Page 19 of Now and Forever
She shook her head. "No, no, no, I'm fine, trust me. If I get any more comfortable, I’ll never leave."
Grayson said nothing to that, his expression unreadable as he sat and pulled a thick envelope from the nearby table onto his lap.
Around them, the somber notes of music drifted in the air. Golden stared at the flames ahead of her but their dancing light wasn't strong enough to hold her straying eyes. Instead, she looked back up at Grayson, taking in every detail of his straight posture, his thick honey-blond hair, and his handsome face as he ripped open the end of the envelope.
As if sensing her, his blue gemstone eyes cut upward and captured her gaze. Nervous energy bubbled to life inside of her and she began to talk before she could even stop herself.
"I want to ask you something but I'm afraid it may be too personal," the blurted words trailed off into a near whisper as her recklessness faded at the end.
Grayson tilted his head and put down the heavy envelope in silent expectation.
Her nerves only tightened further and she rushed to explain. "I mean it's notthatpersonal, just odd or maybe not. I mean-"
He cut off her rambling. "Ask me," he commanded.
If it wasn't for the glimmer of amusement in his eyes she would have fainted then and there.
Swallowing her nerves, she tried to think again what she had been thinking as she stared at him. Her eyes dropped to the small bit of skin peeking out from beneath his sweater. Golden licked her dry lips and forced her eyes back up to his, which seemed brighter than moments before. "Do you ever just dress in regular around-the-house clothes? Like stuff to lounge around in."
Grayson blinked as if perplexed before gesturing to himself. "I am right now."
"What?!" Golden did a double take at his outfit. Besides the soft-looking loafers, the entire outfit was not only expensive judging by the quality of the fabric, but it looked no different from any of the other clothes she had seen the gorgeous man in. "You look as if you could call a late-night board meeting, though."
Grayson laughed, a deep rich laugh she wished she could have recorded.
Relaxing, Golden pushed the subject. "I'm talking about barefoot, ratty t-shirts, and sweats."
Grayson looked away in thought, his dark brows furrowing. "I...I...honestly don't think I have an old t-shirt. And I only wearsweats to the gym. I don't think Omar would allow anything with a stain on it, much less a hole."
"What about going barefoot? Do you ever indulge yourself with bare feet hitting the floor?"
"Only in my bedroom," he answered, his tone a touch deeper than before. Just low enough to send her heart racing.
Golden turned her face to the fire hoping to hide the flush in her face as she thought of him in his bedroom, a place she of course had never seen. It was located in the other wing of the house with other empty spare bedrooms, a section of the house there was never a good enough reason to go to.
"But you’re right," Grayson continued. "I don't dress down a lot. I'm not home much so it makes sense I stay dressed to leave."
She wondered if some of the reasons he left home were similar to Gaige's. Did he have his own Adriana ready and waiting somewhere? And as much as the thought killed her on a cellular level, it made sense. Grayson was one of the most eligible bachelors in America much less Stardust Cove and Stardust Heights. Kind, smart, handsome, and obscenely wealthy, the man was everything someone could want. Which only confused her more when she thought of the enigmatic woman Gaige referred to as hisbirthing vessel.
All Golden knew of the woman was that she and Grayson had Gaige when they were very young. Their parents forced them to get married but the union hardly lasted a year. The girl admitted she was pressured by her family to have Gaige and even more so to marry Grayson. Her family had been enamored with the Rosebank name and only saw what it could do for them financially, not what she wanted. In the end, she leftGaige to Grayson and signed away her rights. With a hauntingly casual tone that had no place in talking about the mother who abandoned him, Gaige said the last he heard the woman was somewhere overseas.
"Did you want to read the latest copy?" Grayson pulled a plain white copy ofThorn and Quillout of the envelope.
Smiling eagerly, Golden tucked the blanket around and under her legs until she probably resembled a seal. "Okay, cozy and ready." She held out her hands making thegimmemotions.
He handed her the journal with a smirk.
Golden paused, holding the copy up. "Wait, aren't you supposed to be reading this to proof it?"
He pulled another one from the envelope and placed it on his lap. "I knew there was a strong chance you would be here tonight so I had two printed."
There was a verse in a song from a popular Italian opera that leaped forward in her thoughts at his words.A gentle embrace that melts away the coldness of loneliness.That's what his words did. That was what she felt when she was around Grayson. The subtle acts of care that may seem like nothing to anyone else felt so profound to her. Maybe it was because she was starving for it. Deprived from proper love for so long only living off the tepid familial love her aunt provided along with her generosity. It wasn't enough. As grateful as she was, it simply wasn't enough. Golden wanted more. She wanted the love she was robbed of when her mother died or when her father abandoned her for a new family.
A tear slipped down from her eye and down her cheek before she could stop it. She barely heard the creak in leather before shefelt the startling warmth of Grayson's hand sliding across her cheek until his thumb was there, swiping away the errant tear.
"Golden," his voice normally so smooth was rough as it whispered her name in worry. He was sitting beside her on the couch looking worriedly down at her. "What's wrong?"
She wanted to shake her head but she didn't want the contact of his hand to disappear. "I'm sorry I was just thinking—how nice you are to me. It just feels good here." With you, she added mentally.
