Heartbreak Hill Read Online Heidi McLaughlin

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Contemporary Tags Authors:
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Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 100750 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
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Reid sat up and added, “Have you thought about what happens if you don’t have Rafe’s heart?”

To her surprise, Grayson nodded. “I think about it daily, but then I think about those girls and . . . it’s so hard to explain, Reid. Do you know how you felt when I had the heart attack, and you didn’t know whether I was going to make it?”

She nodded.

“Take that feeling and magnify it. Before I met them, I dreamed of faceless beings and woke up crying, and I couldn’t explain it. I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t know what until I saw them. And then I realized there wasn’t anything wrong, just missing this piece to make me whole.”

“But not complete?”

Grayson ran his fingers down the side of her face. “You make me complete, Sully.”

“I hate knowing there are secrets out there. She needs to know that you believe you have her husband’s heart. Not telling her is deceiving her. It’s deceiving the girls, and it’s honestly setting them up for more heartbreak.”

“I can give you every excuse possible, like it’s too soon or it might be too much for Nadia to bear. Honestly, I think you’re expecting me to say those things.”

Reid nodded.

Grayson sighed. “I don’t know if I’m ready to say those words to her, but I will.”

“When?”

“After the dance,” he said. “I don’t want to ruin the night for them.”

Reid lay back down next to him.

“What if she tells me I can’t see the girls?” he asked quietly.

She turned and faced him, seeing the pain in his eyes. “Then you listen to what she tells you, and you respect her decision.”

“That would break my heart,” he told Reid.

“And you could break theirs.”

THIRTY-ONE

NADIA

When Nadia came in from watering the front lawn, she caught Lynnea on her phone. The girl’s eyes went wide with horror as she dropped the phone and ran for her room. Nadia picked it up, saw Grayson’s name on the screen, and froze. She glanced toward the upstairs and, in a panic, ended the call.

Maybe he didn’t answer. Either way, her youngest was going to pay for sneaking her phone. Not only that, but for calling Grayson.

After his surprise visit, which had really caught her off guard and elated her at the same time, the girls confided to her that they really liked Grayson and said he reminded them of their father. Nadia cried for days at the revelation. While she’d been excited to see him after all these years, she never wanted the girls to replace their father. Just as she had no intention of ever bringing someone home or remarrying. But having Grayson there, even for a day, had brought so much joy to Gemma and Lynnea. When he left, he promised to come back very soon and made sure Nadia had his number programmed in her phone. He told the girls they could call him whenever their mom would allow. It seemed Lynnea had taken that invitation to heart and forgot she needed permission.

Nadia climbed the stairs and knocked on Lynnea’s door. She heard rustling, but no answer. “Lynnea, may I come in?”

“Lynnea doesn’t live here,” a mousy little voice said.

“Oh no, she doesn’t? She didn’t say goodbye. I’m going to miss her so much. Do you know where she went?”

“No.” This time the voice had changed to a deeper squeak.

“Oh well, now I’m sad. If you see Lynnea, can you tell her that her mommy loves her so very much?”

There was some movement in the room. The knob twisted, the door swung open, and Lynnea launched herself into her mother’s arms. “Oh, you’re here,” Nadia said as she hugged her. “I thought I’d lost you forever.”

“I was just foolin’, Mommy.”

“That makes me so happy.” She carried Lynnea into her room, shut the door, and sat them both down on her bed. Nadia held her youngest on her lap and stroked her hair. “Now, do you want to tell me why you called Grayson without asking me?”

Lynnea shook her head and then buried her face into her mother’s shoulder. Nadia continued to hold her, missing the moments when she was smaller and she could carry her everywhere. She’d give anything to go back in time, to experience some of her favorite memories. To see her husband again. To feel his arms around her.

Nadia still hadn’t cleaned out his side of the closet or emptied his dresser. She didn’t know when she’d be ready to remove him completely from her life. When Kiran had come over, pretending to be in the area but really to check on her, she’d asked him if he wanted anything of Rafe’s. He’d declined but asked for the right to change his mind later, and she’d agreed. It all made sense to her. Each morning, she woke up and stared at the empty side of the bed, praying it was all a dream. She knew it wasn’t, but she had hope.


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