Chapter 40 Piper
FORTY
Piper
The front door opened. I heard Grayden’s footsteps on the tile. I’d been scrolling my phone and pretending to read random articles while sitting on the couch, but really, I’d been waiting for him to come back inside.
He stepped into the living room. “Ollie’s asleep?”
“He surrendered to brushing his teeth, but he went out like a light when his head hit the pillow. How’d it go with Cal?”
Grayden came over and sat beside me. But he left some space between us, and I didn’t like that. I put my legs up on the couch so my bent knees would touch his thigh.
“Was it bad?” I asked.
“Nah, not bad. Callum’s not thrilled with the idea of you and me together, but he said he’s rooting for us.”
A blush crawled up my neck. “That’s good.”
“It is.” Grayden draped his arm over the back of the couch. “Do you have an early morning tomorrow? Should I get going?”
“No, stay.” I reached for him instinctively, like I might physically keep him from leaving.
Who was this needy, possessive woman who’d taken over my body?
“You should stay the night. Have breakfast with me and Ollie before I take him to school. I’m not due at Silver Linings until after that.”
“You sure? I would love to, but it seems like a big step.”
My logical side wanted to deny it, but the flutters inside my body agreed. It was a big step. I still wanted it. “You should sleep on the couch. Ollie knows you’ve done that before, so it won’t be such a shock. But I want him to get to know you better.”
Grayden brought his hand to my cheek. I leaned into the touch. “I want this so fucking badly, Piper. I have to be honest.”
“You’re always honest with me.” Even with the fear still waging a war inside me, I knew that about Grayden with zero doubt.
“Am I, though? I haven’t lied to you about anything, but I still haven’t told you everything you need to know about me.”
“Grayden—”
He brushed his thumb over my lips. “No, don’t make excuses for me. I should’ve told you all of it already. You said weeks ago that you don’t know who I am. And really, you still don’t.”
“I don’t believe that. The past isn’t everything.”
He pulled me closer and kissed my forehead. “That’s the irony, though. You can’t say the past doesn’t matter if you don’t know what it is. You studied literature. You know all about irony.”
I laughed even though I felt like I might cry. Something amazing was happening between us, something I’d believed was impossible for me. I just wanted to savor that. Why was Grayden trying to mess it up?
“All you have to do is listen,” he said. “Please?”
“Okay. I will.”
I tucked my head beneath his chin. He put his arm around me.
And then, after a few loaded moments of silence, he started talking.