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“No,” he said. “They don’t.”
“I told Grace she was lucky to have you and that she should make sure she held onto you, that there’d be plenty to snatch you up. You’re a good catch and all.”
“Thanks,” he said. “I’m sure she appreciated hearing that.”
“Don’t laugh,” Roxy said, giving him a playful shove. “Really. It’s the truth.”
He didn’t know what Roxy was doing or saying or if she had an end game. Maybe she was being truthful and stepping back but letting it also be known that he was a good catch.
Not that he ever thought he was. Probably the reason he held so much back in his life.
It made him wonder if he should tell Grace about Lara and then reminded himself more than once it was in the past.
It’s not like it was holding him back now. If it was, he wouldn’t have fallen in love with Grace.
He wouldn’t be looking toward the future and waiting for them to have a few days in Boston together and then him flying her over for her clinic for three days.
He was thrilled that she asked if it could work out that they could do it. That she was excited to spend time with him and willing to work her schedule around it.
Monday and Tuesday weren’t a problem. Sunday and Monday nights, they’d stay at Egan’s condo. The rest of the week, he’d bring her over in the morning, but couldn’t guarantee he’d be the one to bring her home.
Maybe it’d give them an idea of what it’d be like to almost live together. He’d suggest that he’d go to her house after work each night so they could ride to the airstrip together. He didn’t have a problem being at her house while she was working. It’d give him time to do a few things for her too.
He felt bad that in the months they were together, she was always the one cooking for him. The only thing he’d done was build all those shelves for her herbs. But she’d been talking about other things she wouldn’t mind having. Just in passing. He could do that and surprise her.
Yeah, that was what he’d do. Repaint her bedroom a calming blue like she’d brought up several times. That would only take a few hours to do.
Or new paving stones from her patio to stairs that would walk down to the beach. Maybe that would be a better choice. She wouldn’t even notice him doing that until it was done.
And when his mind was thinking of those things, it brought back memories of him wanting to take care of Lara and he realized that Grace didn’t need anyone to take care of her.
“Everyone ends up being a good catch for someone,” he said. “You just need to find the right person.”
“Guess you’re thinking that you did that, aren’t you?” Roxy asked.
He shrugged. “It’s early yet and I’m not one to plan out my future.”
“Please,” Roxy said. “You’ve always had a plan. At least in life. It used to drive me insane that you had things figured out. Not that you thought this job would happen, but you had plans and your plans had backup plans. I couldn’t even pick a wedding date. It drove Pete nuts.”
“Why didn’t you?” he asked. “Just curious. You were high school sweethearts. Most people marry quickly in the service so they can live together in better quarters.”
Roxy shrugged. “I guess deep down he wasn’t the one. I wanted him to be, but not being able to pull the trigger made me realize it. When I left the service it was the same. He wanted kids and I wasn’t sure. It put a strain on things.”
“You don’t want kids?” he asked.
“I don’t think so,” Roxy said. “Some guys don’t like that.”
“I want kids,” he said. “I always did.”
“You never said that,” Roxy said.
“It’d never been a conversation.”
“Do you think Grace is someone to put her career on hold for kids?” Roxy said. “It’s harder for women than men. But again, she’s had her career handed to her so I guess she won’t care.”
“Nothing was handed to her,” he said more firmly than he meant. “I’ve got to get ready to go.”
He had to leave before he said even more than he had. It wasn’t like him to get into a spat with a coworker, but he wasn’t going to let his relationship with Grace be knocked down either.
