Page 48 of In Every Chapter

“Besides having Mount Doom take up residence in my kitchen? Yeah, just peachy.”

I chuckled and gave her a little squeeze. She was small in my arms, a mix of delicate and feisty, fitting against me perfectly. Like she belonged. “I have an idea. How do you feel about a picnic lunch?”

Paisley tugged back and arched an eyebrow, eyes and nose red from crying. “You don’t strike me as a picnic man.”

“Like I said, love, I’ll be anything for you.” Thanks to Gabe, I had a plan, solid advice, and friends I could count on. Now I just needed to roll Operation Woo My Wife into action. With all the finesse and planning that went into D-Day. And if a picnic was the way to start, who was I to let my man card get in the way? Besides, I needed to bring back her smile—craved it—and a picnic had been our official first date when we were dating. Even if it had been an indoor picnic because it was the beginning of February.

Now hopefully my nerves would behave better today than they had back then.

“Okay.” She swiped her fingers over her cheeks. “Want me to pack something?”

I kissed the top of her head. “I’ve got it. You go wash up. Can you be ready in twenty?”

She nodded but hesitated halfway out of the kitchen. “Hey, Grey?” When I glanced at her, she added, her smile soft, “Happy birthday.”

Chapter nineteen

Greyson

Five and a half years ago . . .

My jaw slackened when Paisley swung open the door of the apartment she shared with Juliet. She was . . . breathtaking. Which explained why I was having a hard time breathing. Pepper spray? No big deal. This woman? No words.

Paisley was willowy and understated with her soft features, but man . . . seeing her in a dress and cardigan did something to me. She smiled shyly, biting her lip.

Don’t look at her lips. Do. Not. Look.

“Hey,” she said softly, pink highlighting her cheeks.

I cleared my throat. “Hey. You look . . . perfect.” I loved the way a deeper rosy flush stained her cheeks and neck at the compliment.

Paisley tucked a loose piece of hair spilling out of her messy bun behind her ear. “Thanks. You clean up nice, too.” She reached up and gave the collar of my flannel shirt a straightening tug.

“These are for you.” I held out a bouquet of blue hydrangeas, white roses, and eucalyptus. It wasn’t a traditional flower bouquet, but it felt like her when I’d seen it between the roses and the lilies.

Paisley’s breath caught as she accepted them. Then those beautiful dark green eyes blinked up at me behind her almost-too-large wire frames. “Greyson,” she whispered, stroking a petal reverently. “They’re gorgeous.”

“Not as gorgeous as you, though.” I never dreamed I’d say something so cheesy. But here we were, and I meant every word.

She ducked her head with a smile. “Let me just—”

“I’ll put them in water,” Juliet said, materializing from down the hall. She nodded at me approvingly before taking the flowers and disappearing again.

“You ready?” I asked Paisley, offering her my arm.

“Yup.” She shrugged her purse over her shoulder, then her hand curled around my bicep, making my skin dance with tingles. Like I could conquer the world. We stood there for a moment just smiling at each other.

“Go be mushy somewhere I can’t see you,” Juliet called, her blonde head poking out into the hallway and breaking the moment. “Behave yourselves.” She speared me with a look that promised painful retribution if I fumbled this.

No pressure, sis.

I shook my head, tucking Paisley’s hand firmly against my side and ushering her out the door. “Always do.” I needed to get her out of there before Juliet decided to say something embarrassing. Which she would. Because younger siblings were annoying like that.

At the bottom of the stairs, we left through the side door the apartment shared with the Bean There, Done That Café. I held the passenger door of Cal’s borrowed truck open for her, and Paisley eyed the picnic basket on the console before hopping in. “A picnic?”

“You opposed to eating outside?”

She laughed softly. “Not at all. Although it is early February, and you didn’t strike me as a picnicking man.”