Dex and Brady are sitting at the kitchen table eating when I enter. They simultaneously point downstairs and I race down the narrow steps to find Grant sitting in the music room on a stool, strumming his guitar.

He didn’t sleep with Emily. The relief I feel that he wants me as much as I want him is beyond me. “I’ve been waiting,” he says, holding his hand out for me to join him.

All the anger I’ve felt today dissipates from my pores and my feet move without hesitation. I clasp his hand and he squeezes tightly. Just like that, all is forgotten. The fears, worries, and doubts disappear and it’s only us again. “I was looking for you,” I reveal. He cocks an eyebrow but smirks nonetheless, happy we’re together.

“I’m sorry,” he says and I shake my head, trying to repress the tears that are trying to escape. “Baby, please don’t cry.” He brushes away a lone drop that falls with his touch. “I promise, I’ll never leave again.” He pulls me into a hug and kisses my head. “I love you,” he confirms and my eyes shut.

“I..I’m sorry, too,” I stumble out, and he tells me to hush as my tears wet his t-shirt. “I thought…”

“It’s over and done with, baby. Since I know we’ll have fights again, can we promise something?” he asks and I nod, waiting to hear what he’s going to say.

“We never leave. I don’t care how pissed off we are, we never walk out.” He pushes me back slightly to look me in the eyes, and I nod in agreement. “Now that that’s settled, I have another favor.” He stands up and leads me into the adjoining room. Pointing to where I should sit on a large, brown sofa, he takes a seat on the ottoman across from me. “Now bear with me, I’m no Brady,” he chuckles.

“I don’t want a Brady,” I joke.

“You might think differently when the glass over there starts cracking,” he says light-heartedly, motioning his head to the glass that separates the two rooms.

Bringing my knees up to my chest, my heart stammers as I wait for him to begin. Grant has never sung for me before and the anticipation is killing me.

Strumming the guitar a few times, he starts singing “I’m Yours” by The Script. Every muscle in his strong forearm flexes with each swipe of the strings. I can tell he’s concentrating on making sure he hits all the chords correctly, but every time he sings the words ‘I’m Yours’, he stares at me. And just like that, my heart is healed.

After he finishes, he leans the guitar against the couch and I jump into his lap. “God, I’ve missed you,” he whispers in my ear.

“Me too. I love you so much,” I say and he squeezes me harder.

“Show me,” he winks.

“Take me to bed and I will,” I instruct him.

“Anytime,” he says, repeating his classic line as he does every time I ask him.

It’s been a week since our fight. After Grant made love to me that night, he told me how he had driven Emily back to his house as she had requested, and then later she came to his room. That she did, in fact, try to put the moves on him, but he told her to fuck off. That she was being relentless, and he eventually just left the room, desperate to find me. We must have missed each other by only a couple minutes.

Rob left that night after Grant gave me multiple orgasms. It wasn’t my intention to push him out with my screams of pleasure, but it didn’t hurt that he left early. As much as Grant said he was going to deal with it, I had a feeling he would be dragging me everywhere with him if Rob had stuck around like he had previously planned.

It’s Saturday, and Grant had to go into Barbells this morning. When he gets back, we’re supposed to go see Mr. C, so I’m wasting time by flipping through channels, trying to find something to watch.

Sadie bounces into the room, obviously excited about something. “What’s with your chipper mood?” I ask her as she flops down onto the couch.

“Nothing,” she says and giggles with a huge smile across her face. Ignoring her, I turn toward the TV again. She’ll tell me whatever it is when she’s ready, and knowing Sadie, she won’t be able to hold out much longer.

“So, where is everyone?” she asks in an annoying sing-song voice.

“Just tell me, Sadie. What the hell’s going on?” I put the remote down and face her.

“What?” Her voice sounds like that of a child who just got caught doing something they weren’t supposed to. “Nothing, I’m just waiting for Brady to return,” she says, leaning back against the couch.

“Where is he?” I ask, irritated with this whole conversation.

“He’s out right now. So what are you and Grant doing today?” she asks, thumbing through her phone.

“Supposed to go see Mr. C. I’m just waiting for him to come back.” Just as I finish telling her this, Grant walks through the back door. Only he’s not alone. Trey and Brady follow him into the room.

Sadie quickly stands up and kisses Brady hello, and Grant takes her spot on the couch. “What’s going on, baby?” He bends down and kisses me. Trey, Brady, and Sadie leave the room without a word, and the way they’re acting, I feel as though all of their bodies have been overtaken by aliens.

“Nothing much, except that everyone’s acting weird,” I say, and he grabs my hand.

“Let’s go, I want to take you somewhere.” He smiles at me, and my hand instantly grasps his, letting him pull me up. Snaking his arms around my waist, he brings me close to him and our lips meet. His tongue mingles with mine, and as always, butterflies fill my stomach.

Leading me out to his truck, he opens the door and I happily get in. When he pulls out of the driveway, I ask, “Are we heading to Mr. C’s?” He looks at me out of the corner of his eyes.

“You’ll see,” he says mysteriously and in turn I make my best pretty, pretty please face, but he shakes his head with amusement. “Just wait.”

Five minutes later, we arrive at a small ranch house. It’s painted yellow with white shutters, and flower planters line the front door. “Whose house is this?” I ask.

“Ours?” he questions. I stare at him and realize that it’s the first time I’ve seen him this nervous. “At least…I hope it is,” he softly says. Inching across the bench, I place my hand in his. “It’s just rented, month to month until we figure out what we’re going to be doing.” I frown, remembering our conversation back in Colorado. “We’ll figure it out, Jessa,” he says, picking up on my uneasiness. But wherever we decide, we go together,” he assures me.

Not waiting any longer, he opens his door and I slide out after him. We stand on the walkway, hand in hand, staring up at a house that Grant rented for us. It’s a step I was never sure we’d reach.

He starts to walk first, guiding me to the front door. Taking out the key, he inserts it and opens the door to our place. The whole scene seems surreal. He swoops me up and I laugh as he carries me over the threshold. After he puts me down, my eyes roam the room, taking in the cutest house I’ve ever seen. Grant stays a couple steps behind me, giving me space to wander, as I explore every nook and cranny.

When I land in the master bedroom, I gasp in awe. There’s a king-sized bed covered in a nice white comforter, along with a bunch of pillows resting against a deep chocolate colored headboard. Pictures of Grant and I together are mounted on the wall, and there are smaller framed ones lining the dressers. I turn around to find him leaning against the door frame, waiting for my reaction. “I know it’s not big and we have to do some work, not to mention find furniture…”

I stop him from continuing by planting my lips on his. “I love it, Grant, it’s perfect,” I whisper.

“I have one more thing to show you,” he says and backs me up, further into the room. He guides me to the bed and I sit down, unsure of what he’s about to show me.

“Close your eyes,” he instructs and my stomach flutters rapidly, thinking this is it. “Okay, now open them.” He’s standing there shirtless, and this is not what I thought was going to happen when I opened my eyes. A smirk crosses his face when he turns around. There’s a white bandage on his top right shoulder blade.