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)
Reid adjusted herself so she could see Grayson better. “My hesitation in accepting that you want a relationship with the girls is fear. Fear you’ll want to be with them and not me. That you’ll push me away or keep things from me if I don’t learn to love this side of you. Fear I won’t fit in your life anymore,” she said with a shuddering breath.
“You fit right here.” He took her hand and placed it over his heart. “This beats for you,” he told her. “And those girls, but not in a way you think. This thing keeping me alive beats for them because it’s tied to their father. But you own it. They’re not taking me away from you. As for Nadia, I’m not interested in her. Not even remotely. I can’t imagine the pain I’d be in if I left you. I’m not sure the ticker would survive. You’re the only one I think about being with, day and night. I love you, Reid. I plan to be your husband in less than a year. We’re going to have babies and grow old together.”
“I hate to break it to you, but I’m going to be twenty-nine forever.”
Grayson laughed and kissed her. “I love you.”
“I love you,” she replied.
“Are we good?”
Without hesitation, she nodded. “We are, but I reserve the right to question everything.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
After dinner, they lay on the couch together, with Grayson’s long form positioned behind Reid. Some reality show was on, but she was focused on his fingers circling lazily on her hip, and slowly making their way under the waistband of her shorts. She yawned and snuggled closer to him, loving the way his body kept her warm.
“Do you want to go to bed?” His lips were near her ear when he asked.
“I do, but I’m not tired.”
“Me neither.” He rose and held his hand out for her, only to have his phone ring.
Reid saw Nadia’s name before Grayson could pick his phone up. Not that he’d hide anything from her. He sat down on the couch. “Don’t lose any of those not-tired thoughts,” he told Reid and then put his arm around her, pulling her into his side.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Grayson.” Lynnea’s voice fluttered through the receiver.
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Nuffin’,” she said. “When do you come here?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Can you take me to the father-daughter dance?”
Reid’s heart sank. The romantic in her wanted him to go, while the logical part wanted Nadia to control what her daughter was up to.
“Where’s your uncle Reuben, isn’t he taking you?”
“Yes, but he’s taking Gemma, and I will go wif you.”
Reid saw Grayson’s Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. He struggled to hold back emotions that didn’t belong to him. It wasn’t his heart making him feel this way; it was the donor’s. Reid could see this.
“Where’s your mom? Does she know you’re calling me?”
“No,” Lynnea said quietly. “I pressed your name.”
“It’s okay to call me, Lynnea. But you have to ask your mom first.”
“Oh. Can you take me to school tomorrow?”
“I don’t live there, sweetie. Remember, I live near your grandparents.”
“Wif Weid?”
Reid covered her mouth when she heard Lynnea say her name.
“Yep, with Reid.” Grayson reached for her hand. “Where’s your mom?”
“Outside.”
“Okay, let me talk to her.”
The phone jostled and then went silent. “She hung up,” Grayson said as he stared at the black screen. “Nadia mentioned she was a little troublemaker.”
“Is Reuben not nice?”
Grayson shrugged. “He’s fine. Young. Filling the parental role right now. He moved from Arlington to Boston to help Nadia. He’s not the problem—Gemma is. The girls are very opposite and butt heads.”
He stood and took Reid with him. “Where are we going?”
“Uh, to bed, because neither of us are tired.” Grayson winked.
“Oh.”
Instead of allowing her to walk, he picked her up. “When I tell you that you’re the most important person in my life, I mean it. Am I upset by the call? Yes,” he said as he carried her to the room. “Do I want to love on you right now? Also yes.”
They fell onto the bed together. Reid scooted onto her side. “You’re going to go there, aren’t you?”
Grayson said nothing.
She ran her fingers through his hair. “I need you to do something.”
“Anything.”
“I want you to tell Nadia, and tell her the truth, Grayson. Either call her before you go or tell her when you’re there. In private. Tell her what you think and how you came to this conclusion and what her girls already mean to you. As much as I love you, you’re being incredibly selfish. They’re grieving. Nadia lost her husband, and those little girls lost their father. I know you feel a connection, and Lynnea does as well. However, what if you just happened upon them at a time when they were susceptible, and looking for someone to cling to?”