I opened my arms and stepped in for a hug. She popped up on her tiptoes and wound her arms around my neck.

Uh-oh.

I’d hugged Grace a million times, but this felt different. We were different. She wasn’t the girl in pigtails who’d probably punch me in the arm after I let go. She was a woman. A woman who felt dangerously good with her body pressed against mine.

Closing my eyes, I inhaled her scent and flexed to wrap my arms tighter around her. I needed to let go. I was going to make things awkward if I kept hugging her like this. Because this wasn’t the kind of hug you gave a friend you hadn’t seen in a while. There was nothing friendly about it—not on my end at least.

God, I’d missed her.

I reveled in a few more seconds of contact, then dropped my arms. Hers slid from my shoulders and she took a step back.

“So…” She glanced away and tightened her ponytail. “Gram made pie?”

I was a little lightheaded after that hug, but I didn’t want her to notice. “Yeah, everybody wants to see you, so I guess we should go next door.”

She moved past me to slip her feet into her flip-flops. “How was spring semester?”

“Good. I had a couple of tough classes, so I’m glad it’s over.”

“Yeah, me too. How’s Gram?”

I followed her out the door. “She’s fine. Same as always.”

“Good. I missed her.”

“Yeah, she missed you too.”

She glanced at me while we walked side by side. For a second, I hoped she’d say she’d missed me, too. That would certainly give me a reason to say it back. But she just looked away and kept walking across the grass.

As soon as we stepped onto the porch, I could tell my brothers had beat us back. Noise poured out the open front door. The chorus of male voices was cut by a squeal from Elijah and Naomi’s laughter. Grace and I paused, sharing a look before we walked into the chaos.

Gram’s kitchen always looked right when it was full of people. Like it was meant for that, in a way other kitchens weren’t. Elijah sat at the head of the table, happily eating a giant slice of pie. Logan sat next to him, grinning at whatever Eli had just said. Gavin leaned against the counter, his plate held up close to his face while he ate. Even Levi’s perpetual brow furrow had smoothed, his usual surliness softened by Gram’s famous strawberry rhubarb pie.

My brothers had obviously found Evan. He sat at the table, but even sitting, he looked huge. At six-foot-four and with shoulders as wide as a barn, he seemed to tower over everyone. He was only a year younger than me, but he’d shot past me in height a few years ago. We Baileys were big guys, but Evan took big to a whole new level.

“Grace!”

I wasn’t sure who shouted her name first. But a second later, she was being hugged by all my brothers. Elijah jumped down from his seat to wrap his arms around anyone’s legs he could find. The little guy always wanted to be in on the action.

And all this, right here, was what had kept me from ever making a move with Grace. She was a part of this family. So were her mom and her little brother. Our lives, and the lives of everyone we both loved, were tightly intertwined.

My sense of responsibility to my family, and hers, had always held me back. Because what if something went wrong? What if Grace and I dated and it didn’t work out—then what? I’d grown up in a town divided by a feud started by people long dead for reasons no one could remember—a community still haunted by the rift between two families. Even back in high school, I’d known I couldn’t risk tearing our families apart.

That had always seemed like a good reason to stay friends and leave it at that. But looking at her now, while she smiled and traded hugs with my brothers, I wondered if I’d been wrong. If I’d made a mistake and missed my chance with her.

Because what if we dated, and it did work out?

I’d been with a few girls since high school, but never anything serious. Deep down, I knew the reason wasn’t them. It was me. I never let things get serious—always broke it off before the relationship could really go anywhere.

The problem was, Grace had lodged herself into my heart a long time ago, and she hadn’t left room for anyone else to get in.

That was a fucked-up realization to have while standing in Gram’s kitchen, surrounded by all the reasons I’d never made a move.

I watched her smile and laugh. Hug everyone and tell them that school was great. She loved it and she couldn’t wait to go back in the fall.

Looking down, I realized Gram was trying to hand me a plate with a slice of pie. Damn it, I’d been staring at Grace. I took it, absently grabbing the fork.

“You look like you could use another slice,” Gram said.

I nodded, feeling oddly tongue-tied. Something was wrong with me. I didn’t feel like myself. Ever since I’d hugged Grace next door, it was like I’d come unhinged. Dangerous impulses kept trying to overtake me. I wanted to wrap my arms around her again. Grab her hand, haul her out to the back porch, and kiss the hell out of her. Or maybe kiss her right here, in front of everyone.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it back for graduation,” Grace was saying to Logan and Levi. “It just didn’t work with finals and everything.”

“That’s okay, graduation was boring,” Logan said. “We waited for you to get home to throw a grad party, anyway.”

She smiled. “You did? Thanks.”

“Yeah, we figured we’d have it later this summer. Keep the celebration going.” Logan smirked at her. “So when are you going to dump that college boy and go out with me?”

Levi rolled his eyes and threw a wadded-up napkin at him. Logan batted it to the floor.

Grace laughed. “We’re not together anymore. But sorry, Logan, I’m not into younger guys.”

“What? I’m only two years younger than you, and very mature for my age.”

Levi and Evan both snorted. Even Gram stifled a laugh.

Logan put a hand on his chest. “I’m hurt. But that’s okay, I wouldn’t date you anyway.”

Grace crossed her arms. “Why not?”

“You’re cute and everything, but I’m not into older women.”

“That’s because you couldn’t handle this woman,” she said.

Levi whistled and everyone laughed—everyone except me. I was back to staring at Grace, my pie untouched, the fork dangling from my fingers.

She’d just said We’re not together anymore.

Her eyes darted to me and she winked. She’d probably just scored another zinger on Logan, which was always hilarious because Logan could dish it out better than he could take it. My mouth hooked in a smile, and I winked back at her. But it wasn’t because I was sharing in the humor of her snarking at my brother.

It was because I’d just realized two things.

One, Grace was single. Not only was she single, but the way she’d said We’re not together anymore told me everything I needed to know about her breakup with the shithead. She wasn’t upset. I knew her. If she’d been brokenhearted, I’d have been able to tell. Which meant either it hadn’t been very serious, or she’d been the one to break up with him. Maybe both.

Two, I didn’t just have a thing for Grace. I was in love with her.