He loved her.
That was it.
The truth expanded in his chest. Clarity spread through him.
He loved Grace Hart.
He loved the way she knelt to tie a kid’s shoelace. He loved the stubborn set of her chin when she thought someone was underestimating her. He loved the softness she tried to hide. He loved the chipped mugs in her kitchen and the crooked frames in her hallway and the way she said his name like it mattered.
He loved her.
And along with that realization came… relief.
For months he’d been trying to balance things. His job. His name. His parents. The town. All those expectations he’d grown up with.
He’d been trying to fit into his life.
But it was much more simple than that.
She was the only priority.
Everything else fit around that.
He leaned back in the seat and laughed once under his breath, the sound half disbelieving.
He didn’t have to weigh pros and cons. Didn’t have to wonder if this was wise or strategic or convenient.
He loved her.
And suddenly the future didn’t look like a branching path with careful turns and compromises. It looked like one straight line.
Grace.
Morning coffee. Porch repairs. School pick-ups. Her hand in his. Public. Permanent.
The insidious fear that had knotted his gut for months—what will people say, what will this cost, what if I lose standing, what if I choose wrong—melted away in the heat of what he felt for her.
He started the cruiser, the engine rumbling to life. He looked at the house one last time.
She thought he was doing this because she’d been threatened.
Because he felt guilty.
Because he was being protective.
She didn’t understand.
Hell, he hadn’t understood until about thirty seconds ago.
This was love.
And it simplified everything.
Not easy. Just simple.
He smiled faintly.
God, no. Winning her back wasn’t going to be easy. Earning her trust wasn’t going to be easy. Undoing the hurt he’d caused wasn’t going to be easy.
