Page 124 of Out Of A Fix

John nodded.

“Viola, this soup is amazing,” I assured her.

“I’ve won prizes with that recipe.”

“I have no doubt.”

“Do you think this is a response to your wife cheating on you and you’re afraid to love another woman?”

He wasn’t yelling, instead asking questions. I considered that a very good sign.

Viola took a seat beside her husband and propped her chin on her hand, looking at Luke and me. “You know, you two make a beautiful couple.”

“That’s because you two made him so pretty,” I said.

“Why, thank you, sir,” she gushed.

“Oh God,” Luke groaned, his gaze back on his father. “To answer your question, no. I have no issue with women and still find them as beautiful as I always have. I simply have no desire to spend any time with anyone else but Nash. When he hugged me the first day I got back, it was… Everything was swirling around, my life was unbalanced, up in the air. I felt like I was losing the kids, but then…then he hugged me, and my world that was coming apart became solid again. I felt like me.”

“That’s gratitude for all he’s done for you,” John remarked.

“Hah, see?” I told Luke.

He rolled his eyes. “No, Dad. It’s not. You don’t feel gratitude way down deep in your gut, and gratitude doesn’t make you want to⁠—”

“Small child,” Viola interrupted, pointing at Tatum.

“—keep someone with you for the rest of your life.”

Tatum sighed happily. “I was scared.”

“Why were you scared, Tate?” her grandfather asked her.

“I didn’t want Nash to go away. I love how everything is now, and I love how happy Daddy is. He’s never been this happy. Not ever. I know. I watch.”

“Is that true?” John asked his son.

He nodded. “It is.”

“Hey,” Griff said, arriving at the table, standing there, not sitting. “I wanted to give you time to eat, but I’m dying to hear about the guy you chased.”

“Of course,” I said with a smile. “Take a seat and I’ll⁠—”

“Are you guys gonna get married?”

Funny that he’d changed topics. “I thought you wanted to know about the guy?”

“I do. I really do. But I wanna hear if you’re gonna get married too.”

“Not right now.”

“Griff,” Luke began, “we should probably talk about⁠—”

“But probably? Someday?” he pressed, and I saw how invested he was in the answer.

“We’re not quite there yet, buddy,” I replied honestly.

“Yeah, but if everything goes great, then you will, right?”