Chapter 4
Grace knocked on the Young's front door then walked in. She felt weird doing that, but Paige and her parents insisted she was family now, and that meant she didn't need to knock.
"Grace, is that you?" Paige called from the back of the house.
"Yep." Grace walked into the dining room to find Paige and her mother, Hope, sitting at the large cherry wood dining table littered with lists, place cards, and centerpieces intended for the wedding luncheon.
Gabe, looking utterly overwhelmed, sat off to the side as though he feared getting in the way.
"Did you make it over to Iris's house this morning?" Paige asked.
"Yes, and the dress only needs a few minor tweaks to make it fit perfectly. She said she can have it ready by Tuesday."
"Good." Paige pulled a list toward her and made a check mark. "One less thing to worry about. Hopefully Riley doesn't outgrow her dress before the wedding."
"I thought she went with an empire waist so it would be sure to fit," Hope said.
"She did, but you saw her last week. I think her tummy has grown more than anticipated over the last month."
"I'm sure it'll be fine." Hope waved a hand. "You have other, more important, things to worry about." She pointed to a poster board and a bunch of colored circles. "Namely, the arrangement of the tables and who is sitting where?"
"I know, I—"
A knock on the door interrupted Paige. The knock was followed by a booming but familiar voice that sent a little shiver down Grace's spine. "Where's my favorite cousin?"
"Damon!" Paige let out a squeal and sprang to her feet.
The two met in the hallway outside the dining room. A shirtless Damon swept Paige off her feet and twirled her around.
"Eew. You're all sweaty!" Paige cried as she smacked his shoulder. "Put me down."
"Sorry." Damon dropped Paige and pulled a khaki T-shirt from the waistband of his black shorts. He quickly tugged it over his head, but not before Grace got a glimpse of dog tags against a muscular chest, well-defined abs, and a tattoo on his shoulder of an eagle and the American flag.
She had been dreading this moment ever since Robert said Damon was his cousin, but she hadn't expected it to arrive so soon.
She hardly slept last night, because she was too busy chastising herself for kissing a stranger in the elevator.
She should have known better. Flirting with danger—or in this case, a stranger—always had consequences.
She was glad he wasn't the stalker she thought he was, but she was still a little too freaked out to appreciate the sweetness of his gesture. Did he know who she was the whole time they were in the elevator? Or did he figure it out later? Did he mean to scare the stuffing out of her as a joke?
When Hope got up from the table to hug Damon, Grace took a few steps backward into the doorway of the kitchen.
Paige pulled Gabe forward. "I'd like you to officially meet my cousin, Damon."
"Nice to meet you, Damon."
Damon took Gabe's hand and tugged him into a bear hug, surprising Grace.
When Damon released him, Gabe cleared his throat. "Didn't know I needed that, but thanks for popping my back."
Hope and Paige burst into laughter, then Hope explained, "Damon doesn't make it home very often, so he makes up for it with his bone-crushing, back-popping bear hugs."
Paige leaned sideways to catch Grace's eye. "Why are you hiding in the doorway?" She motioned for Grace to come closer. "Damon, this is Gabe's sister, Gr—"
"It's good to see you again, Grace." Wearing the broadest grin Grace had ever seen, Damon held out his hand.
She didn't want to shake it, but she was afraid if she didn't, he'd give her one of his bear hugs. That was somewhat tempting, but she was still mad at him. When he wrapped his fingers around her hand, she did her best to ignore the warmth and strength in his firm handshake.
"You two know each other?" Hope asked at the same time Paige said, "You’ve met?"
Damon released her hand and looked at Paige. "She didn't tell you we were trapped in the elevator together yesterday?"
After Gabe and Paige left last night, she told her mother about her companion from the elevator who turned out to be Paige's cousin. She mentioned that Damon followed her home but downplayed how terrified she’d been.
"No, she didn't tell us." Gabe turned to Grace and folded his arms. "Why is that, Gracie?"
"Gracie?" Eyebrows raised, Damon repeated the nickname. “I thought your friends and family called you Grace.”
"Just how well do you two know each other?" Gabe asked, his expression serious, his eyes still on Grace.
"Oh, knock off the overprotective Big Brother act." She smacked Gabe's arm, then she glared at Damon. "I didn't bother to tell you who I was trapped in the elevator with because I didn't know he was Paige's cousin."
"But you figured it out after you talked to Robert, didn't you?" Again, Damon grinned.
Grace itched to wipe that smirk off his face.
"Robert?" Hope and Paige said in unison.
Grace turned to Paige. "I asked you for Robert's number last night because the stranger I met in the elevator gave off psycho vibes when he followed me home." She propped both hands on her hips as she glared at Damon.
"I just wanted to make sure you made it home safely. That tire could have blown any minute." Damon gave an innocent shrug.
"What tire?" Gabe asked, but Grace ignored him.
"You scared me to death." Her voice rose. "And made me think I'd made the biggest mistake of my life."
Kissing a semi-stranger in the elevator wasn't nearly as big of a mistake as getting pregnant as a teenager. But if said stranger turned out to be a stalker with ill intentions…that was a huge mistake.
Thank goodness that wasn’t the case.
"What mistake?" Gabe and Paige asked in unison.
"Nothing." Grace shot Damon a warning glare.
"It's not nothing." Gabe's gaze turned sharp and piercing. "What mistake did you make?"
"I...I just meant befriending the stranger in the elevator." She shot another warning glance at Damon, whose smile had grown, before turning to Paige. "What would you think if the guy you were trapped in an elevator with for over an hour followed you home?"
"That is creepy." Paige smacked Damon's shoulder again. "You shouldn't scare women like that."
"I'm sorry, Grace. Truly." He turned back to Hope and Paige. "In my defense, I tried to get her to pull over so I could tell her about the tire."
Paige scowled. "That's even creepier."
"Please, let me make it up to you, Grace." Damon looked contrite. "I was hoping you'd let me show you around town. We could check some things off your bucket list." He winked at her. "It's the least I can do."
"That's a great idea." Paige’s scowl instantly disappeared as she rocked up onto her toes.
Grace fell back a step. Going out with Damon was a bad idea. If he was as nice outside the elevator as he was inside, she wasn't sure she could withstand his charm, and the last thing she wanted was to fall for a guy who would walk away in two weeks.
"Um...I'm busy." She lifted her chin. "I offered to help Paige with wedding stuff today."
Paige waved a hand in dismissal. "My mom and Gabe are here to help me today. You should go have some fun with Damon."
Traitor.
Grace turned her glare on Paige. "If you don't need my help, then I really should finish unpacking."
She only had a half dozen boxes left. They were things that could sit in a closet for years and she wouldn't miss them, but it was the only excuse she could come up with.
"That can wait." Paige laid her arm across Grace's shoulders. "I promised to show you around town, and I feel bad that I haven't had time to do that yet. Now that school has started and the wedding is so close, I'm not sure when I'll find the time. You should let Damon show you around."
"Paige is right." Gabe nodded at Grace. "You'll be starting your new job next week. You should do a bit of sightseeing while you can."
Hope even nodded her head in agreement.
Damon must be a decent guy if Paige and Hope were pushing her to go out with him. That was reassuring, but she still wasn't sure spending time with him was a good idea.
"I...should stay close to home, so I can keep an eye on Mom."
"Gabe and I will check in on her and make sure she gets lunch." Paige picked up one of her many lists from the table. "I actually have some things I need to discuss with her."
Grace studied Paige's face for a long moment. Last week, when she offered to help Paige, she had jumped at the offer, but now Paige acted like she wanted to get rid of her.
Grace shifted her gaze to her brother, who gave her a nod and an encouraging smile. "There will be plenty of time to finish unpacking later. You need to get out while you can."
While I can.
A weight settled in Grace's chest. Now she understood why they wanted her to go out with Damon. Soon, she'd be caring for her mother around the clock. They wanted her to enjoy herself before that happened.
She looked at Damon's handsome face. Anticipation filled his eyes, along with something else she couldn't quite decipher.
A little thrill shot through her. Damon was a lot more adventurous than she was, so she had no doubt they'd have fun, but remembering all the things on his Dumb Things list, she wasn't sure she trusted his brand of fun.
"Fine." She let out a sigh. "I'll go out with you."
"You don't have to sound so excited." Despite his words, Damon smiled.
She rolled her eyes. "Just be glad I'm caving to peer pressure."
"Great! I need to finish my run and take a shower." He checked his watch. "Shall I pick you up in an hour and a half? I can take you to get new tires for your car, then I'll show you around."
"New tires?" Gabe turned to Grace. "What's he talking about?"
"I've been needing to replace my tires for a while now, but with the move, I just kept putting it off." Her procrastination had more to do with lack of time than money.
"Trade me cars, and I'll take care of it for you." Gabe pulled his keys from his pocket.