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She glanced at his face and caught him staring at her. Warmth flickered through the air. He leaned across the table and kissed her nose with a murmured, “You’re so pretty.”
She couldn’t help smiling. For now, she’d just let all these feelings dip and sway through her.
It wouldn’t be a problem as long as she remembered they were the romantic illusions she’d always admired from a distance. Like the cascade of stars she’d gazed at so often from the front porch at Berry Farms. She’d marveled at their brilliant light and beauty, while knowing, of course, that she could never actually reach them.
After breakfast, she let him lure her into the shower, not that it took him much effort.
Like simply being around him, having sex with Lincoln was both easy and shockingly intense at the same time. She’d have been surprised by her total lack of inhibitions if she hadn’t known, deep inside, that she only felt so free because ofhim.
His husky murmurs of encouragement revved her up from zero to a thousand in no time at all, and his hunger for her was evident in every one of his hot kisses and caresses. He made her feel as if she could do nothing wrong.
This had to be the pinnacle of sex and intimacy, Grace thought dazedly as water poured over them both and Lincoln gripped her hips while pressing slowly into her from behind. Anything more powerful, more utterly delicious, and she would expire from sheer pleasure.
A soapy, steamy hour later, they dressed and reluctantly parted ways to run errands and catch up on things they’d neglected over the week.
Grace stopped at the office supply store to pick up new notebooks and planners for her summer school class, then went to Metalworks for spring gardening supplies and last-minute stage props.
“Hey, Grace.” Joe hefted a bag of mulch onto a stack in the gardening aisle and straightened. “What can I help you with today?”
“I need a few different sizes of string lights, thin wire, and some fence posts.” Grace picked a trowel and a pair of gloves off the display rack. “Also, do you have any ivy or vines? The kids don’t think the forest looksforestyenough.”
“Sure.” He guided her through the store, collecting the various items she needed.
As they approached the register, she pulled out her wallet and credit card. Lincoln had been right when he’d said she spent her own money on supplies—as most teachers did—but her card was starting to get overloaded.
“I hope this works, but it’s going to be dicey.” She extended the card to Joe.
“Don’t you want to put this on your school account?” He gestured to the boxes of lights and greenery.
“I would, but you said I was at the limit.”
“Not anymore.” He started ringing up the items. “Your friend came in earlier this week and added a hefty chunk to the balance.”
“My…you mean Lincoln Atwood?”
Joe nodded. “He said to roll the account over into the summer and next year, or you can take out whatever else you need for school supplies. Just let me know so I can do the bookkeeping.”
Grace slipped her wallet back into her purse. The school secretary, Carrie, hadn’t sent her a message about Lincoln adding money to her account. Certainly Principal Spruce hadn’t either.
“Do you know if Lincoln went through the school channels?” she asked. “Did he get approval for making a donation?”
Joe shrugged and loaded her purchases into bags. “Can’t say that I know, honestly. He just came in with a check one day and told me to put the total on to your account. Doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to jump through administrative hoops, though.”
No, he wasn’t.
Grace thanked him and wheeled the cart out to her car. She didn’t know what to think about Lincoln filling the coffers of her account.
On the one hand, she was extremely grateful that the kids would have what they needed for the production, but on the other hand, she didn’t want to rely on Lincoln to keep swooping in to save the day.
After grocery shopping for both her and her father, she returned home to put her food away, then drove to his apartment. Balancing a bag on her hip, she knocked on the door. No answer. She knocked again and took out her phone.
Her“Are you home?”text went unanswered.
Strange. Unless…
Stifling a groan, she returned to her car and drove to the Mousehole.
Yes, she was glad that her father was socializing. He’d even texted her a couple of days ago that he’d won a game of pool against Brooke’s grandfather, the legendary Charlie Castle.
