Chapter Seven

 

Grayson waited outside her door, for once in his life having no idea what to expect. He could only hope Willow had managed to convince Jamie to at least speak to him, but it might have gone the other way and set off that temper of hers again. Her sharp tongue? She could slice bread with that.

He shook his head in despair, questioning his sanity at putting himself through this. ‘Give her time and then be yourself, Grayson,’ Alice had said when he’d returned home after the last lot of abuse Jamie had hurled at him. His aunt had been his confidant and his friend for as long as he could remember, and he trusted her more than any member of his pack, so he’d listened to her advice when she’d told him to wait a week, even though the time had dragged.

But now he was here.

In haste, he propped the package he’d brought for her against the wall next to her door. Maybe it hadn’t been a good idea after all, considering her refusal to accept his other gifts, but this one was special. He’d spent days perfecting the drawing of Cujo, but he’d done it from memory and hoped he’d captured her dog’s personality in the sketch too.

The door opened.

“Hello.” Jamie didn’t smile. What he wouldn’t give to see her smile.

“Hi, Jamie. I…” Heck, now what?

Awkward silence followed. He tried his best not to stare at her, dressed in jeans that moulded to her thighs like a second skin. She blinked back at him, her huge emerald eyes holding him spellbound. Caramel-coloured hair hung loosely around her slight shoulders and framed her pretty face. Perfect, smooth skin the colour of ivory, with not a hint of that orange stuff she had on the first time he’d met her.

Wow, she’s stunning.

For the life of him, he couldn’t work out if she looked pleased or angry to see him.

Tension filled the air between them, heavy and thick.

She fiddled with a strand of hair, drawing his attention to her neck, pale ivory too. He had a sudden urge to bury his head in the curve between her shoulder and neck, breathe in her scent as he kissed her skin.

He cleared his throat. “I… err, did Willow tell you I was coming?” he asked, desperate to break the silence.

“Yes, she mentioned it.”

Nothing. Her expression showed not even a hint of a clue as to what was going on inside her head.

She wasn’t going to make this easy for him, but had he expected anything else?

Cujo ran past her and straight to him, a welcome distraction. The dog wagged his tail, his little body wiggling in excitement as he pawed at his ankle.

Grayson bent down and scooped him up with one hand. “Hey there, Cujo. How are you, little fellow?” He made a fuss of the dog, tickling his ears and letting him lick his hand. He glanced at Jamie and half-smiled. “At least someone’s pleased to see me,” he said, keeping his tone light.

Her expression softened a fraction, and a ghost of a smile played on her lips.

Grayson put the dog down and reached for the picture. He’d framed it himself too—nothing fancy; a simple black frame, his small sketch of Cujo mounted in the centre of a wide cream surround. “I’d like you to have this.” He handed her the picture and held his breath.

Jamie took it, her pretty eyebrows crinkling into a frown.

He swallowed. “I made it myself.”

Surprise flashed across her features. “You made it?”

“It’s a kind of a peace offering, not a gift, since you don’t like those…”

She tore the plain paper slowly. “It’s not that I didn’t like the flowers you sent, it’s just—” Jamie stopped mid-sentence as she revealed his drawing. She stared at it for a good few moments, her mouth slightly open. “You drew this?” she asked, glancing up at him. “And the sketches on the cards that came with the flowers?”

“Yeah, a hobby of mine, but if you don’t like it…?”

“It’s perfect,” she whispered, a wobble to her voice. Her eyes glistened.

“I’m glad you like it.”

“It’s the loveliest thing anyone has ever done for me.” She dabbed her finger on her eyelashes and blew out a breath. “Thank you.”

He hadn’t expected that. He hoped she would like it, but he hadn’t imagined it would evoke such emotion in her. She seemed genuinely touched. “So I’m forgiven?”

Her soft smile tugged at his heartstrings. “No promises, Grayson, but you’ve earned yourself a second chance. One date; and only because my dog and my best friend seem to like you.”

He grinned. He’d draw her a hundred pictures to see that smile.

Willow appeared behind Jamie. “Hi, Grayson.” She peered over Jamie’s shoulder at the picture. “Oh, it’s Cujo. That’s amazing. Who drew it?”

“Speak of the devil,” Jamie said to her friend. “Grayson drew it. We’ve been over that.”

Willow raised her perfectly painted eyebrows. “Did he now?” She winked at Jamie. “I’ll leave you two to it then,” she said, skirting around Jamie towards him. “Bye, Jamie, and have some fun for a change.”

He stood back to let her pass. “Thank you for everything, Willow.”

“You’re welcome.”

Grayson returned his attention to Jamie. She was staring at the picture again.

“I suppose you better come in then. Willow only gave me five minutes’ notice and I was about to get changed.”

So she’d already decided to give him a chance, even before he gave her the picture. “You look perfect as you are,” he told her.

“What, in these old jeans? Where are you taking me anyway?”

“It’s a surprise.”

She pulled a face, then turned to walk along her hallway. Cujo ran off ahead. “That’s not helpful. If we’re going to some expensive restaurant—”

“We’re not, but I am taking you out for lunch,” he said, closing the door and following her. His gaze flitted downwards, taking in the way her tight jeans clung to her petite yet shapely backside.

His foot caught on something and he tripped. He reached for a side table for support.

Jamie turned as an ornament toppled over the edge, but with his enhanced speed, Grayson caught it before it smashed to the ground. “Oh God, I’m so sorry,” he mumbled.

“Lucky you have such quick reactions.” She propped the picture of Cujo against the wall, took the ornament from him and placed it carefully back on the table. “It was a present from my late father.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, feeling like an idiot.

“Don’t be. He was clumsy too.”

“I’m not clumsy. I got distra—” he stopped himself. He could hardly tell her what distracted him. “I got my foot caught on this.” He picked up what he’d tripped on; a sweatshirt lying in a heap on the floor. He went to hand it to her.

Jamie’s beautiful eyes widened, making them even bigger. Her porcelain cheeks turned a delightful shade of pink as she grabbed at the clothing and attempted to snatch it from his grasp. “Err… thanks. I don’t know what that’s doing there.”

Something about her mortified expression piqued his interest. Grayson held on to it and took a closer look, holding it up. He arched an eyebrow as he read Team Jacob printed on the front. He’d watched the teen film once, purely to see how they’d portrayed werewolves, of course.

She swiped at it again, her cheeks crimson now. “Give it here.”

He turned the sweatshirt, laughter erupting from his chest as he spotted the huge pawprint on the back. “Oh, it gets even better.”

Her lips curved at the corners. “You weren’t meant to see that. Give it to me.” She attempted a tug-of-war with the sweatshirt.

“I’m enjoying this far too much to give it back,” he mocked.

She tugged again, but he didn’t let go. “Grayson! Let go or the date is off.”

Her tinkling laughter was like a soft melody in his ears.

“Not until you explain.”

Jamie gave up with the tug-of-war. “Okay, you got me. It’s an old top, and I had a thing for werewolves back then,” she admitted. “I was just a kid, before my mum married a warlock and I found out werewolves exist for real.”

He had wondered. “What about now you know of our world?” Grayson held her gaze. “Do you still have a thing for werewolves?”

She shook her head and laughed. “I walked headlong into that one, didn’t I? I must be crazy letting Willow set me up with you. You’re infuriating, you know that?”

“Infuriating? I suppose it’s an improvement on the other names you’ve called me.”

She regarded him for a moment, her expression serious now. “I’m sorry. You wound me up and sometimes I say stuff before my brain catches up.”

“I’m sorry about everything too.” He couldn’t apologise any more. It was up to her now.

The slightest nod of her head warmed his heart.

“How about we start again?” she said.

“Best thing I’ve heard all day, but you still didn’t answer my question.” He grinned. “Do you still have a thing for werewolves, or not?”

Jamie crossed her arms, her eyes glinting with amusement. “If I did, you’d know about it, alpha.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Are you going to take me out, or what?”

If that was some kind of challenge, bring it on. “You bet I am. Come on.”

“But I need to change.”

He wouldn’t change her for the world. “As I said, you’re perfect as you are. Just put on some flat shoes, trainers or something.”

“Flats, why? Where are we going?”

“Although I draw the line at the sweatshirt. Seriously, Team Jacob? I’m insulted.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Nor did you.” Stalemate. He couldn’t remember when he’d had this much fun, and they hadn’t even begun their date yet.

She rolled her amazing eyes. “Wait there and I’ll grab some shoes.”

He waited, his chest filling with a happiness he hadn’t felt for a long time.

Jamie returned, her dog tucked under her arm. “I’ll take Cujo to Willow’s. I’m sure she won’t mind looking after him.”

“Cujo can come too.”

She frowned. “Where are we going?”

“I wanted to take you somewhere special. My favourite place, in fact.”

“Argh, you’re not going to tell me, are you?”

He chuckled as he opened the front door for her. “You’ll have to wait and see.”

Jamie grabbed a red hoodie from the hook by the door and locked up, shaking her head and muttering under her breath.

Grayson caught every word; she called herself crazy for agreeing to date a werewolf. “You do know my wolfie ears can hear you.”

She glanced at Willow’s door. “Keep your voice down. Willow doesn’t know.”

He’d suspected as much when he’d been talking to her on the phone. Grayson pretended to zip his lips closed.

Outside her apartment block, he fished his keys from his pocket and pressed the remote to his Range Rover. He held open the door and Jamie climbed into the passenger seat.

“You ready?” he asked, sliding behind the wheel and turning the ignition on.

“No.” She flashed a grin his way. “Yet here I am in a car, with no idea where an alpha werewolf is taking me.”

Grayson chuckled. “Still not telling you.”

He glanced up at the sky as he drove out of the car park.

On the journey, he observed the sky repeatedly and sniffed the air too.

Damn, it didn’t look good. The weather forecast had promised clear blue skies all day, but the air held the scent of an impending storm even though the only hint of clouds were in the distance.

With any luck, they could have a picnic before the rain ruined everything, and he wanted it to be perfect for her.

Jamie rummaged through his CD collection as he drove, taking the mickey out of some of his choices, but most of them weren’t his, they were Luna’s—she loved her girl bands and cheesy pop songs.

She settled on an R&B album, one of his favourites, and fed it into the CD player. “I love this album; their best, if you ask me.”

He couldn’t agree more.

Half an hour passed while he sang—badly—to the songs, much to Jamie’s amusement. So what if he embarrassed himself? It was worth it to hear that melodic laughter of hers that was slowly seeping into his heart.

Grayson indicated and slowed down to take the lane that led to Beckett Hall.

Jamie frowned. “We’re going to your home?”

“Yes and no.”

She groaned and fake-slapped his arm.

Electricity sparked where her fingers brushed his skin, sending tingles up his arm. His thighs jerked together. Grayson stared ahead, gripping the steering wheel as he focused his attention on navigating the potholes.

He pulled into the gravelled driveway.

Alice stood at the door. He might have known she’d spot them on the security cameras.

His dear aunt; by the size of the wicker hamper resting on the stone steps, she’d outdone herself in preparing the picnic.

He could only hope it would impress Jamie.