Page 99 of Protect Me
“Quiet little Kate?” he cried.
“Not so quiet anymore. She’s totally different now. Life had a way of . . . forcing her to grow up. She’s pretty bold. Fearless. Very brave. I’m super proud of who she’s become.”
A pause, then he chuckled. “I never would have seen that one coming, but now that you say it, it fits. She’s cute and she’ll tolerate you, which is something we haven’t seen together in awhile.”
“You’re the worst.”
Grady hooted.
I shook my head. “It’s stupid, but you’re right. Too right. Kate’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“Big words for you, my man.”
“They’re true.”
Grady whirled, low. “Hernandez is right. You’ve got it bad. C’mon, admit it. You should have seen this sooner.”
“Shut up.”
He hooted. His amusement at my expense today was far from comical, even though he hadn’t stopped laughing.
“Guess who I saw?” I asked, before he could extrapolate further on my faults as a man. Grady loved poking at us, and only Bastian with those long arms and big shoulders really had a prayer of holding against Grady’s huge hands when it came to a brawl.
“Who?”
“Emma Goldmann.”
His voice lilted in shock. “That hag is still around Pineville?”
“Apparently.”
His hilarity faded into surprise as I gave him a high-level view of what happened. I ended it with, “Kate brought me sushi for lunch right after Emma left, and I realized that Emma’s a friggin’ mess. I held onto her too long, so . . .”
“You made a move on Kate?”
“Don’t gross it up,” I muttered. “I told Kate how I felt. Turns out she’s in love with me and has been for awhile.”
“There’s that big ol’ F-word,” Grady murmured, sounding just like his father. “Feelings. Sounds like you’re a thing?”
“Damn straight.”
“You’re dating?”
“Yes.”
“Just her?”
“Yes!” I cried.
“So you’re a couple.”
“Is this high school?” I cried. “What the hell, Grady? Yes, we’re dating. We’re a couple. I will not look at, touch, or discuss other women. Can we move on now? This is not a cataclysmic event.”
“False,” he countered. “You’re committed to a woman and you used the feelings word with her. I dunno, Vik. Sounds like you’ve gone and caught yourself a relationship. Have you set yourself on fire yet?”
I rolled my eyes. The teasing I had expected. “No, but she does,” I added in a mumble.
Grady howled. “He’s gone,” he called, whistling low again. “The boy is gone, ladies and gentlemen. Vikram has exited the single building, and just found his way to the next step. Someone give the damn man a flashlight.”
