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Chapter 7
Alec
Three months later
Grace Bailey was not kidding when she said she was going to make Alec earn her trust again. She was not budging on that. He had kissed her more than once the first day they reconnected, but not at all since then, and it had been months. He promised he wouldn't even try, and he had held true to his word.
It had been extremely difficult.
The two of them had spent a good deal of time together during the last three months, and there had been plenty of opportunities to connect physically. But nothing had happened—not so much as hand-holding. Grace was skittish with him, and rightly so.
She did keep the Jeep, though. She liked it and it suited her. She had come to his house in Galveston several times, and he always loved the sight of her pulling onto his property. It was lined with palm trees, and Grace looked like she belonged in his driveway. There was no one else. No other woman. Grace was the one—the only one there had ever been. He had her in his grasp years ago, and then he tried a hundred other options, none of which lived up to Grace.
He spent Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's with her, and he kept his distance and treated her like a friend. Alec had no idea how much longer he could hold out before he… at the very least, he was going to kiss her. He had to hold Grace soon. He couldn't wait anymore. His arms absolutely ached to hold her.
He touched her every chance he got, but never for more than a second, and never without an excuse. He was a complete gentleman, even in moments when he didn't feel like being one. He owed Grace that much. She was precious and wonderful. She was innocent but also intelligent.
Alec never realized how important it was to find someone who would be a good mother. He had never looked at a woman and imagined her mothering his children before. But he wanted Grace to be the one to do it.
Alec was desperately motivated to win her heart. After spending these last few months getting to know her again, Alec knew that he had done wrong by letting Grace go all those years ago. All those choices felt like such a waste when he could have had someone so wonderful, beautiful, and stable by his side this whole time.
He never asked about her past. They had one conversation where she told him that she hadn't gone out with many guys since high school, but that was all he knew. She occasionally mentioned his past. It was in a lighthearted way, but he knew it was a factor in their relationship.
Alec certainly didn't want to think about her being with anyone else. That was why he never asked. He figured Grace would talk to him about it if he brought it up, but, honestly, he didn't want to know. The thought of someone else kissing her, holding her, or even taking her on a date was so revolting that he asked no questions at all.
Alec figured he was in love. There was no other way to describe what he felt. He remembered liking Grace a lot in the ninth grade, but looking back, maybe he wasn't capable of love at that time. Maybe he was just too selfish back then.
He had always been good at writing love songs, but it had all been fake until now. Now Alec knew what a real love song was. And all of his pent-up energy toward Grace these last few months made him a prolific songwriter. He wrote dozens of songs—lyrics and melodies. Grace put a song in his heart.
More than half of what he wrote would never get recorded or even sung in front of other people. That was how prolific he had been. Several times, he even jotted songs down on a napkin when they were across from each other at a restaurant. He always slipped them into his pocket and said he'd show her later.
Alec was with Grace on a regular basis and yet unable to kiss or even hold her. Alec hadn't told Grace how badly he wanted her. He gave her space, time, and patience—even in moments when he felt like he might physically burst. He wanted to earn her trust without having to beg. He went about it the natural way, which felt like it was taking forever.
Alec had bought her a necklace for Christmas even though they promised not to do gifts. He was glad he got her something because she knitted him a really cool beanie that he loved and wore all the time. Grace liked her necklace, too. Alec had seen her twice since he gave it to her, and she was wearing it both times.
She was wearing it tonight. She had on a purple dress and Alec could barely contain himself. She was too beautiful. The dress had a v-shaped neck that framed the necklace, making an interesting shape. He tried not to stare at Grace, but it was impossible. He loved her more and more every time he saw her.
He was protective and possessive, and he had to stand there and pretend to be her friend and let her be independent. He wanted her to no longer be independent. He wished she was extremely dependent. On him, at least. He wanted to be dependent on her also. And Alec would wait years if he had to. He would do whatever it took. He had neglected her all these years and he owed it to her to stand back and be friends with her for as long as she needed him to.
He thought back to that first day in October, when he had the audacity to kiss her without permission. He thought back to that day all the time. It was a wonder she kissed him back. He pressed his luck with her that day and she almost rejected him completely. Alec wondered how long she made other guys wait before they got to hold her and kiss her. He wondered, but he never asked.
Alec put no pressure on Grace whatsoever. They told each other a lot, and talked about feelings, but never specifically about their relationship. He knew he would lose her if he rushed her, so he waited.
Everyone back home in Galveston knew Alec had it bad. He had dated a lot of women over the years. He loved women and they loved him. His friends, family, and bandmates knew something was going on when he stopped looking. He was not the slightest bit interested in anyone at all since he reconnected with Grace, and they noticed.
He was thinking about it as he stared absentmindedly at her from across the way. They were in Houston at the home of a surgeon she knew from when she went to college. Grace had him as a guest lecturer, and she had ended up hitting it off with him and his wife and babysitting for their family.
This meal was something Grace had been invited to every year since college. This year, Alec went with her. The couple had connections in the area and the dinner party was full of doctors, lawyers, and politicians.
Alec didn't have much in common with these people, but he could get along with anyone. He had been to similar dinners, so he knew how to behave. He was charming and he made instant friends.
He had been split apart from Grace for a while. She went to use the restroom, and then both of them got stuck talking to different people afterward. He was staring at her when a random guy spoke up.
"You see that woman in the purple?" he said.
Alec looked over at the guy who spoke. He was a young man who was dressed edgier than the rest of them in a leather jacket and pointed boots.
"Yeah, that's who I was looking at," Alec said, turning to him.
