Page 70 of Please, Stay

“You love her.” Becky bounced up and down on her toes as she held onto his arm. “Oh. My. Gosh.”

Eliza elbowed Becky gently in the ribs. “Shhh, if you tell him he won’t figure it out on his own. That’s more romantic.”

Grayson swallowed over the sudden lump in his throat.

Cameron saved him again. “Grayson, I have some coffee made.”

He turned on his heel and followed Cameron into the kitchen. He needed a stiffer drink than coffee, even at nine-thirty in the morning. With his nerves tied up tighter than anything he’d ever experienced, he accepted the cup of thick, black coffee. Bachelor coffee. Breathing in the steam, he took a long drink.

Cameron pulled out a box of honey buns and tossed one at Grayson. “Breakfast of champions.”

“Thanks.” He took a large bite, thankful for something to do with his hands. His brain refused to process the revelation that the women thought he loved Juliana. Last night, while driving for hours in the dark, he’d asked himself that question. The only response he’d received was a white static noise like what he got at the bed and breakfast when he ran out of TV channels.

Love was something sweet. Happy. Enjoyable. He’d acted the part before. Not this burning pain that sliced through him every time he looked at her and remembered that he’d never have her.

He snapped his head up when Juliana leaned against the kitchen door. “Can you give us a minute, Cameron?” Her voice sounded calm. The threat of another breakdown seemed long gone. Her eyes were a little swollen and her nose red. His jaw locked tight. He’d been responsible for that.

Cameron left, taking his coffee and honey bun with him. Juliana pulled out a chair next to Grayson and sat down. He didn’t miss the way her thigh pressed against his own, or how her sweet smell of vanilla, like sugar cookies, closed in around him. Soothing.

She tipped his coffee cup to look inside. “How can you drink his coffee?”

“It’s good.” She was so close. Right there. And she’d be gone, out of his life, in a couple hours.

“It’s gut rot.” She wrinkled her nose. “Once, I poured mine out over the flowerbed outside, and it killed the flowers. I’m not kidding.”

He took another sip, determined not to grimace. “I guess you have to be a man to drink it.” Okay, maybe he did grimace a little.

A smile fluttered over her lips before disappearing again. He held out the last bite of his honey bun. She popped it in her mouth.

Refusing to listen to his brain about remaining distant, he kissed her cheek. “I’m so sorry about all this.”

“It’s not your fault, Grayson.”

“But your dad—”

“Needs to deal with it.” She raised her voice a little. “I’m a grown woman. I have a college education. He should trust me to make my own decisions. I’m tired of planning everything around him. He knows his health problems, and he should try to correct them.” She sat straight and clasped her hands together on the wooden table. “I can’t tip-toe around him, scared all the time. That’s why I want you to stay like you’d planned to. Through Christmas.”

He wished it was that simple. “It’s not just the paparazzi, Juliana. The director in Australia cashed in on a clause in the contract that says I’m not allowed to jeopardize the filming of the movie. Those pictures from Atlanta are to thank. Apparently, I’m an uncontrollable brute who beat an innocent guy within an inch of his life.”

Juliana’s eyes narrowed in sharp annoyance. “That’s not very fair of the director.”

Grayson shrugged. “He controls the contract.”

“Can you fight it?”

He sipped his coffee again. He could pay the fine. He didn’t want to discuss that with her. Trevor’s words echoed in his mind.

A five-million-dollar reason.

She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. He wouldn’t worry her. Not for him. He cupped her chin lightly in his fingers.

Juliana’s eyes searched his, but she wouldn’t find any answers.

He brushed his lips over hers, briefly tasting the honey bun on her lips before drawing away again. The countdown until he left had begun.

She cradled his face in her hands. “Stay for Christmas. Please, stay,” she whispered, giving him a featherlight kiss in return. “You have to stay for dinner tomorrow night. We’ve made it this far.”

“Juliana, after today, you might have better luck with your dad accepting Eliza without me there.” Her dad was worried Grayson would take Juliana away from Statem, that she would leave the same way Eliza had. Well, Hugh was right. That’s exactly what he’d asked her to do.

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