Page 138 of Always Been Yours

Brushing a lock of hair off her forehead, I murmur, “Good morning, love.”

Tilting her head up, she offers me a sweet, sleepy smile. “Good morning, Grady.”

“How’d you sleep?”

“Much better. What about you?”

I run my fingers up and down her spine, soaking in the view of her in my bed again. “I always sleep best when you’re here.”

She rests her chin on my chest so she can look me in the eye. “Really?” There’s so much insecurity and vulnerability in that one word.

“Yes, Genevieve.Really.“ She silently nods and bites the inside of her lip. Using my thumb, I gently pull her lip free. “We should talk, though.”

Reluctantly, she sits up and crosses her legs but stays close to my hip. “Yeah, we should… I have questions.”

I settle my body against the headboard and rest my hand on her thigh. “Whatever you want to know, I’ll tell you.”

Nodding again, she thinks it over before meeting my eye. “Did you talk to Arielle?”

“Yes,” I quickly reassure her. She listens as I tell her every detail about our conversation and the very clear boundaries that have been set between Arielle and me. I tell her about our plans for the girls over the next six months and when she can expect to see Arielle again, no surprises this time. “She wants to talk to you,” I decide to tell her.

Her eyes widen in shock. “Me?”

“Yeah,you. She wants to get to know the woman who will be in Stella and Daisy’s lives. But it’s more than that. She wants toapologize to you.”

“I mean… that’s not necessary,” she says slowly but I can see that Arielle’s words are still weighing on her.

Shaking my head, I give her thigh a squeeze and tell her, “No, it is. She was out of line and she knows it. I know I’m mostly to blame here, and I don’t expect you guys to be friends, but if only for the girls, I hope you two can get along.”

Vivi bites her lip and thinks it over. “I wouldn’tmindbeing friends with Arielle. I’d do anything for Stella and Daisy, you know?”

“I know,” I quickly reassure her.

She offers me a soft smile and visibly relaxes a little. “I just don’t want to be an inconvenience to any of you, so I’m willing to let it go with Arielle if that’s easier.”

“It’s not easier for me, and I’m not willing to let it go.” She reluctantly nods. “But it doesn’t have to be today or even this week. She’s going to visit at the end of January to spend her birthday with the girls, so we can cross that bridge then. Right now, I just want to focus on us and making new traditions with the girls.”

With more confidence, she nods again. “Me too.”

My eyes move over her face, trying to understand where her head is at. “You have another question.” It’s more of a statement than anything, but I can practically see it forming on her mouth before she voices it.

“Are you sure this—“ She waves her hand between us. ”—is still what you want? Because if beingfriendsis less complicated for you then I think I can do th—“

“I can’t do that, Genevieve.” I lean forward and lightly clasp my hands around her neck, pulling her close enough to rest my forehead on hers. “I don’t want to just be your friend. And whatever you need for me to prove that, I’ll do it.” If I have to spend everymorning and night giving her the reassurance she needs, then I’ll do it. As long as she’s here with me. “Is that what you want though?”

“No, Grady, I don’t. I want a future with you.” She runs her fingers along my scruffy jaw and places a soft kiss on my lips that ends too quickly. Pulling back, she looks me in the eye and searches my expression. “But I need you to be completely transparent with me. I don’t care so much about other people—we can figure that part outtogether. But you have to letmeinto everything that’s going on. I want to be a team, a family. And I can’t be blindsided like that again…”

“You’re right. That’s something I promise to handle better in the future, because being a team is the only option. Which brings me to my last point, therapy.” Her eyebrows raise. I know that Vivi went to a therapist for a few years when she moved back to Amada Beach after college. She’s always been the more self-aware one between us, even if she might disagree with that. But her need to constantly make herself “better” is proof enough. “I found two child therapists—one for each of the girls—and they’re going to start going to bi-weekly sessions in the new year. But I also found a family therapist, and I’m going to go with the girls every other week as well.”

Her smile blooms into a full grin, one of pride and happiness. “Grady, I think that’s great. It’ll only help the girls in the long run. I’m sure of it.”

“I know, baby. I should’ve done it sooner.” I trace her full lips with my thumb. “And you’ve been nothing but the brightest ray of sunshine in our lives these last few monthsbutif you wanted to maybe go with us, even once a month, I’d love that. Because I’m trying to build a life with all three of you.”

She gives me another sweet kiss, but this one is more alive andpassionate than the last. “I’d love to go with you. Anything I can do to support you three is all that mattters to me.”

“And what matters to me is making sure thatallmy girls are happy.”

“I don’t doubt that I will be as long as I’m with you, Grady.” A breath of relief escapes me, and I didn’t know until this moment how much I needed the reassurance. She must see it on my face because she adds, “I couldn’t imagine my life without you again. I don’t want to even try. Nothing for me has changed—if anything, I’m more sure now than I was before. And you’re only confirming the things I was already feeling.”

---