Page 84 of When Our Stars Aligned

We make our way back towards the hospital where I spot Jax and Grant sitting outside on a bench. My heart rate quickens at the sight of Jax; walking towards him feels like I’m coming home.

Before Jax and Grant come into earshot, Papa Chris gently tugs on my arm to stop me. “Jaxon is a good man. His life hasn’t been easy, which you know. He might have a cold exterior, but there is a warm heart underneath it all.”

“I know.” I smile.

47

Jax

I cannot explain how much I love coming home from work these days. Aly has officially moved in with me, which means I get to wake up and fall asleep with her in my arms every day. It still pisses me off that we missed out on so much time together, but Aly tells me to just stay focused on our present and future. Speaking of our future, we decided to purchase the house Travis and I are currently working on. We will still be 3rdEast residents for the time being as renovations are taking longer than expected. We had to completely gut the Hotel California room, which is now my future office.

“Hey, sweetheart.” I wrap my arms around her from behind and kiss her temple. “Are you making those awesome pork chops again?”

“Yeah, we haven’t had them since the day you paraded around here naked. I figured it was time to make them again.”

I bark out a laugh. “I did not parade around here naked!Youweren’t even supposed to be here. I think you were just sitting quietly in the corner, waiting to catch a glimpse of me.”

“While I was sitting quietly in the corner, I assure you I was not expecting to catch a glimpse of your naked ass. Not that I’m not complaining or anything.” She turns around and winks.

I lean over her shoulder and grab a pork chop. It’s piping hot, but I don’t care. It’s delicious.

“What are you doing?” she squeals. “You can’t just steal an entire pork chop!”

“Just did,” I say as I take a huge bite. “These are so great; they taste just like Gram’s.”

“Well, I’m not surprised since she was the one who taught me how to make them.”

“That’s impossible.” I nearly choke. “Gram took all of her recipes to her grave.”

Aly gives me a quizzical look. “What are you talking about? She taught me a bunch of recipes every summer when she came to visit.”

“Are we talking about the same woman? Because Gram outright refused to share her recipes with anyone.”

“If we are talking about Nonna Grace, then yes, indeed. Every summer, she would spend a whole day with me and we would cook together. She felt bad that I didn’t have any grandparents, so she basically adopted me like the rest of your family.”

“Why can’t you just call her Gram?” I’m curious why Aly uses the names my cousins used instead of the names my sister and I did.

“Because I didn’t know her as Gram. My sisters called her Nonna Grace, so that’s what I called her too.”

I’m still getting used to Aly referring to my cousins as her “sisters.”

“Fine,” I huff. “So, ‘Nonna Grace’ taught you how to cook?”

“She didn’t teach meeverything. Like I said, she would spend one day a summer with me. The rest I learned from Mamma Maria or on my own.”

A thought hits me. “The oatmeal walnut chocolate chip cookies. Gram—I mean, Nonna Grace—showed you how to make those?”

“Mm-hmm.” She nods. “That was actually the first thing we made together. I guess that would be the summer I turned thirteen. I have a lot more of her recipes.”

“And the pork chops?”

“I think that was the summer I turned fifteen.”

“What else did she show you how to make?”

Aly tilts her head. “Let’s see, the cookies were the first thing. She also taught me how to make citrus salad dressing, meatloaf—I haven’t made that in a while—the pork chops and—”

I cannot believe what I’m hearing. I drop to my knees and wrap my arms around her waist.

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