I glance over at his profile. “Why? I left you. You owe me nothing, and I didn’t take offense to it.”

“You leaving me was a million years ago, right?”

“It sure—” The words get caught in my throat. I know this will pass, but it has been so nice feeling a little like myself. “Sorry. Sometimes my brain needs to pause so I can speak again,” I explain.

“Take all the time you need.”

“Since I never plan to venture off this porch again, I may take longer than you want.”

“You’re planning to stay here?” Grayson asks with a smirk.

I shrug. “It’s better than going out there right now when I can’t speak or drive or anything. All I want is to work or have something meaningful, but I’m broken, so I’ll stay put.”

Grayson sits beside me, nudging me gently. “That’s not the girl I knew. She was fearless, ready to conquer the world.”

Sadness creeps over me, blanketing the joyful banter we were just having. “She isn’t the same anymore.”

“Are any of us?”

I look at him, wondering what has made Grayson who he is now. “No, I guess not.”

He gives me a sad smile and then gets back up. “I should go. I have to pick up Amelia.”

“Is that your daughter?”

Delia filled me in, but she never mentioned her name.

A bright smile warms his face. God, he’s still insanely attractive when he smiles. The dimple on his left cheek makes my heart ache.

“She is. She’s four.” He takes out his phone, swiping to show the little girl on his home screen.

“She’s beautiful.”

“And a handful.”

I laugh, imagining how much she probably has him wrapped around her finger. I know that, at her age, I was all Daddy’s girl. There was nothing he would deny me as long as I batted my eyelashes and grinned.

“Most girls know how to work their fathers.”

“Oh, she’s got my number.”

“She’s lucky she has you, Gray.”

“I hope so because I’m all she has.”

I want to ask all the questions, but I’m exhausted, and I’m not sure how much longer I can keep my brain cooperating. I lean back against the pillow and exhale.

“Take a nap. It was good to see you. I mean that.” Grayson heads down the porch steps and gets to his car. “Now that you’re back in town and we’ve talked, I’ll stop by again.”

I sit up and raise my voice so he can hear. “I’d like that, bring Amelia, I’d love to meet her and tell her all the stories you would rather she never know.”

His deep laughter fills the air and then he gets in his car, driving away.

What a strange but hopeful day.

Chapter 4

Grayson

“Thanks for watching her, Stella.”