Perfect Embrace by Kaylee Ryan

Chapter 9

Laken

“Laken! Are you listening to me?” Lenora asks.

“Uh-huh.” My phone is pressed to my ear as I stare out the window.

“Wait. Are they washing the trucks again?” She chuckles.

“It’s a hardship, really,” I tell her. “To live so close to the firehouse. I mean, watching gorgeous, ripped men wash the trucks every week is a huge distraction.”

Her loud, raucous laughter makes me smile. “I think I should stop by and finish this conversation in person. You know, so I can watch the show with you.”

“I mean, I’ve got good seats,” I reply while gazing out my window, watching the show as she so eloquently put it. “I could pop us some popcorn.”

“Anyway,” she says with a chuckle, “get your ass moving. We have appointments at the salon to get our nails done.”

“Since when?” I ask, forcing myself to look away from the scenery out my window.

“Since I called and made us one. We have to be there in twenty, so get moving.”

“You know I’m going to miss the ending of my show, right?” I say, barely able to contain my laughter.

“You’ve seen that show once a week or more since you moved in. I think you’ll survive.”

“Fine. The sacrifices I make for you.”

“Hush.” She sniggers. “I’ll see you in a few. And don’t say you have to work. I know you close at one on Saturdays.”

“I’m thinking about staying open later. Jasmine mentioned she could use more hours.” Jasmine is a senior in high school and a great kid. She’s good with the customers, and she loves all books. She reminds me of myself when I was her age.

“Well, we can talk about that when you meet me at the salon.”

“Fine. You owe me one.”

Her reply is to laugh and hang up on me. My reflection in the mirror shows that my smile is wide, and it has nothing to do with the shirtless men who are currently washing the fire trucks. Don’t get me wrong, that’s definitely worth smiling about, but this one is for my sister. I’m so damn happy to have her home.

* * *

“There she is.” Lenora waves at me as I enter the salon. She’s already sitting in the chair, her feet soaking in the warm water.

I smile and wave and make my way to the empty seat next to her. “For you, my dear sister.” I hand her an iced coffee from Java Jitters. Sure, it’s on the other side of town, but I was craving one.

“Another sacrifice.” She grins.

“Right? Take notes,” I say as I slip my feet into the bowl of warm water.

“So, you’re thinking about staying open longer?”

“I am. Business is good, and Jasmine does a great job. She mentioned needing more hours. I thought I might try it and see if the sales make it worth it. She’s already working two days a week after school. I might add some extended hours. Maybe have two late nights. That will help give her hours. She’s saving for college.”

“That would be nice for those who can’t get off work in time to get there by five.”

“That’s what I was thinking too.”

“Waken!” I hear two adorable little girls call out.

My head whips toward the door and the sound of their voices to find Grayson and his daughters. I smile and wave. The girls take that as their cue to come and greet me.

“Waken, what are you doing?” Harlow asks.

“I’m getting a pedicure.”

“Does it tickle?” Hayden questions.

“No. It’s relaxing. After my feet soak, they’ll massage them and then paint my toenails.”

“Oh!” Their little mouths form the perfect O.

“Wow. They’ve got this twin thing down,” Lenora comments.

“Who are you?” Hayden asks.

“This is my sister, Leni. Leni, this is Harlow, and Hayden.” I point to the girls. “Grayson Davis’s twin daughters.”

“You can tell them apart?” this comes from Grayson.

I look up at him and about swallow my tongue. Why does he have to be so damn sexy? He’s wearing a pair of cargo shorts and a Mason Creek Fire T-shirt that fits as if it is tailored just for him.

“Hey, Grayson,” I greet him. “Yeah, I can tell them apart.”

“I thought maybe they told you when you were at the house the other day.”

“It took me a while,” I admit. “Your mom brings them in every week, and eventually, I figured it out. However, if I’m not looking at both of them, I still get stumped.”

The girls giggle. “That’s ’cause we look idenial,” Harlow states proudly.

“Identical,” Grayson and I say at the same time. His eyes find mine, and the hint of a smile tilts his lips.

“Waken, guess what? You make Daddy feel wanted,” Harlow says, nodding her little head.

“W-What?” I ask. I have no idea what she’s talking about. I glance up at Grayson, and he’s staring at me with a shocked expression on his face.

“Dat’s what hims said.” She looks at her sister. “Right, sissy?”

“Uh-huh. You tolded hims dat hims smelled good,” Hayden adds.

“Oh, shit,” Lenora mumbles under her breath, but I still hear her.

My head whips around to look at her, and the guilty expression on her face tells me everything I need to know. I did, in fact, tell Grayson Davis that he smells good, and my sister was there to witness it.

“You didn’t tell me,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Girls, come on. It’s time for your haircuts.” They scurry off to the chairs, climbing up and sitting on the booster seats without complaint. I know Grayson is still standing there, but I’m too embarrassed to look at him, so instead, I watch the girls as they chat with Anna and Faith as if they’re all four best friends.

“Laken?” His voice is closer. Sucking in a deep breath, I know I have to face the music. I turn to look at him. He’s closer, much closer. I open my mouth to say something, anything, but no words come out. Instead, I inhale his woodsy scent. Damn, he smells good. The next thing I know, he’s bending his body close to mine, his mouth hovers over my cheek, next to my ear. “You’re beautiful when you blush.” His deep husky voice washes over me.

He pulls back, and my eyes find his. He must see the question because he shrugs. “Do you have plans tonight?” he asks.

“Nope. She’s free,” Lenora answers for me.

“Perfect. I’ll be by your place around seven.”

“Wait. What?”

“The girls are having a sleepover with Nana Christine and Papaw Marty, and you and I are going on a date.”

“A date?”

His grin grows wider. Bending closer, he places both hands on the arms of my chair, and we’re close. So close I can see the different shades of green in his eyes. “Two weeks of you being in my head. Two weeks of my daughters talking about you nonstop. Two weeks of me wondering why I can’t stop thinking about you? I think it’s time we find out.” He stands back to his full height. “I’ll be at your place at seven.” He turns and walks to the front of the salon where the girls are getting haircuts. He stands between the two. His arms are crossed over his muscled chest as if he’s their bodyguard.

My heart can’t take the swoon, surrounded by his woodsy scent and his words. I’m a mush of feelings. My heart is racing so loud I know he can hear it, and there is an ache between my thighs.

“That, dear sister, is the definition of a panty-dropping smile.”

I manage to tear my gaze from Grayson. “What are you not telling me?” I ask her. I try to glare, but I’m still reeling from Grayson in close proximity.

He can’t stop thinking about me.

He wants to go on a date.

Tonight.

Holy shit!

“You might have told him that he smelled good when he put you to bed.” She goes on to explain how I thought I was dreaming. And I’m mortified. “Don’t do that. He’s into you.”

“No. He’s—” I start to give a reason for his actions just minutes ago, but I’ve got nothing. Grayson isn’t the kind of man to play games or the field. He never has been.

“Laken?” Lenora places her hand over mine that’s gripping the arm of the massage chair I’m sitting in.

“Pinch me.”

She throws her head back and laughs. “You’re not dreaming, sister. You’re going on a date with Grayson Davis.”

“I have nothing to wear.” My heart is racing so loudly I’m sure Grayson and his girls can hear it at the front of the salon. My palms are sweating as I think about what I have in my closet. None of it seems fitting for a date with Grayson.

“We’ll go shopping when we leave here.”

“It’s already two thirty. We have to go to Billings, and he said seven. I’ll need to shave… everything,” I say, my face immediately heating as I slap my hand over my mouth.

“There’s plenty of time. I’ll help you get ready. Just breathe,” she says soothingly.

“Leni,” I whisper.

She smiles. “Just breathe, Laken. He’s just a man.”

“I know but, how often do you get the chance with the man of your dreams?” I take a deep breath and tell her what I’m really feeling. “It’s more than that,” I confess. “Those little girls… they’re so sweet, and I’m already half in love with them.”

Her eyes soften. “Just remember that. If this, whatever it is with Grayson, doesn’t go anywhere, remember that you were half in love with them before you tried dating their daddy.”

I get what she’s saying. Don’t let this… whatever it is, affect those two adorable little angels. Besides, it’s one date, not a marriage proposal. It’s dinner, and he’ll see I’m the boring book nerd who’s always managed to fly under his radar, and life will go back to normal. I’ll go back to watching him from afar. I’ll spend Thursday afternoon with his daughters just like I have the last several months, and life will be back to normal.

“Waken, wook!”

I snap out of my daze to see the twins standing in front of me. Their curls that were past their shoulders are now resting just above them.

“Wow. You ladies look beautiful.” Their beaming smiles at my praise fills my heart.

“I’m hoping this makes combing through it a little easier,” Grayson says, pushing his wallet back into his back pocket.

“Daddy spays stuff to make it not huwt,” Harlow tells me.

“Yeah, and it smells yummy.” Hayden giggles.

“Well, it sounds like Daddy is very smart.”

“Oh, he is,” they agree.

“Girls, why don’t you go grab a sucker from the bowl? I’ll be right there.”

“Okay,” they agree. “Bye, Waken and Waken’s sister.” They wave and take off for the sucker bowl that Anna is holding out for them.

Grayson steps toward me, and I’m surprised when he reaches out and tucks my hair behind my ear. “Seven, Laken. I’ll see you at seven.” He looks like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t. He pulls his hand away and shoves it in his pocket. “Leni.” He nods at my sister, then turns on his heel and walks away.

I don’t take my eyes off him as he offers a hand to each of the girls, and the three of them leave the salon. The door is barely shut behind them when the entire salon starts talking at once about how hot he is and how he wants me. I block them all out, feeling the crimson of my cheeks, knowing that it has to match my hair. All I can think about is my date tonight and the fact that there isn’t a doubt in my mind that Tate is going to get wind of this. I can only imagine how fast her keys are going to be flying over the keyboard for her latest installment of the MC Scoop featuring Grayson and me.