Page 31 of Holding Grace
“Maybe not.”
He wasn’t buying it – I could tell – but I let it go.
“So, you were there all day?”
“Yeah, one of the other cooks was shaken up badly enough that we sent him home, so we were down both of them. Jamey and I tag-teamed dealing with the police stuff and pinch hitting in the kitchen. Robby – who you might remember from when you were at the pub – came in early so that helped but it was chaos for a while.”
“I can imagine.” The pub had slower days, but at least in my experience, it was rarely truly slow. Managing without two cooks would be challenging at best. “I’m sorry that all happened.”
“Me, too. Thanks for letting me talk about it, though. Tell me about your day. What did you do?”
Respecting his desire to change the subject, I told him about the tour I’d taken of the neighborhood and the Italian restaurant I’d found along with the deli where he’d bought the bagels. Then I skimmed over the organizing I’d done in the apartment, not wanting to bore him with the details.
“It sounds like you’re settling in.”
I ran my eyes around the main area and kitchen, happy with what I saw. “I am. I have a few things I still want to get, but the apartment already feels a little bit like home.”
I hadn’t had that feeling in a while – longer than I liked to think about – and it felt good.
“Glad to hear it. Anything you need help with, you know I’m here.”
“I know.” I resisted the urge to say thank you, knowing he’d tease me for it.
“Listen, I’m going to let you go, okay? It makes me feel ancient to say it, but I need to crash, and I know you have a big day tomorrow.”
“I do. You go crash. I hope tomorrow is better.”
“God, me, too. Will you call me tomorrow and fill me in on your first day?”
Don’t read into it, Grace. Don’t.
“Sure, if you want me to.”
“I do. I’ll look forward to it. Night, Grace.”
“Good night, Michael.”
I disconnected then held my phone to my chest with a sigh. I’d do my best to keep my head on straight and my heart in check, but Michael was making it hard not to fall for him.