Page 30 of Always Been Yours

He looks down at his feet and chuckles softly. When his eyes move back up, he takes his sweet time sweeping them up my body.

I don’t know what Grady’s type is, and it doesn’t matter either way, but I’ve noticed the way he looks at me. Sometimes it makes me feel like I might as well be in that lacey green set I bought a fewmonths ago.

Desirable. Hot. Wanted.

The way he’s looking at me right now? In my yellow midi overall dress and white sneakers? It makes me feel naked. It makes me feel sexy and seen andexposed. Just from the way he drags his eyes along my curves, pausing for only a second on my large breasts. It would be easy to miss if I wasn’t hyperaware to all of his movements right now.

When his eyes finally find mine, he’s slightly smirking but his face is a couple shades warmer than normal. He moves his hand in alet’s hear itmotion.

“I was going to say that I can’t lie about how quickly your daughters are growing on me.” He straightens up slightly. His expression shifts into something of surprise, maybe a little gratitude too. “Grady, you have some of the coolest kids I’ve ever met. And I clearly know a lot of them.” I laugh softly and his eyes drop down to my mouth.

He stares reverently at my lips before giving me an intense look. One that I can’t deny has more of an effect on me than I care to admit. His eyes are full of hunger and appreciation. “Thank you,” he says in that low, husky voice. It never fails to send a shot of heat straight to my core.

I don’t say anything, I just nod slowly again, never breaking eye contact.

“I should go,” he says in that same tone. “See you tomorrow, Miss Davies.”

Chapter Ten

Grady

As soon as I step into the vet clinic, I know my dad is swamped. He keeps the clinic open late three days a week, in hopes of making up for closing on Sundays now. I told him that I would stop by with his favorite; carne asada tacos from Gringos Tacos food truck down at The Loop.

It’s a small place that my dad opened when we first moved to the neighborhood. Amada Beach had never had their own animal hospital, and the town used to travel at least forty-five minutes into the city for an appointment. I can’t imagine what happened when any of the pets had an emergency.

The success of my dad’s clinic wasn’t only for the convenience that he brought. The people simply enjoyed supporting local businesses in the community. Between the local support and the high volume of yearly tourists, most of the small businesses in town do extremely well.

I brought some extra food, not knowing how many people were going to be working tonight, and I immediately know I made the right call when I see three of the exam room doors closed and Krissy, the vet tech, taking the vitals in the front lobby of some ofthe pet patients while the owners are waiting.

My brother-in-law Adrian is in the break room, filling up his water bottle. “Hey, man. I wasn’t planning on staying but I think I might jump behind the front desk for a bit.”

He looks over at me and I can see the instant gratitude in his dark brown eyes. My dad’s the one who introduced Blake and Adrian, a little over seven years ago. Adrian was looking for his first job while working on his D.V.M. My dad apparently knew right away that Adrian was the man for his daughter, much like he has said throughout my life, that he knew Vivi was the girl for me.

It wasn’t that my parents didn’t like Arielle, but she just never fit in with my family. Much like I never fit in with hers. They weren’t unwelcoming or disapproving at all, neither were my parents. It was just another thing between Arielle and I that never worked itself out in the long run.

Blake’s husband never had those problems. He fits in with the Millers as if he was always meant to be a part of our family, and his parents love my sister just as much.

Adrian really is one of the best men out there—he’s patient, outgoing, trusting, and easy-going. Almost the opposite of Blake’s hard exterior but he’s softened her up over the years, in only the best ways, without trying to silence the storm.

9ot to mention, Adrian is objectively one of the most good looking people I’ve ever met. He’s around six-foot-three-inches tall, lean but with broad shoulders, and his deep mahogany skin is only a few shades lighter than his eyes. He always lets the top of his hair grow into short locs with the sides faded during the winter. Right now, it’s more or less still a buzz cut but the first signs of the transition are there.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re my favorite Miller sibling?”

I huff out a laugh. “Please let me be in the room when you tell Blake that.”

“Yeah, sure. Might as well hand her the divorce papers while we’re at it.” I laugh while I set the bags down. Blake ispickywith just about everything. To most people, it would’ve seemed crazy for a nineteen-year-old girl to get married less than a year after meeting her boyfriend because it does sound crazy. But Blake isn’t an impulsive person—never has been, and my parents came to the realization fairly quickly—but she is animpatientperson. Not only that, but Blake also didn’t really give anyone an opportunity to say otherwise.

Blake made up her mind about six months after they started to date. She wanted to marry Adrian and she was sure enough that he wanted to marry her that she wasn’t going to wait around for theappropriateamount of time to pass. She went to his parents and asked permission to propose to their son. Apparently, his mom immediately started laughing and both were overjoyed. At the small wedding, Will and Cami said they weren’t at all surprised that Blake decided to take matters into her own hands. Blake’s conviction is quiet but heartfelt and strong.

She’s not always an easy one to get to know but over time Adrian cracked the hard exterior that is Blake. He learned about the years of bullying to the point of transferring to online classes. He knows about the years of loneliness and exclusion before the torment began in high school. He saw Blake for all that she is, including the saddest, darkest parts, and has loved her fiercely every day since.

“Your dad mentioned you were stopping by…” Adrian says as he peaks over my shoulder.

“I bought extra. I wasn’t sure who all was going to be here.”

He grabs a plate and loads a few tacos on top with salsa and lime. “Thanks, man. As you can see, we’re swamped tonight.”

“Yeah, I didn’t see who else was here other than my dad and Krissy.” He has about five veterinarians and six vet techs working here now.

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