“That’s what I’d like too. With Piper and Ollie, if I’m lucky. I know you love them, and I swear I won’t hurt them.”
“I also love you.” He wiped a hand down his face. “This thing with you and Piper will take some time to get used to, but I’ll get my shit together. Okay? I’ll be rooting for you.”
“Thank you. That means a lot. I love you too.”
Callum opened his arms. “Alright, bring it in. We need to hug it out, and then I need to go home and see my girls.”
“Girls? Who else is there besides Zandra?”
“Chloe and Daisy, man. Our fur babies. Gotta go home and get some kitty-cat snuggles. From Z most of all.”
I laughed and clapped him on the back as we hugged.
Then he pulled back and gave me a more pensive look. “There’s other stuff we need to talk about, huh? Stuff about the past.”
I nodded. Same thing that had been on my mind earlier with Grace.
“Grace hasn’t wanted to push the issue,” Callum said, “and I don’t really want to rock the boat either. But I don’t think Ashford will be able to move forward until he knows everything. Like, why you cut off ties with us after your sentencing, when you should’ve needed us most. Why you refused to defend yourself or even explain.”
The lump in my throat made it tough to speak. Callum and I had never spoken so openly about those subjects, even indirectly.
Which was ironic, since it was always in the back of my mind. In all of our minds, probably.
“I can tell you tonight,” I said. “Right now.”
He took a step back, recoiling slightly before his sheepish smile returned. “Not tonight. I need to get home. But soon.”
“Soon,” I agreed. “Whenever you’re ready.”
He patted my arm once more before heading to his truck. I stood on the porch, my arms crossed.
Callum and Grace both seemed to know, at some unconscious, instinctual level, that nothing would be the same after I told them the whole story. They wouldn’t ever look at me the same.
Maybe I was the one who wasn’t ready.
FORTY
Piper
The front door opened.I heard Grayden’s footsteps on the tile. I’d been scrolling my phone and pretending to read random articles while sitting on the couch, but really, I’d been waiting for him to come back inside.
He stepped into the living room. “Ollie’s asleep?”
“He surrendered to brushing his teeth, but he went out like a light when his head hit the pillow. How’d it go with Cal?”
Grayden came over and sat beside me. But he left some space between us, and I didn’t like that. I put my legs up on the couch so my bent knees would touch his thigh.
“Was it bad?” I asked.
“Nah, not bad. Callum’s not thrilled with the idea of you and me together, but he said he’s rooting for us.”
A blush crawled up my neck. “That’s good.”
“It is.” Grayden draped his arm over the back of the couch. “Do you have an early morning tomorrow? Should I get going?”
“No, stay.” I reached for him instinctively, like I might physically keep him from leaving.
Who was this needy, possessive woman who’d taken over my body?
