Page 32 of Heartbreak Hill

He should’ve been mad, but he didn’t have it in him to be angry at her. He did, however, want an answer to his question. “So, about that date?”

“What are you talking about, Grayson? I’m with you all the time.”

Grayson tried to adjust but felt something pull and thought better of moving. Instead, he angled his head, hoping like hell he was flirtingwith her. “I want to take you on a real date,” he said. “Not out to dinner after work, but the two of us, where we get somewhat dressed up, go dancing, and have a nice meal.”

“Sure, but let’s get you mended first,” she said, a little less enthusiastically than he’d hoped.

Grayson lifted his hand toward her face. It hurt to move his arm, and thankfully Reid recognized this and came closer. When she was close enough, he cupped the back of her head and pulled her closer. “Reid,” he said before his lips pressed to hers.

She didn’t gasp the way he thought she would. Not how he imagined she would when they finally kissed again. Not how she had when they’d spent the one night together.

He hated that his lips were rough against her soft ones. Gently, he moved his lips with hers. Lightly caressing them as if she were the fragile one at the moment. The thump in his new heart felt stronger, sounded louder, affirming that he was, in fact, still very much in love with her.

Grayson went to deepen the kiss, but Reid pulled back abruptly. She tasted sweet like cinnamon apples, which reminded him of last fall, when they’d gone apple picking and then made a pie in her kitchen. He tossed flour on her, they flirted, and while he wanted to kiss her then, his life was so complicated.

A new heart removed the complication between them. He had a new lease on life. A second chance. And something deep in the recesses of his mind told him not to squander it.

She covered her lips with her fingers, and then it was like a veil had descended over her. The moment shifted.

“You should rest,” she told him. “You need to heal.”

He deserved the cold shoulder, the brush-off. If he were in her shoes, he’d act the same way.

There was a knock on the door, and then three doctors came in. They introduced themselves, and Reid said she’d be back in a minute. As soon as she was gone, the medical team began detailing his recovery, the need for physical therapy, and the strict diet he’d have to follow.That third item had Grayson rolling his eyes. He wasn’t some old man and shouldn’t have to eat like one.

“We also suggest therapy,” one of the doctors said. “You’ll need help coping with the changes your body is going through and accepting the magnitude of what you went through. Most of our patients know beforehand about their transplant and meet with a therapist prior to surgery. You didn’t get the opportunity to do that.”

Grayson didn’t say much. Everything the doctors said was a reason why he didn’t take his meds, never watched what he ate, and enjoyed drinking beer every night after work. He wanted to live on his terms, not the terms of some medical association telling him what to do.

But now he had a second chance at life after being reckless with his first one. He’d kissed Reid and told her he liked her, or at least hinted in that direction, although he wasn’t entirely sure she’d believed him. He’d have to show her he meant it. There was no way he could let her down now. She’d never forgive him.

So he nodded and listened to what the doctors told him. Grayson would go to therapy, both physical and mental. He’d eat better, because his mom and Reid would make sure of it. He’d follow the rules and guidelines and make it to all his follow-up appointments. Grayson would be better for his mom. For Reid. And for the person who had died in order for him to have a new lease on life.

That was heavy. Having thoughts about a person who had died. He placed his hand over his heart, and everything hurt.

Except it didn’t.

Grayson’s mind was playing tricks on him. The drugs kept him pain-free. Anything he felt was a figment of his imagination. Sure, they’d cut his chest open, removed his second-most-vital organ, and put a new one in, so to his mind, his body should hurt. He should feel the pain from the incision, from them breaking his ribs and then sewing him back together.

He felt longing. Desire. Love.

Reid came back into the room after the doctors left and sat next to him. They held hands and looked at each other.

“I’m alive,” he told her.

“You are, and I’m so damn happy because of it.”

“I’m sorry I scared you.”

“It’s okay,” she told him. “You’re fine now, and that’s all that matters.”

Grayson asked her about his job, and she filled him in. Everyone at work was happy he’d made it through surgery. They had donated sick days to cover what he lacked until his medical leave kicked in. Pearce had a countdown going to when they could get back on the court, and the women had started a calendar of meals they planned to make him.

It all sounded good, except for the fact that he’d have to spend his days by himself. One of the aspects of his job that he loved so much was the fact that he worked with Reid every day. He was about to ask her again about the date when his mom and stepdad walked in. More alone time with Reid would have to wait.

TEN

NADIA

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