Page 111 of The Elusive Billionaire

“How’d she take that?”

He points to his temple. “She gave me a concussion with a shovel.”

I could easily see Savvy doing the same thing. “What did you do?”

A rare smile tugs at the corner of his lips. “Pops had been with Maisie a few years by then. Childhood sweethearts and all. For the amount of trouble that man caused, he had an uncanny ability to heal fractured hearts.”

I scoff, but Moose just lifts his brow to me in question. “You think he doesn’t know exactly what he’s doing every time he pushes you closer to Savvy? You think he didn’t know exactly what he was doing, playing matchmaker with your grandfather? Pops is a meddler, no doubt about that, but he’s rooting for you, son. Nothing makes him happier than seeing those he loves in love.”

I’m not convinced that Pops has any planning abilities whatsoever, so I focus on his story. “How’d you get Gilly to fall for you?”

He shrugs. “I just kept showing up. One day, one moment at a time until the fabric of her life wound so tightly through mine there was no beginning and no end, just us.”

“I’m showing up for Savvy.”

“Mm-hmm. But showing up with a bulldozer and showing up with a shovel are two very different things. Go at that girl with a bulldozer, and she’ll piss in your gas tank just to leave you all alone, seizing in the hot sun.”

“You want me to hit her with a shovel?” My head hurts from this conversation.

“I want you to meet her halfway with a shovel and then slowly chip away at the cement that girl’s got clinging to her shoes.”

“You think she’s drowning.” It’s the same fear I’ve had since I returned to Happiness.

“I think she’s been treading water so long she doesn’t remember how to ask for a hand.” His voice is rough with age and wisdom I can’t begin to fathom. “She needs a life preserver, not a rescue. You keep bulldozing your way into her problems like you are, and she’s likely to go under just to spite you. But hold her life preserver while she finds her feet and you just might find a way to keep her.”

“I…”

“You’re a good man, Greyson. You hide behind bitterness and a cold demeanor, but even all your ice can’t hide the heart of you. Trust those you love with it. You might be surprised what you uncover about yourself and them.”

“I can’t just sit by and do nothing when there’s a problem I can fix.”

“No, I don’t expect you can. But let me ask you this. When Sage was learning to walk and fell, as toddlers do, did you hold his hand all the time, or did you allow him to figure it out, even with the risk of him getting hurt?”

An image of baby Sage brings a smile to my face. Braxton was always better about letting him cry things out than I was. I tried to use a baby harness so I could yank Sage upright every time he started to fall.

Fuck. That was a disaster.

“I can see it on your face, son. You wanted to protect him, but in the end, you knew all you could do was be there to comfort him after he fell or he’d never learn. Life isn’t about living with no pain, Greyson. It’s about how we move on from the pain and who’s holding our hand when we do.”

“So, what, you just want me to allow her to hurt while she figures it out?” Even as the words leave my mouth, I know I can’t do it. I won’t.

“No, I don’t think you have it in you to allow anyone pain if you can help it, but I do think you can learn to be a team player.What Savvy girl needs is someone to protect her blind side while she makes the play.”

“You want me to be her O-line.” Jesus, now Moose is giving me advice on Savvy in football metaphors.

He chuckles, a raspy sound that starts in his rounded belly. “That’s one way to look at it. Savvy needs to be the quarterback in her story. She has a job to do, and she can do it well, but not while the opposition is constantly attacking her. Be that line of defense she needs to be her own hero. Help her make the play of her life. She needs that control.”

I flip my lucky coin through my fingers while Moose watches. What he said makes sense, but the idea of letting Savvy feel any pain sticks in my stomach like a thousand swords. But if I control the threats, the moves she’ll make will inherently be less painful, right?

“That makes sense,” I finally concede.

“The best thing Gilly ever taught me was that life is not a game of chess. The moment you try to think three steps ahead in matters of the heart is the moment you lose. Love is about action and reaction, with each player having equal power. You can’t plan Savvy’s life for her, but you can react to her choices with love and compassion. See her as your equal in every matter, and you’ll be years ahead of most of us.”

Savvy is my equal. I’ve always known that, even if I refused to admit it.

But does she?

“Grey?”