Chapter Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Eight
GRAYSON FELT LIKE HE WAS vibrating from the inside out.
The last couple of days had been busier than expected with check-ins, check-outs, fittings for the wedding, planning Beck’s bachelor party, and doing his best not to fall head over ass for Charlie.
The last one was becoming a futile effort.
The woman had reached into his chest, curled her delicate hand around his heart, and made it her own.
Her leaving might actually rip it out, but he told himself to focus on the moment.
And right now, the moment included walking around the Sunday Samplers Market, everyone on edge about what was going to happen.
Smile residents liked their routines. Sunday Samplers was an outdoor market on Middle Street that was held every week from May to the end of September.
Local vendors, and even a few not-so-local ones now, set up tables, tents, and booths to share their food, art, crafts, beverages, and whatever else they had to offer.
It was the social event of the week and kept people riding high on gossip throughout the following week.
Leo, as usual, was set up at one end of the street and Liam was at the other.
Presley was behind the town council’s tourism table where she pulled people in, chatted up all the things to do in Smile, and spent a little extra time highlighting the lodge and the bike shop.
Lainey had a bracelet booth and today she was doing a how-to session, so she had a bunch of kids, including Ollie, who seemed to have completely settled into the idea of being a big sister, playing with beads and laughing.
Beckett had been chosen to tell Leo the news.
Gray wondered if his brother was as nervous as he currently felt.
Levi and Jilly were at the Get Lost Lodge booth, talking with locals and tourists about summer deals.
Gray was surveying it all, walking around with Charlie while his parents, Bernie, and Mo wandered the crowds.
By now, Liam and Leo had to be feeling a slight hit to their normally busy stands.
And if they weren’t now, they would when their regular Sunday night crowds failed to file in.
“You seem really tense,” Charlie said beside him.
“I feel like I should be at my own booth, but I also said I’d nudge both Leo and Liam into realizing what was happening.”
She turned to him in the middle of the street with people surrounding them and held both of his hands. “If this works, it’ll start their path to healing. If it doesn’t, it’ll show them how much people care, how they’re impacting the town they love, and it won’t make anything worse.”
“I know.” He leaned in for a gentle kiss. “I just want them to be okay.”
She nodded her head. He had a surprise for her tonight and he hoped it adequately conveyed how much he cared about her; how much she’d opened him up when he thought his heart had been sealed off forever.
“Let’s swing by Liam’s booth now.”
Liam’s display advertised the newest menu items at his half of Brothers’: three different kinds of sliders with three unique sides, all for one great price. He had samples of the burgers set out. None of them had been touched.
As Gray and Charlie approached, his friend noticed him and sent a barely there smile.
“Hey, man. What’s up?” Liam leaned on the makeshift countertop.
“Not much. Just showing Charlie the market,” Gray said, ignoring the way his palms felt sweaty.
“Yeah? You bringing her by for Trivia Night tonight?” Liam asked.
Trivia Night took place on both sides of the pub and they’d somehow rigged it so the players on each side ended up rivaling each other.
The side with the most overall points got an advantage moving into the following week.
Some of them included what specials one of the brothers could offer, who got to offer karaoke that week, or who got to put their draft on sale.
“No, not tonight.” Gray held his friend’s gaze. Charlie squeezed his hand.
Liam’s gaze darkened. “Date night?” His voice was jovial enough but Grayson could tell the lack of visitors to his booth had made an impact.
“Not exactly. As one of your oldest friends, I’ve been elected to tell you that Smile won’t be supporting Bros’ until you and Leo make a concerted effort to iron out whatever the rift is between the two of you.”
Liam went so still, he could have been mistaken for a statue.
Charlie squeezed his hand, the support filling him with a sense of calm and certainty.
Gray continued. “We love you guys. The whole town does, but your fight, whatever it’s about, affects all of us.
You two either need to find a way past it or actually separate the businesses so the town doesn’t feel guilty not supporting both sides. ”
“Are you fu—” He glanced at Charlie, then put both hands on his hips, looked around the market to the people keeping a wide berth. “Messing with me?”
“No. I am sorry, though. Sorry it’s come to this. Sorry you two are wasting time fighting when you used to be best friends.”
Liam grabbed a couple of things from underneath the table and stomped off.
Gray let out a long exhale. “That could have gone worse. I was expecting a punch in the face.”
“That would be assault,” Charlie said primly.
Gray smiled, even though he wasn’t feeling it. “Not between friends who piss each other off.”
Curling into him, she gave a soft laugh and hugged him tight. He kissed the crown of her head, his heart dancing wildly. “Let’s go see how Becks did with Leo and start our overnight adventure early.”
With her arms still wrapped around his waist, she tipped her head back. “I’ve never been one for adventures but I seem to like them with you.”
His breath caught. “Same,” he whispered, kissing her.
They found Beckett and Presley walking away from Leo’s stall. They didn’t see Leo anywhere.
“How’d that go?” Gray asked.
“Not great,” Beckett said, holding Presley’s hand. “He didn’t really believe me. But that’s why phase two is Gramps and Mo talking to them, right?”
Gray nodded. Charlie had laid out a detailed plan that included close friends talking to each of the brothers, followed by two people from the community whom everyone respected following up and offering them a safe space to share.
Everyone would avoid the pub until some movement was made in some way.
They’d check in on Wednesday to see if the brothers had tried to talk about things.
Then, they’d bring in the big guns, whom they’d already spoken to: Liam and Leo’s parents.
“All we can do is hope for the best. A loss of revenue and customers will hopefully move it along at a faster speed,” Presley said.
She glanced around like she was looking for someone, then looked at Gray.
“I wanted to introduce you to Micha. He’s a photographer and videographer that the town council hired to capture footage for our website.
I’ve asked him to take some videos of Get Lost as well. ”
That sounded a lot like what he’d already said no to.
Like she’d read his mind, Presley put a hand up.
“This is nothing like a reality show, Gray. I know your stance on that and understand. This is a council-chosen person who will help us put some professional footage on our website to bring more visitors to Smile. Lots of small places are doing it to spread the word. And it’s captivating because you look up a place and an alluring video pulls you in immediately. ”
He relaxed his shoulders. “Okay. Sorry.”
“We got you, man. I’m glad you guys are heading out for a break. You could use it.”
“Speaking of,” Grayson said, eager to get Charlie alone, “We’re going to head out.”
“I hope that things work out with the apartment if that’s what you end up wanting, Charlie, but I know Bernie will miss having you with him,” Presley said, stepping into her for a hug.
Charlie hugged her back. “I feel like it would be rude to not check it out at the very least since my colleague was trying to be thoughtful.”
“For sure. But we all like having you at the lodge,” Beckett said.
They chatted for a few more minutes and then Gray tugged Charlie’s hand; they slipped out of the crowd, down the next street to his car, and headed for the ferry.
One night away with a woman who was quickly making him rethink what he thought he knew about himself, about the person he’d become post-divorce.
He was so sure the pieces of his heart and soul that had devoutly trusted in ever-after love were fractured beyond repair.
But she was proving him wrong and it was like slowly shining sunlight into a long-dark cavern.
She was leaving and he still wasn’t sure about marriage or anything that came along with it.
So, where did that leave him? Them? What was the term for something in between casually fun and love you until the end of my life?
If this was all they got, he wanted to make it something special that both of them could cherish one day if they looked back on their time.
It made his lungs tighten when he thought of her being gone.
But one thing he’d learned in his life was to try to focus on what he could control.
The idea of not touching Charlie, holding her, being with her, made his stomach tighten like an angry fist. Then don’t think about it.
Think about what you have, right now. Gray reached over, took her hand, and let himself memorize the feel of their fingers intertwining. He’d hold on to her while he could.