Page 60 of Crash and Burn

“We need more ammunition,” I told him as I darted down the hallway and into the bedroom.

“Is that your game?” Grant called out. “Trying to lure me into the bedroom so you can have your way with me?”

I peeked my head out the door and batted my lashes.

“Is it working?” I asked.

“Hell yeah.” He tossed the pillow to the floor and strode forward to scoop me up into his arms.

I shrieked and held on tight as he carried me to the bed.

“Hey!” I protested. “We still haven’t decided who won the pillow fight.”

“I did,” he announced.

“I haven’t conceded,” I told him.

“Don’t you worry,” Grant said with a heated glint in his eyes. “I’ll have you begging for mercy before the night is over.”

20

"You sure you want to come along?" I asked Grant. "It's probably going to be boring for you to watch me sort through bins of used clothing."

"Mason and Evan are covering for me today so I've got nothing else to do this afternoon," Grant replied. "Besides, I can always find something interesting to take photos of."

He wrapped an arm around my waist. Grant's fingers pressed into my hip possessively as he pulled me into his side and I couldn't stop a silly smile from crossing my face.

"Why do you go to thrift stores and not fabric stores?" Grant asked.

"Sometimes I do when they have sales, but second hand shops tend to be the best for great deals. Besides, sometimes I'll find a real gem. Decades old retro clothing always comes back into style eventually."

Grant held the door open for me when we reached the thrift store and let me enter first.

"Such a gentleman," I teased.

"My momma raised me right," he drawled.

"How is your mom?" I asked.

“She’s doing good," he said. “She keeps on asking when I'm going to invite her to my first gallery showing. I don't think she realizes I just do weddings, boudoir and fashion."

"Yet," I added. "Soon you'll start working on that secret project and you'll take the art world by storm."

"You sound just like her,” he chuckled.

My heart twinged with a hint of jealousy. Grant's mom was so proud of him and his photography. She was a single mom with two kids, and they never had a lot of money growing up. They hadn't been able to afford college for Grant, but he was determined for his sister Sammy to go. That was why he worked so hard for tips. That was why he had a side-gig for extra money.

That was why he spent his time doing well-paying corporate photoshoots and not working on his own art.

Grant's mom didn't mind that his bartending and photography weren’t traditional stable careers. She was proud of his talents.

"This place is pretty big," Grant noted as we walked into the store.

I mentally shook off any lingering melancholy. Grant's mom was the exact opposite of my parents in many ways, but that didn't mean mine loved me any less. They just had a different outlook when it came to their child's future. I couldn't really fault them for that.

I just wished that one day I could see pride in their eyes instead of disappointment.

"The store has two floors," I told Grant.