Page 88 of Heartbreak Hill

But you would’ve gone with your dad and Gemma.

What was the difference?

“Do you want to go with Uncle Lars? I can call him. Or Kiran?”

Lynnea shook her head.

“What about Grandpa Otto?”

Another shake.

She could ask her father, but she didn’t necessarily want him traveling that far for a two-hour dance. “Honey, is this why you called Grayson?”

Lynnea snuggled impossibly deeper into Nadia’s shoulder, almost as if she was embarrassed. Nadia nudged her and worked to pry Lynnea’sviselike hands off her neck. “I want to see your pretty face,” she told her daughter, who reluctantly let go. “Ah, there’s my beautiful girl. Did you call Grayson because of the dance?”

Lynnea nodded.

“I see. You know he lives by where I grew up, by Grandma and Grandpa. He’s not in Boston.”

“I know,” she said as she fiddled with the blankets on her bed.

“He can’t just stop his life and come here, Lynnea. Besides, he ...” She trailed off. The last thing he’d said when he left was to call him with whatever the girls needed. Not her, which she’d found odd. It was like he’d singled out the girls for a reason. It could be that he thought they needed their own person for moral support or something. She’d seen how they’d bonded during the tea party, and the girls were incredibly upset when he’d left that night.

“Why do you like Grayson?”

Lynnea shrugged. “He’s warm like Daddy, and they smell the same.”

Nadia hadn’t even noticed if they wore the same cologne, which she found odd, because the cologne Rafe had worn—he’d worn it because she’d bought it for him—was her favorite scent. She’d recognize it anywhere, and yet she couldn’t recall smelling it on Grayson.

“I get that you like Grayson. I like him too—”

“Is he going to be my new daddy?”

Nadia gasped. “Wh-what? No. Why would you say that?”

Lynnea shrugged and once again burrowed into her mother. “He’s just like Daddy,” she mumbled. Lynnea’s tears wet Nadia’s shirt, and she held her daughter tighter. She was having a hard time grasping the notion that the girls thought Grayson was like Rafe. They were nothing alike. Not in looks, mannerisms, or even attitudes. When she’d dated Grayson, he was noncommittal, aloof, and very much “go with the flow,” unless it didn’t suit him. This was what had made it so easy to break things off with him when she’d left for college. She’d been right to do so because that was where she’d met Rafe, who was the opposite of Grayson. Rafe was daring and adventurous, and when he put his mindto something, he worked at it until he’d achieved his goals. Not once had she missed Grayson, and even now, if she didn’t see or hear from him again, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. But something told her that he wasn’t going to let that happen, and neither were her children.

“Sweetie.” Nadia rubbed Lynnea’s back. “No one can ever replace your daddy.” As she said the words, it hit her. Lynnea would have very few memories of Rafe—and that gutted Nadia. She inhaled deeply and vowed toalwaystalk about Rafe, even if she ever dated or remarried. Rafe would always be at the forefront. It was the least she could do as his wife and the mother of his children.

Lynnea lifted her head. She had her thumb in her mouth. A habit she’d picked back up after Rafe died but seemed to have stopped on her own. As much as Nadia wanted to tug on her hand, she didn’t. She hated seeing it, but it brought Lynnea comfort, and that was important. “Eber?”

“Ever,” Nadia said as she tapped the tip of Lynnea’s nose with her index finger. “Your daddy is irreplaceable. He will always live on in your heart.”

“I miss him.”

“I know you do, sweetie. I miss him more than words can even describe.”

They sat there hugging until Gemma came upstairs. She was covered in dirt, head to toe, after spending some time in the flower beds. Ever since she’d taken charge of the weeding, it had become her thing. Nadia appreciated the help and loved that they all had a thing to do together.

“Looks like you need a shower,” Nadia said to Gemma.

She nodded. “Look, I have dirt under my nails, and I wore gloves. I just don’t get it.” She threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

Nadia laughed and reached her hand out to her, pulling her into her side. “I love you girls so much.” She held them as long as she could, thankful that neither of them squirmed. Somehow, they knew when she needed their love and affection. Their lives easily could’ve gonesouth, down a hole of depression, but somehow the three of them were pulling through.

“Come on,” Nadia said as she stood. “Gemma, you go hop in the shower while your sister and I go make dinner.”

“Uncle Reuben and Kiran are making it.”

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