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He stood up and raised a hand in greeting. “Hello there. Fancy meeting you here.”
“Not really,” she said, nodding her head toward Savannah House, which rose up in the distance, “considering I live right over there.”
“Right,” Grayson said, smiling at Hope. He wasn’t sure why it kept happening, but every time he was in Hope’s presence, Grayson felt like grinning. “This is some beautiful view you wake up to every morning. I could get used to this.”
Hope scowled at him. He’d put his foot in his mouth. Again. He held up his hand. “I didn’t mean it like that. I wasn’t trying to insinuate anything about taking over Savannah House. That’s not my intention.”
Hope let out a sigh. “So far I’m clueless about your intentions, Mr. Holloway.”
“I’m Grayson. Mr. Holloway is my father,” he said with a grin. “If you call me Mr. Holloway I’m going to feel ancient.”
Hope couldn’t hide her grin. It made her look even more beautiful, which didn’t seem humanly possible. Her daughter looked up her and giggled. It seemed Hope’s smile was infectious. “Grayson it is,” she said.
“Who do we have here?” Grayson asked, reaching out to touch the baby’s fingers. They were soft and gentle. She squeezed his finger back with a ferocity that stunned him.
“This is my daughter. Ella.” Pride rang out in Hope’s voice. She looked down at her daughter with such a look of joy it made Grayson’s chest tighten. The love in Hope’s eyes shone brightly. What would it be like, he wondered, to be loved by this woman? The thought caught him off guard. It made him a little weak in the knees.
“Hi there, Ella. You have a nice grip there.”
Ella looked at him with big eyes and began to babble. The only word Grayson understood was Mama. When Ella said it, Hope’s face lit up.
“Yes. I’m your Mama, pretty girl. Yes. Yes. I am,” Hope said, swaying Ella back and forth in her arms.
“So, did you share the mediation letter with your co-owners?” Grayson asked. He hadn’t heard a word from his attorney about it.
“Yes,” Hope said with a nod. “I did.”
“And?” Grayson asked, dying of curiosity.
“And we’ll be there, at least a few of us. We can’t all leave Savannah House at the same time. We’re very curious to see what unfolds. If we can settle this amicably, it might be the best for everyone.”
“I agree,” Grayson said with a nod. He winked at her. “And then maybe you and I can be friends.”
Hope shook her head. “Okay, you said that already in your note. The one that came with the flowers.”
“So you did get the flowers?” He’d been wondering if she was enjoying the basket of flowers. According to the article he’d read on Savannah House, Hope was a fitness instructor as well as being involved in the gardening aspects of the resort. He figured she must adore flowers.
“Yes, I did. Thank you. They were beautiful, Grayson, but a little surprising.” She shifted the baby to her other hip. “Why did you send them?”
Hope honestly seemed taken aback by his gesture. “Surely you’ve been the recipient of dozens and dozens of flowers?”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Hope said. Her voice softened. “And not for some time.”
Grayson hoped his mouth wasn’t hanging open in surprise. A woman as lovely as Hope should be bombarded with flowers on a regular basis. He frowned, wondering what the story was between Hope and Ella’s father. Had they ever been married? Was she newly divorced? Or was she a single mother who had never been married? He quickly looked at her bare ring finger. It made him feel even more curious.
Grayson wished he could ask the question, but he knew it would probably annoy Hope to be asked such a personal question. He bit down on his lip as a reminder not to speak out of turn. He almost felt like a teenager with a crush. Against all odds, he wanted Hope to like him.
“Being a single mother isn’t easy,” he said.
Surprise crept across her face. “You’re right. It isn’t. Most days, I try to do the very best I can. I give her ample doses of love and when I’m at a total loss, I ask God for guidance, and if all else fails, I call my mother.”
Grayson chuckled at Hope’s comment. He liked her sense of humor.
“Kudos to you for calling your mother,” he said with a snicker. “My Mom is constantly complaining that I don’t call her enough.”
Hope smiled. It was only the hint of a smile. Grayson had the feeling she was being very cautious around him. He couldn’t say
he blamed her, but he wanted to put out all the stops to let her see he wasn’t the enemy. Far from it. He was only fighting for a sense of belonging, something he’d never experienced in his life. But how could he explain a lifetime of pain and feelings of abandonment to Hope, a woman he barely knew?
