He placed his hand on my arm, somehow making me feel both calmer and even more unsettled. “You sure?”
Frasier was so tall I had to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. Six-foot-two and 190 pounds of muscle. I nodded. He held my gaze for a moment then, seemingly satisfied, he went over to the sink to wash his hands.
As I saw it, I had two options. Tell my sister I’d lied. Or confess everything to Frasier and ask him to go with me to the wedding as my pity date. Both options were embarrassing in their own way. And besides, could I really ask Frasier to do that? It was the off-season, and he deserved a well-earned break.
What would he even think?
I knew how guarded he was about his privacy. He didn’t like being photographed in public, and he was famously tight-lipped about his love life. If there was even a whisper of a hint that we were dating… I cringed.
I didn’t want to rush into anything, so I decided to think on it over dinner. I was still thinking on it as we moved outside to let the dogs run around after we’d eaten and cleaned up.
“Bryn,” Frasier said, and I turned to look at him. I sensed that he was nervous, but I didn’t know why. “This might be overstepping, but…”
Frasier sighed, lifting his favorite Dartmouth hat to drag a hand through his hair. The brim was fraying, but it was still his favorite. He’d had the hat since college, and it was so faded it was almost gray.
His hair was long, so long that it curled up at the nape of his neck. He looked like an ad for a wilderness survival guide. A man who was strong and rugged. Capable.
“Do you want me to go with you to your sister’s wedding?”
“I—” I blinked a few times. Here he was, handing me the solution to all my problems, and he didn’t even know it. Selfishly, I wanted to say yes. But I shook my head instead. “I can’t ask you to do that for me. Not when you’ve already done so much,” I added in a softer voice.
He was silent, and I couldn’t get a read on him. And so, instead of pausing to let him speak, I rambled on. “Besides, I know it’s later in the off-season,” I continued. “So you have to think about training more seriously.”
Frasier searched my eyes, and it felt as if he were peering into the depths of my soul. The man’s intensity was unnerving, especially when it was directed solely at me.
“Bryn,” he chided. “Come on.”
“I hate asking you to give up precious vacation time to go to my sister’s wedding. You’re always over here, helping me, when I know you have better things you could be doing with your time.”
A muscle in his neck jumped. “First of all, you didn’t ask me to go with you. I offered. And there is nowhere I’d rather be. Nothing I’d rather be doing.”
“Yeah, but?—”
“Nowhere,” he said in a solemn tone that quieted me.
“Thank you,” I said, but it didn’t feel like enough.
Frasier was one of the few people who got it. Who knew what it was like to have a spotlight turned on your pain. He’d been nothing short of amazing since Derek’s death.
He’d been one of the first people to show up after Derek’s passing. One of the few people who continued to show up. His friendship had kept me going, and the memories we shared had been a huge source of comfort.
People acted…funny when someone died. It was as if they didn’t know whether to talk about the person, and it felt so lonely at times. But Frasier and I always talked about Derek, kept his memory alive. And I knew that Derek’s parents appreciated that just as much as I did. I still met up with them regularly for dinner, and they still treated me like a daughter.
“What are the dates?” Frasier asked, pulling out his phone to check his calendar.
I relayed the info as I used my phone to search for the Huxley Grand Anguilla. I navigated to the resort amenities section and handed my phone to Frasier. “And it looks like they should have everything you need to train. Plus, they have a spa with massage therapists since I know how important rest and recovery are to your off-season training.”
“Wow. That’s…” He blinked a few times as if stunned. “Thank you for considering that.”
“Of course.”
He handed my phone back to me. Then he removed his cap, smoothed his hair back, and replaced his cap on his head with the bill facing backward. It made him look both boyish and hot. I did my best to ignore that sizzle of awareness his movements invoked.
He was attractive; he always had been. But it was the first time in a long time that I’d allowed myself to notice. And now that I had, I couldn’t seem to stop.
He actually seemed to be considering this.
Tell him.
