Page 92 of Getting Down to Business

He kept hold of her hand the whole time. She loved the way his thumb moved absently against her skin, and how he put the back of her hand to his lips every once in a while. He probably didn’t even realize he was doing it.

At some point, she dozed off and woke with her head on Gray’s shoulder as the train slowed and pulled into a station.

“We’re the next stop. You might want to gather up your stuff,” he suggested. “Make sure to pack your things safely. I’m not liable for anything broken or damaged when my mother grabs hold of you in a big hug and won’t let go.”

“How will I breathe?” she played along.

“I’ll give you mouth-to-mouth.” He threw her his sexy wink, which never ceased to make her heart skip a beat.

When they pulled into the next station, Alyssa immediately surveyed the crowd, hoping to pick them out so she could mentally prepare.

“Over here,” Gray said, pointing to a graying woman with a happy face.

“Grayson!” she yelled, as they walked down the steps from the train platform toward the waving woman. “You must be Alyssa! Grayson has told us so much about you.” Alyssa wasn’t sure when this big information download had occurred, since she rarely heard Gray on the phone with his mother.

The woman latched on and squeezed. When Alyssa first saw Mrs. Hollinger, she was sure she’d be able to fend the woman off if need be. Gray’s mother was in her fifties. Not frail by any means, but not huge either. From behind his mother’s back, she gave Grayson a worried glance. Fortunately, Mrs. Hollinger released Alyssa before the lack of air could become a serious issue.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Hollinger, Mr. Hollinger.” Alyssa nodded to each of them.

“Please. Call me Linda and everyone calls him Holly,” she gestured toward the more reserved Mr. Grayson Hollinger II. “Let’s get you home and unpacked. Then we’ll have dinner,” Mrs. Hollinger went on as they all walked to their SUV. “Izabelle isn’t here yet. She was going to stay tonight, but she had an emergency with a patient so she’s coming home tomorrow afternoon. Alyssa, do you have any food allergies, hon?”

“No, ma’am.”

“That’s good. Remember that guy Izzy brought to the picnic last year who couldn’t be near peanuts?” Gray’s mother twisted around in her seat to keep talking as Mr. Hollinger pulled out of the parking lot.

Alyssa reached across the seat and took Gray’s hand. Whether it was meant to mislead the woman who was yammering on, or for comfort, Alyssa just knew she felt better when she was holding his hand.

“Mom, lots of people have peanut allergies. It’s not that uncommon.”

“But we had to tell great Aunt Rita she couldn’t bring her peanut butter pie and then two months later, she was dead.”

“Linda, I don’t think it had anything to with the pie. It was probably the pack-a-day habit she’d had for the last forty-some years that did it. People can’t die from an insult,” Mr. Hollinger said giving Alyssa a wink in the rear view mirror.

“So, Grayson said you aren’t dating,” Mrs. Hollinger changed the subject while glancing at their fingers laced together on the seat between them. “Will you want separate rooms or how does this work? Back when I was dating your father, we called it dating so no one got confused. Now there are all these other levels that I just don’t have time to decipher.”

“We’ll share my room,” Gray said easily while Alyssa looked anywhere but at Mrs. Hollinger as her cheeks flushed.

“Maybe your sister will be able to make me one of her flow charts or something so I can tell how many steps away I am from having grandchildren,” she said while shaking her head.

“Linda,” Mr. Hollinger said, frowning at her.

“Sorry. No pressure. I’m not supposed to put pressure on anyone,” she said with a bit of a huff. “No one cares about the pressure I’m under.” The last sentence was muttered more to herself.

“It’s okay, Mom. I don’t feel pressured no matter how much you talk about grandchildren. Just so long as you know it’s not going to happen.” Gray leaned up and patted her shoulder.

“Jill Henderson is going to be a grandmother in two months. Jeremy is a year younger than you.”

“Good for Jeremy. I’m happy for him and Mrs. Henderson.”

“It wouldn’t be so bad if your sister would cooperate. I just don’t know where we went wrong. I don’t know why you both seem to reject the idea of marriage and family so much. Were we bad parents?”

“No. You are the best parents anyone could ever have. You set the bar too high for Iz and me. We’re never going to be as good as you, so why even bother?”

“Don’t think for one minute I’m buying that.” She shook her head making Gray snort a laugh and Mr. Hollinger smile.

Alyssa was enthralled with his family already.

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