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“You want me to be your plus one.”
That was another thing he appreciated about her. She always got to the core of what you were saying. No need to mess around.
“Just for a weekend,” he explained as they continued walking toward the harbor. “The wedding is on Saturday and my mother always has other stuff planned, so we’ll drive up Friday, stay a couple of nights, and come back Sunday afternoon. Done.”
“And I get the cottage rent-free until after Thanksgiving?”
“Yes.” He almost held his breath. It was a perfect plan. She was totally different from the women he’d dated before, so that would prove he really had no intention of returning to the fold. No one, not even his mother, would expect him to entertain other women if he was with his girlfriend.
“Okay.” Rory hitched her backpack farther up her shoulder.
Grant blinked. “Okay?”
“Okay.” She shrugged and crossed her arms. “Linda can take my shifts at the bakery, and Mom won’t mind if I take a weekend off. In fact, she’ll be thrilled. I’ll go to the wedding with you.”
“That’s…that’s great.” A surge of relief filled him, strong enough to be surprising.
“My lease expires on Thursday,” she reminded him.
“I’ll get the cottage ready, and I can come help you move.” Belatedly, he thought he’d need to figure out where the keys were. “You want a contract?”
She extended a hand. He gripped her fingers, recalling the press of her knuckles against his chest. She had a good, solid handshake. Her palm was warm against his.
Pulling her hand away, she kept walking. “When can I move in?”
“I just need a couple of days to clean the place up.” He stopped and lifted a hand to the dockworker who was hauling in the crates of fish and crab. “Hey, Jim. Got any salmon?”
“Set aside some for you.” He nodded to a bin by the side of the dock. “How much you want?”
“Ten pounds.”
“Give me a second, and I’ll wrap it up.” Jim disappeared into a warehouse.
Rory was looking out at the ocean. The water sparkled with sunlight. Seagulls coursed across the blue sky and pecked at scraps on the dock. Farther down the beach, music and noise rose from the boardwalk and carnival.
She turned, catching him staring at her. A current crackled in the air between them before she pulled her phone from her pocket.
“So what do I need to know?” Leaning her elbows on the dock railing, she unlocked the screen.
“First that you need to put that thing away.” He walked to stand beside her.
“I’m taking notes. It’ll be suspicious if I don’t know the basics, right?”
“I don’t see much of my family, so it won’t be a surprise if my girlfriend doesn’t know everything about me.”
He felt her glance. “What’s the story there?”
Grant flexed his fingers against the railing. “My father wanted me to go into the family business, so to speak.”
“Let me guess. He’s not a restaurateur.”
“No.” He tightened his grip on the railing. He’d always liked the way Rory looked at him—with amusement, exasperation, irritation, fire. He didn’t want her to look at himdifferentlyjust because his father owned a monolithic tech company. He sure as hell didn’t want her treating him any differently.
“So you’re the black sheep?” she asked.
“I’m the disappointment. Nathan is the good one. He’s a company VP and a genuinely nice guy. Our parents always expected us to work for the company. I don’t think Nathan ever imagined doing anything else.”
A crease appeared between her eyebrows. “Nathan is your brother’s name?”
