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“Yep,” I said with a small smile. “I mean, the final decision is obviously yours. But she thought it would be fun to take you to the city during one of your breaks.”
“That would’ve been fun.” He frowned, then looked at Marcus. “Did you go to college?”
“I attended Tri-C for a couple of years,” Marcus replied, referring to the local community college. “I always knew I’d take over my grandfather’s shop, so I wanted to take some business courses.”
“Awesome,” Grant said. “My dad went to a trade school and then became an apprentice for a master electrician.”
Warmth flooded my chest. I was never college material, but plenty of people weren’t. I was grateful I hadn’t wasted years trying to figure that out because I was doing something I enjoyed and was darn good at.
“And that’s why you need to forge your own path,” I said. “If you want, we can visit New York in the next few months.”
His eyes grew comically large. “Really?”
“Just to see the campus and the city, even if you still decide to go local,” I said, knowing he’d be feeling a bit freaked about the prospect. “It wouldn’t mean anything other than that, okay?”
“Yeah, okay. I like that idea.”
I blew out a breath, fucking relieved that we’d made some sort of headway. Besides, a trip would do us good, even a quick one. When I met Marcus’s gaze, I hoped he could see the gratitude in mine—for opening the door to this discussion, even if he hadn’t realized it.
“Okay, I gotta get back to work,” he said, standing up. “I can kick your butts again another time.”
“You wish.” I laughed when he walked out of the room with an exaggerated swagger.
Grant leaned closer to me. “Hey, maybe Marcus would want to come with us to New York?”
I stiffened. “I’m not sure, kiddo. Maybe it would be wiser to invite your grandparents, or at least extend the invitation?”
He frowned. “Grandpa wouldn’t be able to make the trip, and Grandma wouldn’t leave him home alone, even for a weekend.”
“You’re right. I almost forgot how hard it would be for them.” I sighed. “It makes me thankful they were able to retire early and travel the world. They already have lots of good memories.”
“Which is why I wanted to ask Marcus,” he countered. “He admitted he hasn’t traveled a lot, and he’d be fun to have around.”
I was reading between the lines again, wondering if Grant wanted Marcus there as a cushion between us. But maybe I was completely off base. It would be nice for Marcus to join us, but no way I’d put that sort of pressure on him.
“We can talk about it later,” I said, then pushed to my knees to store the controllers in the drawer beneath the television.
But Grant ignored me, rushing to the kitchen and asking Marcus to join us.
Shit. I walked in just as Marcus was telling him that the holidays were a busy time for him at the shop, so he’d have to see when his schedule died down.
“Sorry,” I mouthed to him, seeing his wary expression.
Grant frowned. “Okay, but maybe just think about it?”
“I absolutely will. Thank you for the invite,” Marcus said, patting his shoulder.
Grant avoided eye contact with me as he made his way back upstairs to his room.
“Don’t feel obligated at all,” I said, hoping he wasn’t too overwhelmed by the suggestion.
“It’s not that,” he said, meeting my gaze. “A trip would be good for the two of you, and I wouldn’t want to intrude on your quality time or the memories you’d be sharing with him.”
“I understand your reluctance.” I opened the fridge, pulled out a couple of sodas, and handed him one. “And the trip would be fun, something all of us could use.”
“Definitely.” He angled the soda can to his lips.
“I just think Grant enjoys your company.” I dipped my head. “We both do. So I can understand why he asked.”
“The feeling is mutual.” He lifted his paintbrush, then crouched down to the lower cabinets to finish the job they’d started. “Thing is, it was Grant who asked, not you. So I’d never presume—”
“I would love to have you come along. It would be a blast,” I replied, then lowered my voice. “Guess I’m always nervous to give Grant or my in-laws the wrong idea. Hanging out is one thing, but a weekend trip? We’re already sneaking around, and if they ever caught wind of whatever this is between us…”
“It’s being there for each other and enjoying ourselves in the process, right?” he grumbled. “No strings attached. You’ve made that very clear.”
I took a step back at his tone, which had an edge to it. “Wait a minute, wasn’t that mutually agreed upon? Are you saying—”
“What I’m saying is that I get it now, more than ever”—he glanced toward the stairs—“the weight of your responsibility. Grant inviting me made me realize it, and I wouldn’t want to disappoint him either.”
