40
Grace couldnotmiss him. “It’s absurd,” she told Brutus, who had gotten a solo walk today. “We’ve only been apart one day.”
Maybe she just felt like she missed him because she knew how far away he was.Or maybe you’re weak like your mother and depend too much on Noah to bring you happiness.
Brutus barked, making it feel like he agreed with her last thought. She glared down at him. “That’s just cold, mister.”
He barked again. Grace laughed, crouching down to pet him. “Kind of nice without the others, isn’t it, buddy?”
Jumping up to her knees, he tried to give her a generous kiss. “Nope. I’m taken. Keep that tongue to yourself.”
She saw the Blundstones before she heard them. From her crouch, she tilted her head back, locking eyes with Shane.
“You’ve probably broken his heart with that news,” Shane said, reaching out a hand to help her up.
Grace hoped her face didn’t show the embarrassment she felt. She let him help her up before slipping her hand out of his.
He was such a nice guy. If Rosie wasn’t so gone over Josh, she’d have tried to set them up.How do you know he’d want to be?
“You’re looking at me oddly,” he said with a laugh.
“Sorry. Stuck in my own head. I haven’t seen you since we did the renos. Thank you again for your help.”
He shoved both hands into his pockets. “No problem. It was fun.”
They stood there awkwardly for a moment, and Grace wasn’t sure if she should fill the silence.
“You good?”
She nodded, letting out a sharp breath. “I am. I’m dropping this guy off and heading to class. There’s a job fair today with dozens of design firms pitching to the students. It’s pretty cool because it’s a chance to check them all out.”
His eyes brightened with his smile. “That’s awesome. With the magazine, you’ll have a lot of options I’m guessing. Even solo if you wanted it.”
She hadn’t thought much about that. She liked being around others. Rosie often pushed her creative boundaries, made her look at things differently.
“Something to think about. But it’s good to know all my options. Don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket so to speak.”
Shane laughed, gesturing for her to go first up the stairs. “That’s very true. Baskets break.”
He was absolutely right, but she’d been working hard to look at the opposite side of things. The positive.
“Noah left me a voice mail. Any idea what he wanted?”
Interesting. She could guess it had something to do with the community center but it was best to let him fill Shane in. “No. He’s in New York right now, though. He might have some project ideas he wants input on.”
“Cool. I’m game. Tell him to call me when he gets back.”
“I will.”
He waved as he walked away. Would her life have been easier if she could have fallen for someone uncomplicated like Shane or was love—whoa. Shut that down.Wererelationshipsnaturally emotional cardio?
It was a bit unsettling to realize she couldn’tmakeherself feel something she didn’t—that she couldn’t force herself onto the safe path. It made her almost understand things about her mother.Not everything. Everything after she had me was a choice. She could have chosen differently.Even if Grace had no control over her heart belonging to Noah, she was in charge of the rest of it and that’s where her mother let her down.
After dropping off Brutus, she decided against stopping at Morty’s. Smiling, she thought about how he’d tell her to call first. She took the beach entrance to her backyard, hurried inside to shower and change. When she came out of the bathroom, she heard her phone chirping.
Noah’s name popped up on the screen, giving her blood an extra pump of oxygen.
Noah
