Page 76 of Getting Down to Business

“Thanks. See you soon.”

Closure. Grayson had no idea how he would go about getting closure for Alyssa, but he wasn’t about to give up on her just because it was difficult.

* * * *

“Everything okay?” Alyssa asked when Gray came back from his room. She knew he’d been on the phone. Not that she’d heard any of the conversation through the door since he’d been whispering.

“Yeah. Everything’s great. I was just talking to my sister.”

“How is she?” She knew how much he loved his older sister, regardless of how annoyed he pretended to be.

“Good. She’s asking me about the family reunion. You want to go with me?”

“Not even a little bit.” She laughed.

“All right then.” He frowned and went to make a bowl of cereal for a snack.

“You’re not even going to try to negotiate? Maybe offer me something in exchange for my going?” She crossed her arms over her chest.

“I don’t want to go either. I’d like to avoid having my mother and sister tell embarrassing stories about me.” He shrugged and took a big bite.

“I’m in.”

“What? No!” He practically spit cereal all over the place.

“I’m going.”

“You can’t go without me.” He pointed at her with is spoon.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s a family reunion.”

“Are you trying to make me feel insignificant because you have a family and I only have my mom? Thanks for rubbing it in, Gray. That hurts.” She clasped a hand to her chest while batting her eyelashes.

“Okay. Okay. We’ll go.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what just happened here,” Grayson conceded as he crunched on his cereal.

“When is it?”

“Two weeks.”

Alyssa never liked to plan things out too far because plans changed. People changed.

Police showed up and took people away.

Gray hadn’t said much about Alyssa’s revelation. He didn’t pile on the pity either, for which she was grateful. He just seemed like his normal self. It was a relief and had been a step toward trusting him a little more.

She didn’t know how long this would last, but she didn’t want to waste any of it. She left her room and snuggled up next to Gray on the sofa.

He stroked her hair and kissed the back of her hand. It was a sweet gesture. One that made her bones and the wall around her heart soften just the tiniest bit.