“Um, honey, what do you have in mind? I don’t think you’re in any condition to go drag Reva out by her hair or anything. We can certainly go to Charleston and turn everything over to the police.”
With a sigh of impatience, she said, “I’m not some redneck Gray; I’m not gathering my kin folk to go kick her arse. I do want to see her, though.” She held up her hand to stop his protests. “She needs to know that you’re taken Gray and trust me, she’ll want to see that proof. As to how that will happen, we will decide when we get there. Now, please, can we go?”
Suzy stiffened as Gray walked towards her with a slow, sexy smile. Her body responded immediately, but her heart needed to keep its distance for now. To his credit, he didn’t reach for her. He looked her in the eyes for a moment and then quietly said, “I love you so much it takes my breath away.” As she started to shake her head, he continued, “I know this isn’t the time for this talk and we will put it on the back burner for now. I needed you to know that. You take my breath away.”
Gray walked towards the bedroom and Suzy heard him opening drawers as he packed. She quickly wiped a tear from her eyes, his declaration of love still ringing in her ears. She wanted to bask in the moment, the first time he declared his love, but she couldn’t, not yet. The timing was all wrong and things were too unsettled between them. The desire to just give up and run was still there. If she did, though, would she ever stop running? This was a pivotal moment in her life and how she handled it could very well define her love life forever.
Chapter Sixteen
As if afraid she’d change her mind, Gray had packed a bag and was leading her out the door and into his BMW in less than an hour. He called Jason before they left letting him know that they would be in Charleston for a few days. He’d also called Nick, and even though Suzy knew Nick was bombarding him with questions about what was going on, Gray kept the conversation brief.
He turned on the stereo in the car and Suzy’s gaze flew to his when the first strains of Bon Jovi’s Always drifted through the car. Gray’s lips lifted in a grin at the shock on Suzy’s face. “Claire told me you liked them. I’ve actually seen them in concert a few times. The first time was in Tokyo with my father, if you can believe it. It was the first time I traveled with him on business and the customer there had gotten the tickets for us. It was on New Year’s Eve 1990 and man what a night.
Mesmerized, Suzy watched the emotions flittering across his handsome face. “That was probably one of the highlights of my teenage years. I felt so damn important. I was out of the country with my father and he was treating me like an adult. I was also proud because my dad seemed like the coolest man in the world. He knew most of the songs and he sang and danced in the aisles along with everyone else.” With a laugh, Gray said, “I suspect now, he probably had some very strong alcohol helping him find his groove that night, but it was so great to see him let loose. I saw them again about ten years later in Fort Lauderdale with some buddies from college. We had a blast that evening, but it still didn’t compare to that first concert with my dad. That was special.” With a squeeze of her hand, he said, “Maybe you and I can catch a show the next time they’re touring.”
Suzy threw her head back and laughed until tears streamed down her face.
“You’re starting to hurt my ego here, baby, a simple no thank you would have been sufficient. You don’t have to laugh until you collapse.”
“Sorry,” she managed to choke out. “I wasn’t laughing about going to a concert with you; I was laughing because I never imagined you going to one period, unless it was a Harry Connick or Michael Buble. Not that there is anything wrong with them, I just imagined you would like quieter music. I told Claire once that I could never go out with you because you didn’t even own a Bon Jovi Tour shirt and now I find out you saw them in Japan, how cool.”
With a chuckle, Gray said, “Well my conversation with Claire makes a little more sense now. I couldn’t figure out why she was grilling me on my musical preferences and seemed greatly relieved when I mentioned liking a lot of the older rock music. With her being pregnant and all I was terrified of letting her down and making her cry. She looked so serious at the time. Now I know she was just interviewing me to see if I was worthy of dating her friend.”
They talked about other bands that they both liked, and Suzy was surprised to find that their tastes were pretty similar. As if by mutual agreement, they avoided talking about their argument that morning and about Reva. Looking at the road signs, she saw they were getting closer to Charleston. “So where do you live in Charleston? I’ve been there couple of times for weekend trips.”
“I have a place in the French Quarter. Have you been there?”