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She chuckles. “Perhaps. Or maybe it was the right thing. Time will tell, but she’s in deep with you already. Don’t take that for granted.”
“I won’t.” I appreciate the advice, but I also have to take what she says with a grain of salt. She spent forty years married to my father, so she has the life experience on me. But ultimately, their road wasn’t one of success.
Maybe Grace and I rushed into this thing, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a different path where we do end up finding a way to make it work.
My mother has given me some good food for thought this evening, though, and I know she’s right about one thing.
Grace deserves the world.
In this moment, I hope I’m the person who can give it to her.
But deep down, I’ll always wonder whether I’m good enough.
Chapter 32: Grace Nash
My Inner Nerd is Coming Out
Five Days After the Wedding
As the plane races down the runway before it lifts into the air, Spencer grabs my hand. Together we look out the tiny airplane window up here in first class as we rush past the famed skyline of hotels, and I can’t believe I flew in here single and desperate five days ago, and I’m flying back to Minnesota holding my husband’s hand.
I can’t even think it without choking a bit.
“You okay?” he asks, and I nod as I pull myself together.
We made it through the five hard days with his family—days that didn’t turn out to be so hard after all. I feel like I have a new family. I exchanged numbers with both Jolene and Ava, and even Ava laughed about the dress fiasco before we left brunch with the family this morning.
It’s weird leaving a place and feeling like I’m leaving family behind. I’ve never had that. My entire family has always lived at the vineyard—my mom until she divorced my dad, my dad, my uncle, my sister, Nana, and Pop Pop. That’s it. That’s the whole family.
My mom was an only child who lost both of her parents when she was in her twenties before I was born. My dad’s only sibling is my uncle, and he never had kids.
It’s so strange feeling like I’m part of a family like the Nashes. Only the four brothers plus the parents were in attendance since Grayson and Ava wanted to keep it small, intimate, and a secret from the press, but there’s more extended family out there—an uncle who also played in the league plus cousins.
The core family is all so close, and they’re all so scattered. Well, sort of. Spencer and Missy are scattered compared to the rest who call Vegas home.
Could I call Vegas home?
It sure feels like Spencer’s and my place now, but it’s not—not really.
Not when I’m firmly based in Minnesota with the vineyard calling me to my future. Not when Spencer will firmly be planted in San Diego until further notice.
He hasn’t specified when he plans to stop playing, but we had some chats about his career. He didn’t see himself playing past thirty-five, and his thirtieth birthday looms ahead of us in less than two weeks.
Should I do something for his thirtieth? As his wife, does that fall on me now?
I know when it is because I remember once, long ago, we had a discussion about birthdays. He’s turning thirty three days before I turn twenty-five.
He’s a full five years and three days older than me, and if we were teenagers, that would matter. We’re not, and it doesn’t, though he’s spoken more than once about how he often feels older than thirty given the beating his body takes on a weekly basis during the season.
There was no evidence of that beating on Saturday evening, that’s for damn sure.
We haven’t had the chance at round two just yet, but I have a feeling it’s going to be even more powerful than round one was.
We arrived back at our hotel late the night of the wedding, and it was an early morning getting packed up and making it over to the restaurant for brunch with the Nashes. Our flight was at three, which means we land at eight, and then it’s getting our baggage and the hourlong trip back home.
I’m guessing everyone will be retired to their bungalows and estates by the time we roll back into town, and that’s fine. I’m not ready to face everyone with the news of our marriage just yet—and paradoxically, at the same time, I can’t wait to share the news.
“You know I’ve never seen the inside of your bungalow?” he asks suddenly after the fasten seatbelt sign is turned off.
