She tipped her head back.“You didn’t think I would?”
I curled my arm around her waist as I took the bottle of wine from her.“I thought you might come to your senses, realize you could do a hell of a lot better than me, and cancel.”My sister’s words filtered through my head and I cursed myself for being an idiot.If I kept saying stupid shit like that, Grace would start to believe I was right.
“No fear of that,” she said, curling her arm around my neck while her slender fingers toyed with my hair.“Are you going to kiss me, or what?”
I dipped my head, whispering against her lips, “I want to devour you.But if I did, we wouldn’t even make it to dinner.”
She kissed me, pulling back with a smile before I could deepen the kiss.“I’ve been craving shrimps and scallops all night and you’re not going to cheat me out of it.You got everything on my list?”
I’d asked her to send me a list so I could stop at the grocery store for her.Some of the seasonings, I’d never even heard of, so it took me awhile, but I wanted to make her happy, so I persevered.
“I think so.”
“You’re the best.”She pointed at the wine bottle in my hand.“You might want to chill that.:”
“Okay.Let’s start with the kitchen.”The house wasn’t finished, and was far from perfect, but it was comfortable and I wanted to share my plans for it with her.“Then I’ll give you a tour before we start dinner.”
“I’d love that.”She ran her hand over the white quartz countertops, admiring the new navy cabinets.“I love this.Did you do it yourself?”
“For the most part,” I said, setting the wine inside the fridge.“But I had a little help from my friends on weekends.Uh, the crew I worked with.”
“So, you did home renovations?”she asked, perching her bottom on a stool at the island.
“Yeah, and some new builds.”
“That must have been fun.”
“It gave me a sense of satisfaction.Developing skills, seeing something through to completion.And the guys I worked with were great.”
“Sounds like you’ll miss it.”
I chuckled as I moved around the island to stand in front of her.“I guess I will.That must sound crazy to you.Most people would give anything for the chance Luc’s given me.”I watched her trail her nails up my forearm, tracing my ink.“I guess it hasn’t sunk in yet, because I never thought I could make a living with music.It was just a way to pass the time…”
I didn’t want to keep reminding her I’d been in prison.I’d been honest.She knew the whole story.But I wanted to focus on the guy I was becoming, not the one I used to be.
“I’m glad you’re getting your shot,” she said, when her eyes finally met mine.“You deserve it.You’re crazy talented.”
“Thanks.”
I had yet to tell her she’d inspired a few songs since we met.I didn’t know how she’d feel about it, and I didn’t want her to think I was an obsessive freak who couldn’t stop thinking about her.Even though it felt like that some days.
“Show me around?”she asked, sliding off the stool.
“Sure.”I linked her hand through mine as I led her through the open concept living and dining room.
“I love what you’ve done with the outside.”
“Thanks.”It was wood clapboard, which I’d painted dark gray.I’d added stone accents, including a new chimney, and added a new sealed wood deck, porch, and dormers.“My buddy is a stone mason, so he did that,” I said, pointing to the refinished stone fireplace.
“It’s gorgeous.”She walked over to the hand-hewn wood mantle and studied the family pictures.“Let me guess,” she said, pointing to each of the framed photos that were lined up.“Your parents, your sister and her husband, and your nephews?”
“Yeah, and that’s Quinn.”I cleared my throat as she studied the photo of my daughter.“My sister pulled it off social media, I guess, and gave it to me, framed, as a birthday present.It may seem kind of weird, since we’ve never even met, but?—”
She cut me off with a kiss and a smile.“I don’t think it’s weird at all.It’s beautiful.She’s beautiful.”
“She is, isn’t she?”
“She looks a lot like you,” she said, looking from me to the photo.Same hair and eye color, even the same bone structure.”
