The Gravity of Us (Elements #4)(63)

I wondered how I’d gone so long without telling her she was one of my favorite people in the whole wide world.

Lucy Palmer had saved me from the darkness, and I’d never be able to thank her enough.

After some time, her eyes watered over and she bit her bottom lip. “Wow,” she whispered to herself as she kept flipping the pages. She was deeply focused as she read my words, taking her time. “Wow,” she muttered again. When she finished, she placed all of the pages in her lap and shook her head slightly before looking at me, and then she said, “Wow.”

“You hate it?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“It’s perfect. It’s absolutely perfect.”

“Would you change anything?”

“Not a single word. Ollie would be proud.”

A small sigh left my lips. “Okay. Thank you.” She stood up and started walking toward the door, and I called after her once. “Do you think you’d want to be my plus one for Karla and Susie’s wedding?”

A gentle smile landed on her lips and she shrugged her left shoulder. “I’ve been waiting for you to ask me.”

“I wasn’t certain you’d want to come. I mean…it seems weird to take a friend to a wedding.”

Her voice lowered and her chocolate eyes showed a touch of sadness as she stared my way. “Oh, Graham Cracker,” she said softly. Her voice was so low that for a moment, I wondered if I imagined the words. “What I wouldn’t give to be more than your friend.”





The day of the wedding, I waited in the living room as Lucy finished getting ready in her bedroom. My chest was tight waiting to see her, and when she appeared, it was better than I could’ve ever imagined. She came out like a spark of perfection. She wore a floor-length baby blue gown and had baby’s breath twisted into her hair.

Her lips were painted pink, and her beauty was louder than ever.

Each second I saw her, I fell a little more.

Plus, she held Talon in her arms, and the way my daughter, my heart, snuggled into this woman made me fall even more.

We weren’t supposed to feel this way.

We weren’t supposed to fall for one another, she and I.

Yet it seemed gravity had a way of pulling us closer.

“You look beautiful,” I told her, standing up from the couch and smoothing out my suit.

“You don’t look half bad yourself.” She smiled as she walked over to me.

“Dada,” Talon said, babbling and reaching out to me. Every time she spoke, my heart grew in size. “Dadadada.”

I’d never known love could be so real.

I took her into my arms and kissed her forehead as she kissed mine back. Lucy stepped forward, straightening out my bow tie, which she had picked out. She’d picked out my whole outfit. She was convinced my closet contained too much black, so she had forced me out of my comfort zone with a light gray suit and a baby blue polka dot bow tie.

We drove to Lucy’s employee, Chrissy’s, house before heading to the ceremony. Chrissy had said she’d take care of Talon for the evening, and a part of me worried. Talon had never spent time with anyone other than Lucy or me, but Lucy told me she trusted Chrissy, and in turn, I trusted Lucy.

“If you need anything, you have our numbers,” I told Chrissy as I handed her Talon, who seemed timid at first.

“Ah, don’t you worry, we’re going to have a great time. All you two have to worry about is having a great time tonight. Embrace each moment.”

I gave her a tight smile before leaning in to kiss Talon’s forehead one last time.

“Oh, and, Graham? I’m sorry about your father. Professor Oliver seemed like a great man,” Chrissy told me.

I thanked her as Lucy took my hand and squeezed it lightly.

As we walked to the car, I turned her way. “You told her he was my father?” I asked.

“Of course. He was your father, and you were his son.”

I swallowed hard and opened her car door to help her in. As she climbed inside, I waited a second before shutting the door. “Lucille?”

“Yes?”

“You make the world a lot less dark.”





We arrived at the ceremony about ten minutes before it was going to begin and sat in a middle row on the edge of the aisle. The space was surrounded by beautiful flowers, which Lucy herself had arranged for the event and set up earlier that morning. She was the best at making every moment beautiful.

When it was time, everyone in attendance stood up as Susie walked down the aisle first with her arm looped through her father’s. She was smiling wide and looked breathtaking in her white gown. Once she made it to the front, her father kissed her cheek and took his seat. Then, the music shifted and it was Karla’s turn. She looked like an angel, holding her beautiful bouquet of pink and white roses. Her dress flowed effortlessly, but her steps seemed to be a struggle. With each one she took, I could tell what was weighing on her heart—she was missing her father, the man who was supposed to be walking her down the aisle on the happiest day of her life.

Halfway down the aisle, her steps stopped, she covered her mouth with her hand, and she began sobbing, the overwhelming pain of the situation swallowing her whole.

Within seconds, I was there. My arm wrapped around hers, I leaned in closer to her, and I whispered, “I have you, Karla. You’re not alone.”