6. Caroline
CHAPTER 6
Caroline
It’s good to be home.
I love seeing the world and I’m definitely not done exploring all the universe has to offer, but it’s nice to have grown up in a place like Honeysuckle Harbor. It changes slowly, people are kind and gracious, and the pace is easy. When I come back for a visit, it still feels like home. The town and its people just open their arms back up for me and I love that.
Case in point—the older men who hang out in front of the cafe every day.
It’s my first day babysitting for Evelyn and Grayson was pacing back and forth on the phone. Evelyn couldn’t seem to focus on anything other than the fact that her dad was not holding her. I tried rocking her, distracting her with toys, putting her in the bouncer—that really pissed her off—and letting her suck on my T-shirt sleeve. But in the end, it seemed smartest to pop her in the stroller and go for a walk.
Sunshine and hopefully seeing other people and dogs might dazzle her into forgetting she’s not being held by Grayson. That’s my hope, anyway. She may be a baby, but she is a city girl and probably used to lots of stimulating sights and sounds. And maybe a messy apartment that still has the lingering scent of diapers is just trying her patience.
The apartment looks better today, but it’s still a long way from clean and organized.
I’m a little surprised Grayson is letting me just leave with his daughter, but I also suspect he thoroughly vetted me last night via the Honeysuckle Harbor gossip chain, and maybe through a lawyer. That seems like something a wealthy man would do.
So now I’m outside on the sidewalk chatting with the men playing chess, who are all complimenting Evelyn and making faces at her. She’s not crying, but she’s not smiling either.
One of the men playing chess is Fiona and Frannie’s grandfather, so I’ve known him basically my entire life.
“Mr. Anderson, I saw Rose yesterday, but I didn’t realize it was her until it was too late to say anything. She was hot footing it out of Grayson’s apartment.”
He laughs. “Poor Rose. She probably needs to sleep for three days straight after all that babysitting. The word going around is Grayson Ross is a demanding boss.”
Yikes. I already suspected that, but it’s still a little daunting to hear it. Good thing I’m an easygoing person.
“Don’t tell her that. She’s working for the man,” Sam Reed says.
“Well, this is only temporary,” I tell them, pulling the stroller back and forth to soothe Evelyn. “Until he finds a couple of agency nannies.”
“Make sure you find time to have some fun, too, while you’re here,” Walt says.
I laugh. “Don’t worry, I’m here to relax and catch up with family and friends, too. I’m on my way to check out James’s new baby gym right now, actually.”
They all nod.
“Right, right,” Mr. Anderson says. “James and Cas have that cute little guy. We’re having a bit of a baby boom here in Honeysuckle Harbor. Must be something in the water. Be careful, Caroline.”
I know it’s just a joke—something he would say to any single woman—but I still have a few years of exploring ahead of me before I’m ready to settle down and start a family.
But, like I told James, I’m not having sex right now, so I have exactly nothing to worry about.
“Good thing I don’t go in the water,” I say lightly.
I mean that literally and figuratively.
The men laugh and I give them a wave and say, “No cheating at chess, gentlemen.”
Evelyn throws her teething ring out of the stroller as I push the stroller in front of the baby gym’s storefront. When I bend over to pick it up, I have the feeling there are eyes on my backside watching my movement.
I’m wearing another pair of skintight leggings. I live in them when I’m not at work, and I have a decent ass—thank you very much. I just really hope it’s not the chess guys checking me out. But when I stand back up and flip my hair over my shoulders, a glance into the store shows it’s James watching me.
A little sizzle runs through me.
Which I instantly feel guilty about. James is happily married. I can’t sizzle around him.
Swallowing hard, I catch his gaze. He doesn’t look away, even though he was obviously staring at my ass.
Mentally brushing it off, I smile when he opens the door for me to push the stroller through. James and I have history. We were two teens in the flush of first love, fumbling over each other’s naked bodies in his dark bedroom. It must just be a lingering kind of nostalgic vibe.
Only my suddenly tight nipples might indicate otherwise.
Resolutely ignoring my body’s reaction to his look, I glance around the gym. It’s bright and colorful and clean. There are mats lined up on the floor and a wall with crates and shelves filled with balls and other items like pool noodles, block mats, and low skills apparatus. Noah is lying on his back on one of the mats, playing with his toes.
“This is so cute, James. That little balance beam, oh my gosh. How old are the students?”
For a second, he doesn’t respond. I turn and see he’s looking at me, but he just has a friendly smile on his face. I feel like I imagined it was anything other than that a minute ago.
I feel like that’s confirmed when he starts talking, and it’s casual and easy.
“We start at four months and go to six years old. It’s movement based and imaginative play designed to build confidence and motor and social skills. I use music and games that are age appropriate. Right now we’re doing three classes a day, but I’d love to add at least one more.”
“This is so impressive. You know I love kids. I’m probably more comfortable with the older kids since I don’t have the mommy experience, and I’ve taught kindergarten in South Korea.” I step up onto the balance beam and go the length of it easily. “Hey, yoga has paid off.”
“It’s triple the width of regulation,” James points out. “And flat on the floor.”
“Let me enjoy my victory.” I wrinkle my nose at him. “Not all of us were star gymnasts at Penn State.”
“Most of us weren’t,” he says with a grin. James bends over and greets Evelyn. “Hi, sweet girl. What do you think? Should we blow some bubbles for you and Noah?”
She rewards James with a huge smile and some soft enthusiastic coos. She even kicks her legs and smacks the bar of her stroller.
“You really have the touch with her.”
“It must be the dad vibe.” James unbuckles Evelyn and picks her up. “Oh, you’re so big.” He walks over to the mat. “Noah has already changed so much. I can’t believe in just a few months he’s going to be sitting up like Evelyn.” He sets Evelyn down on the mat and clutches his chest dramatically. “My heart can’t take it.”
Seeing James as a grown man—a father, a business owner—is really special to me. “Hey, remember that night we stole a bottle from my mom’s case of wine and snuck into the boathouse?”
I sit down on the mat and cross my legs as I tickle Noah’s tummy and smile at him.
James gives me a look. “Caroline. Of course, I remember that night. How the hell could I forget that night? I had big plans to get you out of your little denim shorts and instead you threw up all over me.”
“It’s polite of you not to mention what I was doing when I threw up.” I had been drunkenly giving him a blowjob and…disaster. “At least I turned and aimed away from you.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “It’s best left unsaid. Really. Let’s never talk about it again.”
“Take it as a compliment. It was a lot to fit in my mouth.”
James snorts. “Thank you. I guess.”
“I still don’t like white wine,” I lament. “What was that?”
“Moscato. No one should drink an entire bottle of Moscato by themself. That’s a lot of sugar.”
“We’ve come a long way. That was literally the one and only time I’ve thrown up from alcohol.”
“Lucky me, I got to experience that with you. Though I appreciate how hard you worked to redeem yourself the following weekend.” He gives me a wink.
The next weekend had been when we’d both lied to our parents and said we were staying at a friend’s house when, in fact, we snuck into his bedroom while his parents were at a fundraiser event. As far as first times go, it had been pretty damn sweet and eye opening all at once.
I squeeze his knee. “We shared a lot of experiences together. I’m glad they were with you.”
James reaches over and plants a kiss on my temple. “I’m glad mine were with you, too.”
It’s a friendly kiss, nothing more.
Yet my heart rate kicks up a notch.
I had no idea I was going to be so nostalgic seeing James again. The last time I saw him, I had been a cocky twenty-year-old. Sure I knew everything there was to know about everything. We’d gone out clubbing in New York City when our schedules had aligned and stayed up all night, ending it at a greasy diner in Brooklyn. We’d discussed our future plans and how we were never going back to Honeysuckle Harbor.
Yet, here we both are.
“What made you move back home?” I ask.
James reaches over to the shelf and retrieves two bottles of bubbles and hands me one. “This. My husband, my son. Family. We lived in Philadelphia for years and it was great. I loved the food, the people. Hated the winter. Missed the small town atmosphere.”
“Cas likes it here?” I uncap the top of the bottle and pull out the wand. I blow a bubble at Evelyn and she just stares at me. Not the bubble, just me. “This kid is a tough nut to crack.”
“She’s had a lot of changes recently. I’m sure she’ll settle in. Cas is fine here. I don’t necessarily think it’s his first choice. He’s from Amsterdam, and he’s a city boy. But he loves the water, and he loves me. We do plan to travel with Noah to the Netherlands for Christmas this year to see Cas’s family.”
“That sounds incredible. I became a Christmas village devotee after living in Germany.” I blow another bubble at Evelyn.
Nothing.
Noah is on James’s lap now, giving little chuckles. James blows a bubble at Evelyn and she lets out a happy shriek. She even attempts to reach out for it. She wobbles a little but recovers.
“Okay,” I say, delighted to see her reaction. “We’re getting somewhere. Though she does seem to prefer men. Or maybe just anyone but me. Good thing I’m not easily offended, because I feel like she’s just tolerating me.”
“How was Grayson this morning?”
“I barely saw him. He just handed off Evelyn while talking on the phone. Speaking of, I should take Evelyn back up and see if she’s hungry. I have no idea the last time he fed her a bottle.” I unfurl my legs and stand up. “I’ll text you later about when I can run a class.”
“Perfect.” James stands up with Noah as I pick up Evelyn.
He gives me a one-armed hug. “Don’t let Grayson push you around.”
“I can handle him.”
Ten minutes later, I’m back in the apartment. I leave Evelyn in the stroller because she seems content there chewing on her strawberry shaped teether as I go on a search for the formula. The can on the kitchen counter is empty. A search in the cupboard reveals nothing. Truly, nothing. Grayson has no food. The man must be living on takeout and protein drinks.
Grayson isn’t in the living room. His bedroom door is open, so I call out, “Grayson? Where is the?—
I draw up short, mouth dropping open.
Grayson is naked in the bathroom. One hundred percent mouthwateringly naked, as he leans over the sink. I have a full view of his backside, and his front in the mirror that’s hanging on the wall in front of him.
He has broad shoulders, a lean waist, strong, muscular thighs, and a very tight ass.
He also has a huge cock that he is fisting, stroking up and down with hard, urgent jerks.
Our eyes meet in the mirror.
“Oh, God,” I say, both mortified and suddenly very turned on.
He doesn’t break eye contact. He also doesn’t stop.
Is he going to…
My cheeks grow warm. My inner thighs get hot and wet.
I’m frozen in place, torn between wanting to see him come and knowing I have no business being there.
His eyes narrow.
I jerk, returning to my senses and get the hell out of his bedroom, closing the door behind me.