Page 56 of Gray

“A little, yeah.”

“Do you have any siblings? Do they look like you? What about your parents? Oh. Sorry. One question at a time.”

“No siblings,” I said, amused by his rambling mouth. “As for my parents, my dad wasn’t in the picture. It was just me and my mom.”

“Did you always want to be a Marine?”

“Not exactly. Money was tight, and I couldn’t afford college. While decent at football, I wasn’t good enough for a scholarship, and my grades were average at best. During my senior year, a recruiter came to the high school. The dream built from there. I signed up as soon as I turned eighteen.”

Gray was quiet as he listened, but his foot bumped mine beneath the table. He always had to be touching someone. “Where’s your mom now?”

“She died about nine years ago,” I answered, a dull ache in my chest. “A stroke.”

“I’m so sorry.” Gray reached across the table and placed his hand over mine. His was so small in comparison. “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. My brother died in the first war with Lucifer, and it still hurts.”

“You lost a brother?”

“Yeah. His name was Kallias.” Gray pulled his hand away and took another bite of his waffle. “He was a deadly sin too, but hardly anyone knows about him. There were originally eight sins, you see. Kallias was Melancholy. I think maybe that’s why he died. Dying young and being forgotten with time was just part of his curse. But I remember him. I always will. He was so sad, but when he smiled, his whole face lit up. I miss that about him.”

It really struck me then that Gray, despite his sunshine personality, had been through a lot of shit. Yet, he hadn’t allowed that pain to consume him. The difference between us.

After the late lunch, we decided to walk to Simon’s shop instead of drive since it wasn’t too far away. The downtown area was busy, people going in and out of stores. Gray, hyper from the sugar overload, pointed everything out to me, so easily amused by everything. He was vibrant and fun. Warm.

Was this what it was like all the time with Gray? If so, I could definitely see myself getting used to it. Maybe even a little addicted.

Stop, I told myself.Don’t get carried away.

This thing with him was only temporary.

The sun had started to set by the time we finally reached Simon’s shop.

“There it is!” Gray grabbed my hand and hurried toward the building up ahead. Timeless Antiques & Curiosities. He knocked on the door before peeking through the window. “Hello? Simon? Galen?” Another knock. “Bueller?”

I snorted at the movie reference.

The door opened, and Galen’s massive body blocked the entrance. The guy was so tall he couldn’t even get through the door without ducking. He let us in and crossed his arms over his chest, those light gray eyes narrowing at me. “What are you doing here?”

“Mason took me for waffles.” Gray flitted around the shop, looking at items on the shelves. “We won’t talk about what happened before the waffles. You probably don’t wanna hear about it. Spoiler alert. A happy ending was involved.”

My cheeks heated.

Gray shot toward the hallway, his blond hair flopping as he ran. “Simon?” He disappeared into a room, but I still heard him as he exclaimed, “Is this new? I want it.”

“You can’t claim everything, Gray,” Simon retorted. “Hey! Put that down before you break it.”

“I won’t break it.” A pause. “Oops. You can deduct it from my paycheck.”

“You don’tgeta paycheck.”

“Then I guess it’s even stevens.”

I returned my attention to Galen. He hadn’t stopped glaring at me since the second I walked in.

The Nephilim brothers had every reason to be wary of strangers. But it wasn’t as though I’d asked to be thrown into the middle of their lives. This oversized, angry asshole had literally dragged me into it the moment he knocked me out and took me to the mansion.

“Are we going to keep doing this forever?” I asked. “You should lay off the attitude and give me some credit.”

“Why would I do that?” Galen drifted closer. “I don’t trust you, hunter. I look into your soul and see darkness staring back at me.”