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“And you don’t want it back?” The look on his face said that he was asking about the kind of men that she’d known in that world – not just her work.
“No! I don’t. I was happy to walk away from it. And I’m even happier that walking away from it brought me to you.”
“Aww. You say the sweetest things.”
She laughed. “Well, I’m with the sweetest guy.”
He narrowed his eyes at her. “Does it bother you that I’m not a big macho guy like Xander?”
“No. It makes me love you even more, and I do love you, Grady Pierce.”
He kissed her again. “And I love you, Hannah Jacobs, more than you know.”
Hearing him say her name like that made her realize that she wanted to change it. She wanted to be Hannah Pierce. The thought felt so right, it sent a shiver down her spine. It was like a tingling knowledge that it would happen one day. She didn’t need to rush. Grady would no doubt want to take his time. It was only right. He had a lot to be sure of first. He had Ava to consider.
“Are you cold?” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and started leading her back inside.
~ ~ ~
“Do you guys want to come in?” Grady asked when the cab pulled up in front of the cottage. “Ava will be in be in bed, but we could put the patio heater on and have a drink outside.”
Xander grinned at him. “Nah. Thanks. We’re good.” He bumped his shoulder against Slade’s. “I’m taking this guy back out hunting.”
“Hunting?” Hannah raised her eyebrows at them. “What, or I should saywho, are you hunting?”
Slade dropped his gaze, but Xander kept on grinning. “If you don’t know, I’m not telling. But ‘tis the season that brings a lot of folks home for the holidays. Folks who wouldn’t mind doing some catching up with my buddy here.”
Grady had no clue who he might be talking about. But if Slade had his eyes on a local girl who didn’t come home too often, he was hardly going to hold them up.
“Okay. Well, thanks for tonight.”
Xander looked more serious now. “Are we good? I didn’t overstep?”
“Nah.” He looked at Hannah. “At least, I’m fine with it. I’m glad you punched him.”
Xander turned to Hannah, and to Grady’s relief, she laughed. “I’m fine with it, too. You know damned well, that I don’t think fighting is the way to solve anything. But he deserved it, and I’m glad you were the one to do it. I imagine that’ll be the last we see of him.”
“It’d better be.”
Slade nodded. “Yup. Can I get everyone’s approval while we’re all here and I’ve had a few? If he shows up again, can I do the honors?”
Xander laughed. “Yep. I hereby deputize you in my absence.”
Grady had to laugh. He loved that Xander and Slade were obviously so close. It was one more thing that reassured him. He might have initially thought of the Jacobs as the family who lived in the big walled estate and who were so different from himself. But he knew now, that wasn’t the case at all.
They waved as the cab pulled away. Grady smiled to himself. Up until now, he’d always been the guy in the cab, the guy going out hunting to find himself a woman to spend the night with. He couldn’t be happier that wasn’t him riding away; that he’d already found his woman and was looking forward to spending all his nights with her.
They walked around the side of the house and stopped when they saw Jacob sitting at the patio table. He was talking on his phone in a low, soft voice.
He looked up when he saw them and held up two fingers. Grady nodded and he and Hannah went inside. He went straight to Ava’s bedroom and smiled at the sight of her spread-eagled on the bed with Scooter snuggled against her side. He went and dropped a kiss on the top of her head and was rewarded with a sloppy kiss from Scooter.
When he got back to the living room, Jacob was there with Hannah. He gave them a rueful smile. “I just had a quick call to make. Ava’s been fast asleep for a while. Though not as long as she should have been. She was teaching me the songs to the movie and time kind of got away from us.”
Grady chuckled. “That’s okay. It’s not like she has school in the morning. Did you have a good time?”
“I did. In fact, anytime you need a babysitter, count me in. Ava and I have made a few plans. Things we can do anytime that suits you guys. But if you want me to come over and watch her …” He trailed off. “Okay! So, what I’m really saying is please can I hang out with her again soon – whether you guys are going out or not. She’s an amazing little person.”
“You can. I love it.”
