Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
She’d left work early, afraid one of the trains she took home would be delayed or there’d be some incident that would put her behind schedule. Being late for whatever Grayson had planned wasn’t an option, at least not in her mind. Besides, she prided herself on being as punctual as possible, and even fifteen minutes early was late in her opinion.
After showering the grime of work and the subway off, she stood in front of her closet and pushed each hanger to the side. Grayson’s mention of “not going for a run” casual meant he didn’t want to see her in her comfortable yoga pants or one of his sweatshirts that was so big on her it could double as a dress.
Reid reached for a pair of black slacks but thought better of dressing like she was about to go to the office, and she pulled out a simple shift dress. The late surge of summer still hung in the air, despite Halloween being on the horizon. She paired her dress with strappy sandals with a modest heel, thankful that she and Melanie had spent last weekend having a spa day. Freshly painted and pedicured toenails and manicured fingernails went a long way in helping a woman feel pretty. Plus, the massage and facial Reid had gotten was divine. She’d fallen asleep and ended up snoring.
Reid dabbed on the French perfume Grayson had bought her for Christmas and curled her hair, making sure to fix the pieces that had fallen. She concentrated mostly in the front due to her inability to not run her fingers through her hair during the day. It was a bad habit, and she did it mostly when she was bored or spending too much time wondering what her boyfriend was up to. She applied natural makeup, dabbed some red-hued lip gloss on, and called it good. If she went to Grayson’s too dressed up and he wasn’t, one of them would feel the need to change, and she didn’t want that. He had something planned, and she wanted to make sure it went off without a hitch.
It would be faster for Reid to take the stairs. She could be at Grayson’s door in under two minutes. Doing so would increase the rate of her already pounding heart. She opted for the elevator and would use the time it took to calm her nerves. For all she knew, she had no reason to be nervous. It wasn’t like Grayson hadn’t spent the past few months planning every single date he took her on. He’d ask her if there was something she wanted to do, but most of the time he had everything planned for them by the time she came home from work. This was something she appreciated without knowing it was something she wanted. With her prior boyfriends, it was always the classic “What do you want to do?” followed by endless hours of back-and-forth as they tried to figure out what they should do before giving up and calling it a night.
With Grayson, if Reid mentioned a movie she wanted to see, he’d buy the tickets and tell her days in advance, not hours. When she brought up a festival, he booked a car for them because the train wouldn’t go as far out as they needed. Since they’d begun dating, he’d been fully attentive, which showed her what kind of man he could be. She hated that he’d hidden his true self from her due to his heart condition.
Reid understood, though. She was young when her mother passed away, but she remembered certain parts of growing up when she saw her father long for his wife. There were times, even so many years later, when Reid would get flashes of memories with her mom. They would dance in front of the Christmas tree or sing carols. Her father would don a Santa hat and hand out presents, each one coming from Santa. The first Christmas without her mother was quiet. They’d had a tree, but Luther hadn’t gotten around to decorating it. He barely lit the fire, or played music, and he definitely didn’t put the hat on again. The morning of, he sat on the couch and told Reid she could sit by the tree and open the few presents he had managed to buy. The following year was better, as were the subsequent years, but they were never the same as they were when her mother was alive.
Her parents had the kind of love Reid wanted, and when she’d first met Grayson, she knew he was the one. Every day, she was thankful she hadn’t given up on him.
The elevator dinged and brought her out of her reverie. She stepped in, smiled at the others who were in there, and pressed the button for Grayson’s floor. They made a stop on the second, and then the doors were opening for her to step out. Normally, Grayson would open his door to peek out when he knew she was on her way to his place, but his door remained shut. Her mind had the ability to think of every possible scenario, from Is he hurt? to Is he home?