Page 77 of Waiting for Her

“Grady,” Mia says quietly, resting a hand on my arm. “I love Bri. You know I do. And if she got her head pulled out of her ass right now, I’d be back on board the Brady train –”

“No one combines names anymore,” I murmur with a smirk, trying to bring some semblance of happiness into this depressing conversation.

“Shut up and don’t interrupt me. I’m telling youifshe were to realize her mistake, I’d be all for you two getting back together, but you can’t wait around for that to happen. Cole and I? We’re worried about you. We want you happy, and I know that seems impossible right now but…”

“But what?”

“You have to forget about Bri for a while. And maybe this is a good thing. Maybe you’ll both realize that there’s someone else out there for you. Maybe not. You don’t know what the future holds, but for the first time in your life, it’s not planned out for you. It’s a gift, Grady. It sucks, yes, and I hate that you’re going through it. But it’s time to live again. There’s life beyond Bri.”

I take a deep breath and close my eyes, feeling the damn sting of tears hit the back of my eyes. I sit down on the bench, Mia sitting next to me. I lean forward, elbows to my knees, letting my head drop between my hands.

“I miss her so damn much,” I whisper.

She leans over, wrapping her arm around my shoulder from the back and resting her cheek on my other shoulder. “I know you do. I do, too. But we can’t control her feelings. She’s lost, Grady.”

“I want the hurt to go away. Why does it hurt so much?”

“Because she broke your heart,” she reminds me.

“I can’t believe she’s gone.”

“Me either.”

“Why doesn’t she trust me?” I whisper.

“I wish I had the answer to that.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

“Listen to me, Grady. She’s going to come back. I don’t know when, and I can’t even say that I want you to wait for her, because that’s not fair to you, but Iknowshe’ll realize her mistakes and come back to you. Your love story with Bri Jameson isn’t finished. I’m not sure it ever will be.”

“She’s your lobster.” Mia’s voice cuts in. I’ve been hearingFriendsreferences my entire life. I’m pretty sure that’s at least fifty percent of my mom’s vocabulary. I don’t even roll my eyes anymore.

Her hand is patting Anderson’s back softly, his head resting against her shoulder, mouth wide open in a milk coma as she bounces up and down, moving from side to side slightly. Such a mom already. The thought makes me smile.

I reach for my baby nephew, tucking him in close and smelling his head before I give him a kiss. I can’t believe how much I love him already. It’s not that I haven’t been around babies recently. A few of my friends and cousins have kids, but this is so different.

Cole hands her a glass of water and winks. “Remember you need to keep hydrated,” he tells her.

My big brother’s a husband and daddy. It’s so weird to see.

Even weirder is how jealous I am.

I kiss Anderson again and murmur soft words as I walk around the house, holding him close. I can’t help but let my mind drift to the baby Bri and I never got to hold, feed and burp. So many things we never got the chance to experience.

How can I feel sad over losing something I never had in the first place?

I make my way into the nursery and settle into the glider rocking chair, Anderson sleeping soundly against my chest. He’s so tiny that my hand covers his back.

The quiet of the room allows my mind to wander to all the information I’ve recently learned. For the last six years, I questioned why it was so easy for her to walk away from us. Turns out, it wasn’t easy at all.

This afternoon after Bri was back at her house, I texted Jack. Two simple words. But he understood exactly what I was referring to.

Me:Thank you

Jack:No need to thank me

Me:You know that’s not true

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