Page 47 of Falling for the Single Daddy

“No,” she hisses. “Please, just go. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. For that precious little girl, just go.”

She stares at me with tears glistening in her eyes. I feel like the world’s biggest jerk for leaving her like this, but what else am I supposed to do?

At the door, I stand with my back turned, giving it one last shot. “What if I told you that Emery was right? What if I told you Iloved you? What if I told you I wanted you to be more than my girlfriend—that I wanted you to be my life?”

Her voice breaks. “Gray…”

“What if I told you that the world finally made sense when I saw you? I wasn’t broken. I wasn’t cold. I was just waiting for you. What if I told you that wecouldbuild a life together, that we’d never have to worry about breaking Emery’s heart because you would always be there? That you’d watch her grow up, and maybe we’d give her brothers and sisters?”

“Jesus, Gray,” she snaps. “We have to live in the real world.”

“Why can’t this be the real world?” I plead.

“Just go, please. You don’t even know what you’re saying.”

I walk across the cold yard, my fists clenched, my heart shattered. I don’t even know where all that came from. Back in the house, I call Wes.

“S’up, bro?”

“Hey, sorry for the late notice. But would you be able to watch Emery tomorrow?”

“What happened with Callie?”

I give him the rundown, starting with dinner and ending with Emery’s declaration of love.

Wes sighs. “So you fired Callie?”

“No,” I snap. “She made the choice to back off herself. She wants the best for Emery. Because she’s a good person, Wes, selfless, loving, the best goddamn person I’ve ever met. And now I’ve got to face a life without her. I’ve got to face the cold fact that I’ll goback to being who I was before she came along. And that fuckingstings.”

“Whoa, Gray,” Wes mutters. “I didn’t know it was that deep. I knew you liked her, obviously. And for you, that means something. But I didn’t know it meantthis much.”

“Neither did I,” I growl. “Until the prospect of never seeing her again became all too real. Now, I can’t deny that it means something.”

Maybe everything, but I don’t add that part.

“Anyway,” I go on with a sigh. “I know it’s a big ask, but tomorrow?”

“I’ll watch her,” Wes replies. “You know I love any excuse to see my niece.”

“Awesome. Thanks, bro.”

I hang up, then step into Emery’s bedroom and sit beside her, watching her sleep.

Even with her eyes closed, she looks stressed, as if she’s having a bad dream. I think back to what I said in the guesthouse, essentially telling Callie that I love her, that we’re meant to be together, and that I was going to make her Emery’sstepmom. It should all seem insane. Somehow, it doesn’t.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Callie

Maybe I should’ve told Gray no when he offered to give me a ride, but I didn’t have it in me. I told myself it was because I didn’t want the hassle of sorting my own transport. But the truth is, I want to spend just a little more time with him. Emery cried when I said goodbye. I sit in silence as Gray drives us through the pine forest. I still feel like the world’s biggest heel for leaving her like that.

“She’ll be okay,” I murmur after a long silence. “I bet she’ll forget who I am pretty soon.”

“Hmm,” Gray grunts. He looks dashing in his suit. Tension ripples through him, his hands tight on the wheel, his strong jaw jutting powerfully from his face.

“Hmm?” I mutter.

“I just don’t know if she’s ever going to forget you,” he says.

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