Chapter 43
Riley’s heart sang with joy as she watched Gray practically skip to the pool. She had prayed he would accept her gift of the resort but even more so that he would still be in love with her. Now, both those prayers had come true. She hoped they’d both grown up enough to make their relationship work, because a forever with Gray was the one thing she wanted more than she’d wanted anything else in her life.
Gray came bounding back and took her hand again, and they headed toward the walkway, moving slowly, their hips occasionally grazing one another in a teasing bump. “So…” he said as they walked, trying to strike up a conversation that felt a bit awkward after their long absence that never should have been.
“I love you, Gray. I do, and I never stopped loving you. I knew you hated Lake Tahoe, and deep down, I knew why. It had nothing to do with Brent. I just… I said all that horrible stuff on that cliff because I guess I was just scared of losing you. Then again, I was also scared that if I stayed with you, I’d always be stuck living by your standards, in a life that really isn’t cut out for me.”
“I started thinking about us on the first night in the Dominican, when we were talking about our endless summer. Even then, I was sure it was only a summer thing, what we had, and I knew it would not survive the winter if we didn’t learn to be with each other, but I couldn’t figure out how to be with you. I resented that we were doing what you wanted and none of what I wanted,” she admitted softly.
His fingers locked down hers. “I get that, and I’m sorry. I just thought if you loved me, you’d be willing to… Well, I guess it never came to me until after you were gone that you were right. I wanted all the sacrifice to be on your side. I wanted to keep what I wanted. I wanted you, but I didn’t want to live in a place where I was not happy. Then it hit me that I was bitching about having to make a sacrifice you had already made. That just made me feel so much worse, and things just spiraled down from there. I was selfish as hell.”
“So was I. I resented every single thing we did because I was so busy whining about my money.”
“I think I was the one whining about your money.”
“Okay, well, let’s just say we were both whining about my money,” she said, wearing an impish grin.
“True that.”
They stopped at a small doorway, and her eyes searched his face. “Can we do this? I have to warn you that I still love New York, and I have to be there sometimes for a week or more.”
“Well, my brother’s a damn good manager, and I’ve got no qualms about him watching the place.”
“Oh yeah?” she asked, her eyes gleaming with newfound hope.
“Yeah. I’m so sorry, Riley. I went to Tahoe because I wanted to make you happy, but when we got there, I acted like a jackass. I didn’t want to go in the first place, and I felt put upon, which was really childish and stupid of me.”
“I wish you had just said no. We coulda sat down and talked it out, figured out something better, something that might not have torn us apart.”
“Me too.” He leaned against her, pinning her lightly against the wall. “I won’t ever do that again. That is all I can promise. I can’t change the past, and neither can you, but I swear I to do my damnedest to help us have a better future.”
Tears formed in her eyes, but they were happy ones this time. “Sounds good to me. Now, show me this resort and tell me a few of your good ideas to get it back up and running. I should tell you, though, that your dad, er…John took off as soon as the check was in his hands. I doubt he even took the time to pack.”
Gray nodded. “Yeah, another thing you were right about. I was pissed, not just because I got nothing from him but also because I loved him and needed him in my life. I always thought he felt the same toward me. He really showed his true colors, and I had to deal with that. It hurt a lot, and it didn’t make me very happy to come back here and have to flat out admit that. I had to in order to get past it though. Deep down, I had to accept that he never really cared at all, even though part of me was still clinging to the hope that he felt at least a little something for me.”
“I’m so sorry about that.”
“I’m not. He sucks, and it was a good riddance, as far as I’m concerned.”
Her heart ached, and her belly fluttered. She had a big secret to tell him, and she hoped he would not freak out. Part of her was still afraid he would, even though she knew she had no choice but to tell him. Encouraged by the little voice in her head that kept telling her the time was right, she cleared her throat and asked, “Are you okay about that mess now?”
Gray nodded. “I am. I mean, it was a lousy way to grow up, not having a real father or a mother. I mean, Jon was here, but he never exactly made it a secret that he didn’t want me around. I just loved and needed him, so I ignored it. At least I learned from it.”
“You did?”
“Yes. For one thing, I know just how rare and precious real love is, because I sure as hell didn’t get any of it till you came along. Plus, being away from you made me realize even more how important and valuable second chances are. I won’t mess up this time, Riley.”
She smiled sheepishly. “Let’s go in the office first, okay?”
“Sounds good. Right this way, Miss Teeters.”
They went through the door and into the foyer, then stepped into the lobby. Riley noticed a new sense of pride and assurance creeping over his face, and her smile was both wide and happy. He had grown into the man she had always known he could be; she felt that in her heart and in her gut.
When they opened the door to the office, Gray froze. His mouth curled into a frown, and when he could move again, he cast a questioning glare at Riley as she stepped in behind him and softly closed the door.
Riley just smiled and pointed to the desk, her heart beating a million miles a minute.
“It is nice to see you again, Grayson,” Richard Teeters said.
Riley sucked in her breath and held it. The greeting was as close to an olive branch as her father could possibly offer, and she hoped that Gray knew that.
Gray thawed and said, “You too. I hear you did well in the polls.”
Richard winced. “Not well enough, but one cannot win them all.”
“You did fine, dear,” Clare said from behind him, patting him firmly on the shoulder. “We will do better next time.”
Gray advanced toward the desk, then stopped when a small head peeked around the edge. He darted his eyes from the child to Riley and back to the crawling baby again. His hand went up to his mouth.
Riley’s heart lurched in her chest, and her legs went liquid. What if he says no, even after all we just talked about? What if…
Gray looked at Riley again, and tears filled the corners of his eyes. He stared at Clare and Richard, and while neither of them moved, Clare gave the baby a long, stern look that made her little face break out in a huge smile, a grin so like Gray’s that it broke Riley’s heart every time she saw it.
“Uh…” he stuttered. “What’s her name?”
What the hell? That’s the only question he has? Riley thought, almost giggling. She took a deep breath and answered, “Summer.”
“Of course it is.” Gray reached down and scooped up the wiggling little girl. He gently examined her face, followed by her tiny hands and feet.
Summer cooed and laughed wildly in his arms, peering up at him as if she already knew him.
“I think my folks might like to rest for a little while. Can we get them some keys?”
He nodded. “Yeah, uh…sure. Let me just… Uh…” He had no idea what he was saying, nor did he care. He just stared at Summer, unable to put her down.
“Gray, a room? For my mom and dad?” Riley coaxed.
Finally, he looked back over at her. “Sorry.” He carried Summer over to the desk with him and pulled out a set of keys. He handed them to Richard. “It’s the best room we’ve got,” he said, then sent them on their way.
Once her parents were gone, Riley stared for a minute as Summer got to know her daddy. “I wanted to tell you when I first found out,” she finally confessed.
“And why didn’t you?” Gray asked, holding up another set of keys for the baby to play with.
At first, Riley had thought that creep Lewis had drugged her drink; she blamed that as the reason she felt so under the weather. It didn’t take too long for her to realize that it was something else entirely, and when she finally figured it out, she was afraid of how Gray would react to the news. “I-I didn’t know how. I didn’t know where we stood after I left you the way I did. I mean, I walked out on you when you were hurt, and—”
“Hey, don’t,” he said, rubbing a thumb under her eye to wipe away the tear that had run down her cheek. “You didn’t walk out. I told you to leave. I did that, not you. Don’t ever blame yourself, Riley.”
“I…” She paused, looking over at the man who had changed so much. She had changed, too, and that was evident in the calmness of their conversation; before, they were quick to throw stones, leaving each other hurt and silent and fuming. “I just could not contact you and say that, on top of everything else, my birth control had failed and that I was pregnant and wanted to keep the baby, our baby. I did not know if you would want her. I didn’t know what would happen between us. As Summer started to get older, though, I thought more and more about what happened to you as a kid, and I knew I was wrong. I wondered what you would have been like if you were raised by the man who fathered you instead of by Jon. I wondered if you might have been happier. Then, of course, there’s the fact that I’ve never wanted anyone else in my life but you.”
Smiling, he walked toward her. He pulled her into his body with his free arm, and the three of them stood there for a moment, the perfect family portrait Riley had dreamt of for so long.
“Oh, Gray,” she said, basking in the moment that felt so surreal, “how did I ever live without you?”
“The same way I lived without you, not so great.”
Her laughter filled the room, and she wiped the tears away. She lifted a bottle of water off the desk and handed Summer’s bottle to Gray. “Here’s to us and the resort and…all of it!”
“To our grand adventure, Riley!” Gray said, gently bumping the baby bottle against Riley’s water in a gleeful toast. He gazed at Summer, who made a wild, playful grab at his nose. “To Summer and this resort and…whatever comes next!”
Riley smiled and planted a kiss on his cheek, then Summer’s chubby one. “Now that’s an adventure I can’t wait to take.”
“Me neither,” Gray said sincerely. “Me neither.”