. Not forever.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” He ended the call and tossed his phone on the bed. He’d thrown everything back into his bag, ready to bolt, but instead of gassing up his motorcycle, he watched the clock. Would she be sad if he didn’t show up this morning? How had he gotten this close to the situation? In the beginning, a simple interest in Juliana had drawn him to Statem. Now, after the feel of her against him during the motorcycle rides, lust underscored that same interest. Who was he kidding? It was more than that.

He liked her.

She deserved a goodbye.

Leaving his duffel bag on the bed, he headed out of the bed and breakfast and straight to the coffee shop. He brushed the regular dusting of glitter off his shoulders and spotted her in the back corner where she’d met him the past four mornings. Even with a frown, she looked beautiful. She stirred her hot chocolate, her shoulders slumping even further as she sat back and crossed her arms. Her hair hung over one shoulder, the ends curling over the letters of her Georgia State University long-sleeve T-shirt.

Fifteen minutes late, and she’d already given up on him.

He deserved it. After the way he’d reacted on the bike yesterday, shutting down and all but dumping her out of his lap, he wouldn’t put much stock in him either. That was the exact reason he needed to leave her before it became even harder.

Her eyes landed on him. She blinked before a small smile appeared. She motioned to the chair across from her.

The excitement she’d greeted him with the past few mornings had disappeared. Again, he’d caused that worry to flash over her features.

“Hi,” he said when he approached her table.

“Hi. I didn’t know if you’d show up or were already back in California.”

Damn. He could ignore all reason and lose himself in her eyes. “I had a few things to figure out.”

She nodded, taking a sip of her hot chocolate before glancing back up. “I kind of fumbled that offer to have sex with me so you can father my children.”

Grayson coughed, glancing around the room. No one else seemed to pay them any attention, but had she really said that? Ignoring the children part of the statement, the simple mention of sex caused his palms to dampen. How much experience did she have with men?

Her eyes sparkled. “I’m joking, Grayson. You were pretty clear that I freaked you out with my declaration about wanting a family. I only meant that as a reason that I wanted to start dating. Not specificallyyouproviding the family.” She shrugged like it was no big deal. Grayson’s throat tightened at the thought of another man holding her. “I wanted to see if you would stay at least one more night for us to have dinner together. If I’m going to finally break the rules, I’d like for it to be with a man named Henry.”

“So, it’s the name you like?”

Her lips twisted to the side as she stood. “I think guys named Henry are pretty cute, too.”

A flush crawled up her neck, but she didn’t shy away. Hell, her innocent flirting turned him on more than it should. With his duffel bag packed and directions to the Atlanta airport displayed on his phone, he already had one foot out the door.

The lure of a date with Juliana trounced his need to run.

He could still take off any day if it got too serious. After another week and a half, he’d leave anyway. That automatic “out” of the relationship eased his nerves.

“Tonight.”

She nodded once.

“Rhonda’s Roadhouse at seven.”

“Eight.”

“I’ll pick you up—”

“No.” Her loud response grabbed the attention of a few nearby tables. She dropped her voice. “I’ll meet you there at eight.”

He wanted to object, but his luck had gotten him this far. Some things in his book were non-negotiable. “I wanted a real date, Juliana. A beginning, middle, and end.” Her eyebrows shot down like she tried to figure out the parts. “You can take away the beginning and meet me at the restaurant, but I still want a middle.” He dropped his voice and glanced at her pink lips. “And an end.”

If they could start with the end of the date right now, he’d have no objections. As forgiving as most of the town had been, ignoring their conversations and rides together to keep gossip from getting back to her dad, he didn’t know if they could keep their wagging tongues quiet if he kissed her in front of everyone.

Her eyes widened, answering his earlier question. She didn’t have too much experience with men, or else she’d have responded to that insinuation with something other than panic.

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