Page 71 of From Grumpy to Forever
Finally, I said, “I’m not going to lose my shit.”
“I’m not worried that you’ll punch me, Reid.” He looked me dead in the eyes. “I’m worried that you’ll screw up what is very likely the best thing that’s ever happened to you because you’re too stubborn to see what’s right in front of you.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up his hand to stop me.
“No. Let me say this, brother. And hear what I have to say.”
I sucked in a breath but held my tongue.
He leaned back against the workbench and crossed his arms as if he were settling in for a long overdue conversation. Maybe he was.
“I know you better than anyone,” he started. “And I’ve seen you go through a lot, man. I’ve seen you pissed, hurting, and generally angry at the world. Hell, I’ve even seen you pretend you don’t care when we both know you do. But I’ve never seen you like this.”
I gritted my teeth, no longer sure I wanted to hear what he had to say. “Like what?”
Grayson took another sip of his beer, wiped the back of his mouth, and gave me a look that only a twin brother who knew me better than I knew myself could give. “Like you’re falling hard and fast and scared as hell to admit it to yourself because then you’re going to have to do something about it instead of hiding away in your bloody workshop with your head so full of sawdust you don’t have to face the truth.”
The words hit harder than I expected. I exhaled through my nose and dropped my gaze to the floor while I absorbed what he said.
My hands found the edge of the workbench, needing something solid to hold onto.
“I see the way you are with her,” Grayson continued. “She means something to you. Something a whole lot more than whatever deal you made.”
My head shot up, and I stared at him, open-mouthed.
“Yes,” Gray said with a knowing grin. “I know your marriage started with some kind of arrangement between the two of you. I’m sure it had something to do with the inn, and maybe this wood shop. But I don’t need to know the details. They don’t matter. The only thing that matters is that whatever has happened between the two of you since you took your vows, it’s a whole lot more than what brought you together in the first place. I see the way you look at her, Reid. And I see the way she looks right back. There’s nothing fake about any of it. Not for a second.”
I stayed quiet, because what could I say? He wasn’t wrong.
Grayson sighed and ran a hand over his chin. “You’re in love with her.” He spoke the words simply. “That is what I know. And that is the only thing that matters.”
His words settled over me. I was in love. But coming to that realization with such clarity no longer mattered because it didn’t make it any easier to fix what I’d already broken.
When I didn’t speak right away, Grayson shook his head and reached for his beer again. “I get it, Reid. You’re scared to let yourself want something real or let yourself care about someone that way. But if you don’t tell her how you feel, you’re going to regret it for the rest of your life. And I’d hate to have to be the one to say I told you so.”
“Yeah.” I let out a dry laugh and shook my head. “I bet you’d hate that.”
Grayson smirked. “I sure would.” He pushed up against the workbench and clapped me on my shoulder. “Seriously, no pressure, Reid. But don’t screw this up, okay? She’s a damn good woman. And more importantly, she’s good for you.”
Didn’t I know it.
“She hates me, Gray.” I shook my head and kicked at a chunk of scrap wood. “I fucked it all up. I never should have punched that douchebag and now?—”
“No.” He stopped me. “You totally should have punched him. I’ve never seen a bigger piece of shit deserve to be knocked out more than that guy.”
I stared at my peacemaker brother.
“I’m serious,” he said. “But maybe you shouldn’t have done it with a couple hundred witnesses is all.”
I laughed. “Isn’t that the truth?” It only took a second for reality to hit me again and for the laughter to die on my lips. “That piece of shit is trying to take Avery’s inn from her. I’m afraid I just made it all worse. She’ll never forgive me.”
“Sure she will. Maybe you should start with an apology.”
He sounded so confident, I almost believed him.
“I don’t know.” I shook my head. “You didn’t see her face, Gray.” I huffed out a breath and walked away from the back bench and my brother. I headed straight toward the project I’d been working on. Now, more than ever, I needed to finish it.
A moment later, my twin was behind me. “What are you working on?”
