Page 16 of Now and Forever
His words were so gentle and his hand so warm, Golden couldn’t look at him. Staring down at her plate she tried to fight back the sting in her eyes. "How much do you know?" she asked quietly.
He was silent for a moment, his thumb stroking back and forth against her hand. "Every time I asked Gaige, he wouldn’t tell me much of anything so I was forced to speculate."
Startled, she shook her head, confused. "You asked Gaige about me?"
Grayson shrugged with an unapologetic smirk. "Gaige would probably label it as harassment, but I like to call it consistent inquiry."
Shocked, Golden let out a laugh.
"What choice did I have since I couldn't get through to you?" A muscle twitched just underneath the short scruff of his beard as he stared at her accusingly.
Annoyed, Golden tried to pull back her hand but his grip tightened around her, not letting her go.
"Let's not get into that now," he began casually, as if he wasn't holding her hostage. "I have something else I want to ask you." Seeing the spark of amusement in his eyes, Golden relaxed a little. "If I offered you Gaige's car you wouldn’t accept it, would you?"
She was not prepared for that. She thought of Gaige's blue BMW he used to drive in high school. "No," she said firmly with a grin, yanking her hand out of his loosened grip.
Grayson sighed. "I see your pride hasn't changed one bit."
It was definitely dented and bruised, but she didn’t need to reveal that.
"Well," he continued. "If you reconsider, know that you’ll be doing me a favor. At this point, it's Omar's job to keep it up and running. I'm honestly thinking of selling it."
"Omar still works for you?!" She thought of her lovely friend who always supplied her with snacks when she came over.
Grayson stared back at her in horror, which only made her laugh. "Don't even suggest that he doesn't. I won't consider my life without him," he said with a shake of his head.
Good, she liked Omar. She couldn't imagine the house without him running it.
She gave Grayson a pointed look. "I'm fine taking the bus."
"I'm not fine with you taking the bus," he countered, his voice pitched low with meaning.
Doing her best not to read more into his words, she gave him an exasperated look. "Why? The public transportation system out here is way safer than in New York, trust me."
Grayson groaned. "Please don't remind me. That was another topic of my consistent inquiry with my son."
There was something heavy and unspoken that settled between them. She couldn't quite decipher it. Was it the Juilliard thing? Or was it something…more? Unsure and honestly a little overwhelmed by it, Golden smiled broadly at him.
"So, no car. Okay?" she pressed.
As if sensing her need to dispel the heaviness in the air, Grayson smiled warmly back at her, allowing the air around them to lighten. "Fine," he said coolly.
Knowing that tone, Golden grinned. "You don’t like losing, do you?"
Grayson stood up from his chair and towered over the table as he answered with a weary but sharp smile. "No. And I don't intend to let it happen again."
Placing her napkin on the table, Golden stood up too. "Is that some sort of warning?"
"I thought it only polite," he quipped with a tilt of his head, and looked at her as though he were regarding an exotic flower. "Come," he said, offering his arm, "let me take you home."
Chapter ten
Three Years Ago
Stepping into the warm house, Golden shuddered. The walk from school was much colder than she had expected when she left choir practice early. Gaige had told her to call him when done and he would come back and pick her up, but she just decided to walk instead. It wasn't that far and besides it was only a little cold. She didn't account for the harsh wind, however. The entire walk down, the wet freezing wind blasted her exposed face and bare hands. She should have called.
Hanging up her coat in the foyer closet and slipping off her wet shoes, Golden walked into the massive kitchen to find Omar in front of the oven.
