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Dani laughs good-naturedly. “I recognized you across the store. Figured I’d come say hi and help you sort through the options.”

“That would be amazing. Thank you.” I sigh in relief, then turn to Gia. “This is my good friend Gia. She’s dating Holt Basil.”

Gia holds her hand out. “It’s nice to finally meet the woman London talks about all the time.”

“All good things, I hope,” Dani jokes. She makes quick work of our list, adding a few different brands into the cart for when I’ll want to try a couple to find which one works better for me. She even explains the different reasons she liked them to help guide me on which ones might be best.

“You are a lifesaver,” I gush.

“It’s no biggie. My sister helped me a ton when I was pregnant with London.”

“You want to have lunch with us? This little Peanut is craving some form of chicken,” I say to Dani, rubbing my rounded belly.

“That sounds great.” She starts walking with us toward the checkout lanes. “I love that you call the baby Peanut. I called London Nugget because that was just about the only thing I could eat that wouldn’t come back up immediately afterward. I still call her that sometimes.”

Gia grimaces. “Pregnancy might be the scariest thing ever. Anyone willing to put themselves through that has to be a superhero.”

“It’s got its sucky parts, that’s for sure,” I agree.

“You don’t see yourself having a kid of your own?” Dani asks her.

Gia shakes her head. “I never imagined being a mom. Holt’s girls are the closest I’ll ever come to fulfilling that role. I love them fiercely. They are by far the best thing to happen to me, but I definitely don’t want any of my own. Lauren and Leah feel like mine in a way, so I don’t think I’m missing out on anything.”

“They love you so much,” I say to her.

The soft smile that pulls at the corners of Gia’s mouth makes my heart melt. “I love them. More than I thought was ever possible.”

After a small battle with Gia over Grayson’s directive that she use his card to pay for everything, we leave the store and head toward the food court.

“I finally have plenty of money now that I’m working full time and have basically no expenses. I don’t know why he feels like he still needs to pay for all my stuff,” I grouse.

“Because he wouldn’t be Gray if he didn’t take care of you in every way possible,” Dani says. “The only time he let anyone else pay for anything was at the baby shower for London. He made it clear that he wanted to take care of everything else.”

“I’m still amazed at how the two of you were able to make this whole situation amicable.” Gia shakes her head.

Dani shrugs. “If it were with anyone else, it wouldn’t have been. Grayson went so far above and beyond for London and me that it was easy to get along with him. It’s one of the many reasons I’m so glad he has you in his life now, Kylie. I love him almost like he’s my brother, and he deserves to have someone who loves him in that same all-encompassing way he has.”

Gia hooks her arm through mine. “And you’re the perfect person for him.”

“I hope so. I just worry about all the baggage I’m bringing with me.”

The conversation pauses for a bit while we order our food and find a table. Once we’re settled again, Gia continues, “When Holt and I first got together, I worried about how much shit I was putting on him too. He had an uphill battle to get me comfortable with the idea of falling in love with him.

“But I honestly don’t think our relationship would be what it is today if we didn’t have to work toward our happy ending. If you’re both going into the relationship with your eyes open, then trust him to know his own mind about what he can handle.”

Gia’s words stick with me. After putting my whole self into a marriage that was a slowly sinking ship, I’m worried that I’m setting myself up for failure. I’m not coming into my relationship with Gray with a clean slate.

But Gia made an important point. Grayson has been reading my slate from the very beginning. I haven’t hidden what I bring to the table, and Gray is plenty capable of deciding what he can and can’t handle. Hell, he’s been the one pursuing me from the very beginning. I just never let myself see it until now.

Every one of his actions since he dropped everything to rescue me in Seattle has more than proven he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make me happy.

Doubting him isn’t fair after all the hoops he’s jumped through for me.

In fact, I probably owe him for all the years he’s supported me with barely a thank you in return. Not that he’d ever think about it that way.

I turn to Dani and Gia. “This is super random, but go with it, okay?”

Gia rubs her palms together. “You’re planning something. Whatever it is, I’m in.”