“Right. In the past.” LeAnn looked behind her, and I noticed the same guy from the restaurant a few weeks ago watching us. “Anyway, have a good rest of your week. I’ll see you around.”

“Bye, LeAnn.” I turned and walked out of the restaurant with her still watching me, but I refused to look back.

No matter how she was acting now, I would never forget the person she had been. I could keep it in the past, but that didn’t mean I trusted her now, or ever would.

I’d just gotten into my car when my phone started ringing. My brow scrunched together when I saw it was from the LaRues’ house.

“Hello?”

“Mr. Easton, I distinctly remember telling you my daughter was not to stay at your house last night.”

My chest tightened and my head fell back onto the headrest as I prepared for Grey’s dad to yell at me, tell me he wanted me to stay away from his daughter, something bad that would match his pissed-off tone.

“Sir, I’m—”

“And seeing how my daughter took off in the middle of the night, and she’s still not home, I can only guess that she’s with you.”

I waited for a few seconds to see if he would continue, then admitted, “She’s not with me at this exact moment, but she is waiting for me to come back with breakfast.”

“Jagger . . . tell me something. Do my wishes for my daughter mean nothing to you? Do you not care about my demands?”

“No, that—I mean, yes, they all mean something to me. But that’s not what this is. I’m not trying to go against your word. I’m sorry you’re upset with me, I did drop Grey off at home last night, and I had no idea she was coming over until she showed up.”

“So, then why didn’t you do the smart thing and send her back home?”

I sat there staring at the roof of my car as I tried to think of an answer that would make him happy—but there was none. “To be completely honest with you, Mr. LaRue, I would never ask Grey to leave if she came to me. No matter what it was for.”

He sighed heavily and mumbled, “I know you wouldn’t. I’m glad she has you, but you have to understand something. That’s still my—” He cut off abruptly, and all I heard was his broken breathing. “That’s still my little girl, and she’s been through hell. It is my job as her father to protect her until she belongs to someone else.”

“I know she has, I want to protect her too.”

There was a long silence before he cleared his throat and said, “Grey is an adult, and I can’t stop her from doing what she wants to, just the same as I can’t stop my son. But that will never stop me from trying to keep her heart from breaking again. Grey’s heart and well-being are my priority.”

“I’d do anything to make sure I never hurt her. Her heart means everything to me,” I assured him.

“Well then, keep her fed and make sure she comes home safely.”

I smiled for the first time since LeAnn appeared in front of me. “Yes, sir. Mr. LaRue?”

“Hmm?”

“I plan on marrying your daughter one day.”

Another beat of silence, then, “I know that too. And you should know now that I don’t think there’s a better match for her than you. Darcy and I would be happy for our daughter to marry you.”

“Thank you. Thank you—that means a lot to me.”

“Now go on and get my daughter something to eat. If she comes back to us starving, I may have to rethink what I just told you.”

I barked out a laugh and turned on my car. “You don’t have to worry about that. Have a good day, Mr. LaRue.”

As soon as the conversation was over, I pulled out of my spot and started back to the warehouse. The smile that wouldn’t leave me seemed to widen as I replayed the conversation over in my head.

Grey was waiting on one of the couches in nothing but one of my shirts when I returned, and her face lit up as soon as she saw me. “You were gone forever!”

“Felt like it,” I agreed, and set the food down on the counter before walking up to her. Pulling her off the couch, I lifted her in my arms and started walking toward the stairs.

“What about the food?” she asked on a laugh, her arms going around my neck as I climbed the stairs.

“I saw LeAnn, and she apologized for how she reacted back when you were in Seattle, and she said she was happy for us.”

Grey’s eyes widened. “Really, now?”

I rolled my eyes and nodded. “And then your dad called me when I got in my car . . .” I trailed off and laughed when Grey’s face completely fell. “He’s not mad at you, he was unhappy with me. That is, until I reminded him how much you mean to me.”

“Are you serious? What did you say?”

I lowered Grey onto the bed, shrugged slowly, and crawled in after her, taking her shirt off once I was kneeling over her body. “All you need to know is that your dad is fine, and that he threatened me if you came back starving, and that I’m going to love you forever.”

She smiled just before I could press my mouth to hers, and she pushed against my chest so she could slowly inch my shirt up over my head. “Well then, you better let me eat.”

“I will, as soon as I get done showing you how much I love you.”

Chapter 13

Grey

August 16, 2014

I CALLED OUT a good-bye to everyone at work and headed out to my car. I was pulling my phone out of my purse to call Jagger to see what he wanted for dinner when I stopped short at the sight of the woman who was standing next to my car. My eyebrows pulled together as I looked closer at the sobbing woman and took another few steps toward her.