Page 91 of Falling for a Grumpy Hero

Jared reached for the spatula. “Maybe I should take that. How about you keep me company?”

Mr. Winslow happily relinquished the honor while I followed my now official girlfriend halfway across the yard of the house closest to us. She was brimming with excitement, a smile so wide on her face that her cheeks had to hurt.

“I just found out a secret,” she said in a sing-song voice. “Obviously, that meant I had to share it with you immediately. In my defense though, Taylor said I could tell you, so I’m not betraying his confidence.”

“Taylor?” I frowned. “What’s his secret?”

“He’s going to propose to Addy,” she squealed, but she did it quietly enough that she didn’t attract any attention. “He asked for my help picking out a ring!”

“Of course, he did.” I took her hands and it was on the tip of my tongue to tell her that Addy would be helping me next, but there were probably a few other things we needed to talk about before we got there. We’d already covered the part where I’d told her I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. Now I just had to tell her it was because I loved her more than life itself. “Are you going to be able to keep this secret from Addy?”

She mimed zipping her lips and smirked at me as she started dancing backward, obviously aiming at getting back to her friends. “I’m a vault, Mr. Grumpy Pants. She’ll never hear it from me.”

With that, she winked and ran back to the gazebo and I chuckled, unable to wipe the smile off my face. While Jared was already handling the grill, I figured I might as well use the time to head back to my house to grab some meat from the fridge.

We’d brought out a ton of burgers, but the turnout had been better than I’d originally expected. Luckily, I’d bought extra just in case. As I jogged back, I thought about Taylor’s plans and Lila’s excitement, and I still couldn’t fucking stop smiling.

I never thought I’d get married. I honestly never thought I’d want to, but now, everything had changed. I didn’t just want to get married. I wanted to do it soon. As soon as I possibly could. I just had to make sure that when I popped that question, I could offer her the life I wanted to be able to give.

Which means it probably won’t be that soon, but still.

I walked into my kitchen, immediately spotting the black, rectangular device lying on the counter. In an effort to be fully present at the party, I’d left my phone behind, but I swiped it up now, toying with the idea of doing something I’d been thinking about for a couple weeks now.

If I did it, it would be another step in the right direction. Not just for me, but for Luke’s parents as well. They’d been reaching out to me for so long, but I couldn’t fathom why. I really hadn’t understood it at all until I’d seen Melissa’s reaction to me.

I desperately owed these people a phone call, at least, and I’d kept them waiting long enough. My heart started pounding as I scrolled to his mom’s number, my stomach twisting when I hit dial. I closed my eyes as I waited for her to pick up, but in the end, I got her voicemail.

I hadn’t really been prepared for this, but I left a message anyway. “Uh, hi. This is Ford. Ford Callahan.”

Drawing in a deep breath, I thought back to all the times I’d met them while Luke had still been here and all the conversations we’d had on the phone when I’d been deployed with him. I thought about all the calls they’d made to me over the years and the effort they’d made to come see me in the hospital when I’d come back.

“I just wanted to say that I’ve thinking about you a lot and I’m so sorry I missed the memorial. Again.” I exhaled a deep, rattling breath. “I’ve been making some changes recently though, and I’d love to come out there to visit you soon if you’ll have me. There’s someone I’d like you to meet. Okay, uh, call me anytime. I really miss you guys and I’ll explain when I see you. If I see you. But for now, please just call me whenever you’re ready.”

After I hung up, I felt like another part of me had begun to heal. I’d been putting that off for way, way too long.

I shook my hands out at my sides to rid myself of the residual nervous energy, then grabbed the meat and headed back to the party. With my phone in my pocket this time. Just in case.

Lila was at the grill with her dad and Jared, and she grinned when she saw what I was carrying. “Man find meat, huh?”

I pumped my eyebrows at her and slid my free hand around her waist, tugging her to me and laying a big kiss on her lips. “Man cook meat, then man might need to go grab a shower. This is a lot of burgers.”

She chuckled, but before she could say anything, there was a clap of thunder overhead and the heavens suddenly opened up. Chaos ensued, but I didn’t let go of her, just dropping the meat on the table next to the grill and then kissing her like I should’ve kissed her that first time in the rain.

49

LILA

Rain whispered on the rooftop, a steady patter like distant applause. It wrapped around the house in a gentle rhythm, splattering against the windows and merging into a chaotic percussion that surged and softened on the whims of the wind.

After a frantic dash back to Ford’s house in the heavy downpour, we’d grabbed quick showers to warm up, had one last drink for the night with my parents, and then we’d all crawled into bed. Cocooned under the covers with him, I slipped my thigh between his legs and one of my hands splayed across the muscles in his back.

“A block party just for me,” I murmured quietly as I looked up at him. “You really didn’t have to do that.”

He let out a chuckle that I could barely hear over the storm, but since my parents were asleep next door, neither of us wanted to take any chances. “I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. You were so excited for the last one, and because of me, your memories of it aren’t amazing. I wanted to give you better memories.”

I touched a palm to his cheek. “Yet you say you’re not the kind of man I deserve. Do you even realize how few people would do something like that? You’re a unicorn, Ford Callahan. Don’t keep selling yourself short.”

The corners of his mouth twitched into a half-smile. “I’m not sure calling a guy a unicorn is the compliment I think you meant it as, but I guess I do have a horn.”