Page 7 of Please, Stay

With Becky’s back turned, the man she’d labeled as dangerous put his finger to his lips and winked.

Winked? He might as well have proposed they run off to Costa del Sol along the Mediterranean together with the way her heart fell straight to her stomach. It had to be Grayson Moore. Please be Grayson. What the hell would she say to him?

“Jules?”

“Hmm?”

“He’s the first man you’ve taken a second look at since you stopped dating that guy in Atlanta last January. Ask him to come over here.”

“No.”

Becky rolled her eyes. “This is for your own good.”

Hell. “No!” Juliana would not let her—

Becky shifted in her seat and waved at him. Just threw her arm in the air and flagged him down like a taxicab in New York. “Hey, stranger!”

“Becky,” Juliana screamed in her lowest possible voice through her clenched teeth. “Stop it!”

Too late.

Grayson slowly made his way to their table, keeping his gaze fastened on Juliana. He sauntered with confidence even though he held a gaudy plate with a cinnamon roll. She risked a glance around the room. Seriously, people? No one else recognized the King’s son, Alfred, from his show? Or Thomas Fitzgerald in his newest movie?

Becky looked back and then leaned forward and tapped her fork on the gingerbread man handle on Juliana’s coffee cup. “I think you should ask him out.”

“I can’t!”

“C’mon, you’re thirty-one. Stop being so dang shy.” Becky did a little dance. “This is going to be good. Follow my lead.”

“I learned not to do that when we were eight.” Juliana only had about six seconds before Grayson descended on them. “And my age now doesn’t matter. Shy or not…damn, look at him, Becky. Guys like that, don’t ask girls like me out.”

“Iamlooking at him. That’s why I’m not going to let you pass this up.” Becky whispered before she sat back and gave Grayson a friendly smile. “I think we may have one of the only open seats this morning.”

Somehow, he managed not to laugh or look around the coffee shop at the nine other empty tables scattered around him. “I appreciate the invitation.” His smooth voice brought back the memories she’d replayed from their elevator encounter.

Becky ran a hand through her short, auburn hair before she motioned to the empty chair. “No problem. I’m Becky, and this is Juliana. What brings you to Statem? Passin’ through? Stayin’ a while? Family?”

Juliana wanted to shrink under the table. Any minute, Becky would recognize him, and then he better run for the hills. He might not be her Batman, but no way would Becky walk away from an opportunity to date Grayson, even for a best friend.

Grayson sat, giving Becky a casual glance before watching Juliana again. “Just a visit.”

Most people stumbled across their sleepy little town while taking a back road to the Florida beaches. He’d come to Statem on purpose. She licked her suddenly dry lips. For her? Had he even remembered she lived here?

“Why in the world did you pick Statem?” Becky motioned around the coffee shop. “We’re not exactly a tourist area.”

“Those make the best spots to relax. I heard about your town and wanted to see what a cross between Mayberry and Smallville actually looked like.” He rolled his shoulders, causing his fitted, long sleeve black T-shirt to accentuate everything that made Becky label him as dangerous. Becky didn’t even try to hide her grin as she wiggled her eyebrows at Juliana.

Yup. Juliana had to agree with her best friend’s nonverbal declaration.

Hottest man she’d ever seen in person…again.

Juliana snapped her eyes away from his pecks and studied a snowflake twirling from the air conditioner vent. The music changed toRudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.Mrs. Latham began to sing not-so-quietly behind the counter. It only added to the wacky Christmas atmosphere that Mrs. Latham might actually takedown by Valentine’s Day. St. Patrick’s Day at the latest.

Grayson raised his voice over her singing. “Do you both live here?”

“All of our lives.” Becky kicked the leg of Juliana’s chair under the table. “Isn’t that right, Jules?”

Feeling his eyes on her, Juliana continued to pick her muffin apart as she tried not to freak-the-hell-out.

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