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“Can you fuck off?” I counter.
“Nope.”
“Same answer.”
He groans but then reluctantly uncovers his eyes, smiling when they lock on Lucy.
“Fuck me. I didn’t think I’d see you again.”
Lucy’s brows furrow and her gaze flits to mine. She either doesn’t recognize him, or thinks that I’m keeping her a secret.
“He didn’t think he’d see me again,” she says with a raised brow. “I thought you were close?” The latter then.
Gray laughs as Lucy shakes her head.
“He knows about you. He’s being a dick.”
Grayson nods exaggeratedly. “It’s true, I am. I thought he’d screw it up before we got a chance to meet again.”
“Is that likely to happen?” she asks Grayson. Not me,Grayson.
“Not sure yet.” He shrugs and I roll my eyes. “He’s got a lot of baggage, but he’s a good guy,” he continues, digging himself a grave. “And—”
“Are you done?”
“I wasn’t, but I can be…for now.” He nods.Fucker.
Turning back to Lucy, he studies her face and then smiles. “You haven’t changed one bit.”
Lucy blushes shyly, probably because she thinks that she has, but recovers quickly and smiles. “Well, you’ve now got stubble,” she observes, causing Grayson to crack up as he runs his hand over said stubble with a nod.
“That I do. I’m not the eighteen-year-old you once met.”
“No, you most certainly aren’t.”
My eyes flash to hers because that sounded flirty, but when I note her expression, she’s laughing silently at me.Very funny, Lucy. Yes, I’m the jealous type.
As if reading my thoughts, she laughs out loud before getting comfortable on the couch beside Gray, settling in for a long chat, while I make a note to change my locks.
Lucy yawns and I glance at my watch to see we’ve all been talking for an hour. I need to get her home.
“We better go, Luce. It’s getting late.”
She checks the time herself and gasps. “Shit. It is. I’m sorry. It was nice seeing you, Grayson. Hopefully we can catch up again.”
“I’d love that.”
After saying goodbyes, we head to my truck in silence, and once we’re on the road, Lucy’s hand flies to her mouth and her breath hitches. “I never returned the favor. Pull over.”
I can’t help but chuckle at the shocked look on her face as I lean over to pat her leg.
“As tempting andromanticas that sounds, I’m not keeping score here.”
“You’re not?” she asks seriously, and my humor fades.The fuck?Yet another red flag with regards to how Lucy’s been treated in the past. Katie’s father better hope we never cross paths. Sexual assault is obviously bad enough, but he was one hundred percent emotionally abusive too and that’s fucked-up. It’s hard to imagine how someone as confident and strong as Lucy could end up in a situation like that, but it’s not inconceivable. Like I said to her, not all our scars are visible. Everything about the situation with her ex makes me want to do anything in my power to keep her safe, but at the same time, I know she wants to prove to herself that she can go it alone, and that scares the hell out of me.
I drop Lucy off with a chaste kiss to her lips and brows before heading home to deal with whatever happened to lead Grayson to my couch. But as it turns out, he was actually worried about me, and by the time I get into bed a couple of hours later, I crash hard, sleeping right through until my alarm goes off, not even once thinking about the game.
Looks like I’ve found my new ritual—Lucy.
