Chapter 27
Twenty-Seven
Conway
S he is fucking breathtaking.
There’re a couple of people ahead of me in line, but I don’t even care because it gives me a chance to admire Grace behind the counter. The smile on her face is bright and genuine as Mrs. Rochester shows her pictures of her new grandbaby on her phone. No matter how busy the bakery is, no matter how behind Grace is, she seems to always make time for her customers, and not just to ring them up for their orders, but to make them feel seen and appreciated. Every once in a while, her gaze will flit from the customer at the register to me, a flirty twinkle in her eyes.
I reach the counter several minutes later, and Grace smirks as her gaze meets mine. “Fancy running into you here,” she drawls, a hand planted on her hip and her head tilted to the side. “You miss me?”
“Oh, you know I do, baby girl,” I rasp, keeping my voice low. “But I also need to pick up a dozen of the marble cupcakes.”
“Cupcakes, huh?” Grace spins around and reaches into the glass case to grab them. “What’s the occasion?”
“It’s Willow’s mom’s birthday,” I explain, realizing how weird that probably sounds that I’m buying my ex-wife cupcakes for her birthday. “We’re all going out to dinner this evening to celebrate. It’s something we do every year, per my daughter’s request, and Willow begged me to pick up some cupcakes. Her husband offered to do it, but Willow wanted to be the one to bring them, so here I am.”
Never in a million years did I see myself celebrating my ex-wife’s birthday with her and her husband with our child every single year, but the limit for what I’ll do to make my kid happy doesn’t seem to exist. It’s the same for my birthday. Willow insists her mom and Tad come out to dinner with us.
“That’s sweet of you.” Grace’s full, glossy lips curl into a smile that makes my heart beat faster. She rings me up, and as I swipe my card through the reader, Grace says, “I saw Cole at the grocery store the other day.”
At the mention of my son, I grit my teeth. Things with him at the house are still obnoxious. It’s like he has no plans to do anything other than rot on my couch all day, every day. A huge part of me wants to lay into him and kick his ass into gear, but I’m also trying to give him some grace to process the end of his marriage. Even if it’s his fault, it still must be rough to come to terms with.
“He told me,” I mutter, meeting her gaze.
“Did he also tell you he asked me to get dinner with him this weekend?”
And just like that, my blood pressure is through the roof. “No.”
“It took me by surprise, honestly,” Grace offers with a breathy laugh.
“Did you agree to it?” I ask, doing my best to keep my voice low. Cole would have no way of knowing about me and Grace, but that doesn’t make me any less twitchy at the idea of him taking her out.
“At first, I told him no. Dinner felt too much like a date, and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that I’m not interested in going on a date with him. But I agreed to grab coffee with him and catch up instead. As friends. Seems like he could really use one of those right now.” She shrugs.
I huff out a breath. “Cole could use a swift kick in the ass, that’s for sure.”
She giggles, holding my gaze, almost like she’s trying to relay with her eyes alone that I have nothing to worry about.
Clearing my throat, I say, “He didn’t mention that part, but I think it’s great you’re doing that for him. I think talking to someone who has their head properly on their shoulders will be good for Cole.”
“Do you know much about why he’s back in town?” she asks curiously.
“Yeah, but not much.” Cole hasn’t wanted to talk to me too much about what’s been going on with Emily, or what his plans are for the future, but he needs to figure it out. He’s a grown man, and crashing on his dad’s couch with no real idea of what comes next will only get him so far.
“I just wanted to let you know, so it wouldn’t be weird or anything.” Grace keeps her voice quiet, looking down at the counter for a second before coming back up to my face again. “I’d planned to tell you the day it happened, but by the time I got home that night, Beau wasn’t feeling well, and he’s been sick ever since. Didn’t want you to think I was keeping it from you.”
“I wouldn’t have thought that,” I try to reassure her. “How’s Beau now?”
“He’s on the mend, at Ethan’s right now. He’ll probably go back to school tomorrow.”
There’s a line starting to form behind me, so as much as I’d rather stay here all afternoon and talk to her since we haven’t been able to see each other, I know I can’t. Grabbing the cupcakes, I meet her gaze and say, “I want to see you soon.”
Her smile curves her lips. “Trust me, me too. Your son being in town is really messing this up.”
Yes, it is. Not for the first time, I’ve considered telling Cole about me and Grace. He’ll find out eventually anyway, since I can’t see myself walking away from her. Depending on how long he stays in town, if he knew, it would allow me the ability to see her more freely.
The urge to lean over the counter and kiss Grace’s mouth before leaving is strong, but somehow, I’m able to restrain myself. I’ve thought a lot the past week about what it would be like to be out in the open with Grace. To hold her hand in public, press my lips to her forehead without caring who saw us. Loving her freely, showing her off the way she deserves. There’s something inherently thrilling about keeping it a secret, but that thrill fizzles out quickly when there’s more than just physical attraction at play.
It’s becoming abundantly clear that I want more with Grace.
I want the flirting and the chemistry and the mind-blowing sex, but I also want sleepovers and dinners and weekend mornings. I want people to know loud and clear that I’m hers.
But that’s also something we haven’t really talked about. Sure, I’d like to think we’re on the same page, but I really don’t know. Grace very well could not want anything more with me. She may be fine with what we have currently. As much as that thought leaves a bitter taste in the back of my throat, I won’t know for sure until I tell her how I feel.
Hopefully, that’s something I’m able to do soon.
Grace is right about one thing… Cole coming to town threw a wrench is everything.
After I pick up Willow from school, we head back to the house. She informs me that she wants to take a shower and put on a fresh outfit before we have to go to dinner. Apparently, the one she wore to school isn’t good enough for her mom’s birthday. She also let me know that she found a “really cool” tutorial on YouTube for a hairstyle she’s going to try to do herself, but that she may need my help. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that she’s probably her best bet at getting the hairdo to look presentable. You’d think after nine years of having a daughter, I’d learn how to do her hair better, but that’s not the case.
I can do ponytails and very basic braids, and that’s about it.
Surprisingly, when we walk through the door, Cole isn’t vegging out on my couch, nor does it look like a pigsty in the living room either. He strolls out of the bathroom as I set the cupcakes on the counter in the kitchen, clearly having just taken a shower. He’s coming with us tonight, and I think it’ll be good for him to get out of the house.
“Damn, those look good,” he murmurs about the cupcakes as he passes through the kitchen toward the laundry room.
“Don’t eat any until we’re at dinner!” Willow calls out as she heads toward her room.
Cole saunters back into the kitchen, coming to a stop across from me. “You get those from Grace’s bakery?” he asks.
“Sure did.” I nod, grabbing a water from the fridge and cracking it open. “She told me you guys are meeting for coffee this weekend.”
“Yeah.” Cole smiles, and I already know I’m not going to like what comes out of his mouth next. “She’s looking really good these days.”
Gritting my teeth, I twist the cap back on my water before setting it on the counter and folding my arms over my chest. “She mentioned it wasn’t a date.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, that’s what she said, but we’ll see.”
My jaw pops from how hard I’m biting down. “We’ll see, what, Cole? You’re not really in a place to date, don’t you think?”
His eyes flick to mine, smile crooked and cocky. “Why not? Emily’s done with me; she made that crystal clear. Better to move on, right?”
Something that will never cease to amaze me about being a parent, even thirty-odd years later, is how strongly you can love your child and want to wring their neck at the same time.
“I think you should focus on yourself for a while, Cole,” I grit out. “Your marriage blew up in your face, and the divorce papers haven’t even been filed yet. Instead of thinking about dating, you need to take care of that and get your life sorted out.”
“Why can’t I do both?” he huffs, brow wrinkling.
“Because, Son, it wouldn’t kill you to be alone for the first time in your life.” I swear, I’m going to be full gray by the time Cole heads back home. It’s like talking to a toddler sometimes with him. “You cheated on your wife. That’s a big deal, and you’re acting awfully flippant about it. Not to mention, you and Grace clearly didn’t work out before. Why would a relationship between you two work now?”
“That was college. We’ve both grown up since then.”
“Have you, though?”
Cole chuckles. “God, you’re in a mood today,” he teases. “And besides, who says anything about relationship?” He waggles his eyebrows, and it makes my jaw clench. This is so fucked up. “Grace could be fun. I bet her body’s even sexier now that she’s had kids.”
“Don’t you dare talk about her like that,” I growl before I’m able to stop myself.
Confusion mars his expression as he watches me. “What’s your problem?”
“I didn’t raise you to talk about women like that.” I have to take a breath before I continue to not blow a damn fuse. “When you talk about Grace, or any other woman, for that matter, it will be with respect. Do you understand me?”
Holding up his hands innocently, he murmurs, “Yeah, sure. Fuck . I’m going to finish getting ready for dinner. Hopefully, you’re able to pull the stick out of your ass before we leave.”
Cole storms out of the kitchen, leaving me standing here with steam practically coming out of my ears. My hands are shaking, I’m so pissed.
How dare he talk about Grace like that, especially after knowing the only reason she agreed to it is because she felt like he could use someone to talk to. She’s doing it out of the goodness of her heart, because that’s the type of person she is, and he’s had ulterior motives the whole time.
I’m disgusted by my son’s behavior, and not only because it’s Grace he’s talking about, but because what I said to him is right—I didn’t raise him to behave like that. It takes all my self-control to not go after him and tell him about my relationship with Grace. But again, she deserves to know before I do it, and doing it right now would feel an awful lot like marking my territory against my own child.
We’ll tell him…soon.
Let’s just hope I can keep my cool until then.