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think we can make that happen.”
“Yes!” he yells at a decibel that’s way too loud for an almost empty restaurant in the middle of nowhere. I hand Saylor her car keys, then lift my chin toward the parking lot.
“Why don’t you guys go get in the car, and I’ll take care of the check?”
“Owen, I can––”
“Don’t even think about it, Say. I’ll meet you at the car, okay?”
Her lips pull into a thin line before she scoots out of the booth and slips her arms into her coat. Then she lifts Grady’s so that he can do the same. Once they’re all bundled up, Say offers her hand for Grady to take, and my chest tightens as I watch him weave their fingers together. Side by side, they walk into the parking lot, their tangled hands swaying back and forth as Grady looks up at Say with the cutest, most adoring expression I’ve ever seen.
The kid’s mom signed over her rights as a parent as soon as my condition hit ESPN. And even though it hurt me to see her turn away from her own kid, her abandonment hurt Grady even more. But this? This moment between the love of my life and the best kid in the whole damn world? It’s something else. It gives me hope that Grady and I––that Saylor and I––can get through all the shit we’ve had thrown at us and maybe find our happily ever after.
Maybe.
If it wasn’t weird, I’d snap a picture, but I use my memory to capture the moment instead.
And I know it’ll be enough. Because I have a feeling I’ll be seeing a lot more of these moments in the future.
I can’t wait.
21
Saylor
“You’re nervous,” I whisper from the passenger seat as we pull up to my parents’ house.
“I’m not nervous,” Owen defends, giving me the side-eye.
I quirk my brow.
“Okay, I’m nervous, but do you blame me?” he mutters under his breath.
“It’ll be fine––”
“I broke their daughter’s heart, Say.”
“Yeah, but––”
“I broke their sister’s heart,” he continues, reminding me of Sway’s and Skye’s points of view too.
“Well, yeah, but––”
His voice sounds tortured as he cuts me off again. “I left you after promising to never leave you. What kind of asshole does that? Especially when it wasn’t even––” His mouth snaps shut, and his knuckles turn white before he twists the key to turn off the ignition.
“Wasn’t even, what?” I ask.
“Nothing. It’ll be fine. This’ll be fine. Grady will have a blast, and no one will kill me as long as there’s a kid to witness it.”
“Why would someone want to kill you?” Grady interjects, his little forehead wrinkled with concern.
Damn little ears.
Twisting in the driver’s seat, Owen rustles Grady’s hair. “I’m kidding, bud.”
“Then what did you mean?” Grady asks curiously.
“It’s kind of complicated, Grady.”
