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He rested his head on top of hers. If anyone else had done that she might have felt trapped and enclosed, held back somehow, but with Chesney, she felt safe.
“I’ve missed you,” she admitted in a hushed whisper.
“I missed you, too,” he said, just as quietly into her hair. He pulled back, slowly letting her go. The smile on his face was wide and happier than she’d ever seen him before. The look suited him and Gracie found herself hoping that she saw that expression again and again. “And I miss my PA bringing me coffee.”
Gracie laughed. “However will you cope?”
Chesney watched her lips as she teased him, and took her hand, “I suppose I’ll struggle through somehow.”
And then, as though neither of them could wait a second longer, they were kissing. Neither of them could have said who moved first, who reached for whom. But their lips met in a burst of passion and need and something else, something deeper that neither of them were ready to say out loud. Like this though, their bodies could communicate on a primal level. It was just a kiss, a press of hot mouths and battling tongues, but both of them knew how much it meant.
"Champagne?"Gracie said, perched on the barstool of the kitchen island as Chesney cooked. She'd glimpsed a bottle cooling in the fridge when Chesney got out the butter.
“I thought it was appropriate.”
“Yeah? Good news?”
Chesney stopped to turn to her, the spatula still in his hand, “Of course, you said you’d come over tonight. That was all the good news I needed.”
She looked down, not used to the easy way that he could compliment her. She wanted to get used to it, but she half-believed he was only teasing.
“So, um, what’s going on with the magazine and the Huangs now?” she asked before he could compliment her again or call her out on the blush that was slowly spreading across her cheeks.
He turned back to stir at the frying pan on the stove. “The big news is that Diane worked it out with her lawyers. She’s getting control of her inheritance now, instead of having to wait another few years. Which is great news for the magazine. She wants to use the website that I made and make a real push to up the readership. It’s a pretty exciting time, even though she’s...not the most patient boss.”
“That’s alright though?” Gracie asked. Chesney was dedicated to his work and to the success of the magazine which he’d loved for years.
“Oh, definitely. She has this whole social media campaign strategy that is just...well, let’s just say I’m not worried about Attitude’s future anymore.”
“That’s wonderful,” Gracie said sincerely. She had no particular love for Attitude magazine, but she could see Chesney’s passion. He was genuinely emotionally invested in it and she loved that he cared so much. It made her, indirectly, feel attached to Attitude too.
“What’s wonderful,” Chesney countered. “Is how quickly you worked out was happening.”
“Huh?”
“I mean, I knew there was something going on with the magazine; the leaker, Clive’s weirdness about modernizing the magazine. But it never occurred to me to put any of it together. All of this was happening right under my nose and I never saw it. Seriously, you’d make an amazing investigative journalist. I’d hire you in a heartbeat if you want to change careers...”
Gracie snorted inelegantly. It was enough of a trial to write her reports for Klarov, she did not want to have to write actual magazine articles. A new thought entered Gracie’s head. Was Chesney still angry about her working undercover and lying to him?
Did he resent her job and the fact that she was a PI? After all, that was the source of all the lies between them. Her job was part of who Gracie was. She couldn't be with him if he couldn't accept that part of her.
Her insatiable curiosity, and her need to find answers drove her. Even now, although the case was over, Gracie still had the urge to track down all the loose ends. She still wanted to find out about who had been blackmailing Huang.
“What’s going to happen to Clive Huang now?” Gracie asked suddenly.
Chesney gave her a sour look. “Nothing. Diane doesn’t want to press charges on her own uncle. So he’s going to get away with trying to tank the company.”
“What about the blackmailer?”
“I knew you’d be curious! Diane is too...Have you spoken to your boss about your next case?”
Gracie blinked at the sudden change of topic before slowly putting the pieces together: the file on Klarov’s desk!
“Diane Huang has hired us to find out who the blackmailer is?”
Chesney grinned, looking very proud of himself.
“Did you…” Gracie narrowed her eyes at him, “Did you suggest that she hire our agency to look into it?”
