Page 129 of Just Let Go

“Well,youcould say that, but I’m not going to.” She laughed. “In a lot of ways it doesn’t even matter that my mother will never see it or that I’ll never win that competition. It’s worth it just to know I can do it.”

“Quinn—”

“And it’s amazing that something wild and untamed could be so beautiful.” That’s what he was, wasn’t he? Wild and untamed. And yet there was something so beautiful about him, even beyond his charming smile.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re not talking about flowers anymore?” He stopped swaying, the music still swirling overhead.

“Because I’m not. I don’t take risks, Grady.” She forced herself not to look away, even though she felt naked and vulnerable. “Letting you in is a huge risk for someone like me.”

“I know.” He smoothed her hair away from her face, eyes still locked on hers.

“And nothing about it makes sense. You’re leaving. I have a business here. You’re practically famous and I’m completely unknown. You can ski and I, well, can’t. How will we navigate all of that?”

He smiled—that sweet, lopsided smile she’d grown to crave. “Maybe we can figure it out as we go. It’s like jumping off the dock into the lake—you don’t really know what’s out there, but you deal with it as it comes.”

“I’m not so great at the ‘deal with it as it comes’ part.”

“Well, it’s a good thing you’ve got me, then. That’s what I live for.” He took her face in his hands and spent several moments studying her. “I don’t want to mess this up, Quinn.” His gaze was so earnest, so genuine, she was sure she would get lost in it.

When his lips found hers, the rest of the world seemed to drift away like a sweet-smelling, magical dream. A dream in which she could let herself get carried off without ever once speculating on all the reasons it was a bad idea.

For a moment, it was as if they were floating, as if their differences meant nothing. She clung to that moment, marking it in her memory, wanting to be certain that if she ever needed it again she could recall it with ease.

For the first time in her life, she didn’t have a plan. And she was actually okay with that.

The rest of the evening was a success, and as she navigated through the crowd of familiar faces, she relished the way her hand felt firmly tucked inside his. After the ball ended, they joined the locals for a late-night brunch at Hazel’s, and while Grady stuck to egg whites and whole-wheat toast, she ate a pile of her favorite pancakes and bacon.

“I’ve never been on a date with someone who can eat more than me,” he teased.

“This is only my first plate,” she shot back, as if issuing a challenge. It felt good to set her rules aside for a night.

Sitting there in the diner, surrounded by Hailey and Lucy and Carly and the rest of her friends, Quinn realized that while, yes, she hadn’t known Grady long, he’d made his way into her heart. And going back now wasn’t an option.

She liked the way he felt next to her, his leg pressed up against hers, as if they were a couple in a group of really good friends. As if he belonged there.

But he didn’t belong there, and she knew it. She tried not to think about it, but there it was, lingering at the back of her mind.

“How’s your breakfast?” he asked as she popped the last bite in her mouth.

“Gone.” She grinned. “Yours?”

“Unsatisfying.” He pushed the plate away. “Would’ve much rather had the cinnamon roll French toast and bacon.”

She set her fork down. “You’re doing an amazing job sticking to this whole regimen.”

“Have to,” he said. “I’m not twenty-five anymore.”

She squeezed his hand. “Is this how you usually train?”

He took a drink of his water with lemon. “Actually, no. This is how Ishould’vetrained. I kind of did whatever I wanted up until recently. But I’m making changes. You’re not the only one who was inspired.”

She set her coffee mug on the table. “What do you mean?”

“I came here miserable and broken, and I watched you and Jaden and, man, just everyone. You all work so hard. When you gave me that suck-it-up-and-deal-with-it speech, I guess I took it to heart.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I needed someone to be straight with me, so thanks.”

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