Chapter 6
GRAYSON
Something’s changed.
Not in the obvious sense, per se, but I did see something shift.
It was a small crack spiderwebbing through the wall she’s had up between us.
The label of friends holds less meaning now than it did yesterday.
All that’s left for me to do now is continue tapping on the cracks until they grow too big to be ignored.
My hand’s found its way to her back again as we make our way down the hall that leads to the dining room her sister’s rented for tonight.
There’s a swell in noise the closer we get, and with every step forward, she grows more rigid.
It’s clear she’s nervous about this. I wish I knew more about the family dynamic I’m about to walk into, if only to put her more at ease.
The very last thing I want to happen tonight is for her to keep things bottled up inside. I’m here for far more than just to act in a role I’ve been wanting to fill for years.
“You remember everyone’s names?” she asks, wringing her hands together.
“Yes. I won’t let you down by stumbling over any of them.”
“I know. That wasn’t what I was worried about.”
Warmth sears my chest. “Then what is?”
“They’re just a lot. I’ve grown used to their judgment and disappointment, but you haven’t witnessed it before. Maybe I just don’t want them to scare you off. Or to turn you against me.”
“That’s not possible. And you’re not the only one who’s had family they haven’t seen eye to eye with. I can handle a bit of judgment, Jill.”
“If I know my mother the way I think I do, she’s going to try and shove James down my throat tonight in preparation for tomorrow. And if that is the case, she’s going to be ten times worse about our relationship to try and push me back toward him.”
I ignore the barbs pushing through my stomach and glide my hand up her back.
The blush-pink silk dress she’s wearing tonight is loose and flowy at the back, so I busy myself with thumbing the fabric as we walk.
It’s a great way to keep my mind from drifting to where this James guy is so that I can haul him far away from here.
“Why does she want you with him so badly?” I ask before clearing the strain from my voice. “If he’s never been good to you, it seems out of place for your mother to want you together.”
“His mom is her best friend from college.”
And there it is.
“I’ll follow whatever you tell me to do. Whether that’s to be the perfect, docile boyfriend or cause trouble by mouthing off to one too many grandmothers. You call the shots tonight, regardless of who she wants you with, alright?”
Jill looks up at me with her lips spread in the softest, most sincere smile I’ve ever seen.
It nearly sweeps my feet out from under me.
My only thought once it falls is that I want to see it again.
Forever, preferably. Without a second thought, I know that I’ll do whatever it takes to ensure that happens.
“Thank you, Grayson. I think doting boyfriend is a good start.”
We stop a few inches from the closed doors, and I stroke my thumb across her back. “You’ve got it. Are you ready?”
“No, but I don’t think that really matters,” she mutters.
I lean down to drag my mouth across the edge of her hairline. “It does to me.”
“Let’s just go in before I ask you to convince me to back out.”
Without another word, I reach forward and tug the door open. Jill inhales a long, deep breath before stepping ahead of me and leading the way inside.
The room isn’t overtly big by any means.
It’s more of a conference room that’s been decorated with the same shade of cream as the bridesmaid dress in our hotel room closet, with a few pops of pale blue.
Two tables have been joined together and covered with lace-edged tablecloths, and the place settings are something out of a celebrity event magazine. Truthfully, the entire room is.
Candles flicker on gold stands of all different sizes along the centre of the tables, placed perfectly down the ruched fabric that’s draped over the tablecloths.
Bottles of wine that I have no doubt are far more expensive than I’ve ever purchased myself are already uncorked and spread evenly between place settings.
All of the corresponding glasses are full to the same halfway point.
Jill falls back to my side, and I lay a steadying hand at the centre of her back as we slowly make our way to where everyone’s sitting. I take a quick head count of people and begin to match names with faces.
At the head of the table is the man I assume to be her father, Howard.
They share the same hair and eye colour, which says more than the silver-haired one on the opposite end of the table.
It would appear Jill’s family is on one side, while her sister’s fiancé has had his sit on the other.
It’s much easier on me this way, to be honest. I couldn’t care less about remembering the names of the groom’s family.
Meredith, Jill’s mother, is the woman staring directly at me.
She couldn’t look further from her daughter.
Where Jill’s hair is that delicious shade of dark brown, her mother’s is so blonde that it’s nearly white.
Jill’s nose has a sharper slant to it, and where her mother’s lips seem to be perpetually pursed, hers have a natural pout that I remember wanting to bite the first time we met.
“Jill!” It’s the bride-to-be, Kate, who rushes from the table and steals Jill into a tight hug. “It’s been months since we’ve been able to hug.”
Jill embraces her sister awkwardly at first before relaxing into her and squeezing. “I know.”
“I’m getting married tomorrow! Can you believe it?”
They pull apart, and Jill shifts back to my side almost on instinct. It’s impossible not to touch her again, so I don’t bother forcing myself not to. This time, I plant a hand on her hip and move just slightly behind her. The curve of her ass brushes my thigh, and I keep her in place.
“Hardly,” Jill says, laughing softly.
Kate sends her a wink before swapping her focus to me. Her brown eyes are familiar in a sense, but the only similarity between hers and Jill’s is the shade. They’re missing the teasing warmth I always seem to find in her sister’s.
“Well, we can get into all of the wedding stuff in a minute. Introduce me to your date.”
“This is Grayson, Kate. And he isn’t just my date. He’s my boyfriend, which I did ask Mom to tell everyone.”
Kate winks at Jill. “Boyfriend, hmm? Well, it’s nice to meet you, Grayson. I’m Jill’s sister.”
When she looks at me again, I extend my hand and grin. “It’s a pleasure, Kate. Thank you for letting me come for this. Everything looks beautiful already. I can only imagine the ceremony itself.”
We shake hands briefly before she returns my smile and says, “Oh, that’s sweet of you. I can’t take all the credit, though. I’ve had a lot of help from Vince’s sisters. We’ve all been here since Wednesday, preparing.”
Jill’s flinch is subtle enough that if I weren’t touching her, I wouldn’t have felt it. My attention grows fixated on that reaction, a very loud and persistent voice in my head demanding that I put a stop to whatever it was that upset her.
“I would have been here earlier, but I already used the majority of my paid days off this year,” Jill explains, her voice thick with guilt.
The last time I checked, she still had at least a week left of paid leave, so I know she’s lying. I keep that to myself, obviously.
“I suppose you used them all to babysit for your friend?” her mom asks as she approaches from the table.
Jill pulls her shoulders back as she stands off with her mother. “And if I did? She’s my best friend. And her baby girl is my goddaughter.”
“I’m sure Ivy is a darling. It’s her husband that I—”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Clarkson,” I say before she can finish. While my own mother would have flicked me in the chin for cutting a woman off like that, it’s best there isn’t a fight before dinner’s been served. “Grayson Brooks.”
“Brooks? Don’t tell me you don’t even know your boyfriend’s last name, Jillian,” Meredith’s mother guffaws.
My smile doesn’t waver. “I go by Pierce at work. Brooks is my family name.”
I’m aware that I didn’t share this tidbit of information with Jill or anyone from the workplace, for that matter.
It’s truly something that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.
The only reason I’m sharing it with her family today is because I’m hoping this isn’t the first time I’m around them, and if that’s the case, I want to be as authentic as possible.
Given the circumstances, there are only so many things I can say that are truth.
Pierce is my middle name, and once I left Cherry Peak, I suppose I wanted a real fresh start.
While every piece of ID and paperwork includes Brooks, it was Pierce that I used while introducing myself at work that first day.
My family name is one that everyone back home knows me by, and it carries weight everywhere but Snowbell Ridge. That’s the way I want it to stay.
“Again, I’m excited to get to meet you. I’ve been patiently waiting for my chance to spend time with the people who raised such an amazing daughter,” I all but purr, laying it on as slick as possible.
Jill’s mom’s eyebrows smooth slightly as she nods. “I wish I’d had more of a chance to plan some time alone for us to get to know each other, but this will have to do.”
“And give you the chance to scare him away? Yeah, right,” Jill says flippantly.
I press my tongue to the back of my teeth to hide my immediate amusement and drop my hand to the top curve of her ass.
She doesn’t have a chance to react before I’m pinching it sharply.
Jolting against me, she pins my hand between us.
I twitch in my slacks and lower my mouth to her hair, playing the movement of my lips off as if I’m kissing her.
“Behave.”
“Do my eyes deceive me, or is that you, Jill?”
Suddenly, my warning sounds more like it was meant for me than her.
The man approaching us is either incredibly brave or equally as stupid. I missed him during my initial sweep of the table, but there’s no repeating that mistake. He doesn’t give me the chance to shift Jill closer before curling his arms around her and hauling her away.
The sight of his hands as they fall far too fucking low on her back has red crawling along the edges of my vision. I jam my hands into my pockets and grip the inner fabric to try and calm myself.
Acts of aggression have never been my go-to response to many situations. When I’m angry, I’ll slip on a pair of sneakers and run until my legs are too weak to carry me further. I don’t start brawls at rehearsal dinners by breaking a man’s wrist.
I’m tempted to start.
“How long has it been? Four years?” he asks, keeping her in his arms for far too long.
It’s not until I’m starting to take a strained step forward that he releases her. The smirk he flashes me over her shoulder is overshadowed immediately by the feel of her back against my body. I let my hand fall back to its place on her hip and press us flat together, back to front.
Jill reaches for my hand and intertwines our fingers, letting them press into her stomach. The steady, back-and-forth motion of her thumb across my knuckles is enough to have the jealousy dissipating from my blood.
“Four years sounds about right,” she snips, sounding far from interested in continuing any sort of conversation with him.
“Luckily, James agreed to attend the wedding so that you can finally catch up!” Meredith cheers, clapping.
Kate at least appears slightly uncomfortable with their mom’s excitement and offers Jill an apologetic smile. “Come sit. You and Grayson are with Vince and me. I’ll introduce you to everyone on the way.”
Without another glance at the asshole with the pit vipers perched on his head and his dress shirt untucked like a slob, we follow Kate toward the table. Those still sitting don’t sway from their conversation with Jill’s father, and I use the moment to press a too-quick kiss to her temple.
She tilts her head and meets my eyes, her chest turning pink. “What was that for?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to.”
It seems to be answer enough. Our fingers stayed linked through every introduction, and even when her father offers me his hand, I can’t make myself release hers. She continues stroking my knuckles as we take our seats, and I stare directly across the table at James.
It’s not the placement I was hoping for, but now that I think about it . . . it’s not all that bad.