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)
“Do you live here?” Grayson asked.
“Yeah, I moved in at the beginning of the year to help her out. It’s been tough, especially with the girls.”
“Two of them, right?”
Reuben nodded. “Gemma and Lynnea, or as I like to think of them, Sienna and Nadia reincarnated.”
Grayson grimaced at his usage of “reincarnated” but had a feeling he understood the euphemism. Sienna was a wild one back in high school, and Nadia was always the one with her nose stuck in a book.
They made idle chitchat, catching up on years’ worth of life. When Grayson heard three car doors slam shut, he stiffened. Instant regret, fear, and moroseness washed over him. His emotions were all over the place, ping-ponging back and forth. He was about to leave when he heard the newcomers moving around in the house.
“Lynnea is the youngest and a hurricane,” Reuben warned. “Gemma is Nadia personified. Quiet, shy, and probably won’t say two words to you. Lynnea will want to know everything from who your parents are to what your blood type is.”
Grayson hoped Reuben was joking.
He could smell her flowery perfume before she came into the room.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Their eye contact was brief. Grayson stood as she turned to leave the room. He smiled, hoping she remembered who he was.
“Grayson?”
His smile brightened. “Hey, Nadia. It’s been a long time. I’m sorry about your husband,” he said. “I should’ve called sooner.”
She came forward and hugged him. He felt nothing. “Thank you. What are you doing here?”
Grayson told her the same story he’d told Reuben, which wasn’t a total lie. He and Pearce were visiting Boston.
Before he could sit down, the girls came into the room. He didn’t need her to introduce them; he already knew by the way his heart reacted to them being this close to him. The ache had been replaced with longing and pain.
He fought back a wave of tears that threatened to spill if he couldn’t keep his emotions in check. His throat closed off his airways, causing him to gasp, which he covered with a cough.
They were the reason for the ache in his chest, the reason he hadn’t felt whole in over a year. Those girls were a part of him. They had a hold on him that could never be severed. No matter what.
“These are my girls,” Nadia said. “Gemma and Lynnea. This is Grayson. Mommy’s friend from high school.”
Grayson crouched to their eye level and held out his hand, shaking theirs. “It’s truly a pleasure to meet you,” he told them.
TWENTY-SEVEN
GRAYSON
As much as Grayson wanted to leave, he couldn’t. Nadia had invited him and Pearce to stay for dinner and sent Reuben out to get all the fixings for a night of grilling. Pearce had done Grayson dirty and volunteered to go with Reuben, leaving him alone with Nadia and the girls. It wasn’t Nadia who bothered him; it was Gemma and Lynnea. They were the reason he’d felt empty, and now that he was in their presence, the ache had subsided.
They carried glasses of lemonade onto the back deck and sat at the table. Nadia put the umbrella up and relaxed, while Grayson watched the girls play in the yard.
“So, what have you been up to?” Nadia asked.
Grayson took a sip and then played with the glass a bit while he formulated an answer. “I graduated from American with a degree in graphic design. I wanted to be an architect but couldn’t hack the math, which is stupid, since computers do it all for you these days. Anyway, not much math in graphic design, so I went that route and graduated. For the past few years, I’ve been at the Wold Collective, where I design ridiculously high-end, overpriced boardroom tables.”
“Like the tables with the different color inlays?”
Grayson nodded. “Different shine, inlay, wood. You name it, I design it.”
“That’s incredibly—”
“Boring? Mundane?”
“Safe,” she said. “I work in a middle school with hellions. Granted, not all of them are bad, but a handful of them give me a run for my money.”
“Did you get your degree in history?”
She smiled and nodded. “I did. I intended to go back to Arlington, but then I met Rafe and things changed.”
“I’m sorry” was all Grayson could say.
Nadia forced a smile. “I’m just happy I still have them.” She motioned toward the girls. “I can’t imagine losing the three of them. I guess if I had, I probably wouldn’t be here talking to you right now.”
He wanted to tell her not to talk like that, but he had no right. She was entitled to feel the way she had and continue to do so, without reservation.
“Tell me about him,” he prompted. “Since he’s the reason you never came back.”
Nadia laughed. “I came home,” she told him. “I just didn’t drive down your street or anything.” She looked down at her lap. “No offense, but it was love at first sight when I saw him.”