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Reynolds. No matter how many times I heard the word, it still sounded foreign. When I’d escaped the hell I grew up in, it was explained to me how important it would be to adopt a new name and background. ‘Reynolds Auto-Body Shop’ had been one of the business signs that stood out to me on the many bus rides to my new life. I couldn’t force myself to drop Lily, though, it was the one thing my mother gave me before she died.
“All right, Lily.” My name being said in that deep voice caused shivers to travel down my spine.What would it be like to hear it said while we were in bed together?I shifted in my paint-splattered shoes trying to stifle the achethatthought caused. “You’ll have to drop the Mr. James, then.”
“Okay…Grayson,” I whispered his name like it was a secret. His answering smile displayed straight white teeth that stood out in his tan face.
He was the most handsome man I’d ever met and he looked like he belonged in a magazine selling cologne instead of behind a desk running his own security business. His reddish blonde curls had been gelled and combed perfectly into place. The same color beard was groomed meticulously, framing that beautiful smile and I imagined it would feel so soft under my hands. I was insanely jealous of his gorgeous blue eyes. On the whole, it was like staring at the All-American boy next door. Well, maybe other people’s next door but certainly not mine.
He oozed perfection and I wondered what he thought of my own disheveled appearance. He probably only dated women who were as perfect as him. Tall, slim, never a hair out of place, designer outfits the only clothing in their closets. The thought had me sinking in on myself in disappointment.
I mentally kicked myself and straightened my spine. It didn’t matter if Grayson James found me attractive. What mattered was the life I was creating for myself, my bakery and my future.
“So, paperwork?” I pointed to the folder in his hands.
“Right,” his smile dimmed a little at my brusque tone. We met at the counter and he opened the folder.
“I have your copies of the lease, all the stipulations on what you can do to the space are in there, it’s not too strict. If there’s anything you want changed, let me know and I’ll see what we can do. This is my cell listed here, feel free to contact me at all times if there are any issues. Do you have any questions?”
I flipped through the papers quickly, my excitement threatening to bubble over. Owning my own bakery had been a pipedream for such a long time, I couldn’t believe it was actually happening, that I would be living the life I’d always wanted.
“I don’t think so,” I turned my head to look up at him and was shocked at how close we were standing. Warmth radiated from him, heating the exposed skin on my arms. He smelled divine, a woodsy-amber scent coming from him and I breathed deep to get more of it.
“Great,” he cleared his throat and stepped back, taking that delicious scent with him. “Good luck, Lily, I’ll see you around,” he threw me one more panty-melting smile and I had to grip the counter tightly from swooning at the sight.
“Goodbye, Grayson,” I said as he made his way to the door. Gah, the back looked just as good as the front. It was criminal how good that man’s ass filled out his pants.
I sighed at the beautiful sight and went back to my cleaning. I was going to make this place the best damn bakery this town had ever seen. As soon as I got this freaking glue off the walls.
2
GRAY
“Move, you moron! If you wanted to look at your phone then you shouldn’t be driving!” I screamed at the fancy BMW holding up the entire school pick-up line. After two cars had honked and one bold driver decided to go around the car that wasn’t moving an inch, the idiot behind the wheel finally remembered what he was supposed to be doing and pulled forward.
I took a deep breath and tried to calm my inner rage. It was rare that I got the chance to pick up my daughter after school. There were usually meetings and clients that I had to deal with and that meant that Daisy would be picked up by her grandparents. I was beyond grateful for their help and Daisy adored them, but damnit, I wanted to be the one to do all these things for her. The way her little face lit up when she saw it was me behind the wheel made my day every time.
It was just the two of us in our little family. Her mother, Kim, and I’d had a fling while I was on leave. Months later, when I was back overseas, Kim had written me a letter telling me she was pregnant and didn’t want the baby. I hadn’t signed my re-enlistment papers yet so I ended my time on active duty and met my daughter who was already six months old. The first moment I held her, it was like the Earth stopped moving. She’d been tiny and felt like she weighed nothing as I cuddled her tightly to my chest and stared at her in awe. And I knew instantly that I would do anything within my power to keep this little human safe.
I stopped in the designated spot and watched my daughter bounce out of the school and then sprint for my truck, the teachers frantically running after her.
“Sorry about that, Mrs. Harris,” I apologized to the frazzled teacher as she helped Daisy climb into her seat. A stern look was all I received as she closed the door a little harder than normal, making Daisy giggle.
“How was your day, cupcake?” I glanced between her in my rearview mirror and the road ahead as I navigated my way out of the school parking lot.
“It was the best day ever, Daddy. We had P.E. today and we got to play dodgeball which you know is my favorite. Then, I got to go the library and Mrs. A read us a story before we picked out books. I helped pass out papers to the whole class and I got to get a prize out of the treasure box for being a good helper. Look at my tiny unicorn!” Her voice got higher and higher until she was squealing with glee.
She held up what appeared to be a small eraser in the shape of a unicorn. I remembered those from when I was a kid, they were absolute garbage at erasing anything but they were fun to collect.
“That’s great, baby. I’m proud of you, maybe you can start helping me around the house more, too. How do you feel about vacuuming?”
She giggled, which had been my intention. “Daddy, I can’t vacuum, I’m just a kid!”
These were the moments that I lived for, just me and my girl laughing and joking together. There were times when I worried that I wasn’t enough for her, that she needed more than just me. Sure, she was only in kindergarten now, but someday she’d want to talk about things like dating and lord help me when puberty hit. Thankfully that was far in the future because I wasn’t ready in the slightest.
We spent the rest of the evening at home. My parents had bought her a subscription to a science kit and tonight we were building a cyclone with some old two-liter bottles. I made her favorite dinner, spaghetti and meatballs, and by the time everything was cleaned up, it was time for a bath and bed. At this point in our lives, it was a routine and we moved through it like pros.
“Daddy?” she asked after I finished her story and was tucking her in.
“Yeah, cupcake?”
