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“I heard about Nadia’s husband and was in town. I thought I’d stop by. This is where she lives, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. Come on in. Wow, what’s it been? Fourteen, fifteen years?”
“Something like that.” Grayson stepped into the house. Warmth and love washed over him as he took in his surroundings. Pictures hung on the walls of Nadia, her husband, and their children. His heart beat a bit faster. He chalked that up to nerves.
Grayson introduced Pearce, and they followed Reuben into the other room. Grayson sat on the couch, absorbing everything around him.
“Wow, Nadia’s going to be so surprised to see you. I remember when she left for college and told Sienna and me you guys broke up. We were devastated. We had so much fun hanging out with the two of you. It’s a shame.” Reuben shook his head.
“Do you live here?” Grayson asked.
“Yeah, I moved in at the beginning of the year to help her out. It’s been tough, especially with the girls.”
“Two of them, right?”
Reuben nodded. “Gemma and Lynnea, or as I like to think of them, Sienna and Nadia reincarnated.”
Grayson grimaced at his usage of “reincarnated” but had a feeling he understood the euphemism. Sienna was a wild one back inhigh school, and Nadia was always the one with her nose stuck in a book.
They made idle chitchat, catching up on years’ worth of life. When Grayson heard three car doors slam shut, he stiffened. Instant regret, fear, and moroseness washed over him. His emotions were all over the place, ping-ponging back and forth. He was about to leave when he heard the newcomers moving around in the house.
“Lynnea is the youngest and a hurricane,” Reuben warned. “Gemma is Nadia personified. Quiet, shy, and probably won’t say two words to you. Lynnea will want to know everything from who your parents are to what your blood type is.”
Grayson hoped Reuben was joking.
He could smell her flowery perfume before she came into the room.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Their eye contact was brief. Grayson stood as she turned to leave the room. He smiled, hoping she remembered who he was.
“Grayson?”
His smile brightened. “Hey, Nadia. It’s been a long time. I’m sorry about your husband,” he said. “I should’ve called sooner.”
She came forward and hugged him. He felt nothing. “Thank you. What are you doing here?”
Grayson told her the same story he’d told Reuben, which wasn’t a total lie. He and Pearce were visiting Boston.
Before he could sit down, the girls came into the room. He didn’t need her to introduce them; he already knew by the way his heart reacted to them being this close to him. The ache had been replaced with longing and pain.
He fought back a wave of tears that threatened to spill if he couldn’t keep his emotions in check. His throat closed off his airways, causing him to gasp, which he covered with a cough.
They were the reason for the ache in his chest, the reason he hadn’t felt whole in over a year. Those girls were a part of him. They had a hold on him that could never be severed. No matter what.
“These are my girls,” Nadia said. “Gemma and Lynnea. This is Grayson. Mommy’s friend from high school.”
Grayson crouched to their eye level and held out his hand, shaking theirs. “It’s truly a pleasure to meet you,” he told them.
TWENTY-SEVEN
GRAYSON
As much as Grayson wanted to leave, he couldn’t. Nadia had invited him and Pearce to stay for dinner and sent Reuben out to get all the fixings for a night of grilling. Pearce had done Grayson dirty and volunteered to go with Reuben, leaving him alone with Nadia and the girls. It wasn’t Nadia who bothered him; it was Gemma and Lynnea. They were the reason he’d felt empty, and now that he was in their presence, the ache had subsided.
They carried glasses of lemonade onto the back deck and sat at the table. Nadia put the umbrella up and relaxed, while Grayson watched the girls play in the yard.
“So, what have you been up to?” Nadia asked.
