Page 118 of Eleanor & Grey
“That’s understandable. I’m pretty sure I’ve had my fair share of emotional days.”
She smiled, yet I saw the sadness that sat behind her grin.
“Would you like me to join you?” I asked. “That way, you wouldn’t have to go alone.”
45Eleanor
Would you like me to join you?
Greyson’s words kept dancing around my head as I stared his way.
He wasn’t wearing a business suit, which seemed odd. He was dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans.
Kind of like the old Grey.
“Yeah, I’m OK,” I lied, giving him a tight smile.
“Fake grin,” he told me. “I’ll go with you,” he offered once more, giving me those gray eyes that always gave me chills.
“What? Oh gosh, no.I can’t ask you to do that. I’m fine, really.”
“You’re not asking me to do it. I’m offering to join you,” he said, never taking his stare from me.
My heartbeats were untamed, and my gosh, I missed him. I missed Greyson so much. I hadn’t known I missed him to this extreme until I started to see the pieces of him that made up our youth. The parts that showed up for me when I needed him the most.
“All you have to do is say OK,” he told me. “Say OK, and I’ll come.”
I knew I should’ve said no because of what my heart was doing. I knew I should’ve walked away because my stomach was filled with butterflies for a man who wasn’t mine. Yet as my lips parted and I released a sigh, I whispered, “OK.”
He came with me, just as a friend. As a companion giving me moral support on one of the hard days.
Nothing more, nothing less.
We drove silently to Laurie Lake, because I couldn’t really think of anything to say. Well, other than“Remember when we almost kissed? What was that about?”Or“Hey, what would’ve happened if Shay hadn’t walked into the living room exactly at that moment?”Or“Well, if at first you don’t succeed... try, try again...”
So yeah. I kept my mouth shut.
Greyson’s left hand kept tapping against his thighs as he drove. If it were anyone else, I would’ve overlooked it, but I knew Greyson and his habits.
You’re nervous too.
We parked the car, walked through the forested area, and flashes of our teenage years came rushing back to me. Greyson and I had so many moments beside that hidden pond. Moments that saved me. Moments that defined me. Moments that would lead me through the rest of my life.
We laughed there.
We cried there.
We shared our first kiss...
“It’s crazy being back here after all this time,” he mentioned, shaking me from my thoughts. I was thankful for that, too, seeing as how my thoughts were being disloyal to my brain.
In my head, I knew developing feelings for a widower was a terrible idea. But that heart of mine? It didn’t give a damn about what my brain thought. It simply kept beating in the direction of Greyson.
We sat on the log where we always sat, and that amazed me. The log was still there, steady and grounded, as it had been all the years before.
“It’s still as beautiful,” he stated. “Maybe even more so than before.”
“I think that every time I come,” I agreed. “It’s as if I notice something new every single time.”
