Chapter 16 #3
Devyn pouted, and Grover merely rolled his eyes at her.
He felt Sierra chuckling in his lap and was glad she wasn’t the one who’d been lobbying for a ton of farm animals. He wouldn’t be able to say no to her. But his sister, he could definitely refuse.
After a bit more ribbing, talk turned to other things.
Ember enthusiastically spoke about the increase in enrollment at her gym and how happy she was that she and her parents were talking again.
They’d had a tough go of it for a while, after Ember had decided to change her lifestyle completely and move to Texas.
Devyn talked about a few of the cases at the vet clinic, and Kinley went into a long tirade about how inconsiderate some people were.
As an executive assistant, she was in charge of her boss’s schedule, and it seemed a lot of people weren’t very nice when they had to go through her to talk to her boss.
As Gillian told them the details of an upcoming party she was planning, Grover leaned down to Sierra.
“You good?” he asked. He’d been checking in on her every hour or so, wanting to be sure she wasn’t staying to be polite.
It was more than obvious to him, and hopefully to Sierra, that the other women genuinely enjoyed her company.
If she wanted or needed to leave, no one would think badly of her.
“Yeah,” she said. She was sitting sideways on his lap, resting her head on his shoulder. Despite her reply, she sighed heavily.
“You’re tired,” Grover said.
“A little.”
“We’re gonna get going,” Grover announced when there was a lull in the conversation.
“Yeah, it’s getting late,” Trigger agreed.
“We still working out in the morning?” Doc asked their team leader. “I’m only asking because I’m not sure what time our shifts at the front gate will be starting.”
“Yeah,” Trigger said. “At least for tomorrow. I’ll get with Commander Robinson and see what our rotations will be. But he didn’t say anything about coming in early, so we’re business as usual until we find out otherwise.”
“Are we running or doing the obstacle course?” Ember asked.
“I know you were cleared by your doctor, but I still don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be doing the obstacles,” Doc told her.
“Running,” Trigger said, ending any argument between the lovers before it could start.
“Cool. I’ve missed it, and I know I’m out of shape,” Ember said.
Kinley leaned forward and mock whispered to Sierra, “She’s a little crazy. She actually likes working out.”
Sierra laughed. “Well, I guess there’s a reason she’s an Olympian and we aren’t.”
“Very true,” Kinley replied with a smile.
“Come on, guys, working out isn’t so bad,” Ember cajoled.
“Whatever. I’ll stick with my doughnuts and sleeping in,” Gillian said.
“Oooh, doughnuts,” Sierra said. “My favorite.”
“We can stop on the way home,” Grover told her immediately.
Devyn giggled.
“What?” Grover asked.
“She’s got you wrapped around her little finger,” his sister told him.
“Yup,” Grover said without feeling the least bit embarrassed about it.
“We don’t need to stop,” Sierra insisted.
“You want doughnuts, you’ll get doughnuts,” he said easily.
“Great, now I want some too,” Kinley complained.
“If you come to The Modern Kid to help me out tomorrow, I’ll make sure to have lots of snacks in the break room,” Ember tempted.
“Make sure you get her to specify what kind of snacks,” Devyn warned. “She’s likely to have all healthy stuff.”
Grover smiled, listening to the banter between the women. It was as if everyone had been friends for years rather than the relatively short time it actually had been. They’d truly clicked, and he was so grateful Sierra had been included.
“Fine. I promise to have some cinnamon rolls just for you,” Ember told Sierra.
“I already said I’d come and help, you don’t have to bribe me…but for the record, cinnamon rolls are my favorite,” Sierra told her.
“Noted. The first class starts at ten, since school is out. Come by anytime. Nick and I can certainly use your help.”
“I’ll be there.”
“Great.”
“On that note,” Grover said. “We really do need to get going.”
He stood with Sierra in his arms and placed her feet on the ground. The others decided now was as good a time as any for them to leave too, and everyone headed through the house for the front door.
It took a bit for everyone to say goodbye to each other, and even that made Grover smile. Once they were on their way, he headed toward his house.
It wasn’t until he was bumping along his driveway that he realized he probably should’ve taken Sierra back to her own apartment. He hadn’t even thought about where he was going.
After pulling into his garage, he turned to Sierra, ready to apologize and offer to drive her to her place.
He needn’t have worried about her being upset—she was sound asleep. Her head was resting at an awkward angle, her body being held up by the seat belt around her chest.
She’d been excited when they’d stopped briefly at the doughnut place, taking her time deciding which of the sweet confections she wanted. But obviously she’d been more tired than she was willing to admit, because sometime between the doughnut shop and now, she’d crashed.
Grover got out and walked around to her side of the car. He undid her seat belt and carefully lifted her.
She stirred. “Are we home?”
“Yeah, Bean, we are.”
“Okay.” Then she rested her head on his shoulder and tightened her hold around him.
Her trust meant the world to Grover. Not to mention, he freaking loved that she called his house “home.” Though, she might not know they were at his house. She could think she was at her apartment, but he suspected otherwise.
Grover carried her upstairs and gingerly placed her on his bed, smiling as she immediately turned onto her side and curled into a ball.
He removed her shoes, then went downstairs to the garage and grabbed the doughnuts and checked all the locks on the doors.
He went back up to his room and, after changing for bed, stood next to it, just watching Sierra sleep for a long moment.
He’d left the bathroom light on in case she woke up in the middle of the night.
He thought about getting her up to change clothes, but decided she’d be okay wearing her jeans and blouse for one night.
He carefully climbed into the other side of the bed, doing his best not to jostle her. But she semi-woke anyway.
“Grover?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
“I had a good time tonight.”
“Me too.”
“You were worth waiting for.”
Grover stilled at her words. If she meant what he thought she meant, he wasn’t sure he could take it.
“I wouldn’t have minded staying in that cave another year if it meant I’d end up here.”
God. She had meant what he thought.
He couldn’t hold the words back any longer. “I love you,” he said in a low, gruff tone.
She sighed and shifted even closer to him.
Grover realized that she was still mostly asleep. That she probably had no idea what she’d said…or how he’d responded. But that was all right. He hadn’t wanted to freak her out by saying “I love you” too soon; there was no doubt it was pretty early in their relationship for that. Still…Grover knew.
He reached for her hand and curled his fingers around hers, feeling more settled than he ever had before. Closing his eyes, he slept.