by Addison Cole
“No, babe. It’s fine.” He explained that they’d just ratified the contract for the property and were set to close in a few weeks. “We’ve got a long road ahead of us to rehab the place, but the inside is gorgeous, and it has a lot of potential.”
“Hey, Reed,” Trace said. “If you’re buying this place, I know Jeb will want to put in a bid for the stonework.” Jeb was Trace’s oldest sibling, a talented artist who worked with stone, wood, and metals, creating custom furniture and refurbishing antiques.
“I wouldn’t want to bid or anything,” Morgyn said, “but I’d love to help with the interior. I’d be happy to help with curtains, upholstery, and whatever else you think I might be able to help with. I’d love to be part of this type of project in any way I can.”
“Thank you. That’s great,” Reed said. “I really appreciate the offers. And, Trace, I’ll be sure to connect with Jeb when we get that far.” He pulled Grace closer as the others made themselves comfortable to watch the movie.
“Thanks for helping Nat,” Brindle said. “She showed me the revisions, and I think the play will be perfect.”
“She’s really talented, and the sweetest girl,” Grace said. “You did such a good thing for her, Brin, and she raves about you. Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it. I told her that when I’m back in New York I’ll mentor her via email.”
“I know,” Brindle said, snuggling closer to Trace. “She’s told everyone how excited she is. She’s here tonight.” She turned around and pointed to a group of girls by the streetlight. “She’s with Phoenix and Lauryn, or as I’ve started calling the three of them, your fan club.”
“Oh, stop.” Grace shook her head.
They turned their attention back to the movie, but Reed was too swept up in Grace to pay attention to anything but the smile on her face as she put her arms around his neck and leaned closer, speaking loud enough only for him to hear.
“Sophie comes back next Saturday afternoon, and her baby shower is Sunday morning. Do you think we could try to do this with her and Brett? They’d love this. Brett is a huge theater fan. And maybe we can invite Roy and Ella? They’d probably love this, too. And if we don’t invite my family, they’ll probably show up anyway.” She sat back and said, “Actually, we’d probably end up with everyone here anyway.”
“Babe, we can do whatever you’d like.”
“I have to go back to New York the following weekend,” she said softly, the sadness in her voice inescapable.
“I know. We’ll make it happen before that. Maybe the weekend you leave as a going away-party, so everyone has a chance to say goodbye.”
“Okay.” She was quiet for a second, resting her head on his shoulder. And then she pressed a kiss beside his ear and said, “I have a feeling you’re going to hear this a lot from me, but I can’t believe you’re buying the theater. You’ll forever own the property where we first…you know.”
“I do know, babe. And we’ll make a million more memories that are just as great. We’re making them right now.” He lifted his chin in the direction of her sisters and their friends, just as her parents, Amber, and Reno, came around the side of the building carrying big bags of popcorn.
Everyone got up to greet them at once.
Grace laced her hands with Reed’s, waiting her turn, and said to Reed, “I’m sorry our romantic night has turned into a party. This would never happen in the city.”
“Exactly,” her mother said. “This would never happen in the city.”
Chapter Sixteen
GRACE AWOKE TO the feel of Reed’s lips on her ribs. She ran her fingers through his thick hair as memories of their evening came back to her. They’d hung out with friends and family long after the movie had ended, and she’d seen several of the people she’d gone to school with. Her visits home had been so quick over the years, unless she saw her friends while she was out with her sisters, she rarely caught up with anyone. But last night Reed had seemed happy to let her stay and chat as long as she’d wanted. They’d gotten home at nearly two in the morning and had made love until they were both too spent to move.
Reed nipped at her belly, bringing her thoughts back to the man loving his way up her body. He moved over her, his chest hair tickling her skin as he perched on his elbows.
She smiled up at him. “I like waking up with you.”
“I like doing everything with you.”
He kissed her again, a long, sweet kiss that made her insides soft. He brushed his whiskers along her cheek, alternating between kissing and abrading. Grace thought back to when she’d first seen him riding a horse at the Jerichos’. She’d fought so hard not to feel the emotions he’d stirred, and now, as his warm breath whispered over her skin, she couldn’t imagine not feeling this way ever again. Worry tiptoed in as he laced their hands together and gazed lovingly into her eyes.
“What’s going on in that beautiful brain of yours, Gracie?”
Not wanting to dwell on the fact that her life was hundreds of miles away, she tried to lead him astray. “I was wondering if you were ever going to buy a bedframe.”
“Do you want a bedframe?”
“It’s not my house.”
His eyes darkened. “But you’re in my bed.” He kissed her chin. “Should I worry about why you’re thinking about bedframes when I’m lying on top of you, naked?”
“No,” she said lightly. “I was really wondering when you were going to finish your kitchen so you wouldn’t have to eat out every meal.”
His eyes went pitch-black, and he nipped at her lower lip. “I love eating out.”
A soft laugh escaped, and she whispered, “Me too. I wasn’t really thinking about appliances.”
“Ah, you’ve begun lying to me,” he teased.
“Just avoiding the truth. I was thinking about how much I like this.” She rose to kiss him, and he drew back with a tease in his eyes.
“This?” He rocked his hips.
“Yes. But it’s bigger than that.”
“Hey, watch it.”
“Not bigger than that. Being with you, falling asleep in your arms, waking up to your kisses. It feels like it’s always been this way. Like life went on when we weren’t together, but that all seems like a blip in time.” Even though she wasn’t leaving for another two weeks, she felt the end of her stay looming, making every moment they had together feel special and every moment with her family feel important in a way she’d never appreciated.
“When I first got to my parents’ house, I wondered how I’d make it through three weeks with my sisters’ drama, and then I saw you and my world turned inside out. But my sisters haven’t driven me crazy. They’ve enabled me to do more of what I love, and they’ve shown me sides of themselves that I’ve never slowed down enough to appreciate. And you and I…well, the two weeks we have left doesn’t seem like enough.”
“Because it’s not. Nothing will ever be enough, but it’s not supposed to be. Love is supposed to grow stronger, not get easier.”
“But we won’t have this, Reed. Right now we have parts of every day. I mean, we’ll have Friday and Saturday nights and Saturday and Sunday mornings. But I’ll have to work some of that time, and if you’re fixing up the theater, you’ll need to be here.”
“We’ll figure it out,” he promised. “All we have to know right now is that we both want to make it work. Do you want that?”
“Yes, very much.”
“Good. Then let me ask you another important question. Do you”—he kissed the corner of her mouth—“think I should start here?” He kissed the other side of her mouth. “Or should I start at your pretty little toes and work my way up your gorgeous legs all the way to your lips?”
She giggled at his playfulness. “The second option sounds appealing, but I think I have an even better idea.” She pushed on his shoulders, and he shifted onto his side. Then she moved, bringing her legs by his head, and she pressed a kiss to his ankle. “How about if we both start like this and we meet in the middle?”
He kissed her calf and said, “You were my first love, Gracie, and I know that regardless of where we’re living, you’ll be my last.”
LATER THAT MORNING, Reed made room in his dresser for Grace’s things and took far too much pleasure in watching her put them away. It was torture not asking her to move back, to move in, but he held his tongue.
As they got ready to head out to the Stardust Café for breakfast, Grace stood in the foyer holding a pair of cute sandals, looking gorgeous in skinny jeans and a lavender top, with her hair twisted into some sort of knot on the top of her head. Several dark tendrils had already sprung free, sexily framing her face.
Reed embraced her from behind. “Are we bed shopping after breakfast?”
She turned and wound her arms around his neck, her sandals dangling over his shoulder. “You know I don’t care if you have a bedframe or not, don’t you?”
“A big-city girl like you needs proper furniture.”
She swatted his arm, then bent to put on her sandals. “I do not.”
He chuckled.
“I have to get Sophie’s baby shower present. Can we stop by that new baby boutique in town?”
“Sure.” He opened the door for her and followed her out.
“And I should really go for a run later. Will you go with me?”
“What is with you and exercise? You’re gorgeous.”
“It keeps me sane. Relieves stress.”
“Why are you stressed?” He drew her into his arms again. Some people lived on deep breaths; he lived on moments with Grace.
“I’m not right now, actually. I just realized that. But I’m used to working out a few times a week, and not horizontally. Everyone has their crutches. You work with your hands all day—and night. My job is mentally taxing, and sometimes I feel like I need to give all that mental chaos a breather.”
“I get it, and I’ll go for a run with you anytime you’d like. But it might be more fun to head out for a hike or, I don’t know, play Frisbee or something.”
“I love both of those ideas!” Her phone rang, and she pulled it out of her back pocket. “Ugh. Speaking of mental chaos, this is work. Sorry. I’ll try to be quick.” She stepped off the porch as she answered the call and walked toward his truck. “No, Satchel. That’s not how this works.” She held up one finger, indicating she needed a minute, and walked away, speaking sternly into the phone.
Reed locked up and sat on the porch steps. Ten minutes later he was still waiting. He walked down to the creek so she wouldn’t feel pressured and sat in the long grass listening to the leaves rustle and the gentle trickle of the water. Most creeks had an earthy, pungent smell, but the creeks in Virginia had always smelled sweeter to him than those in Michigan. The same way the small towns seemed friendlier and the air felt crisper. None of that was true, of course. He was well aware of his bias toward his hometown. He’d missed the closeness of the community and the ease of the friendships while he’d been in Michigan. His life had been a race. First trying to outrun his heartache and later focusing on anything except the emptiness inside him. Losing Alina had been a relief, and though losing his business had been painful, looking back, that business had only been a mask, a safe distraction from what was missing from his life.
He felt Grace’s presence behind him before he heard the swishing of grass or smelled her sweet perfume. He pushed to his feet, trying to read her troubled expression, and gathered her in his arms. “Whose butt do I need to kick?”
“You can’t fix it that way. Besides, Satchel would take one look at you and run the other way.”
“Satchel? What kind of name is that?”
“His real name is Samuel, but Samuel isn’t exactly an artistic name. He’s the casting director, and he’s wonderful. But the lead actor in the play is apparently being a real numskull. He hooked up with one of the cast members, and he’s decided to be a jerk to any guy who looks at her. What is wrong with men, anyway? It’s like the minute they sleep with a woman they think they either own her or they’re over her. There’s no middle ground.”
“Are you really asking me that? You don’t think women are the same way?”
“Of course not.”
He arched a brow.
“What? I’m not mean to women who look at you, and trust me, most every woman who walks by checks you out. Even my sisters.”
“And how do you handle it? Do you say, ‘Yeah, he’s hot. Go for it.’”
She knocked him with her shoulder. “Seriously?”
“Don’t tell me the minute we slept together you thought you owned me,” he teased.
“We hadn’t even slept toge—”
“Glad you see my point.” He gave her a chaste kiss and draped an arm over her shoulder as they headed for his truck. “So, what did Satchel expect you to do about it from four hundred miles away?”
“He’s just keeping me in the loop. In theory, the staff should be able to deal with and manage the chaos. In reality, it can be like herding cubs, and sometimes they’ll only listen to Mama Bear.”
“Just let me know if you need backup.”
“I can handle it. But from now on I’m only hiring castrated males and women who will agree to wear chastity belts.”
Twenty minutes later they entered the Stardust Café. Every red vinyl stool at the counter in the casual, retro-style café was taken, and the booths were nearly as packed.
“Y’all come right in here and sit at the counter.” Winona Hanson, a fortysomething redhead powered by enough sass to fuel a steam engine, waved them over. Speaking to a brunette sitting at the counter, she said, “Ali, would you and Walter mind taking that corner booth, please? I have a bone to pick with these two lovebirds.”
“We can sit in the booth,” Grace offered.
Winona crossed her arms, locking her forest-green eyes on Grace. “Oh no you cannot.”
The brunette slid off the stool, revealing a very pregnant belly, and threw her arms around Grace. “Gracie! Ali Parker, remember me? Big Ali? Well, Ali Larson now. I haven’t seen you in ages! The town’s all abuzz about you two.”
“Ali!” Grace’s surprise was evident in the pitch of her voice. “Oh my goodness, you look incredible! And you’re having a baby!”
“Thank you. I dropped nearly eighty pounds two years ago, thanks to Wally.” Ali looked adoringly at the tall man standing beside her. “We met at a cupcake tasting. He’s a baker and all. Then we started taking walks, and well…” She shrugged. “He taught me about moderation and all that.” She leaned closer and said, “Then we got married, and I gained twenty back with our little cupcake.” She rubbed her belly. “Our baby girl is due in just six weeks.”
Grace’s expression warmed. “You’re having a girl? I’m so happy for you. Wally, it’s nice to meet you. And this is my boyfriend, Reed Cross. He grew up in Meadowside and just moved back a few months ago.”
Reed had wanted so badly to claim Grace as his girlfriend when they were younger that hearing her call him her boyfriend affected him way more than it should have at his age. But man, it gave him a thrill. He shook Walter’s hand. “Nice to meet you both.”
“You’re the guy buying the theater?” Walter asked.
“That’s right. I guess the rumor mill has already started churning.” Reed reached for Grace’s hand.
“Okay, Chatty Cathies,” Winona said. “Time to move along and sit on down. Y’all can catch up over lunch one day.”
“Good idea! Let’s do it soon,” Ali said, giving Grace another quick hug. “I want to hear all about the play y’all are putting on.”
“Play?” Grace asked.
“Oh, maybe I heard wrong. Pregnancy brain and all,” Ali said. “I thought I heard you were producing a play here in town.”
“Oh no. I’m teaching a screenplay writing class over at Amber’s bookstore.”
“Come on, baby.” Walter put a hand on Ali’s back. “We’d better sit down before Winona refuses to feed you any more pickles and cream chee
se. It was nice to meet y’all. Enjoy your breakfast.”
“I get the oddest cravings,” Ali said over her shoulder as they headed for a booth.
Reed and Grace sat at the counter. Winona set two mugs in front of them, pouring coffee with a smirk on her freckled face.
“Go ahead, Winona,” Grace said as she poured cream into her coffee. “Ask away.”
“Oh, I will.” She set the coffeepot down behind her.
A burly tattooed guy in the kitchen put two plates on the pass-through and hollered, “Order up!”
Winona grabbed the plates and set them in front of a customer at the end of the counter. When she returned, she leaned across the counter and spoke quietly, “Just tell me this. Have you been playing around with each other for all these years? Or was that a high school fling and now you’re reunited?”
Grace blinked several times, as surprised as Reed was.
“You knew about us?” Grace whispered. “Does everyone?”
“Don’t be silly. The only reason I know is that my cousin Tami works at the Creekside Diner. She mentioned you two smoochin’ in there a decade ago when you were kids. Someone’s gotta watch out for y’all.”
“But you never said anything,” Grace said with awe.
Winona winked. “And I won’t now. I just wanted to know if it was true. But I can see it was. Everyone thinks I don’t know how to keep a secret.” She leaned closer again and lowered her voice. “Y’all did the right thing back then, with those crazy rivalries goin’ on.”
“Thanks, Winona.” Reed put his hand on Grace’s and squeezed. “To answer your question, no. Grace and I have just found each other again.”
Winona’s gaze moved between them. She pulled a pencil from above her ear and waved it at them. “And the rest of the rumors? I hear you had a community movie night and didn’t even think to invite my parents, who have known you, Grace Montgomery, since you were nothing more than a hope in your mama’s heart.”
Grace smiled and shook her head. “That was a date that Reed set up for us. People saw the movie playing and stopped to watch.”