Now or Never

from anything hurtful or obnoxious. She didn’t even miss her phone and its endless supply of social media…yet, anyway. She was sure, by the time she was standing still at her mom’s house, she’d be dying for a welcomed distraction.
    Only an hour more and she would be home. Well, to her mother’s home, at least. She had no idea where her “home” was anymore.
    She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel to the music. Her mom was off on a weekend scrapbook retreat, so she wouldn’t be at the house. Grayson hadn’t known such things, like scrapbook retreats, even existed; three whole days devoted to pasting pictures on thick cardboard and cutting shapes with curly-edged scissors, all in the name of preserving memories. However, at least Grayson would have privacy and time to get settled in while she figured out what she was going to do with herself. Maybe she could finish her degree online, or just take a year off and get a job. It would all get sorted somehow.
    Not to mention she was way too exhausted to get the third degree from her family on exactly what happened back in Arizona. Right now, she just wanted to fall into bed and sleep for days.
    Forty minutes later, she caught a glance of a Starbucks sign. As if it had called her name, Grayson flicked on the blinker and took the exit ramp. Why pass up a Starbucks? If Starbucks offered caffeine IV drips, she would be first in line; she lived for that place. Grayson was only about fifteen minutes from her mother’s house, but her mom was a tea drinker. Her supply of instant coffee would do in a pinch, but who knew if the flighty woman even had milk?
    Grayson decided to stretch her legs and go inside instead of hitting the drive-through. She rubbed her bare arms and quickened her step, her toes chilly in her flip-flops. It was just her luck a cold front had passed through that day, putting a bite to the wind that made for perfect coffee weather. For Tennessee, this probably wasn’t all that cold, but she’d lived in hot, dusty Arizona for so long that anything below sixty felt arctic. It was hot in Arizona, but not so much in Tennessee. She should have thought to pull out a jacket, or at least tennis shoes. All she had thought about was getting the hell out of there.
    A wave of warmth and the aroma of coffee hit her as soon as she opened the door. Of course, there was a line of customers waiting. It wouldn’t be a corporate-owned coffee house if that wasn’t the case. So she made her way to the restroom to freshen up, and then took her place in line. Grayson found herself behind two women talking loudly about the dark-haired woman’s asshole of a husband.
    Nothing like spreading around your dirty laundry, Grayson thought making a face. Though inwardly, she was happy that wasn’t her five years later, married to Josh and regretting it.
    She glanced around, desperate for something to take her mind off their asinine chatter. The cafe was crowded; full of college kids with books open on the table, couples chatting, and a few loners on computers. It was a great atmosphere, the kind of place she would have come to study back in Arizona.
    Grayson noticed a guy sitting at a corner table, reading a book beneath a dangling lamp. The dim bulb cast his silhouette in a shadow, highlighting his strong jaw and broad shoulders. He glimpsed up, just an innocent flick of his eyes, and their gazes locked.
    Her stomach fluttered and her body temperature went up a few degrees. What the hell? Grayson was shocked at the immediacy of her reaction.
    Quickly, she cast her eyes to the floor and willed herself not to turn in his direction. He was just a random stranger in a café, nothing special. But she couldn’t help herself; it was as if something was bewitching her to look.
    Trying to act nonchalant, she decided there was no harm in taking another peek. As if he felt her gaze upon him, his head instantly popped up and he grinned.
    Grayson stood frozen, her heart pounding. She couldn’t even tell what color his eyes were at that distance, but she could tell he was sexy—that much was evident. The rugged, outdoor type of sexy, not the pretty-boy type like Josh. The guy exuded confidence and sex, making Grayson’s desire overwhelm her. She felt his sex appeal wash over her body, heating her skin until her face was flushed. How could her body react so strongly to a stranger? She couldn’t take her eyes off him.
    It didn’t help that he was staring back at her.
    “What