Page 59 of Please, Stay

“Just grab something and load,” he called over his shoulder.

Grayson tipped Juliana’s chin up, kissing her long and slow before moving into the apartment to grab a few other boxes. She waited until he passed by before grabbing two lamps and following him down the stairs.

The morning proceeded that way for the next two hours. Everyone working, joking, and Grayson grabbing her aside to steal a kiss. Becky and Eliza seemed to like him. After a while, Cameron even warmed up.

Eliza stopped her on the way back down the stairs. “What’s going to happen when he leaves, Jules?”

Juliana’s pleasant mood deflated a little. She’d managed to ignore the inevitable for the past two hours. “I don’t know.”

“Have you talked about it?”

“Yes.” She hated how annoyed she sounded. “He’s leaving. He mentioned once about seeing me after his movie filmed in Australia, but we both know that won’t happen. Out of sight, out of mind.”

The pitiful look Eliza shot her hurt. She knew she looked stupid, falling in love with someone that was destined to leave.

“Do you want to go with him?”

Juliana crossed her arms and leaned on the railing. Grayson and Cameron loaded Carrie’s headboard onto the bed of Cameron’s truck below. “I can’t. I’ve already signed a contract to buy theDispatchfrom Dad. Not to mention, his health is in bad shape. And with you and Carrie coming back, I need to be home.”

“Stop it. Stop making excuses.”

She held up her hands. “Grayson hasn’t even asked me, Eliza, so no, I won’t stop it. I have my reasons for not going, and he has his reasons for not asking. We both knew what we were getting into. I’m not like you. I can’t just pick up and leave on a whim.”

Eliza’s open expression closed at the mention of her elopement. “You and Grayson already have more love between you than I ever did with Zach.”

Juliana looked at the ground. Love? She’d choked on that word each time it came to her. Her eyes found him, still standing in the parking lot below. Here. Helping her sister move when he could be anywhere in the world.

Eliza set her hand on Juliana’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I know neither one of you expected to end up this deep, but you can’t just ignore it.”

Grayson tilted his head up from the ground below and waved at her. They’d both found something they’d been searching for in the other one. But he still had his own life, and she had hers. She wouldn’t act like it was the end of the world. She’d smile, give him a hug and kiss goodbye, and let him walk away without any drama and tears. If she wanted a “someday-maybe” in her future, then she needed to leave him with a better image than her attaching herself to his foot, begging him not to go and forcing him to drag her along behind him.

* * *

Cameron,Nash, and Dewey all held a beer and leaned against the side of Nash’s truck. Grayson took a drink of his own, wondering how downtown L.A. would respond if he drove the beast of a truck down Sunset Boulevard.

Big and loud. Bright red. And based on the thump of the bass coming from the speakers, an exceptional sound system. They’d unloaded all Eliza’s boxes onto Becky’s porch, out of any harm of getting wet if it rained. Carrie had made them all promise with a pinky-swear to keep her stuffed animals safe.

Grayson took another drink. Carrie was a mess. And for the first time in his entire life, he’d had the fleeting thought of what having a child might be like. What having a steady family entailed.

Juliana, Becky, and Eliza left close to an hour earlier, promising to return with dinner.

“So, are you telling us that you did all your own stunts in that movie?” Dewey pointed his beer at Grayson. “Even the one where you jumped off that twenty-story building?”

“Even that one. The only thing I didn’t do was drive along the mountains. That’s a whole different set of skills and liability.” He didn’t mind the questions. It’d made conversation with the guys easier. He didn’t have any answers if they’d questioned him about Juliana. “I fell in love with motorcycles in that movie.”

Cameron grinned, eliminating his cop-image completely after the first six beers. The boy could drink. He’d loosened up considerably. “I remember that movie where the motorcycle jumped off the bridge and landed on that barge. Was that a stunt double?”

“No. That was me.”

“And you landed it?”

“Yes. We got it in the first take.”

Cameron bumped him on the shoulder with his fist. “I guess I shouldn’t rag on you about being safe with Juliana.”

No. He should. That was his job, and not only because he was a cop.

Nash pulled down the tailgate and sat down on it. “My mom’s poker club she’s formed up at the casino in Cherokee is flipping out, waiting for an invitation to come to meet you.” He shook his head and took a drink. “I wouldn’t advise you to meet them. I know they’re all retired, but that doesn’t mean they’re sweet, old ladies. Most of them are crazier than this guy.” Nash hitched his thumb at Dewey.

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