49. Grady
GRADY
Zander’s garage feels hot and stuffy, but I think that’s just me.
As I stare across the room at Zoey, snuggled up on her mama’s lap, fast asleep, bundled under a blanket and looking as peaceful as ever… I know it’s just me.
I’m the one with the leg jackknifing while Zander calmly looks at me from his perch on the arm of the two-seater.
Pressed against the other side of the sofa, I avert my gaze from Zoey’s cute little face and Sienna’s pained smile. Her compassion is killing me.
When I first walked in here, they were on the bed together, gazing down at Zoey with these adoring smiles. Their whispered words were going over their daughter’s head, and I felt like the worst intruder. I started backing out of the garage immediately, but Zander waved me in.
“I don’t want to wake her,” I whispered.
“She can sleep through a fireworks display.” Sienna grinned at me. “Don’t worry about it. ”
She might have been saying that, but she’s still kept her voice low this whole time… and when her expression started to fold as she took me in.
“Are you okay?” Zander asked for the both of them, and before I could stop myself, I slumped my butt on the edge of their couch and fessed up with zero coercion on their part. The guilt just tumbled right out of me, splattering all over their floor until they were both blinking at me in surprise.
“So, what are you gonna do?” Zander crosses his arms, his expression serious.
Yeah, I know! I know! I broke the bro code!
Leaning forward, I rest my elbow on my bobbing knee and shake my head.
Then I sigh.
“Fuck,” I mutter. “I need to go talk to Wily. If he’ll let me. You should have seen his face, brah.”
I look at Zander. I have no idea what my face is doing, but it must be pretty pained by the way his forehead is wrinkling.
“I screwed this up so badly.”
“Do you love her?” Sienna’s question makes my head pop up. I blink at her, not sure what to say. “Or was this just wild sex in the woods?” Her lips twitch.
I let out a breathy laugh and shake my head. “It wasn’t just that,” I assure them both. “I mean, we thought it would just be a fling, you know? And then we’d come back to Nolan and pretend it never happened. But…” I shake my head. “I couldn’t do it.”
“So, you do love her.” Sienna’s face brightens.
I wince, rubbing my forehead. “It’s been a week.”
“So? People fall in love that quickly all the time. ”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for that again. I mean, that breakup with Teah was brutal and?—”
“You’re still not over her, are you?”
“I…” My shoulders shrug before I can stop them. “No. Yes. I mean… I…” Squeezing my eyes shut, I force myself to think it through.
Am I still in love with Teah the way Wily thinks I am?
Images of our time together flash through my head—the ease of how we got together. Everything was so uncomplicated. We never fought… not until nearer the end. We just… got along from Day One. It was comfortable.
And boring.
She said you were boring.
My mind quickly jumps to Blake—the complete opposite of boring. She’s had me on my toes from Day One. It’s been stressful… and exciting. Being in the forest with her was… magic.
“You’re obviously torn.” Zander reaches over, squeezing my shoulder. “And until you figure it out, you guys should probably cool off, you know? For Wily’s sake.”
I wince, rubbing my forehead.
“I mean, if you really love her… if this is something that you can see going long term, then I’d fight for it, man. Wily will come around. He’s got a good heart. He’s just been thunder-punched, and he needs a minute to process that. You know how protective he is of Blake. Those two are tight.”
“Yeah,” I murmur, unwilling to share just how much Blake’s been hiding from him.
But she let you in. She trusts you .
I can’t go bailing on her now. She needs me… and I want to be there for her.
Because you love her. You’re just scared to admit it.
Working my jaw to the side, I shake the thought from my mind.
I’m not scared.
I’m being cautious.
I can’t go handing my heart away only to have it broken again. What if Blake turns around and decides I’m boring too?
What if she doesn’t love me back?
“Grady?” I hear a voice in the driveway and ping to my feet.
Looking out the tinted windows of the garage, I spot Blake hovering near my Jeep. She looks fragile and cold, her face a puffy, blotchy mess.
Opening the door, I quickly beckon her into the garage. “Blake. C’mere.”
The second she spots me, her face floods with relief. Her blonde curls fly out behind her as she runs toward me, throwing herself at me.
I wrap my arm around her waist, lifting her off her feet and carrying her into Zander and Sienna’s space.
Taking a seat on the couch, I pull her onto my lap, and she burrows against me, stealing a cautious look at Sienna and Zander before softly whispering to me.
“I told him. He knows everything now.”
Shit. I know how much that cost her.
Kissing her forehead, I rub circles on her back. “How’d he take it?”
She shakes her head, gently sniffing as she nestles her forehead into the crook of my neck .
Her tears are silent—soft and slow—as she snuggles against me.
All I can be is a solid wall to hold her steady.
There are no words right now.
Just quiet pain.
And I try to absorb as much of it as I can while composing the ultimate apology to my roommate.
Even if he can’t forgive me, I have to convince him to forgive his little sister.