Take Me for Granted (Take Me #1)(86)

“But I want you.”

“And I’ll be thankful every day for that, but I still have to try.”

He was so earnest that I really believed him. I didn’t think he needed to better himself for me, but I had told him that he wasn’t good enough and that he hadn’t done anything to prove he had changed. Well, here was proof.

“I appreciate that,” I said finally. “But you know you can’t quit the band, Grant.”

“What? Why would I quit?” he asked, shocked.

“McAvoy said you were thinking about it.”

He ran his hand back through his hair and cursed. “No, that’s not what I meant. I’m not quitting the band. I’d never quit the band.”

“Good, that’s really good.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

I couldn’t be the reason he gave up music. He’d eventually regret the decision and blame it all on me. It was a part of him just as I was.

Still, I had one nagging question. “And you…really weren’t with any other women?” I asked, feeling vulnerable.

His hands found the sides of my face, and I stared up into his dark brown eyes. “You are the only person in this world that I want to be with. Other women don’t even exist since I’ve been with you, Ari.”

My heart skipped a beat at his admission. “You took me for granted,” I whispered before I could stop myself.

He nodded solemnly. “And it probably won’t be the last time. But I’m trying to make it better every day.”

I believed him. Things wouldn’t always be perfect. We were too stubborn, too strong-willed, but we could work through them if we tried, if we really wanted to. And oh, I wanted to. I’d never felt like this with anyone else. I’d never let myself open up enough to be hurt, but I’d also never opened myself up to be loved. And I loved Grant McDermott with everything that I was.

“I can live with that.”

He laughed and kissed my forehead. “I sure hope so because I’m not letting you go again. Next time you want space, can you not jet off to Boston for a few weeks?”

I laughed, taking it lightly. “Yeah, but I don’t think I’m going to need space again.”

“Oh, you underestimate me.”

I smacked him on the arm and rolled my eyes. “Why do I like you again?”

“Something to do with my charm.”

Charm. Right.

“What made you decide to come out here anyway?” I asked. “I mean…it’s freezing. I stopped by your place first, but obviously, you weren’t there.”

“I, uh…” He sighed. “I got into a fight with Donovan. He said that…well, that we wouldn’t work out, and I’d never get signed. I, more or less, told him to go to hell and that I’d prove him wrong.”

“With your fist?”

“He deserved it.”

“I’m sure he did.” I remembered the kiss Donovan had taken from me, and I pushed it out of my mind. I hadn’t wanted that one either. “You know you don’t have to prove anything to anyone.”

I reached out and laced our fingers together. He looked like he had more to say, but he couldn’t decide whether to tell me or not. I didn’t like the haunted look in his eyes, but I gave him the time he needed.

“There’s more…”

I squeezed his hand when he paused. “You can tell me,” I said, bracing myself for the worst.

“My dad is getting out of jail.”

“What?” I gasped. “When? How did this happen?”

“I just heard from my uncle today. I don’t know all the details.”

“Are you going to go see him?”

Grant’s eyes hardened. “No.”

“Do you think…he’s going to try to see you?”

After a moment, he answered, “Yes.”

I swallowed the fear that settled over me.

His father was a murderer, and he blamed Grant for what had happened.

“Do you think he’ll try to hurt you?”

“Yes,” he said flatly.

The End