“And is that all he cared about?” Gray squeezed my hand. “Money and what you could do for his reputation?”

I nodded. “Our uncle gave us nothing but material offerings. No affection. No family. Killian stepped in and became my parent and he was just a child himself. He loved and protected me with a fierceness that meant I had what I needed growing up. It wasn’t a mum and dad but he tried his damn best. I guess because I had Killian, my uncle’s lack of affection didn’t hurt as much. But Killian didn’t have that same paternal support and so he grew up trying to win it from our uncle. He even took a job at my uncle’s record label. I hated watching him trying to prove himself to a man who didn’t deserve the attempt.”

“Your brother still work for him?”

I shook my head and smiled. “He met someone. You may have heard of her actually. Skylar Finch?”

He frowned. “The name is familiar but I don’t know why.”

“She’s been all over the news lately. She used to be the frontwoman for the band Tellurian. Her parents were murdered. She fell off the face of the earth a few years ago and just showed up again recently.”

Gray nodded as recognition lit his eyes. “I do remember catching glimpses of that in the news.”

“Well, she was living in Glasgow. It’s a long story.” I shrugged. “But the result was that Killian fell in love with her. She’s changed him for the better. Now he’s starting up his own record company and our uncle is out of our lives for good. We don’t need his toxic personality around us anyway.”

In answer, Gray rubbed his thumb over the top of my hand and I fought a shiver. “First your uncle and then all those assholes you told me about. Fuck, Autumn, you deserve so much more than that.”

“What if that’s not true?” I whispered because the words were hard to say. “What if I’m not who you want me to be and this is just a giant mistake?”

“I get it. I get why you’re questioning this because it feels unreal that two people could connect like this so quickly. You ever ask why I’m not questioning it? It’s because I know that this kind of connection exists and it’s real. I know that because I was lucky enough to grow up surrounded by love. I’m more open to it. I get it now why you’re not. Between those guys and everything you’ve lost, I get it in a way that I really wish I didn’t. Because I’ve known you only a few days and I would give anything to give you back your parents. That’s why you don’t want to believe this is true. Because good things rarely happen, right?”

“That makes me sound ungrateful. I’ve lived a privileged life.”

“No. You have money. There’s a difference and you know it. You know it better than anyone.”

I gripped his hand tight, feeling tears burn my eyes. “I’d give it back in a heartbeat.”

“I know, angel,” he murmured, taking hold of my other hand.

Suddenly my chest felt constricted as a wave of feelings toward him crashed into me. “I’m scared.”

“Don’t be. I promise you there’s nothing to be scared of from me. This is the real fucking deal and I’m going to protect it with everything I have. Just say you’re with me.”

“I live in Glasgow,” I reiterated, hanging on by a thread.

“Forget that. Forget everything but you and me and right now. I don’t care if that’s reckless or stupid… I just… Just give yourself over to this with me and I honestly believe it will all work itself out. Will you do that? Will you just hold on with me?”

I stared into his face, a face that felt so strangely familiar to me now. My fears rode me but I knew as the warmth and excitement and thrill and peace exploded through me in opposing harmony that he was going to win over my fears.

I nodded, my hands tightening in his. “I’ll hold on.”

Chapter Five

The rest of our dinner conversation was balanced between heavy and light. I told him about Skylar being homeless in Glasgow, about helping her start a homeless shelter charity now that she was healthy and happy again. I spoke more about Killian and how overprotective he was (which didn’t even faze Gray). Gray talked about his parents and brother, and his cousins Josh and Zach and their families. We learned about each other’s food, music, movie likes and dislikes, and he made me laugh. A lot.

We moved to the bar after our meal and time flew. I was disappointed when I realized we had to say goodnight. However, Gray kept his word. In fact, he didn’t even kiss me goodnight. Well, not a real kiss… but what he did was almost better.

Somehow he managed to give me the most spine-tingling kiss goodnight with a mere brush of his mouth against the corner of mine. Seriously, I almost melted into a puddle at his feet as his head pulled back from the kiss. He caressed my cheekbone with the pad of his thumb and then stepped back, wishing me goodnight.

With the promise of seeing him tomorrow in the air, I’d fled into my suite before I did something I’d regret—like throw myself at him when he was trying so hard to be a gentleman.

He was booked for morning ski lessons, something I knew he now regretted, but he’d promised Jacob he’d help him out and it would seem Gray didn’t back out of a promise. I liked that. I liked that a lot.