Page 5 of Milkshakes and Mistletoe

“How about you?” she asked before he could question her further.

“I’m on my way home. I came down here for a quick visit with an old friend.” He smiled. “The guy who caught your attention.”

She frowned. “Oh, you mean the one you were saying goodbye to? He didn’t catch my attention: it was his laugh. It just sounded so real, and so … free. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard anyone laugh like that.”

“Yeah, that’s Monty. He’s real and he’s free. I came down here for a taste of that again.” He smiled. “He lives in that camper and bums his way up and down the coast, surfing.”

“I guessed you were a surfer!”

“You did, huh? How?”

“I don’t know, you just have the look, you know?”

He ran his hand through his hair. “You mean scruffy?”

She laughed. “More like bronzed, beachy god.” Her eyes widened and her hand came up to cover her mouth. “Oh my God! Please tell me I didn’t say that out loud!”

Grady had to laugh with her. “Err, I’m afraid you did. Don’t worry, though. I won’t let it go to my head.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Sorry. Sometimes I open my mouth and my thoughts spill out. It’s a terrible habit.”

“You don’t hear me complaining, do you?”

She shrugged. “No. This time I only embarrassed myself.”

“That sounds like you’ve landed yourself in trouble by letting your thoughts spill out of your mouth in the past?”

She met his gaze but then shrugged again and looked away. “You could say that. It’s part of the reason that I’m going home to see my brother. I’ve caused a few waves lately and I figure it’s best if I take myself home. My brother’s been bugging me to move back for a couple of years now and I think I’m going to.”

That sounded like there was a whole lot of story behind it, but as much as Grady would like to hear it, he thought it best not to push her. She’d spill as much or as little as she wanted to if he kept his questions general. “And where is home?”

“Napa.”

All his breath caught in his chest. She was from Napa? What were the odds? He’d seriously felt like he was playing roulette with the boarding passes earlier. But it’d turned out that she was not only heading down the same concourse he was, but she was also on the same flight. Now, it turned out that she was going to – that she was from – the place he called home.

Her smile had vanished, and she was searching his face. “Where are you from?”

He swallowed. “I’m from SoCal.” It was the truth, but it wasn’t the whole truth, and he felt bad. “But I’m going home to Napa, too.”

“Oh!”

He chuckled. “What’s up? Is that a little too close for comfort?”

She blew out a sigh. “Honestly? Yes. I mean, it’s one thing to flirt with the bronzed, beachy god in the airport, it’s another thing to think that we might see each other again.”

The way she said it made him hesitate. Was she talking aboutseeingeach other again? Part of him would love to. But that was the part of him who hadn’t fully wrapped his head around what being a single dad meant. Thatsingleword had always been one of his favorites. Now, it wasn’t an option – it was a required fact. But no, she wasn’t talking about themseeingeach other again; she probably just meant that it’d be embarrassing if she ran into him again.

“I wouldn’t worry about it. I doubt we run in the same circles.”

She nodded slowly. “I …”

Grady held his breath. If she did want to see him again, he’d rather not hear it. That’d be like torture. He reached across and put his finger over her lips. “There’s no need to say it. When we get on that plane, you’ll sit down in the big comfy seats, and I’ll keep going all the way to the back.”

She nodded again. “But back in Napa …”

It was so tempting to listen to what she had to say, to hope that she might suggest that they see each other again. But he couldn’t. If he knew that she was there and that she wanted to see him, he’d try to figure out a way. Even if he didn’t see her, thinking that she wanted to would still be a distraction, and he needed all his focus on Ava. So, instead of hearing her out, he interrupted.

“Back in Napa, I don’t socialize much.”

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