“She was beautiful,” someone announced from behind me.
I turned around to see Georgia looking less ferocious than normal.
“She really was,” I agreed easily. “You all are.”
“We want Grace to stay,” Georgia declared, cutting through the bullshit.
“That makes two of us,” I confirmed, not interested in playing games.
“Three of us,” Gabriella added as she joined us, curling herself in an armchair and hugging a cushion to her chest.
“Then we’re on the same page. Grace is staying,” Georgia declared.
I cleared my throat. “If she wants to,” I confirmed.
“But you just said you wanted her to stay,” Georgia accused, the fight coming back to her with a vengeance.
“I do. But I also want her to be happy. And she needs to decide if that’s here or somewhere else,” I clarified.
“It’s here,” Gabriella murmured softly.
“I hope so. But I won’t force her. I’ll ask her, but I’m not making the decision for her,” I told them, leaving no room for argument.
“But what do we do if she wants to go?” Georgia’s voice wavered. She was a big squishy marshmallow once you got past all the bravado.
“We let her,” I answered honestly, rubbing the spot on my chest that ached at the thought of waving her goodbye. It might break my heart and leave me the shell of a man, but if that’s what Grace needed to do, then that’s what would happen.
“Cole, we can’t lose her again,” Gabriella murmured.
“Then let’s hope she stays,” I offered.
For a few moments, I stared at the photos while Grace’s sisters were lost in their own thoughts. No doubt plotting and scheming how to keep Grace here, but I wouldn’t play along. When the time came, I’d put my balls on the line and ask her to stay, but I refused to even entertain the idea that I’d manipulate her into doing so. Or worse, guilt her into it.
“I’m gonna go see if I can find her. I want to know what she said to that limp dicked loser,” I announced.
“I’m coming,” the sisters replied in unison as Gabriella jumped up.
I waited while she straightened up the cushions before we all headed out. I looked around, and thankfully, the crowd was thinning but I still couldn’t see Grace.
I skirted around a kid playing with his toy cars on the porch and down onto the grass, dragging my hands through my hair. I was freaking out. I patted my pocket making sure I still had the keys to my truck, the thought fleeting through my mind that she’d taken off without me.
A tap on my shoulder brought my attention back.
“There she is.”
I followed the direction Gabriella was pointing to see Grace striding across the yard, a bottle of wine in her hand.
I started to move when Gabriella wrapped her hand around my bicep.
“What?” I didn’t bother to hide my exasperation.
“You have to wait,” she instructed.
“What? No I don’t.”
“She’s right,” Georgia added.
With my eyes fixed on where Grace was walking away from everyone, I asked the question. “Okay. Tell me. Why do I have to wait?”
