Grace crossed her arms. “We can actually leave closer to nine.”
“Thank you for seeing sense.”
“I think I hate you.” She muttered it, but there was a ghost of a smile on her face.
“You can hate me and be well taken care of. I’m sure you’re great at multitasking.”
Grace was waiting on the porch, sitting on the fixed step, staring out into the distance.
She was dressed for comfort, and yet, even from where I parked the truck, I could tell she put thought into her outfit. The gamble of a Tennessee February was on, and some days were warm and incredible while others were cold and frigid. This was one of the cooler days, and even though Grace was in leggings, she had on a hat that covered her curly black hair, boots, and leg warmers that were ... kind of cute.
At first glance, anyone would think that she was completely fine. But as she got in the truck, I could see that her eyes were still tinged red, just as they were yesterday when she’d been crying.
“Rough night?” I knew I should have called her. I had a feeling that she wasn’t okay after I left yesterday.
“It’s not the worst I’ve ever had, but admittedly, I didn’t sleep very well.”
“You need your rest,” I said, even though sleep had been hard for me too.
“I would have slept if I could.” She sighed, not even attempting to convince me I didn’t need to go today. When I was still in denial about how she was doing, I figured I would have to fight her on every step of this journey. If she was giving in, then things weren’t great.
“We can get coffee after. I’ll make sure it’s under three hundred milligrams.”
“Stop talking dirty to me.”
I let out a chuckle before her words sank in. I tried to push them out of my mind as I backed out of the driveway, but I had to turn to make sure that there was nothing behind me, and that gave me the perfect view of Grace.
After months of trying to hunt down a woman that would interest me, I’d wondered if my dick was dead. But looking at her, even when I was worried to death and she was half asleep in my passenger seat, my mouth went dry.
I wanted to memorize the planes of her face, the colors her skin turned with each emotion she felt.
I’d gone so many years not needing anyone romantically. I never even had the urge. That part of me had been locked away so tightly that he would never escape, and it was good for both him and me.
Now he was fighting back.
Turning my eyes away from her, I focused on the road. Eventually, this spell would be broken. Either by me or by her.
The drive went by mostly in silence. I thought Grace was asleep and I wasn’t about to wake her up. If she indeed was, then she needed it. And I needed the silence. I had a feeling we would be spending most of the day together. We’d get to know each other pretty quickly.
She only stirred when we hit Knoxville, the stop-and-go traffic causing the engine to grumble in protest.
“Sorry, the truck’s a little loud.”
“No, I don’tmind it. Sometimes things feel a little too quiet.”
I’d felt that before, back when I still lived in Mom’s house. Thankfully, that emptiness had been filled by the city. Even if they weren’t noises I liked and cared about, they were still there. I had a feeling, though, that Grace wouldn’t follow in my footsteps.
“Many people have asked me why I’ve never upgraded. The truth is, I like the noise too.”
She smiled over at me, and it was very tempting to take my eyes off the road and stare right back. I was glad I didn’t, though, because somebody cut me off and I had to slam on the brakes.
“I could do without that.” Grace’s voice was flat.
“I’m used to it. Everyone here has somewhere to be. And some of them don’t care about who they step on to get there.”
Grace’s lips pursed. “It’s fine if I’m visiting, but it gets old when I have to spend a lot of time in the city. This kind of stuff doesn’t happen in Strawberry Springs.”
I had to press my lips together to keep from saying something stupid. Because I was pretty sure that this thing definitely happened in Strawberry Springs.