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Grayson turned and stared at Reid for a long moment. His mouth opened and closed. He went to speak, but his voice cracked. Another minute passed, but it felt like an eternity while Reid waited.
“Rejection,” he finally said. “I remember when we first met, I thought you were out of my league.” He laughed. “Strike that: you are out of my league. But you liked me, and yet, I was a ticking time bomb. You know there was never the right moment to tell you about my heart. It’s not something you bring up when you first meet someone or after you’ve fallen madly in love with them. I couldn’t ever tell you, so I hid it. It was easier that way.
“Now, here I am, hiding it again, because I’m afraid they’re going to reject me or find me unworthy of their love or not want mine in return.”
Reid brushed her fingers through Grayson’s hair. “Want to know something?”
“What’s that?”
“They love you without knowing how you came to be in their lives, and something tells me they’re going to love you after you tell them. The bond you share will only strengthen.”
“You think so?”
“Grayson, deep down, you’re a good man. You just take the wrong path to get to the right road.”
Grayson sighed. “In hindsight, I wish I’d done things differently. I didn’t expect—”
“For this to be what you thought it was?”
He nodded. “Yep. I thought I’d come here and feel nothing. Sometimes, I wish that were the case. Now, I’m attached. I’ve known them for weeks, and it feels like I’ve known them their entire lives.”
“It’ll be hard all around. The best we can do is be honest and go from there.”
“Yeah,” he said with another sigh. He pulled back onto the street and drove around the corner, then parked in front of a house. Reid stared out the window, noticing not the home but the two girls who lit up as soon as the car parked. They raced down the stairs and ran to the fence.
“Gemma’s a bit shy.”
“Not Lynnea, though,” Reid said.
Grayson nodded. “Don’t be jealous of her,” he joked. “She really likes me.”
Reid laughed. “I’ll try to rein it in.”
They got out of the car, with Grayson carrying the box of doughnuts. He reached for Reid’s hand when he met her on the sidewalk and guided her over to the girls.
“Weid!” Lynnea screamed her name and jumped up and down. She fumbled with the latch on the gate and finally got it open but didn’t pass the threshold until Grayson was there. She launched herself at Reid.
Grayson’s mouth dropped open, and Reid smirked.
“Hi, Lynnea,” Reid said as she gave her a hug. “It’s nice to meet you in person.”
“Me too. Come on.” Lynnea grabbed her hand and started to tug, but Reid told her to wait up a bit.
“Hi, Gemma, it’s nice to meet you as well.” Reid held out her hand.
Gemma stared at it for a moment and then looked at Grayson. She beckoned him forward and cupped her hand over his ear, and thenhe nodded. Gemma smiled and then wrapped her arms around Reid’s waist, catching her off guard.
Reid hugged her back.
“Grayson talks about you a lot,” she told her.
“He talks about you girls as well.”
“Oh no,” Lynnea moaned.
Everyone laughed.
They took the girls inside, where Grayson made introductions to Nadia and Kiran. No one else offered any hugs, which Reid was okay with. Hugging kids was one thing. Adults were a whole other thing. They joined everyone at the dining room table for breakfast, and as soon as Grayson sat down next to her, she leaned into him.
