“That’s still my plan. Noah is not going to stand in the way of my future. You have to trust me, Daddy. If anything, Noah will be a big part of my future.”
Letting out a deep breath, my father ran his hand through his hair. “I do trust you, Grace. Why don’t you come home this weekend, I’m sure Grams would love to see you.”
I was standing at a crossroads, and I knew which road I wanted to take. I only hoped my father understood. “Daddy, I love that you came all the way here to surprise me, but I do have a life and Noah is going to be a part of it. I really want to go to Austin with him this weekend, meet his family. It means a lot to him and I want to be by his side. He’s going to lose his mom and I want him to know I’ll be there for him.”
The muscles in his jaw tightened. “Okay, well I guess this is a lesson for me to always call before I make a road trip.”
Giving him a smirk, I nodded my head and said, “Yes. Yes it is.”
“Will you be staying with Noah while you’re in Austin?”
This was awkward.
“Yes.”
Raising his eyebrow, my father asked, “Not in the same room though, right?”
“Daddy,” I said as I narrowed my left eye.
“Fine, I won’t ask any questions, but I swear to God if he gets you pregnant, I’ll kill him with my bare hands. Or if he hurts you in any way.”
Giving him a smile and a wink, I said, “Don’t worry, Dad. I’m on birth control.”
A look of horror moved across my father’s face. “Ugh . . . really? Did you have to say that, Grace?”
“You took the conversation there, Dad, I didn’t.”
Turning, he started back toward the house as I let out a giggle. As we drew closer, I pulled on his arm to stop him. Glancing at me, he asked, “Did you change your mind? You picking your father over that little dickhead?”
Dropping my mouth open, I slapped him on the arm. “Dad! Don’t call him that. I love him.”
Rolling his eyes, my father looked away.
“So tell me something, Dad. You’re very attractive and I’ve seen pictures of you when you and Mom started dating. Did you whore around on Mom?”
Choking on his own spit, my father asked, “Excuse me?”
“You know, did women throw themselves at you? Was the temptation too much to handle?”
“Grace Hope Johnson. I would never cheat on your mother. Ever. I’ve never even looked twice at another woman.”
Lifting my brows, I asked, “Never, Dad? Never a sideways glance?”
“No!”
Smiling from ear to ear, I patted his chest. “See! Goes to prove that just because a guy is good looking, it doesn’t mean he is going to be a man-whore.”
My father looked at me with a confused look as he shook his head. Walking around him, I headed back inside. For some reason, I felt the need to protect Noah. I just didn’t know what from.
Noah
I stood by Grace and watched her say goodbye to her father and her Uncle Matt. It didn’t take me long to figure out why Grace loved Matt so much. He was Grace’s mother’s brother and he had Fragile X. Grace had mentioned it before, but I had forgotten. I made a mental note to look it up and read about it. Matt was funny as hell, repeated things he probably shouldn’t be repeating and was probably the most talented painter I’d ever seen. Grace had showed me some pictures on her phone that she took of Matt’s paintings.
Matt walked up to me and smiled. “I like you, Noah. But you are still an assmole. Jeff says so.”
Peeking over to Jeff, I saw him look away. Will let out a laugh as Alex said, “Matt! It’s not nice to call people assmole.”
“Unless they are,” Jeff said with a smirk.
Shit. I could see it was going to take a lot to win Grace’s father over. I was willing to do whatever it took, though. It wasn’t starting off too well. It was obvious he was pissed Grace wasn’t going home this weekend. The fact that Grace told him she was coming back to Austin with me had me wanting to scream from the mountaintops how much I loved her. We’d only been back together for two days, but it felt like we had been together for the last year. We picked up pretty much where we left off, except this time our relationship was coming out to more people in our families.
Matt walked a few steps closer to me. “I’m going to hug you now, Noah.”
“O-okay, Matt,” I said as I held my arms out and Matt slammed his body into mine, causing me to stumble backward. Jesus, this guy was huge!
After a quick hug, Matt turned and looked at Grace. “Bye, Grace.” Turning, he walked over to Jeff’s truck and got inside. Grace stood there with her jaw to the ground.
“I didn’t get a hug. I’ve always gotten a hug,” Grace said as she turned to me.
“I got one!” Alex said.
“Screw you, Alex,” Grace said as she leaned into me while I slipped my arm around her waist.
The moment Jeff turned and looked at me with a look like he was ready to kill me, I pulled my hand back and took a step away from Grace.
Jeff walked up to Grace and took her in his arms as he whispered something into her ear. Grace smiled at her father and gave him a wink.
Jeff took a step back and turned to me as he held out his hand. Reaching my hand out, I said, “It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Johnson.”
Nodding his head, Jeff said, “Same here, and it’s Jeff. Maybe you can come to Mason soon, meet the rest of the family. I’m sure Ari would love to meet the man my daughter says she’s in love with.”
Holy shit.
I was stunned by Jeff’s words and my heart felt like it was about burst from my chest. Knowing Grace told her father she loved me did weird things to my body. Good weird things. I couldn’t help but smile at Jeff.
Flashing me a quick smile, it was as if Jeff knew exactly how I was feeling because he had felt it before himself. His smile was gone as quick as it came.
After saying goodbye to Alex and Will, Jeff got in the truck and pulled out of the driveway.
Grace and I stood there and watched them until he turned the corner and was out of sight. I quickly leaned over and placed my hands on my knees and dragged in breath after breath as Will laughed his ass off.
Will walked up to me and gave me a push. “Holy shit! Dude if you could have seen your face the moment you realized it was Grace’s dad in the backyard. Priceless!”
Alex walked up and took Will by the arm and pulled him away before I could tackle him to the ground and start beating on him. “Dick,” I murmured as Will laughed harder.
Grace ran her hand up and down my back. “It wasn’t that bad. I think he likes you.”
Turning my head and looking up at Grace, I snarled my lip. “Likes me? He looked like he wanted to kill me every time he looked at me.”
Grace giggled and said, “Let me run upstairs and pack a bag for this weekend. I won’t be long.”
Before Grace headed back into the house, I took her by the arm. “Thank you, Grace. I’m sure you miss your mom and brother. Thank you for coming home with me this weekend.”
Grace placed her hands on my chest as she flashed the most breathtaking smile I’d ever seen. “Noah, I just got you back. There is no way in hell I’m going to let you go that easy. The more time I can spend with you, the better. We have a lot of time to make up for.”
I laced my fingers through Grace’s hair and pulled her lips to mine as I said, “Yes we do.”
As Grace pressed her lips to mine, she smiled and I felt a fire quickly race through my veins. I couldn’t wait to have Grace in my arms for the next few nights.
Grace let out a chuckle as I pulled down the street that led to my house. “Are you kidding me? You live on this street?”
I looked at Grace and said, “Yeah. Why?”
“How long have you lived here?”
“We moved to this house when I was four.”
Shaking her head, Grace placed her hands over her mouth and started laughing. “What’s so funny??
?? I asked.
Looking over at me, Grace said, “Noah! My grandparents live on this street!”
My stomach dropped at the idea of Grace being so close to me for all those years. “What?”
Putting my signal on, I turned into the driveway that led to the house my mother and father had raised my sister and I in.
“Holy hell. They live one block away, Noah! One. Block.” Putting my car in park, I looked at Grace. “I wonder if we’ve ever seen each other? Like when we were little.”
Just then a memory flooded my mind. “Hey, you didn’t happen to be the little girl who pushed me off the swing and I got up and pulled her pigtails, were you?”
Laughing, I shook my head as Grace’s smile faded.
“That. Was. You?”
“Huh?” I asked as I saw the pissed off look move across Grace’s face. “Wait. Are you serious, Grace? Because I totally had a crush on that little girl.” Letting out a chuckle, I kept talking as I thought back. “She used to come to the park with her older brother and grand—”
Pressing her lips together, Grace gave me a look while she slowly tilted her head. “That was me, Noah. That was me! You pulled my pigtails, you asshole. How could you pull my pigtails? I went back to my grandparents’ house and cried for hours!”
My heart started feeling funny as I took all this in. I used to go to the park every Saturday and look for the little girl in pigtails. “You cried? You punched the hell out of my chest, Grace. I couldn’t breathe right for days!”
Smirking, Grace said, “Good. You deserved it. Why would you pull my pigtails?”
Shaking my head, I quickly looked around, as if I needed someone to save me. “I don’t know. That’s what little boys do when they like a girl.”
“And do they also push you into the sandbox?”
Closing my eyes, I let out a laugh as I took in the memory. “Holy shit . . . I remember that day.” Opening my eyes, I couldn’t help but start laughing. “I can’t believe that was you. I loved you then, Grace.”
Grace’s face turned from hard to soft. “What?” she whispered.
Reaching over, I placed my hand on the side of Grace’s face. “I had the biggest crush on you. I compared every girl in elementary school to you. I’m pretty sure middle school and high school too.”
Leaning her head into my hand, Grace licked her lips before talking. “I liked that stupid little boy too. I hated him for pulling my pigtails, but I use to get butterflies in my stomach every single time my grandparents took us to the park. I would pray so hard to see you.” Closing her eyes, Grace smiled softly. “I can’t believe that was you.”
Grace opened her eyes as I leaned over and gently kissed her lips. “Fate, Grace. It was fate that led you to bumping into me again at A&M, and then the coast.”
“Fate,” Grace whispered as she pressed her lips to mine.
A loud knock on the window had both of us jumping. Turning, I looked to see my cousin Grayson standing there with a smirk on his face.
“Son-of-a-bitch,” I said with a smile. “It’s my cousin. He told me he was coming in from Colorado, but I didn’t expect him until next week.”
Grace smiled as I quickly got out of the car and reached for Grayson’s hand. “What the hell, dude! I wasn’t expecting you until next week.”
Grayson reached for my hand and shook it. He looked great, but then Grayson always looked great. I was sure he had to work out constantly to maintain the shape he was in. Especially since he worked his way through college as a male stripper.
“Holy hell, it’s you!” Grace said as she walked up to me.
Grayson turned and looked at Grace and smiled. “Wow, small world.”
Looking between Grayson and Grace, I tried to connect how they knew each other.
Grace nodded her head and laughed. “Sure is.”
“How did y’all meet?”
“We all went to Durango for a girls’ trip last summer. We kind of had a bet going on between us girls and Lauren found herself Grayson here. He did a little show for the bar.”
Turning back to Grayson, I raised my eyebrow as I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. If Grace saw my cousin naked, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel. “Not that kind of show, I hope. Not sure I like the idea of the woman I love seeing my cousin’s junk.”
Grayson threw his head back and laughed. “No, bro. Not that kind of show.” Turning to Grace he said, “I’m sorry, I never did get all of the girls’ names. I certainly remember you and your red-haired friend. Seems to me y’all were a bit . . . eager to see more.”
Laughing, I knew what Grayson was doing. He always did have my back.
“Cool your stripper chaps there ,big boy. I wasn’t with Noah then, so I wasn’t stepping out on anyone. The name is Grace by the way.”
Grayson visibly relaxed. “I like you already, Grace.”
Smiling, I pulled Grace next to me. “You staying here?”
Grayson shook his head as he looked between Grace and me. “Nah, I’m staying with a buddy of mine. He flew down here with me this weekend. His parents have a place on Lake Travis.”
“Awesome, you haven’t been here long have you?” I asked as I reached into the backseat of my car and grabbed Grace’s bag and mine.
“No, Emily sent me a text and said you were almost home. I just pulled up,” Grayson said as he reached for Grace’s bag and threw it over his shoulder. “What would y’all think about hitting dinner before heading up to see Aunt Lisa?”
My heart felt as if someone was squeezing it as soon as Grayson mentioned my mother. Swallowing hard, I nodded my head as I looked at Grace. Giving me a sweet smile, she winked and grabbed my hand as we followed Grayson up to the front door.
“Tell me Flores is still open. I’m dying for some good Mexican food,” Grayson said as I unlocked the door and pushed it open. Turning off the alarm, we walked through the giant foyer.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. This house doesn’t look this big from the outside,” Grace said.
Grayson let out a rumbled laugh as he made his way into the main living room. “That’s one thing about Uncle Pete, he loved his money and his precious name.”
I nodded in agreement at Grayson’s comment. Grayson hated my father, especially since he cut his sister out of his life after she got pregnant with Grayson. My father left his sister to live a life of struggle. She was too proud to take anything from anyone, including my mother who attempted to help her out more than once.
“Uncle Pete?” Grace asked with a confused look on her face.
Letting out a sigh, I said, “My father. I’ll tell you about it later.”
Concern washed over Grace’s face. Kissing her gently on the forehead, I said, “Grayson has issues with my father disowning his mom. It’s a long story I’d rather save for later.”
Grace nodded her head as she softly spoke. “Okay. Later.”
Taking a step away from me, Grace looked around the house, taking everything in. “Wow. This house is amazing. It reminds me of my grandparents’ house.”
Tossing my bag onto the sofa, I cursed under my breath. Grace turned and looked at me. “What’s wrong, Noah?”
Grayson set Grace’s bag down and gave me a small punch in the arm. “He’s just pissed at his old man, Grace. The dirty bastard is selling the house.”
Hearing Grace suck in a breath, I pushed away the idea that bringing her home might have been a bad idea. I didn’t want her to find out what a rotten bastard my father really was.
Turning around quickly, I couldn’t help but see the look of pity on Grace’s face. Clapping my hands, I said, “Let’s go eat. I’m starved.”
Grayson jumped up and said, “Hell to the yes. Let’s go!”
Grace gave me a funny look and I knew she had a million questions.
Questions I wasn’t ready to answer yet.
Answering questions meant accepting the truth.
Grace
Still trying to process the fact that Noah??
?s father was selling their family house while Noah’s mother was dying, I attempted to pay attention to the conversation going on around me.
“How long are you staying, Gray?” Noah asked his cousin.
“I have to fly out Monday. I’ve got a class that afternoon.”
Turning to look behind me, I asked Grayson a question. “What’s your major?”
“Criminal Justice. I’m actually getting my master’s degree this year.”
Raising my eyebrows, I looked at Grayson. I knew it was wrong of me to stereotype him. I asked, “Masters in criminal justice, huh? How old are you?”
Laughing as he threw his head back, Grayson said, “Don’t look so shocked, Grace. There is more to me than just being a stripper. And I’ll be twenty-three in a couple of months.”
“He’s a Christmas baby,” Noah said.
The three of us stepped out of Noah’s car and headed toward the restaurant.
Something about Grayson intrigued me. “Seriously though, how is it you’re getting a master’s degree so quickly?”
Grayson smiled at me as he looked straight ahead. “I took a lot of classes in high school to start toward my degree. Then I applied for an advanced course toward my masters. My grades were there, so I was easily accepted.”
Nodding my head, I smiled. “One of my best friends is getting her degree in social work; she’s also talking about a master’s degree. Up at Baylor.”
Grayson turned to me with a surprised look. “Really? That’s awesome. Was she with you in Colorado?”
“Yep,” I said as I popped my p. “The red head.”
Grayson laughed. “Ah yes. If my memory is correct, she was the other one yelling for me to take it off.”
Letting out a chuckle, I said, “You are correct.”
Noah held the door open for me as Grayson said, “I’ll have to meet this friend of yours.”
I glanced back over my shoulder and gave Grayson a smile. “Oh, I have no doubt in my mind, Meg would be very eager to meet you, Grayson.”
“Gray, call me Gray.”
I made a mental note to send Meg a text message about Grayson. Noah leaned in and spoke softly in my ear. “You have a look of pure evil on your face, Grace Johnson. What are you up to?”