Page 96 of Tutored in Love
He caught up in a few minutes, slowing his pace when he neared so he wouldn’t overtake her in an overeager sprint. As he eased up on her left side, she heard his steps and slid right to let him pass. Instead he matched pace and watched her sideways with what was probably a goofy grin.Blame the runner’s high, he thought.
Grace ran on for a few more strides, her brows furrowed in concentration, before she shot an oblique glance at the weirdo matching her pace. When she recognized him, she smiled. “Hey!” she said.
“Hey!” he said back, pausing his music and removing the headphone on her side while reining in his grin.Don’t screw this up.
“Day off?” she asked in the shortened clips of run-talk.
“Flexible hours. You?” He knew very well—thanks to Jamie—what Grace’s hours were, but he thought it best to feign ignorance.
“Evenings.”
“You like it?”
“I do.” She looked left as they came to a street crossing. The furrows had taken hold again. “It’s not ideal for social life, but I enjoy my free mornings.”
“How’s the new kid?” he asked, remembering her worry at the social.
Her face relaxed as they crossed the empty street. “Doing better. His guide is really helping.”
“Guide?”
“Fellow student,” she said between breaths. “Further along in the program.”
“Ah. That’s good. And the dream job—is it everything you wanted?”
Her eyes narrowed.
Noah wanted to kick himself. She probably thought he was mocking her work again. “I mean, it sounds like you can make a big impact there. Do you enjoy it?”
Her tension eased. “It’s different than I expected. Harder.” She waved at a baby being pushed in a stroller by a woman walking the other direction. “Things are always different in reality than theory.”
“True.” Like placing himself in a position to pursue Grace, only to find she had a serious boyfriend.
“How about you?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“New job, right? Accountant?”
“Oh,” he said, recalling the drift of their conversation. “So far, so good. Healthy culture. Good people. Not as intense as the other firms I interviewed with.” Noah eased in behind Grace for a few strides to give an oncoming biker room to pass. “How’s your family?”
They settled into a nice rhythm as she chattered about her brothers’ sports and the harvest from her parents’ massive garden.
“Honestly, I don’t know why they plant so much. They have a hard time finding enough neighbors to eat it all.”
“How’s Claire’s baby?” he asked.
Grace’s steps sputtered.
Apparently she’d planned on ignoring their original connection, but the question had just slipped out. Choosing to act as though they were nothing more than old friends—and hoping Ryan hadn’t let slip to Grace that Noah had been asking about her—he went on. “Ryan mentioned a while back that they had a boy.”
Their eyes caught as he glanced sideways, and he tried to convey nothing more than friendly interest with his. That seemed to reassure her, and with another question or two from him, her face lit up as she talked about her niece and nephew.
She was complaining about how little time she got to spend with them when another street cut across the trail. “Oh!” she said, looking around. “I didn’t realize how far we’d come. I usually turn around before this.”
“Sorry,” Noah said, doing an about-face. “I probably threw off your groove.”
“Not at all.” She smiled. “It’s been a nice distraction. Besides, more mileage isn’t a bad thing. I don’t have to be to work until this afternoon. Are you going to be late?”