“Hey.”
“Oh, good, you’re still up. I was afraid you might’ve fallen asleep after your shower.”
“Actually, I haven’t had a chance to take one yet. I unpacked all of my bags, had a bite to eat, and then Nick and Jessa called. They offered to watch the kids while we go to LA—if we go to LA. Well, I’m going to LA. I mean, if you go to LA.”
Oh, God, I’m rambling. Make it stop!
Grayson laughs. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Can you come down to the house in about ten minutes?”
“Is everything okay with the kids?”
“The kids are fine. They’re already in bed.”
A quick glance at the clock on the wall shows that it’s eight fifteen. “I didn’t realize it was that late already.”
“Are you about to go to bed, because if so—”
“No, no, no. Nothing like that. I’m a night owl.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“I’m used to staying up late. Most of my concerts don’t end until ten or eleven, and by the time I help the crew break down the stage, I don’t usually get back to the bus until two or three o’clock in the morning.”
“Night owl,” he says softly, as if he’s cataloguing the information. “So, ten minutes?”
“I’ll be there.”
We hang up, and I run into the bathroom to do a quick hair check. As soon as I look in the mirror, I flinch. That won’t do. I tug the elastic band from my hair, pull it into a bun, wash my face, and then stare at the clock for the remaining seven minutes.
It’s the longest seven minutes of my life.
When the ten-minute mark hits, I walk downstairs and across the side of the yard. With each step, my heart beats faster and harder in my chest.
I will it to calm down, but it’s no use. I’m excited to see Grayson. I knock softly on the door so I don’t wake up the kids, and when he flings it open and smiles at me, a giddy feeling ripples through my body.
Lorelei was a fool for letting this man go.
A gray T-shirt stretches tight across his chest, leaving little to the imagination. Black sweats hang low on his hips, and he’s barefoot.
I just want to eat him up.
“Hey.” He pulls the door open wide. “Next time don’t knock, just come on in.”
“Okay.”
I step over the threshold and notice immediately that all of the toys in the living room from the other day have been cleaned up. The lights are turned low, and the TV is on, but the volume is muted.
“Nick and Jessa want us and the kids to go to dinner with them Friday night.”
“The kids will like that.”
I smile and wait for him to tell me why he asked me to come down, but when he doesn’t, I say, “You wanted to talk to me?”
“Right…” Grayson rubs his hands together and glances down the hall. “This seems a little awkward, now that I’m actually doing it.”
“Doing what? Are you blushing?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “I have a surprise for you.”