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“Grayson, glad to see you, son. And who is this lovely young lady?” asked an elderly man, hobbling over with his cane. He patted Grayson on the shoulder, but approached me instead.
“Grandpa, this is Josie. The one I’ve been telling you about.”
My eyebrows rose. He’s been talking about me?
The old man grinned. Reaching out, he enveloped my hand in his.
“Lovely to meet you…” I looked at Grayson for help because I had no idea what to call him.
“You can call me Grandpa too.” He winked, and I noticed he had Grayson’s eyes. “It’s getting a little confusing around here with all these Williams in the family.”
Grayson cleared his throat as his parents moved closer. “Mom, Dad, this is Josie.”
“Josie…” They peered up at Grayson, waiting on a last name.
“Josie Spencer,” I answered for him, reaching out to take his mother’s hand.
Her fingers felt limp in mine. “Hmm…Spencer. I’m not familiar with that name.”
“Oh, I keep a low profile.”
Grayson’s mouth curved into a smile, but his mother remained expressionless—or perhaps it was the Botox disguising how she really felt.
“Josie, this is my mother, Caroline, and my father, William.”
“Pleased to meet you both.” I shook his father’s hand, but he didn’t meet my eyes.
Instead, he narrowed them at Grayson and glanced at his wife. “Australian.”
I’m not sure if it was a statement or a question, but I nodded regardless.
Fear laced Caroline’s expression and Grayson groaned impatiently. “She’s a duel-citizen, Mom.”
My eyes darted between their worried looks. “My father was American,” I offered, hoping to ease their minds.
Caroline tried to raise an eyebrow. “Was?”
“Mom…” Grayson uttered, in a low voice.
“It’s okay, Gray.” I touched his arm. “Both of my parents passed away a while ago.”
Grayson’s grandfather gasped. “Oh, Josie. I’m so sorry to hear that.”
I swallowed, but managed to keep myself composed. “Thank you.”
“What on earth is that?” Caroline clutched her chest as she stared out the window.
We all followed her gaze to find Luci bounding around the front lawn with Max frantically chasing after him.
“That…is Luci,” Grayson declared proudly, without any further explanation. “Come on, Josie.” He reached for my hand and grinned. “Let me show you around.”
The rest of the day flew by. Grayson gave me the grand tour of Harlow Manor along with the brief history of his family. His great grandfather and grandfather were responsible for most of the Harlow fortune, but his father built it into an empire he planned to pass on to his sons when he retired. So far, according to his dad, Adam proved ready, but Grayson was lacking.
We explored the enormous grounds, with Luci alternating between trailing behind and running ahead at every flicker of movement. The stoned pathways were lined with boxed hedges that had a small sprinkling of snow sitting on the top. It was a winter wonderland.
“It’s really picturesque out here,” I said, breathing in the crisp air.
“Just wait until they turn on the Christmas lights and the snow falls. I used to pretend I was in the north pole.”
