“Of course I fucking don’t.” He glared at the wall. “I can’t let Emma or Maisie get hurt because of him either.”
What he was saying sounded so familiar.
“I’ve been hurt deeply, and I was scared to ever risk that happening again,” I said.
I didn’t just mean Danny. It was my mom. My dad, or at least the man who’d raised me and given me the name Landry, even if he didn’t accept me as his.
They’d all broken my heart in different ways. I bore those scars.
“But over the last couple months, I’ve seen things differently. Because of Grayden. When we reach out for something, when we make that leap and open our hearts, we might not get there. The person we’re reaching for might not reach back. We might fall. But the part where we take the risk? That’s when we’re most alive. That’s the moment we can fly.”
I had no idea where all that had come from. Maybe I’d been taking the advice I once gave Grace. Trust your instincts. I’d spoken from the heart, and the heart didn’t lie.
A hundred different emotions flashed in Ashford’s eyes, like they were battling to come to the surface.
“Piper?” a deep voice said. A voice that resonated everywhere inside me, filling my loneliest spaces.
Grayden stood in the doorway to the waiting room.
I leaped up, a tear streaking down my cheek. He caught me in his arms and pushed his forehead against mine, holding me tight.
“You’re here,” I said.
“Finally, right?” he murmured, and I smiled sadly.
Then Grayden pulled back, looking past my shoulder. “Ashford.”
I turned and tucked myself against Grayden’s side. Ashfordnodded at his brother with a neutral expression. Nowhere near friendly. But not angry either.
The last time they’d met, on Thanksgiving, Ashford had almost hit him. This was definitely a step in the right direction.
“Can we talk in a bit?” Grayden asked him. “I have some things to tell you all. You, Callum, Grace. Teller as well.”
Ashford grunted, standing up. “Maybe. In a few minutes. I’m going to call Emma.”
“You’re not leaving though?” I asked.
“Nah. I’ll be right back.”
We moved aside so Ashford could step out of the waiting room. Then another family came in, so I took Grayden’s hand and tugged him down the hall.
I pulled him into the first quiet alcove we found. Grayden and I spoke over each other. I was trying to tell him how worried I’d been, and he was trying to say something about evidence.
But words were inadequate anyway. There was no way to describe the storm happening inside me.
So I just decided to kiss him.
He pressed me into the wall as our mouths moved together. I grabbed onto his jacket, and his fingers dug into my hair. His kisses stole my breath and gave me life at the same time.
Eventually we had to stop, gasping. Grayden put his forehead against mine. I wanted to cry and laugh and just…hold on.
I had to hold on.
“You’re okay?” I asked.
“Yeah. I was more worried about you. I should’ve been here with you.”
“Hardly your fault.”
