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I could hardly blame her. Teaching wasn’t something that appealed to me, either. God bless those who had the patience for it, but I wasn’t one of them.
Especially if it was teaching children and teenagers. I was both, once upon a time. I knew how dreadful those little blighters could be.
“This path is a lot longer than I tho—Oooooh!” Grace slid as the gravel gave way under her, and my body moved before my brain had caught up to the situation.
I grabbed her arm, stopping her from falling any further, and wrapped my arm around her waist for more stability. Short, quick breaths escaped her parted lips, and her right hand gripped onto my coat so tightly I could feel her tugging the material down all over my upper body.
“That was quite the fright,” I joked, looking down at her.
She turned to looked at me, meeting my eyes. They widened ever so slightly, and something inside me pinged into action—into life, almost.
Her eyes were breathtaking.
They were the most beautiful bright blue, but her pupils were surrounded by a darker shade that was opalescent, almost changing depending on how the light hit her face.
And familiar.
Weirdly so, like I’d looked into them like this before.
I hadn’t, of course. I knew I’d remember Grace if we’d ever met, so all I could assume was that our paths had crossed during our university days. Through mutual friends or a similar situation.
Then again, maybe I’d just passed her in the supermarket.
But I didn’t think so.
I could swear I knew her. It was like an itch, a little bug I couldn’t quite squash. The feeling that I knew her somehow crept through me and took up residence in the very back of my mind, just waiting.
For what, I wasn’t sure.
Perhaps neon lights to appear on the hillside telling me why I recognised her or a meteor carrying an alien lifeform to make me remember.
Either would work.
Grace cleared her throat and shifted away from me slightly. “The gravel hates me apparently.”
“Are you all right?” Mum’s voice echoed up the hill from the direction of the cottage, and I looked over in its general direction.
“Oh no, did she see that?” Grace whispered.
“I think she might have been waiting for us,” I replied vaguely.
“That’s a yes, then.”
Laughing, I released her with a sceptical look. “You sure you won’t fall over again?”
“Oh, my gosh. It was one little slip.”
“That almost resulted with you ending up on your arse.”
She pouted, glaring at me. “Let’s get this over and done with, shall we?”
I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to do less.
“Let’s,” I replied, taking her hand in mine.
She looked at our clasped hands.
“What? I’m about to introduce you as my girlfriend, not the half-stranger you actually are.”
