Thankfully, the little squirrel on the wheel inside her noggin started moving again, rerouting her brain cells to fire. Crap on a cracker. When the heck had sweet little Grant Weston grown into a man who looked like that? Sure she’d seen pictures of him in the paper or on TV, but in person he looked breathtakingly sexy.
And… Hold on. Had Jenna said he was staying with them?
Had Grant just said he was the man she was going to marry?
What!?
Chapter 2
Piper hustled inside, but saw only Jenna, no Grant in sight.
“He’s down the hall, checking out his room,” Jenna offered around a mouthful of chips. “So did you say yes?”
“Huh?” Still confused, Piper tried to make sense of the situation.
“You know. To marrying him.” The teenager snickered.
“What? No.” After a pause, she said, “That was little Grant Weston.”
“Not so little,” Jenna said and crunched her way to happiness.
“Why is he here?” His brother still lived on the south side of town, now married with a young son.
Jenna shrugged, took a large gulp of lemonade, and sighed. “Ah, that hit the spot. I don’t know about Grant, only that Dad said he’d be staying here through Christmas. Something about needing a place to recover on his off season, I think.”
“Off season.” Piper was frowning at her niece when Grant waltzed back into the room. No, more like moseyed, having ditched his jacket, now dressed in a thin sweater that showed off his amazing torso, racked with impossible-to-miss muscle. The sedate pace at which he moved seemed so different from the energetic boy she’d once babysat.
Though Grant’s older brother had moved back into town and married, she didn’t spend much time with him, not like her brother did. She had met Grant’s sister-in-law though, and she was a hoot. Piper had been to a few of her brother’s parties when Ellie had shown up hand in hand with Cade and liked them very much as a couple. So why wasn’t Grant staying with them?
“Jenna, girl, you look good.” He smiled at Jenna, who flushed. Piper couldn’t blame her. Grant’s smile had enough wattage to power up half the town. He should star on toothpaste commercials with those bright white teeth.
“Thanks, Grant.” Jenna let him hug her, then made a face and squirmed free. “Ugh. You’re as big as Cade.”
“Please. I’m bigger. But I’m the nice Weston. Cade’s an overgrown idiot.”
Jenna laughed. “I’m telling him you said that.”
“Narc.”
Piper shook her head. “Not that it’s not nice to see you, but what are you doing here, Grant?”
His face lost that animated expression. “I needed someplace to reboot. Last season was pretty long. I need the time to mentally relax and physically restart training away from crowds.”
“No, I get that.” Piper didn’t want to push, but she hadn’t expected to share the house with more than her niece. “I meant, why here? Why aren’t you spending time with Cade, Ellie, and your nephew?”
He glanced away. “Ah, well, it’s a little awkward, and I’d rather not get into it. Let’s just say they need extra family time to settle some things. I’d only be in the way.”
She heard what he didn’t say—that his brother was having marital problems. “Oh, I see.”
“I’m sensing you had no idea I’d be staying here.”
“Well, to be honest, no. Jared mentioned a guest right before they drove away.”
“I guess I could find a hotel.” He frowned. “Somewhere private, though.”
Jenna huffed. “Don’t be silly, Grant. You can stay here. It’s just me and Aunt Piper. And I hang out with my boyfriend a lot at his place, up in the mountains, so I’m hardly here.”
“A boyfriend?” Grant frowned. “And your dad is okay with that?”
