Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Grayson Caballero sees the glass half-empty. Born with a life-threatening heart defect, he’s been living on borrowed time. The uncertainty of tomorrow makes him push people away, helping Grayson to avoid any real commitment.
Then he meets Reid Sullivan and falls madly in love. The two work together at the Wold Collective, Grayson as a project manager and Reid in HR. They even live in the same apartment complex. But Grayson continues to keep his distance, despite their obvious attraction. And Reid’s not interested in waiting around.
When Grayson collapses at a basketball game, Reid learns he’s been keeping secrets from her. Now his life hangs in the balance…and a stranger from Boston holds the key to his survival.
Nadia Karlsson makes a life-changing decision after her husband, Rafe, is involved in a tragic accident near Harvard Square. Her choice will unwittingly alter the course of Grayson’s future—and tie his fate unexpectedly to her own.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
ONE
GRAYSON
At six foot six, Grayson Caballero likened himself to a basketball god, as if the world needed another Michael Jordan, LeBron James, or Larry Bird.
The only problem was, he wasn’t nearly as good as his favorite players, hadn’t been allowed to play in college, and had no aspirations of trying out for the G League, or the “baby NBA,” as all his friends called it. However, he was a powerhouse in the local recreation league that met every Sunday during the winter.
Before every season, other team managers would reach out to him, begging him to be on their team. Teams hated playing against him. He could post up, slam the ball down, and drain the three-point shot from anywhere just past the half-court line. Everyone wanted him on their team because they’d win if he played for them, and no one could really guard him. Although Grayson let them until he’d “turned it on,” so to speak.
Grayson watched as the play developed. He flashed across the key, keeping his hands high for a pass. When it didn’t come, he dropped down the block and posted up. Finally, someone passed to him. He palmed the leather basketball and held it out of reach from his opponent—who jumped, swatted, and tried to climb Grayson to get to it.
“Get off.” Grayson gave the man behind him a little push and laughed at the umph sound he made.
“Foul!” the man from the other team yelled as he fell to the ground. Grayson used this to his advantage and spun to the hoop, jumped, and slammed it through the rim. Unfortunately for the guy on the ground, the ball landed in the spot no man ever wants to get hit.
He rolled over and groaned. Grayson laughed. He didn’t have sympathy for his opponent, mostly because the men in the league liked to play dirty, and besides, Grayson had caught the man talking to Reid.
Reid Sullivan. The love of Grayson’s life.
“You pinched me,” Grayson pointed out as he bent to pick up the ball, keeping his eyes on Reid. He stood there with the ball on his hip, watching the woman he was deeply in love with as she smiled and chatted animatedly with some guy Grayson hadn’t seen before.
“Ball!” someone yelled from behind Grayson. He flicked the ball off in the direction of the other team and then headed down the court to play defense. It didn’t matter what team he was on; they always played a zone defense, with Grayson in the middle. This setup forced the other teams to shoot from outside, unless they had someone who could match up with Grayson’s height.
When the horn sounded for halftime, Grayson looked up at the scoreboard. They were up by twenty. Not nearly the cushion he wanted. They had another twenty minutes to increase their lead.
Grayson made his way to the wooden bleachers, where Reid sat, watching him play. When he wasn’t in the game, she’d read on her tablet. She didn’t have a real interest in basketball. Every weekend he asked her to come with him, and every weekend she said yes.
She smiled as he approached. To him, she was “Sully,” because in his mind that kept her in the friend zone, where he needed her to stay. It was safer for them this way, especially for her.
They’d met at work, during their first day of orientation at the Wold Collective, where he was a project manager specializing in custom boardroom tables, and she was in Human Resources. They’d hit it off, their palpable attraction to each other soon increasing tenfold with the amount of time they spent together. They became fast friends. Best friends, even. They told each other everything and could finish each other’s sentences. They spent countless hours together, which had only worsened Grayson’s attraction to her.
Then one night, everything changed.
Grayson didn’t regret spending the night with her. He knew she was the one for him and bemoaned not being able to give her the life she wanted from him. He’d told her the best he could offer her was best friend status. A friendship with all the benefits, minus the romantic entanglements of broken hearts and feelings he wouldn’t be able to show her.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like her. He did, more than he’d ever admit to her, or anyone, for that matter. It was that he couldn’t.
Sully reached into her weekend bag and pulled out a bottle of water for him. While she reached for it, he tugged the ends of her auburn hair, winked, and sat down one row in front of her, stretched his legs, and leaned against the bench behind her.
“Thanks, Sully.”
This was one of the times he hated being so tall. Had he sat next to her, he’d have to slouch to see her. Sitting like this, all he had to do was tilt his head, and he could see her clearly.