Page 11 of Romanced By the Silver Fox

I paste on a smile and open the door.

“Morning came all too soon, eh?” He breezes past me with a chipper grin. Oh. It’s going to be one of those mornings with an annoyingly cheerful Grant. If the phrase ‘morning person’ is in the dictionary, his face is next to it.

“Mm,” I grunt, rubbing my temples.

He takes one look at me and gives a knowing grin. “Oh, I see. It’s grumpy Genie day.”

“I am not grumpy,” I say, in a tone of voice that immediately proves me a liar. “Fine. Maybe I am somewhat happiness challenged before coffee.”

Grant laughs and moves into the kitchen. “Why don’t you hop in the shower? I’ll make you a cup and we can discuss the agenda for today.”

“The agenda?”

“Of course,” he confirms. A cocky smile lights up his face. I ignore the way my nipples tighten when he does. “For day one of my quest to win you back.”

I stare at him open-mouthed. He’s serious about this. The man probably has it all laid out on spreadsheets and flow charts. I wander off to the shower, shaking my head.

Twenty minutes later, I feel almost human again. Taking my cue from Grant’s outfit, I’ve put on a long sleeve t-shirt, my favorite comfortable cardigan and jeans. The look in his eye says he approves.

I gratefully accept the cup he slides across the counter. Too desperate to be polite, I snatch it up and take too quick a sip — and swallow it just as quickly, massaging my throat as the heat blazes down my throat.

“Someone’s a little too eager. Should I leave you two alone?” Grant teases.

“You know coffee and I share a forever love,” I reply. “It’s the one thing that never lets me down.”

A pinched expression quickly crosses Grant’s face before he smooths it over. My conscience twitches. It’s not that I’m wrong, but I didn’t mean to toss that emotional grenade at him.

“I’m sorry,” I say. “That was harsh.”

“Nope. Regrets are not on the agenda. Today is all sweep you off your feet all the time.”

“Grant, shouldn’t we talk —”

He holds up a hand to interrupt my words. “And no negativity about my process. You agreed I could try to win you back. This is me trying.”

I lean back and relax. That’s fair. I’m going to give him what he asked for, even if it kills me.

“What’s on the agenda?”

“A little mountain climbing.”

It takes a moment before I get it.

One night, about two years into our relationship, we discovered that even though we’d both grown up here, neither of us had visited Mount Hood.

“Soon!” We’d say. “We’re gonna go mountain climbing.”

Neither of us meant it literally. Mountain climbing became a convenient shorthand for taking time off to be with each other. But that time off never happened. We were always so busy trying to build our careers, and there was always another meeting, or more travel for work, or some networking that just had to be done.

I shake my head, thinking of all the wasted time. We put so many things before our relationship. And then we broke up, and had all the time in the world, but not each other.

“Gigi?” A tiny frown appears between Grant’s brows. “Are you up for it?”

“Yeah, yeah. Of course. Let’s do it.” I flash him a quick smile and push away the memories. Time to focus on the here and now.

I’m going to let Grant have his three days. What can it hurt? My family is out of town, and my friends back in New York have made other plans. Spending time with a gorgeous man who wants to please me is hardly a difficult choice.

We can have fun together. We’ll get this attraction out of our systems, then go back to our own lives. And this time, when it’s over between us, our story will end with fond memories instead of broken hearts.

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