Page 6 of Return to Us
Delia leans back in the seat, watching me. “Last time we talked, he was doing really well.”
“I always loved him.”
Delia grins. “Alex is the best.”
I would argue that. In my heart, Grayson was the best, but she was very close with Alex and always hung out at his house. Partially because it meant she could be around Josh, but that was beside the point. We were Alex’s friends...annoying, young, and stupid.
“Yeah, he’s probably coming back to visit soon, they all do around their parents’ anniversary.”
“It was always a big deal for them.”
Delia pushes the salt shaker back and forth. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
“Why did you break up with Grayson?”
I feel the blood drain from my face. “You know why.”
“I know what I heard, which was that you ended things when you went to college because it wasn’t going to work long distance with him being in a different state.”
He was two years older, and I was so sure we’d always be together. Not because of any other reason than we loved each other that much. Surely, two people couldn’t love each other the way we did and not work. It was unfathomable.
But loving someone when their family despises you is something else. Grayson shielded me, or he tried to, but I heard their barbs. I felt their disdain, and when push came to shove, I knew he’d choose them because they held the keys to his future. Like my father had, Grayson would’ve chosen his happiness over the people in his life. I was young and dumb and thought if I left him first, it wouldn’t hurt.
That proved wrong. It hurt and I was too immature to go back to him.
“Does it really matter? Do any high school sweethearts ever last?” I ask. “He’s gone and living what I’m sure is a perfect life.”
She looks down, blowing a long breath through her nose. “How does your sister literally spend every other day with Stella and you know nothing?”
Before I can answer or clarify, Jennie brings our plates and my stomach growls. It’s been so long since I’ve had breakfast like this.
I stare at the plate, touching the rim, not sure how to start or if this is real. Before the crash, life was about efficiency. I was often flying early in the morning, which meant I needed to work out and then prepare for whatever trip the celebrity we were flying requested. I can’t remember the last time I sat down to eat where it wasn’t about running to the next thing. Let alone that I got to have carbs like this.
“Are you planning to eat it or make love to it?” Delia asks with a snort.
“Both.”
We giggle and then the chime rings on the door.
I look up, not knowing what possessed me to care, but when I do, it’s as though not only the plane is crashing around me but also the world. A pair of blue eyes, dark brown hair, and a smile that I couldn’t forget if I tried is there, and I can’t breathe.
Grayson Parkerson is in town and staring back at me.
Chapter 2
Grayson
Istand here, looking at the woman I loved, not sure if I’m imagining it. Stella told me she was back, but I’ve spent the last three weeks waiting to see her and . . . nothing. I figured she was gone just as quick as she returned.
A hand clasps my shoulder, and I look away. I shouldn’t care if Jessica is here. It has been fourteen years and we’ve both moved on, but then, if that were the case, it wouldn’t feel as if I were just punched in my gut.
“You ready to eat?” Jack asks.
“Yeah.”
“Good, the call we just had left me fucking starving.”
