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“Hi, Grayson. Come on in,” she said, sounding way more calm and cool than she felt.

“Hey, Hope. Good to see you,” he drawled, walking across the threshold as she held the door open for him. The moment he stepped inside the cottage it seemed as if his presence was larger than life inside her home.

“Where’s small fry?” he asked, looking around the room.

Small fry. His description of Ella made her want to giggle. “My parents took her for an outing.”

“That’s nice.” He nodded his head approvingly. “It’s great to have back-up if you need it. It must be reassuring.”

“It’s nice. You know what they say about grandparents. They go crazy for the grandkids. My folks are no different.”

For the first time Hope noticed Grayson’s attire. He was dressed in a black and navy wetsuit. “You’re dressed for surfing?”

He grinned at her. “Yep. I’m taking you surfing.”

Hope’s jaw almost dropped to the floor. “Um…Grayson, I don’t surf.”

“That’s okay. No worries. I’m a great teacher.”

Hmm. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, but surfing wasn’t exactly her idea of a date. All she could picture was falling flat on her face. “I don’t have a wetsuit or a board.”

“Good thing I brought along an extra board and a wetsuit.” He held up a bag in his hand. “I had to guestimate your size, but I think this will fit.”

He held out the bag for her to take. “You really thought this whole thing through, didn’t you?” Except for the part where your date doesn’t want to surf, Hope thought.

“I thought I could give you a surfing lesson and then we could get some lunch here in town. Sound like a plan?”

Grayson seemed incredibly pleased with his agenda. He was grinning from ear-to-ear. Suddenly, Hope didn’t have the heart to put a monkey wrench in his plans. It had been thoughtful of him to actually plan something for the two of them.

Miss Hattie’s voice buzzed in her ears. Just grin and bear it.

Her mentor had taught her many life lessons. Most importantly, she’d taught Hope about being graceful and sparing the feelings of others. Hope smiled knowing Miss Hattie might be looking down on her at this very moment.

She took the bag from Grayson and nodded. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll go and change. You can make yourself comfortable.”

Ten minutes later Hope headed back out to the living room. Grayson was sitting on the couch looking through a magazine. He took one look at her and let out an appreciative whistle. Hope’s cheeks flushed at the look on Grayson’s face. It had been a very long time since she’d felt attractive. As a new mother, she still had a lot of insecurities about her new body.

“You look great in a wetsuit,” Grayson said, leaving no doubt as to his feelings.

“Thanks,” Hope said, folding her arms self-consciously across her chest. “Shall we go?”

Grayson led Hope to his Jeep, where the two surfboards were sticking out of the back. She felt a little burst of adrenaline at the thought of hitting the waves with Grayson. It was something she’d never really envisioned doing. Grayson held the passenger side door open for her and she hopped in. He got behind the wheel and drove down the road a bit to another section of beach.

“The waves are pretty mild today but you’ll still get a good taste of how it feels to be out there riding the waves,” Grayson explained.

“Or falling on my face,” Hope teased. “I have to warn you, I’m not the most adventurous person, although I do have pretty good balance.”

“That’s good!” Grayson said. “Balance goes a long way in surfing. I promise you, if you hate it just say the word and we can stop. I just want to give you a glimpse into my world.”

Once they arrived at the specific location, Grayson reached for the surfboards, handing her the one she’d be using. Although it felt awkward at first, Hope figured out how to hold it somewhat securely under her arm as she walked across the beach. For the next few hours, Grayson gave Hope surfing lessons. She found herself surprised at how quickly she took to it. In the beginning she had taken quite a few falls from the board, but after a while she used her balance and coordination to stay on her feet.

After a while her fingers began to look like prunes and she began to shiver from all the exposure to the ocean. Although it was a warm seventy-three degrees, the water was still cold. The wetsuit helped, but Hope was ready to change into something more comfortable.

“You’re a natural,” Grayson cried out. “You were born to do this.”

“I don’t know about that, but I really enjoyed it. I think a challenge is good every now and then. I have to admit, I haven’t r

eally been challenging myself lately. Thanks for suggesting it.”

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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