Page 110 of Cockpit
“We fought.” It comes out of my mouth without thinking, but I’ve been sitting on it and stewing about it for the better part of a day, and the longer I keep silent, the more I feel like a jackass for the things I said to her.
“Best part about fighting is the make-up sex,” Grant says as he eyes Emerson. Her response is a swift swat to the back of the head before she presses a kiss there and takes off to make sure their girls haven’t gotten into too much trouble with Luke.
“What did you fight about?”
“Drop it, Grady,” I say.
“You’re the one who brought it up.” He shrugs and grins at me over his beer. “Did you finally tell her you want more than just slipping and sliding and she said screw you?”
We all burst out laughing at the look on our mom’s face, and she just shakes her head.
“Not quite.”
“Oh.” The chorus rings out around the table, and Dylan twists her lips as she stares at me.
“Let me guess, you told her there was nothing there when there is.”
“Not exactly—”
“Can I just call it now? He’s trying to sabotage it because she’s actually a keeper, and that scares the fuck out of him,” Grant says with a sarcastic edge that h
as me clenching my fists and my mom patting my arm to calm me down.
“Hey, Grant? Stay the fuck out of my—”
“Look who I found at the store!” My dad’s voice cuts me off and has everyone turning toward the patio door.
Every part of me falls at the sight of her. She looks nothing like the girl I saw the other day on the street with her friend. She has on jean shorts, a red tank top, and red Converse. Her hair is piled on top of her head, and her face is completely free of makeup.
She steals my fucking breath is what she does.
Our eyes meet. Hold. And I hate the hurt that flickers through hers. The hurt that I put there.
A chorus of greetings ring out, but I just nod, needing to say so much to her but scared to fucking death to form the words. I know that if I do, all I’ll be doing is opening myself to more hurt.
To more of everything I swore I’d never allow myself to feel again.
“Shit, Gray,” Grant whispers as he leans in to my ear, “beg, borrow, and steal, but don’t let that walk away, especially when she looks at you like that.”
“Fuck off,” I mutter under my breath as Sidney is pushed into my family with introductions. I wait to see if she shrieks when Moose comes up and puts a wet nose against her hand.
She doesn’t.
I study the looks on my sisters-in-law’s faces as they meet her because women are judgmental and an approval from them goes a long way.
They approve.
“She was walking in when I was walking out, and I thought she might like to have some company.”
“How noble of you,” I mutter to myself, knowing damn well my mom and her matchmaking skills are starting to rub off on my old man.
I get a glare of a rebuke from my mother and then just shake my head, telling her I’m confused as fuck about what to do.
“She said she had been looking for Gray so she could give him some good news. That he must be so busy he isn’t returning her calls,” my dad says, and I see Grady shake his head in my periphery.
Yeah. Yeah. I’m a disgrace. I get it.
“What’s the good news?” This comes from my mom, who has graciously taken a break from mapping out my and Sidney’s wedding, honeymoon, and first three children together.
