Leaning her head into my hand, Grace licked her lips before talking. “I liked that stupid little boy too. I hated him for pulling my pigtails, but I use to get butterflies in my stomach every single time my grandparents took us to the park. I would pray so hard to see you.” Closing her eyes, Grace smiled softly. “I can’t believe that was you.”

Grace opened her eyes as I leaned over and gently kissed her lips. “Fate, Grace. It was fate that led you to bumping into me again at A&M, and then the coast.”

“Fate,” Grace whispered as she pressed her lips to mine.

A loud knock on the window had both of us jumping. Turning, I looked to see my cousin Grayson standing there with a smirk on his face.

“Son-of-a-bitch,” I said with a smile. “It’s my cousin. He told me he was coming in from Colorado, but I didn’t expect him until next week.”

Grace smiled as I quickly got out of the car and reached for Grayson’s hand. “What the hell, dude! I wasn’t expecting you until next week.”

Grayson reached for my hand and shook it. He looked great, but then Grayson always looked great. I was sure he had to work out constantly to maintain the shape he was in. Especially since he worked his way through college as a male stripper.

“Holy hell, it’s you!” Grace said as she walked up to me.

Grayson turned and looked at Grace and smiled. “Wow, small world.”

Looking between Grayson and Grace, I tried to connect how they knew each other.

Grace nodded her head and laughed. “Sure is.”

“How did y’all meet?”

“We all went to Durango for a girls’ trip last summer. We kind of had a bet going on between us girls and Lauren found herself Grayson here. He did a little show for the bar.”

Turning back to Grayson, I raised my eyebrow as I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. If Grace saw my cousin naked, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel. “Not that kind of show, I hope. Not sure I like the idea of the woman I love seeing my cousin’s junk.”

Grayson threw his head back and laughed. “No, bro. Not that kind of show.” Turning to Grace he said, “I’m sorry, I never did get all of the girls’ names. I certainly remember you and your red-haired friend. Seems to me y’all were a bit . . . eager to see more.”

Laughing, I knew what Grayson was doing. He always did have my back.

“Cool your stripper chaps there ,big boy. I wasn’t with Noah then, so I wasn’t stepping out on anyone. The name is Grace by the way.”

Grayson visibly relaxed. “I like you already, Grace.”

Smiling, I pulled Grace next to me. “You staying here?”

Grayson shook his head as he looked between Grace and me. “Nah, I’m staying with a buddy of mine. He flew down here with me this weekend. His parents have a place on Lake Travis.”

“Awesome, you haven’t been here long have you?” I asked as I reached into the backseat of my car and grabbed Grace’s bag and mine.

“No, Emily sent me a text and said you were almost home. I just pulled up,” Grayson said as he reached for Grace’s bag and threw it over his shoulder. “What would y’all think about hitting dinner before heading up to see Aunt Lisa?”

My heart felt as if someone was squeezing it as soon as Grayson mentioned my mother. Swallowing hard, I nodded my head as I looked at Grace. Giving me a sweet smile, she winked and grabbed my hand as we followed Grayson up to the front door.

“Tell me Flores is still open. I’m dying for some good Mexican food,” Grayson said as I unlocked the door and pushed it open. Turning off the alarm, we walked through the giant foyer.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. This house doesn’t look this big from the outside,” Grace said.

Grayson let out a rumbled laugh as he made his way into the main living room. “That’s one thing about Uncle Pete, he loved his money and his precious name.”

I nodded in agreement at Grayson’s comment. Grayson hated my father, especially since he cut his sister out of his life after she got pregnant with Grayson. My father left his sister to live a life of struggle. She was too proud to take anything from anyone, including my mother who attempted to help her out more than once.

“Uncle Pete?” Grace asked with a confused look on her face.

Letting out a sigh, I said, “My father. I’ll tell you about it later.”

Concern washed over Grace’s face. Kissing her gently on the forehead, I said, “Grayson has issues with my father disowning his mom. It’s a long story I’d rather save for later.”