With an exasperated smile for his cousins, Grayson took hold of Emma’s arm. “Nice to see you, too.” He guided her to a table on the other side of the dining room, held the chair for her and then recalled how Heather had hated when he did things like that for her. “I can get my own damned chair,” she would say.

Seated across from Emma, he wondered how she felt about a man holding her chair. “Sorry about my cousin.”

“I think she’s funny.”

“Pregnancy has made her extra bossy, and she was already pretty bossy to begin with.”

“When is she due?”

“February or March, I think.”

A waitress stopped by the table with menus and offered to take their drink order. Grayson asked for a beer, and Emma ordered a glass of white wine.

“Lucy told me about Hannah and how she lost her first husband in Iraq.”

“One of the roughest things our family ever went through. We all grew up together. Caleb Guthrie was one of us.”

“I’m sorry you lost him the way you did.”

“Thanks. I was so glad to hear she’d started seeing Nolan. They’re good together.” He leaned in closer to her and lowered his voice. “Tell me the truth. Is she looking over here?”

Emma shifted her gaze to the right and then back to him. “They all are.”

“For God’s sake. This town… I’d forgotten how ridiculous it can be here. That was never an issue in Boston. I could blend into the masses.”

“Welcome home,” she said with a smile, raising her wineglass in a toast to him.

He returned her smile and touched his bottle to her glass. “It’s not all bad.”

“No?”

“Definitely not.” He loved the way her cheeks flushed to a light pink and how she lowered her eyes when embarrassed. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you today.”

She looked up at him. “Me, too. Last night was very special to me.”

“I haven’t talked like that to anyone in years.”

“Same here. I told you things…” Her eyes dropped again.

He reached across the table for her hand, not caring in the least who might be watching. “I will never tell anyone what you told me. I swear. No matter what.”

“Thank you,” she said, releasing a deep breath. “I wasn’t really worried that you would, but…”

“Someone else knows now, and that makes you feel vulnerable.”

“Yes. Exactly.”

“I keep secrets for a living, sweetheart. You don’t need to be worried about that, and I’d never do anything to cause harm to your adorable daughter.”

“That means a lot to me. Thank you.”

The waitress approached the table, ready to take their order.

Grayson reluctantly released Emma’s hand and asked for a few minutes so she could look at a menu he knew by heart after growing up in Butler.

“Be right back,” the waitress said.