Page 60

I haven’t slept since Meredith dropped the bomb two days ago, so sleep finds me quickly.

The sunlight streaming through the picture window wakes me several hours later, seeming to pierce my closed lids.

I slowly open my eyes, groaning, and Grayson snorts awake, having fallen asleep in the chair across from me.

“Shit, what time is it?”

“Nearly ten,” I say hoarsely, looking at my phone which has about a hundred notifications from Bryce since I’m late for work.

Grayson groans and stands up. “Well, we’re already late. Wanna go get some breakfast at a greasy spoon?”

“Just try and stop me.”

Grayson and I chat on the way there about Max and Kylie, mostly. Kylie’s having a phase where she’s afraid of the dark, and Max is getting a little sassy now that he has a little sister taking away some of the attention.

“It was just him and Lillian for four years,” Grayson explains as our food comes. “I think sometimes, he misses that.”

“It would be good for them to have some time alone sometimes,” I suggest. “Like a mother and son day or something.”

Grayson brightens, smiling. “That’s a really good idea. I’ll suggest that to Lillian.” He pauses. “I wish I could give you better advice.”

I shrug. “It’s okay. It is what it is. She wants someone else. Not me.”

It physically hurts to say that. I feel like there’s a hole in my chest and stomach.

Fuck, I hate being in love. I’d forgotten how much it hurt.

Grayson reaches across the table and claps me on the shoulder. “If you tell her how you feel, things might change, pal.”

I smile at him but shrug him off. “I don’t think that’s going to fix anything.”

Grayson huffs. “You don’t know that.”

“I know her, and if I push too hard now, she’ll run away.”

He nods. “Lillian’s like that, too. She internalizes everything. I have to bring her out of her shell sometimes.”

I bite my lip to keep from spilling out my guts, telling him it’s different with Meredith. She’s like the sun, and I revolve around her. She’s the light, and she brings me out of the darkness.

The only reason I didn’t end up in prison back then was because of Meredith. And Grayson. Their parents’ connection to the local police had kept me out of any real trouble.

“I appreciate you talking to me. I just can’t tell her. Not now.”

“Hey, have you seen Meredith?” he asks, apropos of nothing, and I freeze, my shoulders stiffening.

“Not recently. She took a few days off work.”

He frowns. “I’m worried about her. She hasn’t answered my calls in two weeks.”

“We’ve been really busy at work.” It’s not a lie. The construction has finished up, and now we’re trying to get ready to open to the public.

“Let her know I want to talk to her when you see her today.”

“Sure.”

I don’t tell him that I don’t plan to see Meredith today. She’ll probably stay home, given how sick she was. I’d rather her not work at all, but it’s not like I’m the father or anything.

Not yours.