Chapter 21
Love cures people—both the ones
who give it and the ones who receive it.
—Karl A. Menninger
Grayson switched seats with another passenger so he could sit next to them on the plane.
Emma sat in the middle, between him and Simone, who’d wanted the window seat.
Since they’d driven to Vermont with Emma’s dad, this was Simone’s first-ever ride on a plane.
She was all but vibrating with excitement and had asked a million questions about what to expect.
“Is this really happening?” Emma whispered to him as the plane taxied out for takeoff.
“It’s really happening.”
“I was so sad when I woke up this morning.”
“And now?”
“Soooo not sad.”
“Good. I don’t want you to be sad about anything.”
Emma leaned her head on his shoulder, and Grayson realized right in that moment that he felt more at home with her and Simone sitting together on an airplane than he had with anyone else since he left his mother’s home to go to college.
The powerful feeling of rightness that came from spending time with them was impossible to deny.
He could only hope that feeling would continue when they returned to Emma’s real life in the city.
Would there be a place for him in that life? That remained to be seen.
Grayson enjoyed watching Simone’s excitement as the plane roared down the runway and lifted into the sky, rocking and rolling a bit due to the gusty wind.
“Is it supposed to do that?” Simone asked, her brows knitted in concern.
“It’s the wind,” Grayson said. “Once we get up above the clouds, it’ll be fine.”
“How long will it take to get to New York?”
“About an hour and a half. It’s a quick flight.”
“I don’t know if I like it,” Simone said as the plane encountered more turbulence in the clouds.
“I don’t think I like it either,” Emma said.
Grayson extended hands to each of them. “Hold on to me until we get above the clouds where it will be a nice smooth sunny day.” At least he hoped so.
Both of them took him up on his offer, which had him leaning in close to Emma so he could reach Simone.
After making sure Simone was captivated by the view outside the window, Grayson nuzzled Emma’s neck and whispered in her ear, “Relax. It’s all good. Just a few bumps on the climb out.”
“I hate to fly. I haven’t done it in years.”
“I do it all the time, or at least I used to. I’ve done so many long-haul flights to Europe and Asia on behalf of clients. I won’t miss that. There’ll probably only be nice short flights from Vermont to New York in my future now.”
She smiled at him and seemed to relax ever so slightly as the plane reached altitude and leveled off in smoother air.
Grayson ordered Bloody Marys for him and Emma and a Sprite for Simone.
“Mom never lets me get soda,” she said after he’d gotten her what she said she wanted.
“Are you trying to get me in trouble?” he asked.
“Special occasion,” Emma said. “Don’t make a habit out of it. Either of you.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Grayson said with a pretend glower at Simone that made her giggle.
God, she was so cute and so fun to be with.
He wanted to spoil her rotten but knew Emma would never allow it.
He’d have to choose his moments carefully.
It was curious, at least to him, that he, who’d had heavy responsibility for his siblings at such a young age, was looking forward to spending more time with Simone.
If you’d asked him a couple of weeks ago if he could picture himself involved with a single mom—and her daughter—he would’ve said no way.
Now, everything was different, and he was fine with that.
Simone had a million questions about how the plane stayed in the sky and why some clouds were big and puffy and others were wispy. He and Emma did what they could to answer her questions, but explaining aerodynamics and meteorology to a nine-year-old was complicated business.
All too soon, the plane began descending, which sparked more questions from Simone, who watched the flaps rise and fall on the wing with endless fascination.
As the plane descended, Grayson explained what would happen when they landed to prepare Simone for the bump of the wheels touching down and the roar that would follow as the pilots slowed the plane.
She bounced with excitement as the city came into view in the distance. “This was the best trip ever, Mom. Can we do it again soon?”
“We’ll see,” Emma said.
“She always says that. ‘We’ll see.’”
“My mom used to say that, too,” Grayson said. “It’s a mom thing.”
“I can hear you two,” Emma said.
Grayson smiled at her and took hold of her hand again, needing that small connection to her after hours of trying to behave around her daughter.
The plane touched down with a thud and then the roar.
Simone’s eyes went wide as the reverse thrusters roared. “Whoa,” she said. “That was so cool.”
“She has a need for speed,” Emma said. “The crazier the cab driver, the happier she is.”
“Thus her affection for skiing.”
“And sledding,” Simone added. “I liked that, too.”
“We’ve created a winter monster,” Grayson said.
“I love Vermont,” Simone said, looking out the window at the activity on the tarmac. “It’s so fun compared to here.”
Emma’s smile faded at that, only slightly, but Grayson noticed just the same. He noticed everything about her.
“New places are always more fun than home,” he said, “but there’s no place like home.”
“I guess,” Simone said.
They disembarked and walked through the airport on the way to baggage claim, Simone keeping up a steady stream of chatter about the trip, her plans for the weekend, the book report she needed to finish before school resumed next week and what they were having for dinner.
“We need to make an appointment to have that elbow looked at,” Emma said.
“Aw, Mom, it’s fine! I don’t need a doctor.”
“Yes, you do. We want to make sure it’s healing properly so you don’t have trouble with it later.”
“Your mom is right,” Grayson said. “You don’t want an elbow that doesn’t work the way it should.”
Simone scowled, but she didn’t argue the point.
Thank you, Emma mouthed silently.
He winked at her and went with Simone to get the bags off the belt.
Within minutes, they were in the backseat of a cab on the way to Emma’s apartment on the Lower East Side.
Simone sat between them and pointed out landmarks to Grayson, who didn’t tell her he’d been to New York many times.
This time, he wanted to see the city through her eyes.
When the cab pulled up to Emma’s building, Grayson ran his card through the credit card machine before Emma could do it.
“You don’t have to pay for us,” she said when the cab had departed.
“It’s no biggie.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Let’s have that argument later.”
“Fine, but we will have it.”
“I look forward to that,” he said, patting her on the ass as he sent her up the stairs ahead of him.
She tossed him a saucy look over her shoulder that set his blood to boiling.
How many hours until bedtime, he wondered.
They lived on the second floor of a walk-up.
Emma disengaged three locks to get them inside an apartment that was small but cozy.
Right away, Grayson noticed that the place was all about the child who lived there.
Her framed artwork adorned the walls, her dollhouse took up an entire corner of the living room, and her umbrella hung from a hook on the coat tree right inside the door.
“Make yourself at home,” Emma said with a shy smile that made him want to kiss her so badly, he burned from the need.
“Grayson, come see my room!” Simone said as she took off down a short hallway.
“Yes, ma’am.” He hung his coat on the tree and followed her into a bedroom with pink walls, a princess comforter, dolls, stuffed animals and other toys. “Wow, that’s a whole lot of pink.”
“I know! It’s my favorite color.”
“I can see that. Who are these ladies?” he asked, sitting on the bed next to several lifelike dolls.
“Those are the American Girls that Auntie Lu got me last Christmas. She says they’re more expensive than college, but I think she’s exaggerating.”
“Possibly, but those are some rather amazing dolls.”
“I know! See this one? She looks like me, doesn’t she?”
“She certainly does. What’s her name?”
“Valerie. She even has green eyes like mine.”
“I see that. Will the clothes you bought at the store earlier fit her?”
“I think so. Let me go get them, and we can see.” She bolted from the room, leaving Grayson sitting on a princess comforter with a doll named Valerie in his arms. His brothers and cousins would have had a field day with this if they’d seen him now.
“You’re a trouper,” Emma said from the doorway where she leaned against the doorframe, watching him.
“We’re going to see if the new stuff we bought this morning fits Valerie.”
“Don’t let me interrupt.”
“Yeah, Mom, we’re really busy,” Simone said when she returned with the bag from the store. “Can I take this stupid sling off? I can’t dress Valerie with one hand.”
“I can help,” Grayson said. “I’ve dressed a few little girls in my time.”
“I thought you didn’t have kids.”
“I don’t. I have baby sisters.”
“You can take it off for a little while,” Emma said in response to Simone’s question, “but don’t overdo it.”
She removed the sling and tossed it across the room. “I won’t.”
“And don’t drive poor Grayson crazy. He just got here.”
“He doesn’t mind. Do you, Grayson?” She looked up at him with big green eyes full of trust and affection.
The most curious feeling struck him in that moment, something he could neither define nor explain. “I don’t mind,” he said gruffly.
Emma went through the motions of unpacking their suitcase while listening to the steady flow of chatter coming from Simone’s bedroom. The last time she’d looked in there, Grayson had been stretched out on the floor while Simone dragged out everything she owned to show him.