There are several exclamations from Finn and May suggesting that they knew it, or they should get credit for bringing me and Grant together.
“Thanks, Lily.” Grant gives her a look both amused and a little disgruntled, but hugs her to him, then sends her back to her seat to finish eating.
Immediately after, he laces our fingers together and tugs on mine. “We’ll be right back.”
He leads me away from the table, more than one comment about us going to make out on the porch following us as he pulls me outside. We walk to the far end and around a corner to a part of the property I haven’t seen on the outside.
He drops my hand and paces away to the end of the porch along this side of the house, running a hand through his hair. When he turns back toward me, he exhales.
“I’m sorry.”
I can’t stay away from him, nor can I stand to see him upset by something I’m deeplynotupset by.
“What on earth could you be sorry for? That your precious daughter is excited for you? Forus?” I wrap my arms around his neck, gazing up into his steady eyes.
“I don’t want you to feel pressured by anything. Ever. And I worry that Lil just broke something open you might’ve wanted to stay shut away a while longer.”
My smile is unmanageable. “That we had a sleepover?”
He huffs and shakes his head. “Well, yeah, there’s that, though it’s not like my parents didn’t figure that one out.” His gaze narrows, almost like he’s bracing. “More the other thing.”
That full-to-bursting sensation is back, and there’s no chance I’ll stay calm, but I try anyway. “The ‘they’re in love’ thing?”
He nods, that gaze searing into me. “Yes. That.”
For as much baggage as I’ve hauled along with me from my past, Grant has some, too. It’s all neatly packed and stored away in a closet somewhere in his beautiful home and he doesn’t talk about it, but it’s there. And I’m seeing it now. He is at once courageous and timid, desperate, and calm. I have never loved him more.
“I’m only wondering if it’s true for you.” I rise to my toes and press the next words into his lips. “Because it is for me.”
There is no hesitation when he closes the distance between us, a rough groan from either my words or our kiss, or maybe both. I take it all, every plying pass of his mouth, every flick of his tongue, every slide of his hands tracing my body.
We stumble back and he pulls one hand away just intime to brace against the side of the house, saving me from crashing against it.
“Should we?—”
He’s not interested in talking, and I bounce back into the moment easily, urging him closer, hooking a leg over his hip when he guides it up with a hand on my thigh. The kiss practically thunders between us, lighting up every inch of my skin and mind with equal measures of love and desire.
The fever between us ebbs, and he rests his forehead against mine for a moment, both of us just breathing.
When he eases away, the expression on his handsome face grabs me by the throat.
“I love you, Sam. I’ve wanted to tell you but didn’t want to rush you. Didn’t want you to feel cornered or anything like you might’ve in the past. Didn’t want to…” He laughs, a low, quick chuckle that sounds like a realization. “And selfishly, I didn’t say it in case it might push you away. I guess I thought if I didn’t make you choose, you wouldn’t have a reason to end things.”
With one hand pressed against his thrumming heart, I savor the feel of his stubble against my palm. “I’m glad Lily forced the issue, then. One more reason to love her.”
“I love you,” he whispers, inching closer.
“I love you, too, Grant. Thank you for telling me.”
There is so much more I need to thank him for, but a raucous round of laughter filters out from the front door, and Grant links our fingers again.
“Ready to face them down?”
I grin. “As I’ll ever be.”
The next day, work passes in a blink.
Last night, I tucked the girls into bed with Grant after they begged me to join them. I might’ve felt like an invader on their special time, but after Lily’s declaration and our conversation, it didn’t feel so far outside of what might fit. I loved the cuddling and reading together, the soft, thoughtful prayer Lily shared, and the long list of stuffed animals Poppy rattled off thanking God for.
