Page 47
“Yes,” I said quietly. “Even after that.”
Angela didn’t respond, so I continued.
“He loves Christine more than anything in the world. He worries about her constantly, about whether he’s doing enough for her. And when I met him, he didn’t even know who I was. I was just some random woman on a shuttle who needed help getting rid of a guy who wouldn’t leave her alone. Greyson could have ignored me, but he didn’t hesitate. He just played along.”
“That was nice of him.”
“It was. And he can be so thoughtful, Angie. He tells me he’s known as a grump, but he’s never like that with me. He listens when I talk. He remembers little things. He makes me laugh.” I smiled despite myself. “He even looked through my telescope with me one night. I showed him the stars, and he actually seemed interested. He didn’t act bored or make fun of me for being a nerd.”
Angela’s expression softened.
“And the way he looks at me…” I trailed off, my cheeks warming. “God, I don’t even know how to explain it. Sometimes he looks at me, and I get these ridiculous little flutters in my chest. Like I’m sixteen again.”
“Except when you were sixteen, you were obsessed with Eddie Walsh.”
I groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
She tilted her head. “Heather, you sound like you’re in love with Greyson.”
My heart gave a painful thump. “No.”
“No?”
“I can’t be.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’ve known him for less than a week!”
“So?”
“So, that’s insane.”
Angela shrugged. “Why?”
I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I didn’t have a good answer for that.
She smiled faintly. “You just spent ten minutes telling me how wonderful he is and how he makes you feel. You’re defending him even though he hurt you. And you look like you’re about to cry every time you say his name.”
“That doesn’t mean I love him.”
“Maybe not. But maybe it does. And maybe the amount of time you’ve known someone doesn’t matter any more than how old they are. Or whether they live in the same city.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. Because it made a lot of sense.
“I’m not saying you should marry the guy tomorrow,” she continued. “I’m just saying that if you feel this strongly about him, maybe you shouldn’t dismiss it because it happened faster than you expected.”
I thought about Greyson ordering extra food in case I showed up for lunch. And the way he listened when I talked about what happened with Eddie. The way he smiled more every day I knew him. And Starlight.
But then, I heard his voice in my head.
Heather doesn’t mean anything to me.
Every time I thought of that, the pain was sharp enough to steal my breath.
“Even if I do love him,” I whispered, “I don’t think he feels the same way.”
“Heather…”
