I cup her cheeks, locking eyes with her. “This is us now. Stay tonight. Every night. Bring the cats. Move in. Or I’ll be at yours with the dogs. I don’t care. It doesn’t matter where we are as long as we’re together. This is home.” I motion between us, and moonlight catches the gleam in her eyes.

She laughs, letting a tear slip. “We’re Brady-Bunching our pets now?”

“Whatever it takes. I mean it. We are family. I’ll say it as often as you need to hear it. Understood?”

She nods, holding back tears that make me hope she believes it.

“I’ve never been happier, Grady. Never.” Her words are barely a whisper and sound sad.

Hearing her say that should please me, but it doesn’t. For her, happiness is a mirage, a gorgeous, dream-like oasis in the desert that vanishes as soon as she gets close, and she believes this will disappear, too.

I’ll prove otherwise.

41. Grady

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Grady

We don’t sleep much, but it’s still the most restful night I’ve had in years. My arms are empty when I wake, and the bed feels cold. I jerk up, rubbing my eyes to take in the room. She’s gone.

I find her on the dock, a throw blanket caped around her naked body, staring at the lake as the sun rises. A misty fog lingers, waiting for the sun to burn it away. Orange bands peek through the towering pine trees, spotlighting the water in pieces, bringing color to the grayness.

That’s what she’s done for me—brought color to my grayness.

My arms lock around her, and she leans into me. I kiss her exposed shoulder. “You disappeared on me. I should’ve been clear—I wanted to wake up to you, too.”

“Sorry. I wanted to see.”

“Wake me, next time.”

“Imagine waking up to this every day,” she sighs. Since I do wake up to it every day, it seems like she’s talking more to herself. “It’s beautiful. I see why people pay big bucks to live here.”

She takes a deep breath, twisting in my arms and smiling wide when she faces me. “Good morning.” A soft kiss bookends her greeting. She wraps her blanket around me, crushing her naked body against me. Our kiss deepens in a breath, and damn if I don’t want to take her right then and there. Against a dock post. In my deck chair. On the pier itself. Hell, even in the water. I don’t care. I belong to her now.