Page 125 of Just Let Go

He took a step forward and stood at her side. “For some of us.”

The race. It must be weighing heavily on him now, only three weeks away. She hadn’t been following the competition, but she had been following Grady. She’d seen him at the grocery store in the produce aisle, running along the streets of Harbor Pointe, and even sitting across from Jaden while her nephew recuperated.

Was this him trying to become a better man?

“Will you be back tonight?” she asked.

“Course,” he said. “Can’t let you locals have all the fun.”

She smiled and looked away.

“Missed seeing that.” He faced her now, his nearness unraveling the knot in her stomach. “Missed you.”

She glanced up at him, wishing everything about him made sense to her when nothing—absolutely nothing—did.

“Save me a dance?”

She smiled. “If you can find me.”

He groaned. “You’re doing that whole mask thing, then?”

“Of course I am.” She gave him a slight nudge, and he grabbed hold of her wrist, looking at her with those eyes. She steadied herself.

“Quinn, I’ve been thinking...”

So had she. Nonstop. And she needed to knock it off. “I have to get home.”

He released his grip on her and pulled his hand away. “Of course. I’ll see you tonight.”

She started off, but after only a few steps, she stopped and turned back. “Grady?”

His attention was instant.

“Thank you.”

His shoulders dropped. “For what?”

“Everything. Being there for Jaden. Helping with all this.” Her eyes found the ground. “Not giving up on me.”

What was she saying? Warning bells went off at the back of her mind. Where was her logical side now?

He inched closer and picked up her hand. “I could never.”

With her free hand, she reached up and touched the scar just above his brow. “I want to know where you got this scar.”

“It’s a really stupid story.” There was shyness in his smile.

“But it’s your story. And I want to know it.”

He looked away. “Not all of my stories are good ones, Quinn.”

She found his eyes. He had a past—one that he wasn’t proud of. Was she going to continue to hold that against him, or was it possible to move beyond it—together? Slowly, she wove her hand up around him, pulling him closer. “I’ll save you that dance.”

His face warmed into a lopsided smile. “You really drive me crazy, you know it?”

Somehow she didn’t think he meant it as an insult.

“See you tonight.” She pulled out of his grasp and smiled. And she realized she could hardly wait to get back to him.

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