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SETTING HIS CAPE and the black top hat, which looked adorable on Emma, on a table, he led her out from behind stage and back to the theater.
“Do you want to go back to our seats for the rest of the show?” Grayson asked.
He followed her stare to the elbowing old man and the young boy that had moved into her seat.
Emma looked up at him, and, even in the dim, humor reflected in her eyes, she gave her head a slow shake.
Perfect. He didn’t want to be cramped back into those seats either.
With his hand on the small of her back, he led her along the carpeted walkway to the back door, where a worker let them out.
Stepping into the hallway, they both winced at the bright lights.
“Now what?” she asked.
“Do you have plans tonight? Somewhere I can walk you to?” he asked, as they walked to the piazza.
Emma put her hands on the railing. She was as delicate as the intricate gold detailing in the room.
She shook her head, looking over the stairs at groups of people and activity everywhere.
“You?” she asked.
He placed his elbows on the railing beside her. “No. Do you want to walk with me?” Grayson asked.
“Yes.”
Grayson knew the best places to walk in the evening. They started along the deck where a light show was taking place in one of the pools, then they continued to the area where private loungers were lit for couples to lie together and watch the stars. He knew the best places to romance a woman, and, he wished for the first time in his life, that he could truly romance this woman beside him. All the women he’d walked the deck with, oohing and ahhing over the cruise, and he’d never had the quivering feeling in his body he had this evening...the want to hold her close, the desire to kiss her...forever.
Sometimes he would touch the small of her back, while other times only the heat of their desire mingled. They walked for hours before they returned to their hall. Emma slowed as their cabin doors came into view. He felt her reluctance.
At her door, instead of pulling her key card out, she leaned against her door and looked at him. “I guess, this is it.”
His nod was impossible.
“I forgive you,” Emma said. “As a friend, but also as a woman who’s falling in love with you. I don’t want to walk off this boat and only see you at galas. I don’t want to just ‘see you around.’”
She touched his face and that was all it took for Grayson’s lips to go crashing down on hers. Screw it. She forgave him. She promised to never hurt him the way Samantha had. That was all he needed to hear.
He pulled away and kissed her forehead. “I don’t want to walk off of this boat without you either. And another apologize seems like a waste of breath, so here’s what I have to offer. Me. I’m a mess. I don’t like awkwardness, or confrontation. I don’t like drama and talking. I’m not a chick-flick, sappy movie, dialogue kind-of-guy, but I’m falling in love with you. For you, I will push through the awkwardness, and confront confrontation. I will talk about any drama you want, but at the same time, I will try not to add heartache to your life. I will be a one-woman man and I feel that’s important to mention, considering, so just know you will never have to worry about me with another woman, because you’ve given me what no other woman has ever been able to: love, trust, faith, and a contentment I’d never dreamed was possible.”
Grayson took a large breath and found her grinning at him.
“I want you, and only you. If you will have me. If I am not too late.”
Emma reached up and kissed him. “Take me to your bed, Grayson.”
“With pleasure.”
***
“COFFEE?” EMMA ASKED, standing in the kitchen, wearing only Grayson’s dress shirt. He loved the way his shirts hung right to her thighs, and that she’d left enough buttons undone in the front so he could see her cleavage.
He nodded as he walked down the stairs and she turned to the counter, showing off the back of her long legs. He wore the opposite, dressed in shorts, but no shirt.
He wrapped his arms around her middle, squeezing her, and kissed her shoulder. “Do you have plans today?” he asked.
“All day with you.”
He chuckled. “I like the sound of that.”
Grayson sat at the kitchen table and took both cups when she brought them, setting them on the table and pulling her into his lap. She snuggled into place, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him.
“The morning you pulled away from me was the worst feeling in the world. I only wanted to sit on your lap, feel your arms around me, and kiss these lips.” She pecked his lips again.
“You never have to worry about that again. I won’t pull away from you.” He kissed her back, harder.
“I’m not worried.”
She said it too fast and Grayson caught her chin with his hand. “Are you worried?”
She shook her head.
“In the elevator, you said you were scared...”
Emma sucked in her lips.
“So you are?”
She frowned. “This is fast. If I wasn’t worried, wouldn’t that be bad? I mean, we are on this cruise, we’ve fallen in love and it hasn’t been easy and yet this might be the easiest part. Reality will set in. We’ll soon be back on land. You living in Oakston and me living in Willow Valley with a three hour drive between. There’s a lot we haven’t figure out.”
“So you’re worried about logistics?”
“What do you think I’m worried about?”
“Me. My past. The women. My life in the spotlight.”
Emma’s fingers slowly stroked the hair on the back of his neck. “I’m in this with you. You promised me a lot last night and I trust you. I believe in you.”
He shook his head. “You and my aunt. Funny thing is, that first night with you in your hot little red dress, Linda said you were the kind of woman I needed.”
“One that puts you in your spot? Doesn’t take your crap?”
“She said ‘sweet,’” Grayson said, kissing her nose. “I don’t think she knows you as well as she thinks.”
Emma gasped and playfully hit his chest. “Watch it.”
“She’s the closest person I’ve ever had for a mom for most of my life, so beware−she is pushier than she seems,” Grayson said.
Emma grinned. “You’re yet to really meet my family.”
He grinned back. “It can’t be worse than mine.”
Her hands ran up and down his chest. “They might surprise you.”
“They probably won’t approve of me stealing their sweet little Emma’s heart.”
“Stop calling me sweet when all I want to do it be bad.” She licked his jaw line. “With you.”
Grayson growled.
“Exactly. Besides, Izzy likes you.”
Emma stopped and looked at him. “Are you nervous about what my family thinks about us? Don’t be. They all have messy relationships. My mom is dating my dad’s brother, after having an ongoing affair while my dad was alive.”
“But, to be fair, your uncle is a nice guy. My dad, not so much and being with my aunt...” Grayson took a deep breath. “...I don’t like it. My dad cheated on my mom before she died. I think she found out the night she died. That’s not the kind of guy my aunt needs in her life.”
Emma’s free hand laced into his.
“I’m not that guy,” Grayson said. “I know it seems like I am, but I won’t do that to you.”
“I never thought you would.”
“Never?”
She shrugged. “Nothing is set in stone, but there are so many firsts you’ve had with me, including this ‘friends with benefits’ thing, and I think it makes us stronger together. I’m not worried.”
“Good,” Grayson said.
He dipped to kiss her, but Emma moved away. “But...”
“But?”
“As for your dad and Linda, I think you should give them a chance. Give your dad a chance. They have history together and know each other better than anyone else does. They know what they’re getting into.”
“You mean Linda knows what she’s getting into,” Grayson said.
Emma shook her head. “Not only Linda. Yes, she knows about your father’s past and has to deal with that knowledge. But your dad is putting himself out there too. He’s not offering Linda a fling, or one-night stand. He’s offering her a relationship and that’s a huge step...isn’t it?”
“Don’t turn this around and compare them to us. I am nothing like him.”
Emma climbed off Grayson, to reposition her legs, and straddle him and rest her arms around his shoulders. “You’re a lot like him.”
“Emma−”
“Grayson, it’s not bad. Brock’s not a bad guy, he’s just made some bad decisions in the past. Don’t get me wrong, I am angrier than all friggin’ hell at the pain he put you through.”
Grayson almost couldn’t take her serious with her polite cussing.
“No father should ever put their child in that position. With that said, at the end of the day, your dad loves you. I can see it. Everyone can see it. Look how much you’ve changed in less than three weeks−”
“Because you’re worth changing for.” Grayson kissed her.
“So it Linda.”
Grayson frowned at her. His aunt was worth changing for, but was his dad strong enough to do it without hurting her?
“Can we change this topic?” Grayson asked.
Emma frowned at him. “You should talk to your dad.”
Grayson shrugged and moved in for her lips, but she pulled away.
“I think it would be healthy to talk to your dad about what you’re feeling. After the sparring match between you two, it’s apparent, you two are far overdue for a serious conversation.”
Let the chick-flick movie begin. He needed to stop this before the waterworks show began.
“Our time is almost up on this cruise and I want to enjoy every minute with you.” He kissed her again.
“You do remember that you own the cruise line, right?” Emma asked against his lips.
“I knew you had an ulterior motive to dating me,” he teased.
She laughed and he captured her sound with his mouth.