“I hope so too.” His eyes sparkle, and his smile is back, causing another flutter in my chest.
GRAY
Convincing her to stay was easier than I imagined. I hope that she’ll want to stay after spending some time here. I adjust the lumpy cushions on the old couch, wishing I had my old furniture, but it’s all in storage while I fix this place up.
She may look the same, but her personality seems harder. I thought I was the moody one. It will take more than hot tea to warm her cold heart, but I like a challenge. What happened to her in the last ten years? Where’s that summer girl gone who loved the sun, flowers, and Christmas? She has to be in there somewhere.
I bend and straighten my leg, rubbing my knee. It always acts up at night and getting comfy on this couch is going to be a struggle. I rest my foot on the arm, stuffing a cushion under my thigh to bring some relief to the pain in my knee. The bane of my life and a constant reminder of why my football career went down the drain.
The bathroom door swings open, and I tilt my head to catch a glimpse of her thick thighs in a little short set. I groan inwardly.
“Night,” she says, before flicking off the bathroom light and padding to her room. My room. The prospect of getting any sleep tonight just went from slim to not a fucking chance, knowing she’s in the next room.
“Night, Cam.” I pull the thin comforter over my head and close my eyes, but not to sleep. I need to think.
* * *
My phone buzzes, vibrating against the coffee table. I rub my face and bend my knee with a wince as a sharp pain shoots up my leg. I lean over, turn the alarm off, then lie back on the couch. With a jolt to my chest, I sit up, remembering Cam is here. Fuck, Cam is here. Suddenly, the pain in my knee doesn’t seem so bad, and my whole body feels lighter.
The bedroom door is open, her bed made, but she’s nowhere to be found. Entering the bathroom, a wave of honeysuckle hits my nose, and I breathe in her scent. A smile spans my face, seeing all her products lining the bathroom shelf and her electric toothbrush nestled next to mine in the cabinet.
My chest swells. I haven’t had a roommate for a while, and I never thought I’d be sharing a place with her. Although I hoped for it many years ago. When my college scholarship ended, I came home. I decided I would ask her out that summer. Knowing I wouldn’t be travelling with a team, I could finally settle down and give her all of me. My dream of playing pro may have been flushed down the toilet, but she was always my fantasy.
Only she never came back. I never saw her again. Checking her social media, she was dating some douche in a suit. I couldn’t compete with that. With no job, I had nothing to offer her. I still don’t have much, but I can offer her a good life here in the Keys if she’d only open her eyes and see what’s right in front of her.
I’ve never been to London, but what can London have that’s better than here? Besides her.
Once showered and dressed, I walk into the shop to open up for the day, wondering where Cam went. Her smile lights up the room as she opens the door to Trudy. “Hello, I’m Cami. We weren’t introduced properly yesterday.”
“Trudy.” She shakes Cam’s hand. “Mr Brewdy told me all about you.”
I roll my eyes. “Trudy, you don’t need to call me Mr Brewdy just because I’m now your employer. How many times do I have to tell you?”
“Sorry Mr Brew…Grayson.”
Cam turns her head, widening her bright smile. “I think MrBroodyis more fitting, don’t you?” She walks towards me and for a moment I think she’s going to peck me on the lips, but she scratches my stubbly jaw, something she started doing when I first grew facial hair. “Morning, sleepyhead. I was going to wake you, but you looked at peace.”
At peace? I didn’t sleep a wink. She saunters past me towards the corner of the room where the Christmas tree is in pieces. “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking this down. It’s April. The rest of this town might like to keep their decorations up all year, but it’s a little much, don’t you think? Besides, by packing this monstrosity away, we can get another table in here. I noticed a few folded tables and chairs stacked up in the stockroom.”
I fold my arms across my chest and steel my spine. “You should have asked me first. We don’t need another table. We don’t exactly have a horde of customers banging down the door.”
“Yet.” She folds the silvery branches and places them in an old tatty box.
“Folks around here won’t like it, Cam. People love Christmas in this town, and you used to love it, too. That’s what the tourists come here for. A little Christmas in July type of getaway.”
“But it’s not July. It’s April. And Christmas is so overrated. Just another money-making scheme that fleeces people out of their hard earned cash and highlights just how lonely you are.”
Is she talking from experience? She said she can't wait to get back to her life. She can’t be talking about herself. “Well, if it’s a money-making scheme, leave the tree where it is.”
“I’ve packed it away now.”
“Well, unpack it. You should’ve asked first. We’re partners.”
“We’re not partners, Gray. I’m just helping you so you can be the sole proprietor. You need to trust me with this.”
“Fine.” I grit out the word. “But next time, fill me in before you decide to change things.” I let her win this one. The tree was old anyway. It wouldn’t hurt to get a new one.
