Page 86 of Walkoff Wedding

“You love that girl.” Her voice is a mixture of certainty and awe.

My eyes shift to the hallway, then back to her, before I nod. There’s no point in denying it. She’d see right through me if I did, anyway.

“Yeah. I do.”

“I know you do. There’s some things that a mother just knows, and your baby boy being in love is one of those things. Do you wanna talk about why you’ve got that worried look on your face?” Her eyes are as soft as her voice.

Sitting up, I place my forearms on my knees as I drag a hand down my face and up through my hair. “This morning was hard, and I just can’t stop thinking about it. It made me realize that… I can’t let her go, Mama. I don’t want to. Regardless of how things started between us, I love her, and I don’t ever want to be without her again.”

It’s the first time I’ve said it out loud, and I wish it was her that I was saying to. But I’m not sure she’s ready to hear it yet.

“Does she know that?”

I shake my head as my fingers slide roughly through my hair, tugging at the root in frustration. “No.”

Mom sighs, standing from the couch and coming to sit beside me on the love seat. She gently places her hand on my knee, dragging my attention to her. “Oh, baby, why?”

“I’m going to tell her. But Mama, look at what she’s dealing with right now. Look at everything that’s happening in her life. I don’t want to add a complication. I think she might love me too, but I don’t know for sure, and what if she doesn’t? Our relationship is supposed to be just an arrangement, and maybe that’s all she really wants it to be.”

“Or… maybe she feels exactly the way that you do. And maybe she always has. You can’t keep it from her because you’re afraid of what her reaction might be, Grant. Trust her to take care of your heart just the way you will always take care of hers.”

Sitting back against the couch, I exhale as I nod. She’s right. I am going to tell her. I just… have to find the right time. And now doesn’t feel like the right time.

“Thanks, Mama.”

She squeezes my knee gently before putting her arm around my neck and pulling my hulking frame against her. “I told you that no matter what happens, you will always be my baby boy. I will always be here for you, Grant, no matter what season of life you’re in. I know it can be scary to put your heart out there, but I see the way that she looks at you. It’s the same way that you look at her. Trust her. Let her decide what she’s ready for. Trust her to not only take care of your heart but also to make her own decisions.”

That’s the scariest part… I already do.

chapter twenty-four

Grant

“Listen, I’ve got news for you. You are not replacing me with that fucking Rookie. I will fight that motherfucker with my bare hands.”

My jaw hits the floor when I open the front door and find Reese goddamn Landry outside, his lips twisted in a scowl, with Boo strapped to his chest in a bright purple cat carrier.

He frowns, shaking his head and narrowing his eyes at me. “Oh, you think you can just disappear from Swifties4Life and not text back for days on end and that we wouldn’t show up?”

What in the fuck is happening?

Before I can even respond, Lane steps from behind Reese and folds his arms over his chest, mumbling, “Moneybags here rented a jet, and here we are.”

“You weren’t complaining earlier when you were joining the mile-high club, dickface,” Reese retorts with a shit-eating grin.

A hand flies out of nowhere from behind him, smacking him directly in the back of the head.

Reese winces, his shoulders hunching. “Ouch, Viv. What the hell was that for?”

Suddenly, his five-foot-nothing, fiery girlfriend pushes between the two of them with Hallie, Lane’s girlfriend, in tow. I notice that Hallie’s changed out her signature purple streaks in her hair to bright green ones, and my mouth curves up in a grin.

Holy shit… how are my best friends here? It’s been so long since I’ve seen them. Too fucking long. And no matter how ridiculous Reese’s reasons are for dragging them all here, I’m just ridiculously happy to see them.

I surge forward and drag both Viv and Hallie into my arms, hugging them so tightly they squeal in mock protest.

“Fuck, I can’t believe you guys are here right now,” I say.

After giving them both one last squeeze, I move on to my boys, giving Lane a lingering hug despite his grumbling, and the same with Reese, even though Boo’s caught between us.

---