Page 139 of Broken Dreams
And then we...well, did what we do.
But now what?
Now I have to tell him that this has to stop. He can’t come here, we can’t do this, not when I have to make a decision in six hours.
Six hours and I don’t know what to choose because I really don’t want to leave, but I don’t think I can stay and live a life without him.
I exhale, stare at the woman in the mirror, and buck up because I need to handle my shit.
More like this is my house and I can’t exactly move into the bathroom, but...semantics.
I open the door and Grady is there, sitting with his back against the headboard, ankles crossed.
“I came here to talk,” he says, one brow raised, with a grin.
I lean against the doorjamb. “We tend to forget to do that when we’re too close.”
“Is that why you’re staying over there?”
“I think it might be best.”
He chuckles. “You might be right.”
“What did you want to talk about?”
He shifts, his legs coming off the side of the bed, and he makes his way to me, slowly. “I realized something. Something that warranted me riding Brutus here in the middle of the night because it matters—you matter.”
My stomach drops and I stay still as he approaches. “I matter?”
“You do, very much to me.”
“And you wanted to tell me that because . . .?”
“Because I think you should know all your options before you move. I’d like to lay my cards out on the table if that’s all right with you?”
I should tell him no. I should remind him that he has made it clear that he has no plans for a family, but my traitorous heart can’t say the words, so I nod.
Grady’s rough hands take mine, squeezing gently. “I’ve been good at pretending about us. I’ve convinced myself so well that I failed to notice when it stopped being a lie. I know we had a plan, I knowIhad a plan, and it’s bullshit, dove. I don’t want you to leave thinking that this wasn’t real for me. That how I feel about you isn’t real, because it is.”
“And what do you feel?”
He lifts his hands to my face, cradling me like I’m precious and delicate. “I’m falling in love with you. Against every attempt to stop it, I couldn’t and I don’t want you to go, but I love you enough to let you if that’s what you want.”
He loves me? Did that really come out of his mouth? “You love me?”
“Yes.”
“You love me?” I ask again.
Grady smiles then brings our faces close, rubbing his nose against mine. “More than I ever knew I could. More than I ever wanted to. I love you, Addison, and I was a fool to ever think I could stop myself because you are incredibly lovable.”
I feel the tear slide down my cheek, my heart bursting into a million pieces but from happiness. “You have really good timing,” I tell him, my fingers wrapped around his wrist.
“Why?”
“Six more hours and it might have been too late.”
He pulls back, his eyes finding mine. “Why?”
