It didn’t seem real.
“Figured,” Carter replied, his tone matter-of-fact. “Wasn’t hard to figure out. You’ve never been the one to be kind, Alan.” I’d never heard anyone call Grit by his first name—always his last.I’d thought it was a boundary, but maybe it was just something they all still did from their military days. “Even in the military when one of us was struggling, you told us to suck it the fuck up, tighten up our boots, and get the fuck back out there. But for her, you’re… different. It’s not a bad thing.”
“She’s different. The polar opposite of me or the rest of you,” Grit immediately responded. Not defensively. Just… like he was stating an obvious fact. And my heart tripped in my chest.
Carter snorted—loudly. “I mean… we do have dicks, man.” I didn’t know what happened, but suddenly, Carter was laughing. “Alright, alright. I was joking. But I think she’s good for you, Grit. She smooths out your rough edges a bit.” There was a pause, leaving silence to linger in the air. “I hope she sticks around. I like her. And she fits in with Lindsey and Jennifer well. Even the kid seems to like her.”
Tears stung my eyes. I’d lost my parents a while ago, which had left me on my own for the most part. But I’d never realized how lost and lonely I felt until I heard Carter confess he hoped I stuck around. That he wanted me here. That maybe the others did, too?
“I hope she sticks around, too,” Grit quietly agreed. “I honestly don’t know if I can manage without her.”
A tear slipped down my cheek, and I hastily wiped it away. Forcing myself away from the door, I hurriedly—and quietly—made my way back up the stairs. I was just reaching the top of the staircase when I heard the door open downstairs, so I rushed the rest of the way to the room I now shared with Grit and flung myself beneath the blankets once more, pretending to just be waking up and hoping my eyes weren’t red or puffy from crying.
Damn him and his confession for making me so emotional.
I didn’t know how I would explain to Grit that I’d been listening in on his conversation with Carter if he figured it out. Clearly, it’d been a conversation had in private, not meant for my ears. And while Grit had never been angry at me before, what if eavesdropping on a private conversation was a major boundary crosser for him and he decided he didn’t want me to stick around after all?
The door creaked open, and I faked a yawn before lowering the blanket a bit to look up at Grit. He shut the door, his eyes locked on me. Could he tell I hadn’t just woken up?
“Sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up,” he said quietly.
I shook my head. “I just woke up,” I lied, and thankfully, my voice was still raspy, making the lie believable. “It’s okay.”
He nodded and hooked his thumb in the direction of the bathroom. “I’m going to shower, and then, you can do your morning routine, if that’s cool with you?” When I nodded, he turned and headed into the bathroom, toeing off his running shoes as he went. When the door shut behind him, I sagged back into the mattress, relieved he didn’t seem to know I’d been listening in on his conversation.
Now, I just needed to figure out what I was going to do with the knowledge I now had. Gritlovedme. He wanted me to stick around. Tostay.
AndGod, I wanted to stay, too… because I was pretty sure I was also in love with Grit.
By the timeI took a shower and made my way downstairs, Grit had breakfast waiting for me at the bar, along with a cup of coffee made just how I liked it, and he was already in the chapel with Blink, Carver, and Carter, the door shut to keep their conversations private.
“Good morning,” Lindsey greeted, a warm smile on her face. Jennifer emerged from the kitchen, a mug of coffee in her hands. “Sleep well?”
I nodded, lying like I did every morning. For the most part, I truly did sleep well. It was when Grit left the bed for his morning run that the flashbacks and nightmares hit me, like my subconscious mind knew he was no longer there to protect me and wanted to torment me.
“You look like something is on your mind,” Jennifer said, leaning against the bar and arching a brow at me. “Wanna talk about it?”
Ididwant to talk about what I’d overheard that morning, but could I trust Jennifer and Lindsey to not tell Grit? Their loyalty lied with him, not me.Hewas their family.
“Whatever it is,” Lindsey said, her voice softening, “we won’t tell any of the guys. Not even Grit. Everything we talk about isalwaysdiscussed in confidence. Us girls have to stick together.” Her smile was warm, and some of the tension in my chest bled away.
I blew out a soft breath as I chewed on a piece of bacon. “I overheard Grit and Carter talking this morning. Heard Grit sayhe… loves me,” I said, my voice a mere whisper, as if I was terrified of my voice carrying to Grit. And in a way, I was. But it still also felt surreal, and I was scared if I spoke about it too loudly, it would suddenly not be real.
“He does,” Jennifer said with a shrug. I blinked at her. “What?” she asked. “Girl, that man is head over heels in love with you.Allof us see it. Just… tell him. Tell him you overheard or eavesdropped—” she winked at me when my cheeks colored— “and tell him howyoufeel, too. Life is too short to keep feelings like yours and his under wraps.”
“These men, while they can definitely be assholes, lovehard,” Lindsey told me. Jennifer nodded in agreement. “Tell him how you feel.”
I blew out a soft breath and nodded. “Yeah… okay.” A tiny smile tilted my lips. “I’ll tell him how I feel… at some point.”
Jennifer nodded. “Good.” The chapel doors opened, and she smiled. “Now, what do we say about having a bit of a girl’s day? Do each other’s nails?”
“Sounds good to me,” Lindsey said. She looked at me. “You in?”
My smile came easily, all while warmth slid through my veins. “I’m definitely in.”
10
Grit
