Page 125 of Always Been Yours

“I’ll take care of that,” Mr. Sparks says. Stella nods and walks out of the room. When he sits down, he gives me a concerned look. “Are you ready to start, or do we need a minute?”

“No, no. Let’s start. I’m really excited for your booth.” I plaster on my biggest smile, knowing how fake it probably looks right now. Mr. Sparks pats my shoulder but takes pity on me, opening his folder and laying out his booth plans.

Chapter Forty-Five

Grady

“This place is cute,” Arielle muses from across the table. Stella wanted to have her birthday at Tossin’ Tomatoes, and I am pretty sure Carlo cried when I called to tell him. “I remember seeing it in your photo albums.”

I nod, not bothering to carry a conversation. Thankfully, my ever-polite mother entertains my ex-wife while I try not to stare at the entrance. Almost everyone is here. My parents, Blake’s family, Bonnie, Knox and his boys. Not only did Vivi not show up, but none of her siblings are here either. Calypso doesn’t surprise me—it’s probably better Arielle and her stay far away from each other—but Asher and Hudson do.

I want to be angry with them, but I’m mostly confused. I knew that it’d be weird for Arielle to be here, but I didn’t expect it to cause such a strain between us.

The moment Vivi asked what Arielle knew about us, I knew I messed up. Really bad. Pretty fucking horribly actually.

I was trying to protect what we have. I don’t want to share my new life with Arielle. I’ve been trying to keep space between her and I. It’s for the best at this point. But I knew she wanted totalk, and I just kept blowing her off because I had an inkling about what she wanted to discuss. Arielle’s always had a hard time with change. It’s partly why I stayed in the marriage so long; I was worried about her. Truthfully, I was surprised when she asked for the divorce. In a weird way, I was evenproudof her.

I may not be in love with Arielle, but I know her. She doesn’t want to get back together, not really. She misses the girls—understandably so—and she’s lonely. I think in Arielle’s mind, it’s better to be together and unhappy, than to be alone.

I get it. I had the same thoughts for a while. Then she left, and it wasn’t as hard as I had anticipated. Maybe because I had the girls, but I was okay. And now? After having Vivi? No one else will ever compare. I couldn’t even convince myself that Ilikedsomeone else enough to want them as anything more than a friend.

My entire soul belongs to her, it always has. I’m not a spiritual man, at all, but she makes me wish I was. Vivi makes me want to believe in so much more. Things like past lives and future lives and all of that crap. Becauseifit is true, I know that we would find each other in every single one. And an eternity with her is only scratching the surface of what I want with her.

The longer I wait for her to show up, losing hope by the second, a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach starts to grow. I’ve tried to deny it, but I had a feeling this was going to happen when Stella came home from school with her gift—Vivi had given it to her early.

Then the entrance swings open and I see Asher and Hudson and…

No one else.

I leave my heart on the floor and walk over to them. Hudson gives me a long look, but Asher looks slightly awkward. “Hey, G. Sorry we’re late.”

“You’re good. Stella will be happy to seeyou both.”

Knox shuffles over, following Arielle who glides across the room as if it’s her own personal stage. All it does is make me miss the way Vivi breezes through a space, bringing life to everyone around her.

“Are these more of your friends?” Arielle asks with a hand on my arm. I close my eyes, releasing a breath before looking at the twins.

There are simultaneous looks of brotherly disappointment that pop up on their faces. I’ve only seen this look once before—when Asher asked me straight to my face if I liked Vivi in high school, but I was too much of a coward to admit it. Somehow it feels even more scathing.

Nodding, I step out of Arielle’s touch. “Yeah, two of my childhood best friends. Asher and Hudson, this is Arielle, my ex-wife.” We all know who she is, but it still feels necessary.

The tension is thick but if Arielle notices, she doesn’t let on. She sticks her hand out, never missing a beat. “It’s so good to meet you. Grady’s told me a lot about you over the years.” She playfully nudges me with her shoulder. I take another step to the side, ignoring the puzzled look she gives me.

Whether it’s a blessing or a curse is to be determined, but Carlo makes his way to our small group as his servers drop off a variety of pizzas. “Good to see you boys.” He clasps Knox on the shoulder, letting him know that he’s included even as a newcomer. “Where’re the girls?”

I open my mouth, fumbling for words. Instead, Hudson mutters, “They were busy. Some stuff at the bookstore came up.” No one acknowledges the fact that only two of them work there.

“Too bad,” Carlo says, ignoring Arielle. They’ve never met but I would bet my 1952 Topps Mickey Mantle card that my parents have shown him photos over the years. “I was looking forward toseeing the whole group here again. Especially you and the little firecracker.” He smiles fondly thinking about Vivi. My chest aches, not able to handle even a few days away from her anymore.

“I’m gonna say hi to your folks and have a slice or two.” He pats my shoulder, stopping next to me. “Grady, I’m proud of the man you’ve become and for bringing your family home. But don’t waste any more time, son.”

He says it low for only me to hear but when I look to my side, I know Arielle is questioning what he meant.

Arielle set up a mini-DIY spa at her AirBNB for the girls and Millie. It was always the plan but she’s doing me a solid tonight without realizing it.

I pull into Vivi’s driveway, and it’s exactly as I suspected. Calypso’s red convertible is parked out front and the lights on Vivi’s side of the duplex are on. It’s Wine Wednesday, and the only thing they would’ve skipped that for, they didn’t attend either. Maybe I should be madder than I am but all I feel is dread and guilt.

I walk up to the door, knocking softly. I can hear Lexi’s boisterous laugh, so they have to be close. Next comes her muffled words about thanking Asher and Hudon for the di–

---