Georgia would make a great woman of the cloth if she chose that path. She wanted to help people like her parents, who worked in the medical field.
I snuggled into Colton, feeling ten times better than I had a minute ago.
“My dad is having dinner with an old high school friend who’s in town,” Grady said. “Why don’t we get pizza and kick back at my house later?”
I was still trying to get used to the nice Grady. Mia had certainly changed him for the better.
Mia flattened her hand on his chest. “Did you not just get your ass chewed yesterday for the party you threw on Saturday?”
He tapped her nose, looking all sweet and flirty. “This isn’t a party. Just a few friends, studying and eating.”
Colton tickled my ear with his warm breath. “I want to study you tonight.”
Shivers slid down my spine. I had just the spot for him to study.
Maybe Georgia was right. Maybe Colton and I were destined to marry, given the love pouring off him. Or maybe I was mistaking lust for love.
Either way, I promised myself one thing: I would live each moment like it was my last. Because tomorrow wasn’t a given, and yesterday was gone. So today was all that mattered, and that day, I was with Colton and friends who loved me. For that, I said a silent thank-you.
37
Colton wheeled into Grady’s driveway behind Mr. Dyson’s Mercedes.
The ocean air trickled in through the cracked window as the faint sound of the waves landing on shore lulled me. The landscape lights surrounding the house highlighted the flowers dotted around the many shrubs and bushes.
“I don’t see Georgia or Mia’s cars.” I’d texted Georgia just before Colton and I had left my house to let her know we were running late, but she hadn’t responded. Maybe she was running late too.
Colton cut the engine. “Baby.” His tone was full of dread, and my stomach dropped to the floorboard.
“Why do you look like something bad happened? Is it Georgia or Mia?” Georgia had been as sad and depressed over Dad as I had been. Her little sermon at school that day had warmed me but had also made me want to cry my eyes out.
Still, maybe she’d gotten into an accident and Mia had been with her.
He reached over the console and entwined his fingers in mine. “Oh no. Nothing happened to Georgia or Mia.”
I slumped in my seat.
His brown eyes glinted with apprehension in the soft glow of the dashboard lights. “I don’t know how to tell you this.”
If he was breaking up with me, I would break his beautiful nose.
“Grady called me before I picked you up.” His gaze bounced from me to the house then to me again.
My heart couldn’t take the anticipation. “Just tell me already.”
He took a breath. “Remember at lunch today Grady mentioned that his dad was having dinner with an old high school friend who was in town?”
I nodded jerkily. My erratic pulse was stealing the breath in my lungs as my mind wandered down a road that only led to heartache.
“That high school friend is”—his Adam’s apple moved up and down—“your birth mom.”
I angled my ear closer to him as I tried to shrug out of his hold. “Come again?”
He gripped my hand. “I don’t know the whole story. All I know is Mr. Dyson asked Grady if you would be interested in meeting her. Apparently, your dad’s lawyer finally got a hold of her, and then she mentioned your name to Mr. Dyson.”
Mr. Wilson was still out of town and would be until midweek, and he hadn’t responded to my email yet. I’d checked after school. Maybe he wanted to talk to me in person.
“So we’re not here to watch a movie and hang out? You and Grady planned this all along?”
He shook his head vigorously. “No. Baby, please. I just told Grady I would see if you were ready. You said yourself yesterday you think you are.”
I stared at Colton’s key chain dangling in the ignition. Nerves jabbed at the lining of my stomach. He was right. But I wanted to know more about her first before I reached out. I had been hoping Mr. Wilson could fill me in.
Colton guided my face to look at him. “We can leave. You don’t have to do this tonight.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before we left?” I would’ve had more time to prepare.
“I was debating how to tell you. Part of me thought it would be easier for you to decide if we were here. Baby doll, I don’t want you to move to California. I get we don’t know yet what will happen. And honestly, I’m being selfish. Maybe somehow, if things with the trust go south, your birth mom could be your out. She’s blood, she might be able to help.”
He really does love me. “What if she doesn’t want anything to do with me?”
“She’s in town to meet you,” he said softly.
“Have you met her?” My voice rose.
“No. I’m just the messenger. I’m nervous too.”
I was torturing my bottom lip with my teeth. “Why?”
With his free hand, he ran the pad of his thumb over the lip I was gnawing on. “You’ve been through a lot, and I want you to be happy.”
“You make me happy.”
He let go of my hand and tangled his fingers in my hair. “I love you so hard, Skyler. And the tiniest possibility you could move away is killing me. I’ve been a mess.”
I couldn’t tell, although Colton was an expert in hiding his emotions when he wanted to. “I’m not leaving you.” I tried to infuse as much confidence as I could.
The pounding of my pulse in my ears was all I heard.
After a long, tense moment, he turned the key in the ignition.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I was wrong. I should have told you before we got in the truck. I’m sorry.” He sounded regretful.
I clutched his arm. “Don’t. You’re going in with me?”
