He chuckled. “Yeah. The guys will take any excuse to hold their girlfriends. I used to chalk it up as a Storm trait, but Boone’s just as bad as Levi and Theo. Always got his arms wrapped around Mila.”
“I think it’s sweet,” she said.
Maverick had been the same with her, always reaching for her the second they were alone in the cabin, but since he was going for a fresh start, he didn’t remind her of that. “Enjoying your visit?”
“More than I can say. Gracemont is just as I remembered. Life moves at a slower pace here, and I’ve never met nicer people.”
Maverick agreed wholeheartedly. “Still planning to stick around for a while?”
“I am. I really needed this break from home.” Ella bit her lower lip, glancing down in such a way that he knew she hadn’t meant to say that. “I mean…”
“Why did you need a break?” While Maverick had picked up bits and pieces about Ella through overheard conversations, he still knew very little about her life now.
She ran her finger along the side of her margarita glass, chasing a bead of condensation rolling down the smooth surface. “My grandmother passed away six months ago.”
Maverick’s shoulders dropped. “I’m sorry. I know how much your Gigi meant to you.”
She smiled sadly. “I moved in with her right after high school graduation and never moved out.” When she saw his surprised expression, she explained. “I lived with her while I attended college, to save money. Then, about a decade ago, she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. She’d always been there for me, and I wanted to do the same. Help her. Not that she needed a lot of help until the last few years. I swear, Gigi was one of the toughest women I’ve ever known. Independent, strong-willed, opinionated,” she described, though given the way she was grinning widely, Ella meant those descriptors as compliments.
“Sounds like someone else I know.”
Ella’s smile widened. “I can’t think of anyone I’d rather be like. Gigi had a wicked sense of humor and was well loved in the neighborhood. She was a regular at a local pub in town, always dragging me along with her when she decided I’d spent too much time in front of my computer. I held her wake there—at her request. They closed the pub down for it. I swear the place was packed to the rafters, and everyone had a story to share about her, either about funny pranks she’d pulled or something sweet she’d done. I know it was a sad occasion, but I swear I never laughed so much as I listened to her friends tell stories about her.”
“Sounds like a wonderful tribute.”
“It was. It really was.”
Ella’s story sparked a million more questions in Maverick’s mind.
“Your grandmother lived in Meridian, right? Just like your family?” he asked, curious why she’d moved in with her Gigi rather than live at home with her parents during college.
“She did. Spent her entire adult life in the house she and Pop bought right after they got married. It’s been…too quiet there since her passing.”
And that comment added even more questions to his list. “Do your parents still live in Meridian?”
While Ella had been relaxed as she spoke of her beloved Gigi, Maverick didn’t miss the way her shoulders stiffened slightly at his question. “They do.”
He waited for her to elaborate, but she didn’t. Instead, she lifted her glass and took a big sip of margarita. “I’m not much of a drinker,” she said, clearly trying to change the subject. “Probably going to pay the piper tomorrow.”
Maverick considered letting her get away with it…then decided to forge on with his questions. “How about your sister? Martha live in Meridian too?”
Ella nodded. Apparently, she didn’t want to talk about Martha any more than her parents. “She does.”
“What’s she up to these days?” he asked, this conversation suddenly feeling like déjà vu. Maverick recalled how difficult it was to get her to open up about her family back when they were in school, too. When they were younger, he let her get away with her short answers, always certain he’d have a lifetime to learn all her secrets. Nowadays, he wasn’t feeling so generous.
“She’s married with three boys,” Ella replied, finally offering some details. “She met Elijah, her husband, at church.”
Maverick nodded, trying to encourage her to continue, but it seemed Ella had hit her limit on sharing.
“Edith tells me you and Grayson run the winery,” she said, before he could fire off another question.
Maverick sighed, but this time, he didn’t fight her topic change, hoping that if he led by example, perhaps she’d follow suit. “We do. Took over after our grandfather died.”
Ella’s compassionate expression proved just how much she understood that loss, and when she reached out, placing her hand on his forearm, it took everything he had not to pull her into his arms. “I’m sorry.”
He couldn’t touch her—or have her touch him—without needing so much more. He’d spent the last year rolling his eyes at Theo, Levi, and Boone, and their unending PDA. The guys were constantly kissing or hugging or holding the hands of their women, always acting like the world would end if they weren’t touching their lady loves.
And Maverick couldn’t deny the powerful need to reach out to Ella right now. All he could think about was grasping that hand resting on his arm and tugging her onto his lap so he could wrap his arms around her and never let go. For the rest of their lives.
