Page 35 of Someone You Deserve

And that’s when Dallas’s words come back to me.

Iambeing a coward by holding back, by not being truthful with her, by letting Dick have his chance when I know I deserve mine.

As I toss the last scrap of debris into the pile, and look at the gutted kitchen, I make peace with myself.

This could end in disaster, or it could be the beginning of everything I’ve wanted for the past three years. Either way, my life isn’t going to be the same after today—because this is either the moment I lose Astrid forever, or the moment we start something new together. And it might get messy, but I’m finally ready to take that risk.

Chapter six

Astrid

“Sorry I’m late.”

Grady is smiling from ear to ear as he watches Lilly dance around in front of the mirror in the dance studio. The parents have to watch from a separate waiting area because it prevents distractions for the girls, but you can still see what they’re learning through the glass.

“The class isn’t over yet. You’re fine.” He pulls me into his chest as we watch Lilly spin and smile. “She’s a natural, Astrid.”

“I know. I’m glad she enjoys it. Bentley has soccer and she has dance—something to keep them both busy.”

“And if the boys win tomorrow, they play in the championship game next week, right?”

I blow out a breath just thinking about how busy life is right now. “Right.”

Bentley comes up behind me and wraps his arm around my waist on my free side. “Hey, Mom.”

“Hi, kiddo.” I welcome this rare initiation of affection. “How was your day?”

He shrugs. “I hate school.”

“What happened?”

Pushing himself from me, he heads back to his chair with no reply. Great.

“He’s been in a mood since I picked him up from Mom,” Grady mutters in my ear.

“I wonder what happened?”

“He’ll talk to you about it when he’s ready,” Grady says nonchalantly as the dance class ends. Easy for him to say as the uncle and not the default parent, the one who worries at all hours of the day that I’m not present enough to know what’s going on with my kid. We wait for Lilly to grab her things, listen to her teacher remind us for the hundredth time about the Christmas recital in December, and then head out to the parking lot together.

“Grady! Grady!” A female voice calls out to us just before we arrive at our cars.

My brother turns around and winces when he sees who’s trying to get his attention. “Oh. Hello, Miranda.”

Miranda Thorn brushes her long, blonde hair from her shoulder, which exposes her cleavage even more. She’s recently divorced, and it looks like she’s trying to let everyone in the vicinity know that she’s available. “I wanted to catch you before you left.”

“Well, here I am.” Grady waves awkwardly as I usher the kids into the car. Thank God they can buckle themselves in now so I don’t have to miss this.

“I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve seen you,” she croons, twirling her finger around her hair. I cover my mouth to keep myself from laughing out loud. This must be what he was talking about earlier this week—the blatant flirting.

“Funny because it was just yesterday when you came by so I could put air in your tires.”

“Huh. Well, it feels like forever.”

Grady takes a step back. “Well, it was good to see you…”

“Are you seeing anyone?” she asks blatantly, surprising us both.

“Uh…”

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