Page 26 of Now and Forever
Sitting down beside her, Grayson gave her a hard look. "Tell me you don't usually answer the door like that."
Her instinct was to tease me, to say something flippant like,Yeah, that's me. I'm always naked and always getting delivery enough to make it a habit.But she could see the twitch of musclein his jawline and the serious gleam in his cool eyes, so she thought against it. "Umm no. I was just trying to hurry."
Grayson shook his head. "I swear you're going to be my death."
"What does that mean?" More than a little defensive.
His eyebrows quirked in silent challenge as if shocked she could even ask something so ludicrous. "It means you make me worry about you all the time."
"This one incident?! And besides, Stardust is so safe!"
"There is still crime in Stardust, Golden," he lectured, handing her a foil-wrapped gyro.
"Yeah, but you know it's not that bad and you also forget I used to live in New York. I think I know what I'm doing." Yeah, she sounded arrogant but compared to the version of her coming from Stardust all the way to New York and being absolutely terrified, she felt that it was justified.
"Do you now?" he hummed as he pointed the controller to her new TV.
Golden huffed and poured the little plastic pot of sauce on her food before taking an angry bite. "Eat your gyro, mister."
Grayson smirked, not at all bothered by her attitude.
After a few seconds of swiping through the movie options, they settled on a movie about a psychiatrist and a stalker from one of his murdered patients’ family. It was easy to see the good-looking stranger had ill intentions for the psychiatrist and his family. A family already fractured and barely speaking to one another. They were watching a scene where the stalker was seducing the family's underage daughter.
"Oh my god, him turning on some fairy lights did it?" Golden groaned, pointing a fry at the screen. The look of pure awe on the girl's face was just annoying.
"Exactly," Grayson grumbled next to her. "They were no doubt already strung up. He just found the switch and turned it on."
They were both sitting with their feet propped up on the old coffee table picking through cold fries as they watched.
"As he was breaking and entering, because someone needs to remind her, he is a criminal," she added and they both laughed.
As the movie progressed, the tension built. There was a particularly poignant scene where the daughter, overwhelmed by the chaos and danger surrounding her, packed her belongings and decided to leave.
Grayson gave her a sideways glance. "How did you feel when you realized you were actually leaving Stardust? When you sat on that plane going to New York?"
"It wasn't that," She pointed to the screen, to the girl's look of hope and relief. "I was scared out of my mind and wondered if I could even do it."I guess we can see how that turned out,she was tempted to say but refrained. She wasn’t sure why she asked but she couldn't stop her next words. "How was it for you when I left?"
"I didn't actually find out the day you left. Gaige purposely withheld that info," he said, staring hard at the screen ahead of him before turning that hard stare to her. "But the day I did find out, it was the single worst day of my life?"
Her lips parted in shock. "Why?" she dared to whisper.
He gave her a knowing look and he opened his mouth to speak, but his phone lying on the couch between them rang. The screen flashed "idiot brother" across the screen.
Driven by cowardice, she made use of the opportunity. Clearing her throat, she pointed to the phone. "You should take that. He never seems to call unless it's important."
Technically that was true. For the month she had been working for Grayson, his brother Grant only called a handful of times and it was something that always called Grayson out of the office for the rest of the day.
She thought he would get up from the couch to take the call, but instead, he sat there next to her, his eyes occasionally falling on her as he tersely answered his brother.
Golden had to look away. It felt as if she was getting twenty percent less air. Was the day he found out that she left for New York really the single worst day of his life? Or was he just being kind? She glanced back at him and her heart stopped as she met his piercing blue eyes. He was watching her; even as the deep voice of his brother spoke on the other end of the line, Grayson watched her every move. Nervously, she smiled at him.
His gaze softened a little and the corner of his lips twitched in a small smile. His brother said something and the smile that had hinted at Grayson's lips disappeared into a flat line of annoyance.
"I will take care of it first thing in the morning, so stop bitching. Goodnight," he growled into the phone before tossing it back onto the cushion.
With the TV paused the room filled with an awkward silence.
"Where were we?" Grayson began, relaxing back into the couch cushion.
