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11
Can two broken people make a whole? Since his divorce he'd avoided relationships. He brought too much to deal with into any relationship. But, dammit, he was drawn to Grace and wondered if she'd want a relationship with someone as broken as him.
"You're a good person, Grace." He absently offered.
Her face turned toward him once again. The sun dipping into the water shrouded her in a beautiful orange glow. Her eyes, those blue, blue eyes, against the warm orange glow, stood out to him. When she looked into his eyes, he felt...peace. He felt peaceful with her. She was a calm personality in a chaotic world.
"So are you, Sid." Her lips parted in a soft smile and his heart swelled.
He swallowed the lump that clogged his throat and focused on evening out his breathing.
"Do you ever think about being in a relationship again? After a bad relationship, sometimes, it's so hard to want another one."
He watched her throat move as she swallowed. Her eyes stared into his for a long time and his stomach began twisting. He shouldn't have asked. It was weird. He'd just made it weird. If only he could turn back the clock a few minutes.
"I thought when I moved here that I'd live out my days building my business and watching the sun set into the water each night." He nodded and stepped back. She reached out and took his hand and squeezed his fingers. "Then I met an incredibly handsome man who is equal parts sweet and hurt. He loves my dog. He's a kickass mechanic and I find that each day I look forward to seeing more of him."
Did he...did he hear her correctly? It was his turn to swallow. Her lips parted into a sweet smile, and Chiefy bounded up to them, soaking wet, and dropped a dripping mess of an old carpet on his feet.
Grace laughed and jumped back. She bent and patted Chiefy on the head, "Good girl, Chiefy." Then picked up the drenched carpet piece, using just her thumb and forefinger to attempt to drop it into the garbage bag.
Sid laughed. He actually burst out laughing and his spirits lifted tenfold. She meant him.
He bent down and took that piece of carpet out of her hands. "You hold the bag open, I'll drop it in."
"Okay."
After his deposit, they both stood up and he pulled her into his arms. He stared down into her mesmerizing eyes for a few moments, then he bent his head and kissed her. Her arms wrapped around his waist and his arms wrapped around her shoulders and enclosed her into the safe, warm cocoon of his protection. He wanted to protect her for certain.
They were spattered once again with water as Chiefy shook herself off. They both started laughing.
He stepped back and saw this time Chiefy didn't have a soggy gift for them, so her cleaning efforts for today were over.
"Let's go get a table and order food for us and water for this girl, shall we?"
"Yes, please." She bent and clipped Chiefy's leash on.
He took her soft but strong hand in his. He liked the feel of holding her hand. She squeezed his and his heart beat a little faster.
He found them a table on the edge of the beach, where Chiefy wouldn't be in the way. Chiefy eagerly laid in the warm sand next to the table and he held a chair out for Grace. She sat with a sweet smile on her lips just as one of the waitstaff stopped by.
"Hey, folks. How can I help you?" She glanced at Sid, then grinned. "Hi, Sid, sorry I didn't recognize you right away."
"Hey there, Jan. This is Grace and Chiefy." He motioned to the sand.
"Oh, nice to meet you, Grace." She laughed. "And Chiefy."
"So, we'd like a bowl of water for Chiefy, please. Grace what would you like?"
"I'd love a rum punch."
"Oh, we make a good one here. Jace calls it the Sandbar Punch."
Grace smiled at Jan and he loved watching her interact with people. "Perfect."
Jan wrote it down then looked at him. "I'll take the same, please."
"Sounds good. I'll let Jace know you're out here."
