Page 14 of Asher

“I forgot the present at my house.”

Grayson shrugged turning off the highway. “Eh. You can give it to her later. It’s not like you won’t be back over there by the end of the week.”

I scowled. “Shut up.”

“Tell me I’m wrong.” He cocked a dark brown brow.

“That’s not the point. I don’t want to go in there empty-handed.” I would hurt myself before I ever disappointed Nix. Especially on her birthday. That little girl held my heart in her hands.

Gray waved me off. “Please. She won’t care. She’ll just be happy that you’re home. She asked me when you would be back about a hundred times yesterday.” He chuckled deeply, scrubbing a hand over his scruff.

Seriously, body, give me some flutters.

“What were you doing here yesterday?” I took a sip of my coffee, sighing internally at the way it warmed my soul. Lorelai Gilmore is basically my spirit animal when it came to my coffee. Just the smell brought me back to life.

“I came over with Mason and Cam to help Ash set up the new swing set he got her for her birthday. It was supposed to be a surprise, but that shit didn’t last long. She runs a lot faster than Steph does right now.”

“That’s not fair. She’s like seven months pregnant.”

“She’s like a beached whale.”

My eyes shot wide. “I’m so telling her you said that. And she does not. She looks beautiful. I hope I look half as good pregnant.”

“You got something to tell me?”

I almost choked. “Ha. Funny.”

Gray smirked, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel. “Anyway, Rylie had Knox sleeping in her arms, so she couldn’t stop Nix from getting outside to where we were.”

“So, she saw.” I guessed.

“She saw. I swear my eardrums are still ringing from how loud that girl squealed.”

I smiled at the thought. Nix could break glass when she got excited about something. My heart swelled at the thought of seeing her.And her dad.A week wasn’t long, but it was long enough.

I slapped Gray’s arm, suddenly remembering what Braeden told me. “Ow.”

“That didn’t hurt.” I rolled my eyes. “We need to talk.”

“Four words no man wants to hear. I’m just going to pull over here and hop out.” He joked, flipping on his turn signal.

“Seriously, Gray.”

He straightened, going on full alert. Always prepared for the worst. “What’s going on?”

I leveled him with my best faux glare, my finger tapping the console between us. “You got into the fire academy? When were you going to tell me?”

A full-blown smile lit up his face. “I forgot?”

“How could you forget? That’s huge!” I placed my hand on his arm resting between us.

“That’s what she said.”

I slapped his arm. “Okay, congratulations perve.”

“Thanks. Did Braden tell you?”

“Yep. Your name was the first thing on his lips when he saw me.”