Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Grayson
Peaks I could tell he had a lot more to say. “And I remember what happened—”
“It won’t happen again,” I said sharply, giving him a warning look.
“Listen, at the end of the day, I told you all as a courtesy because I don’t want to lie to you.
” I didn’t have to look at Reid to know he’d rolled his eyes.
“This is happening, and for Willa’s sake, I’m trusting you all to keep it a secret. ”
“I’m telling Delaney.”
“Obviously,” I said to Ethan. “And Avery, of course.” I nodded to Reid.
“What about Lauren?” Brody asked.
“Are you dating Lauren?”
We all waited to see what he’d say. The two of them had been dancing around each other for years. But neither of them seemed to be able to get out of their own way.
“You know I’m not,” he said. “In fact, she recently told me she’s going to start seriously looking for a partner.”
It was my turn to be surprised. But as much as I wanted to dig into that, there was no time. I lifted my beer and drained the glass before setting it on the table. “I want to hear more about that, but right now I’ve gotta go.”
“You’ve got a hot date, do you?”
“As a matter of fact.” I stood and shoved the chair back under the table, unable to keep the grin off my face. “I do.” I waved at the guys, doing my best to avoid looking Reid in the eyes. But I didn’t miss the way he muttered under his breath as I walked away.
Harper
Creekside was beautiful. White tablecloths, candles flickering in low glass holders, soft music drifting from a hidden speaker. The nicest restaurant in town, it was the kind of place people went for anniversaries, special celebrations, Valentine’s Day, and even proposals.
And it was awful. Not the food. The steak was delicious.
Perfectly cooked. And Grayson looked unfairly good, sitting across the table from me in a dark button-up, with the sleeves rolled up on his forearms like some kind of cruel reminder of how strong he’d gotten in the years since I’d last seen him.
The problem with the date was…me. Well, us. From the moment he’d picked me up, things had been awkward and stiff between us, as if we didn’t know how to act around each other.
To be fair, we didn’t.
There was once a time when being with Grayson was the most natural thing in the world.
In high school, he was my very best friend and the only person I could truly be myself with.
I never had to hedge who I was or hold back.
I’d never before—or since—known someone so intimately, and had them know me the same way.
But being with him all these years later, it was like we were strangers trying to pretend we weren’t pretending, and I hated it.
By the time we stepped outside into the winter air, I was wound tight with the nervous energy buzzing between us. We walked side by side through the plaza. Lights hung from every possible surface, but they were still unlit. At least for a few more days.
“The tree lighting is Friday,” Grayson said. “We’ll go together?”
I nodded. “That would be nice.”
“It’ll be a good chance for the whole town to see us,” he said quickly.
I felt a flash of disappointment in my chest, which was ridiculous. Of course, that’s why he wanted me to go with him. It was to make it all look real. I should have thought of that. After all, this whole deception was my idea.
“Right,” I said. “And Grandma will be there, too. She’ll like seeing us and—”
A burst of laughter spilled from Peaks & Brews and grabbed my attention. “Did you tell your brothers?” I asked. “About …” I waved a hand between us. “This.”
“I did.”
“How are they?” I asked when he didn’t elaborate. “Tell me about them.”
Grayson chuckled. “What do you want to know?”
“Anything. Everything. What did they say when you told them about us?” The second I asked the question, I regretted it. Did I really want to know what the Lyons brothers thought about our deception?
Grayson raised a brow. “Do you want to ask them yourself?”
“What?” I pointed at the brewery. “Like, right now?”
He nodded. “I mean…we might as well. This date has been…”
“Pretty shit?” I finished for him.
Grayson burst out laughing. “Well, I don’t know if I would have said it quite like that,” he said, “but yeah. It’s been a little stiff, don’t you think?”
“Yes.” A wave of relief washed through me that I wasn’t the only one feeling the tension. “And not at all like us.”
I regretted the words as soon as they came out. There was no us anymore. There hadn’t been for a very long time.
Something flickered on his face, but I couldn’t be sure in the dim light.
He took my hand in his and squeezed a little. “You’re sure you’re ready for this?”
“Why not?”
Grayson shook his head and ran his other hand over his face. “Let’s do this, then.”
Inside, the brewery was busier than I expected for a Wednesday night. “Book club meeting,” Grayson said before I could ask. “Ethan’s fiancée owns the bookshop next door and sometimes things spill over.”
“That’s my kind of book club.” I laughed.
“I’ll introduce you to Delaney.” Grayson led me through the space. “You’ll love her.”
Grayson took me to the bar, where his brother Ethan was pulling pints of beer.
The moment he looked up and saw me, his face split into a smile. “Harper Bennett. Welcome back!”
He left the beer and moved quickly around the bar to give me a strong hug. “And welcome back to the family,” he whispered into my ear. When he pulled away, he winked and I glanced at Grayson, who only shook his head.
“Harper!” I turned to see Brody, holding out his arms for a hug as well. “So great to see you again.” He squeezed me tight.
I’d already seen him a few times when he came to pick up take-out from the restaurant.
There was once a time when these men felt like my own brothers. When we were kids, they’d all welcomed me into their family as one of their own. Those years felt like a very long time ago, but seeing them again brought all those feelings rushing back.
When Brody released me, Ethan grabbed my arm again. “Harper, I want you to meet my fiancée, Delaney.”
I turned to see a beautiful woman, her dark hair up in a twist on the top of her head, standing next to Ethan.
“She owns Plot Twist next door.”
I held out my hand, but the woman pulled me in for a hug. “It’s so nice to meet you in person,” she said. “I’ve heard so much about you.”
“You have?”
“All good things.” Delaney said. “And your food is amazing,” she added. “Quinn can’t stop talking about the lasagna. And she’s a tough critic.”
“Your daughter. Wow.” I turned to Ethan, who nodded. “I still can’t believe you have a daughter.”
“She’s an amazing kid,” Delaney said with a genuine smile. “You’ll love her.”
“I’m sure I will.” I shook my head as I tried to take it all in.
“A lot has changed.” Grayson slipped his hand into mine.
I turned to look at him. “It has,” I said softly.
“But some things are still the same, hey?” Brody slapped Grayson on the back and gestured obviously to our clasped hands. “It’s good to see the two of you together again.”
My face flushed as a few heads turned in our direction.
Grayson squeezed my hand, grounding me. “Right,” he said. “And with that, we’re going to go. We just wanted to pop in and say hello.”
“I’m so glad you did.” Delaney’s smile was so welcoming and warm, I liked her at once. “We’ll see you soon, Harper.”
“Definitely.”
With a few more goodbyes, Grayson ushered me back outside into the cold December air. “Well? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Your brothers always were so great,” I said honestly. “It’s nice to see them again. I can’t wait to see little Preston and Reid, too, of course.”
“Little Preston isn’t so little anymore.” Grayson laughed. “And Reid, well…he’s married now.”
“Married. Wow. Things really have changed.”
And some things are still the same. I looked down at our hands.
We reached the door of the restaurant, and with his hand still in mine, Grayson spun me so we faced each other.
“Thank you for tonight,” I said. “For going along with all of this.”
“Don’t thank me yet.” His voice was low, almost rough.
Before I could ask what he meant, his free hand came up to cup my cheek. The simple touch stole the breath from my lungs. His thumb brushed beneath my eye. Featherlight and hesitant, like he wasn’t sure he was allowed to touch me at all.
Then he leaned in.
I closed my eyes as his lips touched mine for the first time in over a decade.
The kiss was tentative at first, his lips just barely touching mine. But the second I let myself lean into him, everything shifted. Heat pulsed through me as his mouth pressed deeper to mine. Everything about the kiss leveled up.
My knees went weak. I clutched at his jacket to keep myself upright.
Fake.
It was all supposed to be fake. Just for show, for anyone who might be looking out the window or passing through the plaza.
But as his lips lingered, soft and sure, there was absolutely nothing fake about the way my entire body lit up from the inside out.