“Well, now that we’re all acquainted, let’s get inside. Supper is about ready.” Mom ushered the crowd in.

“Gray, now?” Mia asked, her eyebrows furrowed.

“Mia, what’s wrong?”

“Mia, get inside and help your sisters.” Mom ordered in the I-said-now voice.

“Yes, ma’am,” she mumbled, but did as she was told.

“Whoa,” Sam whispered as we entered the living room. It was vaulted to the third floor and boasted huge canvases of Dad’s boats in full sail. “You built these?”

“Not all.” I pointed to the one furthest left. “That was before me, but the one over here is the one we built my junior year in high school.”

“That’s amazing,” Paisley remarked.

“What the hell are you doing flying helicopters?” Jagger asked. “These are seriously badass.”

I cringed, and checked to make sure Mom hadn’t heard. She’d already found her way to the kitchen. “Can we keep the helicopter stuff a little more quiet?”

I got what-the-hell looks tossed my way, but they didn’t have time to ask before Mom came back over. “We’re all set up out back.”

What? “Out back? On the deck?” It faced the channel, with a nice view, but were we all going to fit on the deck?

“Aren’t you hungry?” she asked, not really answering.

“Yes, ma’am,” Carter replied, somehow manifesting the southern drawl he’d beaten out of himself at West Point.

Mom led the way, and I held Sam back, kissing her just because I could. “Welcome to my home.”

She glanced around. “I like it. It feels…solid, sturdy.” Anyone else might have taken that as weird, but I understood what she was saying. She’d never had a home for more than two years, so to Sam, solid was golden. She unleashed an impish grin. “Do I get to see baby pictures?”

“Hell no.” I glanced down the hall and made sure everyone had followed Mom out onto the deck, and then I kissed Sam again, gently sucking on her lower lip.

“Your mom is going to catch us.”

“Let her.”

She laughed, making my house feel more like home than it had in the last five years, and kissed me enthusiastically with a smacking sound. “Stop avoiding your family and feed me.”

I nodded, resigned myself to the insanity of the evening, and walked with her down the hall, pulling her past the pictures that lined the hallway with a promise that she could examine them later. Later like never. I’d been scrawny until a few years ago, and I knew she was attracted to this body. I’d keep that.

Mom opened the sliding door to the back deck with a huge smile and bright eyes. “It’s about time, Gray. We have a little surprise for you.”

My stomach clenched. They wouldn’t. They know better.

I held Sam’s hand while she stepped over the barrier, but the deck was empty. I will fucking kill them. Mom pointed to the edge of the banister, and I just…knew.

“What a gorgeous view,” Sam said, looking over the water as the sunset turned it an array of colors. Then she looked down. “Whoa.”

“Surprise!” the crowd yelled from beneath us. There had to have been seventy people, all crowded onto the patio and the pool deck, hell, even the walkway to the beach. I swallowed and held Sam’s hand in a death grip, using her to ground me in the present. “Happy Birthday!” they shouted in unison.

Every muscle in my body tensed, and my stomach contents turned over, threatening to make an encore appearance.

Sam looked up at me, her eyes wide and a little hurt. “It’s your birthday?”

I let go of her hand and stretched out my fingers. I couldn’t hurt her. I had to keep in complete control. Space. I needed space. Then I turned to my mother, whose mouth had drooped slightly, understanding that her plan had failed.

I gave a swift shake of my head and walked back in the house before I devastated her feelings by saying something thoughtless.

“Gray,” she called after me.

I didn’t look back.

Chapter Sixteen

Sam

The moment Grayson disappeared, his mother stepped to the banister and raised her arms. “Thank you! Let’s get this party started!”

She sounded joyful, but the small tremble to her jaw told me otherwise.

Something had gone terribly wrong. I searched for Jagger in the crowd, and when I found him with one arm around Paisley, he raised his hand in the what-gives position. I shrugged in answer, but I wasn’t going to stand there like a clueless idiot when Grayson was obviously in pain.

Over a birthday?

Music blared to life through the speakers around the pool, and people started mingling and heading for the bar that had been set up near the beach. Nearer the water I could see a volleyball net. His parents had gone all out for him. It was a phenomenal beach party.

The summer of my senior year, we had a huge party at the beach.

His words sliced through my memory, and I gasped. Mia charged up the steps and I finally understood why she’d been trying to get his attention on the front porch. She’d been trying to warn him.

I turned to his mom. “He wasn’t ready.” It was half excuse, half accusation, but I let it hang there between us for a few seconds until Mia reached us.

“Sam,” she started.

“Where is his room?” I interrupted. As much as I adored Mia, I wasn’t in the mood for anything she had to say.