Page 52 of Falling for a Grumpy Hero

LILA

T wo weeks after my meeting with the professor, the semester ended. I’d passed all my classes with flying colors and Ford had officially pitched the idea of adding “interior design” to the list of services offered on the CE website.

Jared and everyone else at the firm were staunch supporters of the idea, but I’d told them I would think about it. As well as the semester had gone, I knew I still had a lot left to learn in my final semester.

Eager as I was to get started and to launch my career, I was torn between being the best I could be when I officially opened for business and just jumping in and getting on with it. Either way, my future seemed brighter than ever with possibility—and not just on the career front.

It was late in the summer and still hot as hell as I tossed a ball to Rook in Ford’s backyard. He caught it midair and I laughed. My were cheeks glowing with heat after spending so much time with him out here, but I was having too much fun with him to take a break.

He panted as he jogged back to me, dropping the ball I’d gotten him on our first day together at my feet. I ran my fingers through his fur and bent over to pick it up. “Are you sure you’re not tired yet, boy?”

As if to answer my question, he leaped into the air and barked, then shot to the other side of the yard as soon as his feet touched the ground. I pulled my arm back and let the ball fly, watching it arc into the sky before crashing back down.

A happy sigh escaped me as I watched him race after the ball when it bounced.

Ford and I had been settling into life together these last few weeks, and honestly, it had been amazing so far.

Not only did I love waking up with him almost every morning and eating breakfast together before we headed in to work, but I adored learning from him while we were there, helping with his projects, and then getting to come home with him every night.

Every expectation I’d had of what it might be like between us as a couple had been exceeded again and again.

It blew my mind that anyone could be this happy, and while there was a part of my brain that kept warning me about the other shoe dropping at any moment, I did what I’d always done with that part of my brain—shut it down and ignored it completely.

Contrary to what most people seemed to think, my eternal optimism and cheerful demeanor weren’t because I was ignorant or because I didn’t know that bad things happened. It was the complete opposite of that.

I knew exactly how fast everything could change and I chose to be happy while I could.

Since I’d never been happier than I was right then, that meant I was embracing every ounce of joy with everything I had.

Even the simple pleasures like standing under the blistering hot sun, tossing a ball to a dog I loved almost as much as his owner.

I spent most of my time at Ford’s house these days, to the point where I was seriously wondering if I should even bother renewing the lease on my apartment in a few months.

Rook kept me company whenever Ford wasn’t there.

It was like we had our own little family going and I couldn’t get enough of it.

As Rook brought the ball back to me, his ears suddenly pricked and he dropped the ball, darting toward the house. I frowned, wondering why it seemed like he was going to investigate something. Then I heard familiar voices cutting through the air.

No. Is that? It can’t be. Can it? No. How?

I spun toward the house just as my parents walked out onto the back patio. My jaw dropped and I blinked hard, unable to believe what I was seeing, but yep. It was definitely them.

My mom’s reddish hair shot through with white was an unmistakable halo of curls around her head.

A floral, orange and purple kaftan was wrapped around her full curves.

Dad stood next to her, his tall, lean frame encased in his customary faded jeans, leather bracelets around his wrists, and wearing a geometric shirt boasting so many colors that I couldn’t name them all.

There was absolutely no one else they could be other than my parents. Behind them, Ford swept an arm out toward the yard, dropping to his haunches as Rook came over to sniff around them.

Confused about what they were doing here, I grinned and broke into a run toward them.

I hadn’t seen my parents for months and Ford and I were supposed to be traveling out their way for Thanksgiving to spend the holiday with them.

That was the next time I thought I would be seeing them, but here they were.

My mom took a step forward and opened her arms, and I barreled right into them as if I was still five years old. “Mama! What are you doing here?”

She chuckled, holding me tight and stroking my hair like her instincts still wanted her to sooth me like I was five too. “Ford flew us out to come see you. He wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Well, it’s definitely that.” I gave her a big squeeze and then moved on to my dad, stepping into his embrace and immediately inhaling his scent, oil paints and wood varnish. “Daddy, oh I missed you.”

“Missed you too, sweetheart.” He gathered me in his arms and dropped a kiss on top of my head. “It’s so darn good to see you. This is quite a house you’ve got here.”

I felt my cheeks flush and glanced at Ford, who was still on his haunches and rubbing Rook’s neck. His blue eyes were on us though, the expression in them so happy and loving that my heart ached at the sight of it.

Gone were the days of his permanent scowl. His handsome face smiled much more often nowadays. He was still grumpy at work, but he was even getting better there.

Pushing to his feet as he held my gaze, he extended a hand toward me.

I took it and he pulled me closer to his side.

He slipped an arm around my waist and smiled at my parents.

“You must be starving after your flight. I wish I could tell you that I have a homecooked meal ready for you here, but that would’ve been difficult to pull off without making Lila suspicious. ”

I glanced up at him. “Don’t sell yourself short. You have cooked before.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, but if I started on a whole meal and couldn’t give you an explanation for why I was cooking it, you would’ve known something was going on.”

“True.” I turned back to my parents, my heart so full at the sight of them here, so unexpectedly, on Ford’s patio, that I felt like I might just pop.

“There’s a place by the beach that has fishing nets hanging from the ceiling.

The first time I went there with Addy, I knew you guys would get a kick out of it. Let’s go there.”

“I love fishing nets hanging from the ceiling,” Mom agreed immediately, taking my arm before glancing at Rook. “Does he stay or is he coming with us?”

“He’s for sure coming with us.” I called him over and let Mom dote on him while Ford led Dad to the guest room. He doubled back to the truck to grab their luggage, and once it was all offloaded, we all climbed in and drove to the restaurant.

During lunch, Rook leaned on my mom’s leg, evidently liking her as much as he liked me way back at the beginning. My folks were kind of kooky and I’d been intermittently worried about us all spending Thanksgiving together, but Ford didn’t seem to mind it at all.

He’s probably used to it now that he’s been around me for so long.

I smiled as I watched him and my dad having an easy conversation about the differences in design of historic homes in various parts of the world. They really seemed to have hit it off and Mom finally turned to me.

“Let’s leave the men to it and take Rook for a walk on the beach. What do you say?”

“Let’s do it.” I turned to Ford and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “You guys have fun, okay? We’re taking Rook out for a bit, but we’ll be back.”

He smiled. “Remember to try to encourage him to make friends.”

I winked. “Aye aye, Captain.”

Chuckling, he shook his head and turned back to my dad, but I felt him watching me as I walked away. Rook trotted dutifully by my side until we were on the beach. Then he took off running and did a few laps on the sand, evidently not at all tired after all the running he’d done this morning.

Mom looped her arm around mine and smiled at me as I watched him play. “You’re in love.”

I groaned and tore my gaze away from Rook to look at her. “Is it that obvious?”

“I’m your mother. Of course, it’s that obvious.” She winked, a truly joyful smile on her lips. “Gosh, I’ve waited so long for this moment. It’s good to finally see you truly happy, my love.”

“It’s good to finally be truly happy,” I confessed. “I can’t believe I almost missed this. If I’d stayed in New York…”

I didn’t even want to finish that sentence, but thankfully, Mom didn’t need me to. “That city was never right for you. It’s a nice place and all, but spirits like ours need to be free, not caged in by a concrete jungle on all sides.”

I chuckled. “Something like that.”

“But mostly Ford?” She laughed when I felt my cheeks turn the color of an overripe tomato. “Mostly Ford, then.”

“Yeah.” I sighed, turning my gaze back to Rook just in case he tried to run off. “I haven’t told him any of this yet, though. We haven’t even said I love you yet.”

Well, I had, but I definitely wasn’t going to go telling my mom about that particular moment. She frowned, her eyes kind but definitely confused. “Why the hell not? It’s obvious he loves you too. Just tell the man.”

I grimaced. “It’s… complicated, but things are going really well and I’m afraid I’ll ruin it if I overwhelm him with something like this.”

“Something like what?” she asked. “The truth?”

“Sure, but it’s so much more than that. I just feel like he’s the one for me, Mama. I love him and I want to marry him someday, but you can’t just go around blurting all that stuff out to a guy who’s been through as much as he has.”

“Bull nuts.” She waved me off. “If anyone knows how short life is, it’s people who have been through what both of you have. You know better than anyone not to let time pass you by.”

“And you want a grandchild sooner rather than later?”

She laughed but shrugged, batting her lashes at me. “Well, yes. It’s definitely about that too.”

Rook was chasing seagulls, running around happily until he was suddenly spooked by a trio of pugs. He yelped and came racing back to me as if his life depended on it, squashing his body into my leg.

Mom reached for him and stroked the backs of his ears. “Is there something wrong with him? Like is he… all there?”

I smiled. “He’s fine. He just thinks he’s a human, is all.”

She chuckled. “In that case, I agree, Rook. Pugs can be super creepy.”

“Mom!” I groaned. “I think they’re cute.”

Patting me on the back as if she thought I was cute, she launched into telling me stories about all their friends and neighbors. Eventually, we went back into the restaurant and rejoined Dad and Ford just as our food was being served.

We shared seafood platters and had some sodas, laughing and talking all the way through. Ford really seemed to be getting along with them and something in my heart solidified, like this was yet another sign I’d been waiting for.

On our drive back home, I started wondering if I was imagining things, though. It felt like Ford and my parents were all being a little secretive and squirrely, and Ford was purposefully driving around, showing Dad the homes in his neighborhood but deliberately avoiding his street.

When he drove past the fourth time, I finally turned to him. “Have you forgotten where you live or something?”

He grinned at me. “Nope, but you’re right. I think we’ve taken enough time.”

“Enough time for what?”

“You’ll see.” As he said it, he did a U-turn and drove around the block to his house. We turned the corner and the first thing I saw in the fading afternoon sun were fairy lights. Strings and strings of them between so many of the trees on his street.

The gazebo was lit up as well. People milled about in the street and children zoomed around on their bicycles. It took me a minute to figure out what was going on. “Is there another block party happening? How did I not know about this?”

“Because it’s for you,” Ford murmured. Glancing at me, he pulled into the driveway of his home. “You put so much effort into the last one and I know you didn’t get to enjoy it as much as you wanted to because of me, so we’re having a redo. This time, I promise I’m not going to ruin it for you.”