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26
Grady
When my dad and I dropped off the furniture, we left the front porch light on, and I’ve never seen her look prettier than she does when she stands under that light and looks up at me. “I had a really good time today,” she says quietly.
I reach into my pocket and pull out the key she gave me. “I should probably give this back to you.” But honestly I don’t want to give it back. I want to keep it. I want it to be mine.
She closes my fist around the key and gives my hand a squeeze. “Keep it,” she says. She looks everywhere but at me and shrugs. “I mean, if you want it. If you don’t want it, I totally understand.” Finally, her eyes meet mine, and I can see my future in her gaze.
“I want it,” I say. I pull my key ring out of my pocket and thread her house key onto the little metal ring along with the rest of my permanent keys.
She takes in a breath. “You’re coming in, right?” She turns to open the door.
“I had better not,” I say.
She freezes as she turns the doorknob.
“Why not?” she asks. Her brow furrows. Finally, she looks at me. “Is something wrong?”
I smile at her and brush a lock of hair back from her forehead. “No, nothing’s wrong. I just don’t want to move too fast.”
“Grady Parker,” she says, and I immediately know I’m about to get reamed a new one, because any time she calls me by my full name, I know I’m in trouble. “I think you should come in.”
I shake my head, unable to bite back my grin. “I had better not,” I say again, this time with a wince.
Her eyes narrow. “I was going to make us a cup of hot chocolate,” she says in a sing-song manner. “I have mini marshmallows,” she sings out at the end.
“Oh, you temptress! I’m a sucker for mini marshmallows,” I groan as I let my head fall back. “But I’m still not coming in,” I add for good measure.
She tilts her head. “Are you afraid I’m going to jump your bones, Grady Parker?”
I clear my throat. “Well, not in so many words…”
She grins. “Then what’s got you all worried? You look about as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.”
“I’m not nervous,” I say clearly. And I’m not. I just…I really like what we’re doing, slowly getting to know one another, and I don’t want to ruin it by moving too fast.
She bats a moth from in front of her face. “Well, you can stand here under the light and let the bugs tote you off, or you can come in. It’s up to you.” Then she turns, opens the door, and walks through it. I see her as she stops in the middle of the living room. “Oh, Grady,” she says. She turns to face me as I stand there leaning casually in her doorway. “Did you do all this?”
I snort out a laugh. “Well, it wasn’t my dad.”
Okay, so it kind of was my dad. When we brought the furniture, including a few extras from Mom’s stash that he insisted had to go, he’d also said that I should surprise Evie with some fresh cut flowers on the side tables when she came home. So we ran really quickly to the florist shop and got three arrangements of flowers. I got mixed wildflowers, because Evie’s not a roses kind of girl. Placed in three vases Mom isn’t aware she donated, the flowers do brighten up the place and make it feel more like a home.
“They’re beautiful, Grady,” she says with a sigh. She walks over and gives one of the arrangements a sniff. “And they smell
good, too.”
She walks to the kitchen, so I follow her in there since I can’t see her anymore. And I want to keep her in my sight always.
“Your parents really went above and beyond with the furniture.” She points to the barstools that are sitting around her kitchen island. “Where did these come from?” She points back to the living room. “And those lamps?” She looks at me, her brow furrowed.
“My mom had them in the barn,” I tell her. “Dad said throw them on the truck since we were coming here anyway. Figured you could use them, and now they’re out of his way.”
“Was your mom okay with all this?”
I snort out a laugh. “Are you kidding? She was thrilled. She even whispered in Dad’s ear as we left that he should take some pictures so that she would know what else you need.”
“Did he do it?” she asks as she drops her purse on the kitchen counter and sets a kettle of water to boil on the stove.
