Gabriella wanted to shield herself with Aiden. To pretend the baby needed her attention desperately, but Lorelei was already swooping him up and handing him to Daisy Spencer, who had just returned from walking her little dog around the park. Daisy passed the leash to Harlan while she exclaimed over how big Aiden was getting, her frail arms surprisingly strong as she held the boy in front of her to look him over.
Hesitating, Gabby peered up at Clayton. The tortured expression in his eyes made her decision easier.
“Okay.” She needed to tell him what she’d discovered about Mia, at the very least. She’d promised the girl she would try and make her case to Clayton.
Bluegrass music filled the air along with laughter from kids and adults alike. The tug-of-war game was the most raucous, with the teams shouting and taunting good-naturedly as the advantage went back and forth between sides. She walked with Clayton to the fringes of the party. He stopped by the open tailgate of Sam’s big pickup truck. Cases of water and some boxes marked “T-shirts” filled half the bed.
“Will you sit with me for a minute?” Clay asked, nodding toward the tailgate. “Please?”
No one would hear them out here. Sam had parked far from the action, perhaps so he could leave quickly if necessary. But they could see the party from here.
“Sure.” She turned to hitch herself up, but Clay’s hands curved around her waist as he lifted her easily.
The memory of his touch stayed on her skin long after his hands fell away. He hopped up alongside her, close but not touching.
How could she miss the feel of him so soon?
She folded her arms around her waist, tucking her hands under her elbows so she didn’t forget and slide her fingers through his. Instead she focused on her feet dangling off the tailgate. Her short red leather boots and jeans had been such fun, optimistic choices this morning when she’d tugged them out of the closet.
“Gabriella, I’m so sorry I didn’t speak to you first this morning before I bombarded you and Mia with my grand plan.” He gripped the edge of the tailgate with both handsas he spoke, his arms tense and muscles defined. “I was so sure that you’d both be excited, it never occurred to me that you would have ideas of your own about a future.” He hung his head for a second before he shook it slowly. “It sounds so obvious to say it out loud now—so clear that my plan wasn’t going to end well. But in my head, I thought it would be exciting for everyone to have a fresh start.”
“No one has ever said, ‘I love you’ to me before. Not, like, romantically.”
Clay shifted toward her, his knee bumping hers. “Then there are some damn fool crazy men out there, because you’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. And I’m sorry I robbed you of such a special moment because I wasn’t thinking straight. With the break-in last night, and my father nearly dying—hell, I’m not trying to say that’s an excuse. But I’m not good at this stuff. I realized as soon as I started to unveil the plan that I should have spoken to you privately first.”
She nibbled her lip and braved a look his way, her arms still wrapped around herself to keep from touching. To make sure she listened and thought instead of just felt how much she loved him. She couldn’t afford to make a mistake about something so important.
But the bluegrass music and squeals of laughter all around the party couldn’t help but inspire some optimism. Some hope.
Besides, Lorelei Hasting had said Clayton might be hardheaded but never hard-hearted. It burned her throat to remember the way she’d said it—with so much pride in her son. So much trust in his goodness. Gabriella wanted that kind of trust in him, too.
“Then let’s say we were going to do things differently,” she suggested, daring to imagine a better outcome.Or at least, hoping for one. “What would you say this time if we were to pretend this morning never happened?”
Clayton covered her knee with one hand and the warmth of that touch soothed some of the hurt inside her. His brown gaze latched on to hers.
“I’d say, Gabriella, I was going crazy last night imagining something happened to you. When I couldn’t get in touch with you, I’ve never been so scared in my life.” He reached to stroke a finger along her jaw with his other hand, his eyes reflecting the fear he’d felt for her. “Moments before that, I made peace with my father, and I couldn’t wait to tell you about it. To share it with you and thank you, and tell you how right you were about that.”
“I’m glad,” she told him honestly. She’d been so caught up in her own ordeal, she’d forgotten how much he’d gone through last night, too. Mia had told her how Pete nearly died before his condition had stabilized.
“But when Mia told me about Connor and I figured there was a chance he might know where she was living, all my thoughts were about you and how I’d left you alone at that house.” He thumbed aside a strand of windblown hair, tucking it behind her ear and making her skin tingle all over. “I had a bad feeling in my gut right away, and when you didn’t answer the phone, I?—”
He cut himself off, the hand on her knee fisting. He closed his eyes for a second.
“I think I knew even then that I loved you. But when I got to you in Zach’s basement and that door opened between us—I knew right then for sure. I loved you more than I’ve ever loved anyone.”
Her heart did a backflip, an unsteady somersault that left her a little dizzy. And melty. All her defenses were melting away under the warmth of his words.
“I love you, too, Clay.” She hadn’t told him this morning because she hadn’t been sure of his real feelings. But she was sure of them now. “I knew before last night. On one of the nights when you were holding me and you stayed with me. I think I’ve been waiting to love you for a long, long time.”
If she’d had any doubts about him left, they would have vanished to see the way he looked at her. His shoulders shifted like he’d just shaken off the weight of the world. He sucked in a breath like he hadn’t had a good, deep one in years. His brown eyes lit with warmth. Happiness.
Lightly he kissed her. A fleeting, sweet kiss.
“I wanted to taste the lips that spoke the sweetest words I’ve ever heard.” He lowered his forehead to hers. Threaded his fingers through her hair. “I never wished for anything as much as I wished you’d give me another chance.”
“What about the rest of it? The future you wanted?” She felt like things would be easier now that she felt his love all around her. That it wasn’t going away just because they had different opinions or wanted different things. They had something stronger than that. “I don’t know how I feel about Memphis.”
“I’ve built a business there, but I’m damn good at my job. I could rebuild somewhere else.” His gaze was so serious. “I don’t want to run from the people who care about me anymore. I’ve been doing that for too long. I lost my brother, and it will hurt forever. But I haven’t lost Lorelei and Daniel. I haven’t lost Sam. I don’t want to turn my back on them again.”
