He nodded, but he didn’t say anything.
“Did something happen in the store?”
We drove in silence for a while before he finally answered.
“I ran into someone in the store I knew from high school,” Gray said.
“Is it someone you didn’t want to see?” I asked.
“I prefer to leave it in the past.”
I knew something bad had happened. I didn’t know what, but I knew it was reinforcing his want to get away. And suddenly, I felt relieved that I had taken the job at the diner. But it also made me wonder. Did Gray not have a good reputation in town? Maybe that was cause for Cecily’s shock whenever I mentioned I was staying with him.
“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” I asked.
Gray pulled up into the driveway of Anton’s home before he shut down the car. He got out without answering me and left me sitting there. He popped the trunk and started gathering grocery bags on his arms until they were white and red and probably screaming in pain. I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid from the seat, trying to reach out for him to take some of the groceries.
But he stormed up to the porch and unlocked the door before barging inside.
I stood there in the open doorway and listened as the bags slammed onto the kitchen counter. I wanted to know what was wrong so I could help him, but I didn’t want to taint the little bit of time we had left. I understood wanting to leave it in the past, but I couldn’t help but wonder if I would become his past. If he would one day shove me to the back of his mind and refuse to acknowledge my existence in his life at one point. Would he still think about me? When he left me to work at the diner while he traveled back to wherever ‘home’ was for him, would he spare a thought for me at all?
Or would my memory cause him the same kind of pain he’d experienced in the grocery store?
I didn’t know. What I did know, however, was that I didn’t want to be a regret. I didn’t want to be a sore spot in his life. I walked into the house and shut the door, then made my way to my room without offering to help Gray with the groceries.
Because something told me he wanted to be alone.
Which meant I was alone.
Maybe it would’ve been better had he simply left.
Chapter 23
Grayson
I stood at the stove preparing dinner while Michelle frolicked in the bath. I heard her humming down the hallway and it forced a grin to slide across my cheeks. Things had been tense last night between us. I knew she knew something was wrong. But after spending some silent time in her presence while she read a book in the library, I began to loosen up. She had that effect on me. A calming effect I couldn’t resist. That my body was helpless against. I enjoyed it, and as I turned the filet mignons and seared them on all sides, I found myself looking forward to our date.
I cooked up the crab legs to perfection before steaming the broccoli, then I went to change my clothes. I pulled out a pair of dark-wash jeans and paired it with a black button-front shirt. Casual, but nice enough for the food I was making for us. The smells lingered in the air as I heard the water draining through the house from Michelle’s tub, and I knew in a matter of minutes, our dinner date would begin.
I walked outside to the porch and made sure things were clean and nice before double checking that I had the food on warm.
The doorbell rang and I furrowed my brow. Who in the world was at Anton’s front door? I walked through the house and opened the door, prepared to shoo away whoever was bothering me moments before our dinner date. But instead of a person, I found an empty space of air.
Until I dropped my eyes and saw a box sitting on the porch.
I picked the heavy box up in my hands and read the label. ‘Next Day Shipping’. I looked at the address and furrowed my brow deep as I kicked the door closed. Something had been sent from my vineyard.
“What have you done now, Maria?” I murmured to myself.
“Grayson? Is everything okay?” Michelle called out.
“Everything’s fine. I can’t wait to see you for dinner, though,” I said.
Her soft giggle filled the air and it stopped me in my tracks. The hold that woman had on me was incredulous, and it never ceased to tug a grin across my face. I walked back into the kitchen and quickly opened the box and found six beautiful bottles of a wine that wasn’t supposed to roll out for a couple more weeks.
I plucked the note from the side of the box and quickly opened it up.
I recognized Maria’s handwriting instantly.