Page 87 of Gravity

“No!” I bite back, causing him to hold his arms up in surrender. “It’s serious. We are serious.”

Silence falls as I look straight ahead. I can feel his eyes on me, waiting to dive in and question me more.

“I should give you some sort of fucking shit for this because not only is she Pete’s daughter and the poor guy can’t string a sentence together, but he also can’t beat your ass either.”

He’s pissed, or at least I think he is, but I don’t care—not now that Pete knows and that I have his blessing.

“Not to mention, she’s the same age as my daughter. And as a father, I would not be happy if Makenna brought home a granddad, especially if the cocky fucker was better looking than me.” A smile tugs his lips.

“Asshole,” I laugh.

“Sorry, couldn’t help it. But seriously, though. What the fuck? How long has this been going on?”

It’s only been a matter of weeks, but it feels like I’ve been with her forever. There’s not a day that goes by now when I’m not smiling—not left feeling uneasy or anxious like I was before. Everything that has changed within me has been because of her. “A few weeks, but if I’m honest, she’s had me hooked since she turned seventeen.”

“Jesus.”

“I tried, Mark. I tried to not want her because of who she is—because of Asher—but I can’t, and the truth is, I don’t want to either. And after everything with Mom, Nora’s helped me breathe when I’ve been suffocating in silence for too long. Working twenty-four- seven without a break was what I thought a single guy with no family had to do to get over his grief and to stop the pain I faced each day. But the longer it went on, the more I hated the man I’d become but didn’t know how to turn back.”

“Jesus, Gray. I knew things had been tough, but I didn’t know they were that bad for you.”

“Neither did I. Not until Nora made me realize.”

“You should have come to me. Talked to me.”

I shake my head. “I couldn’t. I didn’t have the words back then.”

“But you’re better now?”

“I’m getting there. And I have my little lady to thank for that.”

“Well, I never saw that coming,” he chuckles. “So, you said it’s serious?”

“I’ve never wanted anything more than I want her. I’m falling for her hard.”

“Does Pete know?”

I grin like an idiot. “Yeah, he knows. We had a man-to-man conversation about it not long ago. It was short, but I could read between the lines of what he was saying. “He’s happy for us.”

“So, there’s just Asher who needs to find out.”

“It’s not going to go well,” I sigh, pushing my toes deeper into the cool sand.

“I take it he’s the one you were talking about—the one who told you not to say anything about the real reason he headed out.”

I look at him. “You know, too?”

“Not at first. But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Jackson, too, has mentioned that he’s not himself out there.”

“Running away from your problems isn’t the right thing to do.”

“But how do you know what the right thing to do is if you’re so head deep in your own thoughts and problems? You of all people should understand that.”

He has a point. I hadn’t realized I was a mess until Nora pulled me out of the hole I’d been swallowed by. “I guess you’re right.”

“I tried everything to keep him in Virginia, but you know Asher: when he’s on a mission of any kind—”

“He thinks with his guns and not his head.” I sigh. “Meanwhile, I’m having to lie to Nora when she asks when he’s home and goes to bed every night wondering if her dad will have another seizure or stroke and how bad it will be if he does.”