much I was shaking and how sweaty my palm was from the close proximity, just like I knew that his flirting was all in good fun. But that didn’t change how I felt or the reaction that it all got out of me.
We finished saying grace, and the bubble of conversation and joy started as we all got up to fill our plates. “What would you recommend? It’s been a while since I’ve had your mother’s cooking,” Grayson said, leaning in to whisper to me conspiratorially.
“Honestly, everything,” I said, grabbing a heaping portion of potatoes and several large slices of fresh bread.
Grayson took one look at my plate and followed suit. “I trust your judgment,” he said with a wink. “I can always come back to get more.”
I pushed down my flush and headed back to the table to slide into the seat next to him. I unfolded my napkin, placing it on my lap, and scooted my chair in, smiling at Grayson.
“Remember not to eat too much,” I said with a little laugh. “I know it can be tempting, but an upset stomach is the last thing you want. Especially with dessert waiting just around the corner.”
“Is that so?” He gave me a grin. “I think it might be worth the suffering to get a helping of Mrs. Allen’s cooking. You’re lucky, remember? You have it every day, but I’ve been going thirteen years without it.”
“Oh, stop,” my mother said, a blush rising on her features as she sat down next to my father. Like mother, like daughter; Grayson certainly had an effect. “There’ll be plenty of leftovers for you to take home, so don’t feel as if you have to stuff yourself right now.”
“Thank you,” Grayson said with a grateful nod and dug in.
The two of us exchanged flirtatious remarks throughout dinner, even though I knew that they probably didn’t mean anything much to him. He was playing a role, having fun. He was trying to make things better for me, distracting me from my breakup even though that wasn’t his job. This didn’t make it any easier to separate myself from my feelings, though. I was still furiously attracted to him, and every comment brought up yet another blush or a flustered remark in return.
Whatever he said, however it sounded, I could tell that he really didn’t mean anything by it because his physical responses were incredibly different and not at all similar to mine. I would have at least expected to see some change in his demeanor if he really had an interest.
As the dinner continued, it began to snow outside. Only lightly at first, which we had expected. The weather reports said that there would be light snow today, citing some sort of cold front or whatever, but apparently they hadn’t gotten their prediction exactly right because it began to snow harder and harder outside. Soon, the view outside the windows went mostly white as the snow continued to swirl around in the air. If I didn’t know any better, I might have called it a white out. But of course, those were much more severe.
As we got out dessert—a fresh apple pie that my mother had made from scratch—my mother seemed to have just noticed this very concerning weather development.
“Oh dear,” she said. “It seems the weather really has taken a turn.” She looked over in Grayson’s direction and a furrow creased in the middle of her brow. “It wouldn’t be safe for you to drive in this weather, dear,” she said, looking rather concerned. “You’d better just stay the night.”
My father piped up. “We have plenty of extra bedrooms, so don’t worry about being a bother. We can have a room made up for you in a jiffy.”
Grayson laughed. “A bother? I would never. Though I don’t want to take advantage of your hospitality.”
My mother gestured in the general direction of the window. “Have you seen what it looks like out there? No, I really must insist that you stay here, at least until it settles down a bit. It’s really storming out there and I can’t bear to think of you driving in that, let alone flying. I’m sure they’ve shut down the airport already”
My face continued to redden as the conversation persisted. I couldn’t believe it—was Grayson really going to stay the night here? In this house? With us? With me? I knew that it was dangerous outside right now, but that didn’t stop my head from flying in all sorts