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“I’m still confused.”
Her hands squeeze mine.
“I knew there was something missing from your life, and as much as I wanted to be that thing, I knew I wasn’t. I held onto hope that you would figure out what you needed to do to make yourself happy.”
“Leaving home,” I say. “It was a huge step for me, and I still can’t believe the weight that has been lifted off my shoulders.
But how did you know I would be here?”
“The box,” she says
“Right, but…”
“I told you that you would know, and you did. And here you are, taking a chance at doing something you have wanted to do for a
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long time. I stayed in contact with Chris, he told me when you finally figured it out. That’s how I knew to be here today.”
“That ass hat.”
She gets up, rounds the table and sits next to me. She turns in her seat and puts her hands on either side of my face.
“I needed you to love yourself before I could truly be a part of your life.” She rubs her thumbs along my cheeks, and her eyes glisten from tears. “Leaving you was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I love you.”
I search her eyes and put my hands on her knees. “I love you, too Riley.”
She pulls my face to hers and our lips crash together.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Riley
THE FEELING OF HIS lips on mine again is heaven. I wanted to reach out to him so many times but knew I shouldn’t. Then, when he texted me, I knew he had hit a low point and as much as I wanted to console him, I couldn’t.
He lifts his leg from the beneath picnic table, swinging it over the bench seat. Our knees touch, and he grabs my waist and pulls me onto his lap, my legs hang over his thighs. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull my body as close to his as I can.
He pulls back and looks up at me.
“You’re amazing,” he says
I fight the urge to be a smart-ass.
“Why, thank you.” It doesn’t work.
He laughs, and our foreheads meet.
“I’m proud of you, Grayson.”
“Thanks, Munchkin.”
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He holds me in his arms. I never want to be away from him again.
