Page 47 of Please, Stay

“That’s all I have for you right now. We’re going to the mall until it’s time for those dinner reservations.”

“I wish I could say you don’t pay me enough to handle this.”

“But you’d know that’d be a lie.”

He sighed. “Yeah, you pay me too much as it is.”

Juliana showed Grayson another text from Becky.

Ms. Iris tookyour dad’s phone, so he wouldn’t find out. She’s pretending hers is broken. This will explode, Jules. Eleven people have already texted, asking if that was you.

“The publicist wantsto know if she can name Juliana.”

He traced the edge of her cheek with a finger. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment before opening again, the soulful look hitting him straight in the gut. He tilted up her chin and gave her a kiss. It’d be selfish to throw her into the spotlight just to save face.

“No.”

“Then who do we say she is?”

He kissed her, long and deep. He laid his forehead against hers, willing the words to leave his mouth.

“No one special. Just another fan.”

15

Just another fan.Juliana’s new title. That was how Grayson had described her. Although he’d done it to prevent a media firestorm and protect her from her dad, a small part of her hated being lumped in with the rest of the world. His kiss had tasted of regret. She pushed down the frustration of the situation and concentrated on getting the trunk of her small car to close.

Their afternoon shopping spree had consisted of a few hundred dollars, spent by Grayson, and all for one little girl. Carrie. Something about it seemed personal to him. He had a fierce determination for her to experience the best Christmas possible. At least his focus on Carrie helped to distract them both from the earlier situation with Lawrence.

Grayson had shot down her one attempt to thank him. And, no matter how many times she tried to get him to give Trevor the full story, he let the world assume that he randomly fought some poor, innocent guy at a coffee shop rather than give the press any indication that he was in a relationship with her. He’d told Trevor that she was his girl. She wanted to be. After his time here, she wanted to call him something other than a distant memory.

Following his directions, she parked along a side road on the edge of downtown Atlanta. Wherever he’d made reservations, everyone else in Atlanta had decided to join them.

“Wait for a second,” he said and then opened the back of her car. Finding the pink and green princess blanket he’d bought for Carrie, he closed the trunk. “You might need this over your legs later.”

“What are we doing?”

He led her down one street and then another, past cute houses and streets lined with cars. They turned toward the entrance of Zoo Atlanta.

“The zoo? At night?”

“Christmas lights.” He draped the blanket over his arm and settled his jacket over her shoulders. “Trevor found out they were having a benefit tonight.”

She snuggled in his jacket, savoring his smell. “And you like the zoo?”

He guided her along the edge of the fencing, away from the entrance with the long lines. “Something like that.”

“Where are we going, Grayson? The entrance is that way.”

“I’m in charge of this, just give me a break.” He flashed a cute smile down at her.

A door hidden along the fencing opened as they approached. A tall man in a tan shirt with the zoo’s logo waved at them.

“Mr. Moore, I’m Reggie Davis.”

“Hi, Reggie. Call me, Grayson. This is Juliana.”

“Nice to meet you.” Reggie took a breath and glanced behind him, lowering his voice. “I’m a huge fan. My boss told me not to even act like you were anything other than a normal person, but—” he pulled out a small wallet size picture of a little boy with the same wide smile “— can you sign my nephew’s picture? He’d get a kick out of it.”

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