Page 54 of Grim

He nodded once. Slow. Like he was agreeing to something bigger than the moment.

Eventually, they got up. Grim made coffee because it gave his hands something to do, something steady, something familiar. Sophia leaned against the counter, watching him move around her kitchen like he’d been doing it for years. The domesticity of it hit him harder than it should have.

He slid a mug toward her. Their fingers brushed, a soft, accidental touch that sent a warm jolt up his arm.

Neither of them pulled away.

Sophia wrapped her hands around the mug, grounding herself. “About last night…”

He stiffened. “If you regret—”

“I don’t,” she said quickly.

He looked up. Her eyes were steady. Sure. It shook him more than anger ever could.

He stepped closer without meaning to, drawn to her like gravity. “I don’t know what this is,” he said quietly.

“Me neither,” she whispered.

She set her mug down and reached up, fingers brushing his jaw. His breath caught. He didn’t move. Couldn’t.

“Maddox…”

The name hit him like a blow, not painful but intimate. Personal. Hers.

He didn’t know who moved first.

Maybe it was her. Maybe it was him. Maybe it was both of them finally giving in.

Her lips brushed his, soft, tentative, warm. His hands hovered for a heartbeat before settling on her waist, steady and careful, like he was afraid she’d break if he held too tight.

He kissed her back.

Slow. Measured. Hungry in a way he didn’t let himself be.

When they pulled apart, their foreheads rested together, breaths mingling.

“We’ll figure it out,” she whispered.

He swallowed hard. “I want to try.”

The truth of it scared him. But it was real.

They sat at the table with their coffee, the air between them charged but gentle. After a while, Grim cleared his throat.

“There’s something I need to do today,” he said. “At the clubhouse.”

Sophia looked up. “Okay.”

“You don’t have to come,” he said. “It’s… a lot.”

She studied him, the tension in his shoulders, the uncertainty in his eyes. “I want to.”

His breath left him in a slow exhale.

“You sure?” he asked.

She nodded. “If I’m in your life, I want to see your world.”