Page 34 of Holding Grace

Chapter 12

Michael

I tapped my hands on the steering wheel in time to the beat spilling out of my SUV’s sound system.

I was amped up, ready to go. Anxious to see Grace and spend time with her. We wouldn’t be alone, but I’d be with her. That was good enough for me.

I hadn’t seen her for weeks. I’d talked or texted with her every day but hadn’t spent any time in person with her.

Part of that had been by design. I’d wanted to give her space to settle in and get her bearings. Mercy told me Grace was doing great, so I’d stayed at a distance. I couldn’t go without contact, but I’d made myself be happy with our daily call or texts. At first, I’d always been the one who reached out but then Grace had started to, as well. I’d been stupidly excited the first time she’d texted me first. I was just thankful I was alone when it happened so no one else saw the victory fist I’d thrust in the air.

The other reason I hadn’t seen Grace was my schedule. We’d hired two new cooks at the pub – one to replace the guy we fired and one to replace the guy who went home that same day and never came back – but it had taken a couple weeks, and they were still in training. Jamey and I had both been carrying the load, and some of the other staff had stepped up, too. With one thing and another, this was the first day off I’d had.

Thanks to Mercy, I not only got to spend it with my family, I got to spend it with Grace.

I parked in a spot near her building, keyed in the code for the building’s front door, and jogged up the stairs to her floor, feeling like a kid buzzing on too much sugar as I knocked.

I heard quick footsteps then the door swung open.

Grace looked beautiful. She was dressed casually in a sweater and jeans with her hair up in a ponytail, but her brown eyes shone, her cheeks were pink, and the shadows under her eyes were gone.

She caught me staring and looked down to check herself as she stepped back to let me in.

“What? Did I spill something?”

“No.” She looked back up at me. “You just look happy.”

Gorgeous. Soft. Radiant. Edible.

She smiled as her cheeks pinked up a little more. “I guess I am. Happy, I mean. Well, I don’t guess...I am.”

I cleared my throat, trying to rein in my brain as I followed her across the space to the kitchen. “That’s good. It looks good on you.”

“Thanks,” she said a little shyly, then turned to indicate the containers that sat on the counter. “I couldn’t decide between caramel and raspberry, so I made both.”

Grace had offered to make dessert for today and I’d gratefully accepted. I could have made a quick batch of bar cookies or a cake this morning, but with Grace taking care of it, it was one less thing to worry about.

When we’d talked the day before, Grace had decided to make fudge brownies but had been debating whether to do caramel filling or raspberry filling.

“I doubt you’ll hear any complaints, and you probably won’t have any leftovers. You might want to grab a couple out to leave here if you want any.”

“It’s possible that I may have already had one of each with my coffee for breakfast,” she said with a little grin.

“No judgement here.” I lifted the containers while Grace got her bag. I waited for her to lock her apartment door behind us, then followed her down to my car. I held her door for her, set the brownies on the back seat, then settled in my own seat.

It was just after noon and the streets were still relatively quiet. We rode in comfortable silence for a few miles, then Grace turned a little in her seat to face me.

“Tell me about you and your cousins. Like who’s oldest, all that stuff.”