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Max asks Skylar, “How’s your friend, Grace?”
She glances my way when she says, “She’s good. I just saw her last week. Garth is working on her kitchen and it’s almost finished, so she’s up to her ears in the remodel.”
“Leo told me she broke off her engagement to that guy.”
“She did.” Sky pauses then adds, “But she’s seeing someone new.” She turns to me and winks on the sly. “She seems happy.”
Max is barely listening at this point. He tosses out, “That’s good,” as he moves towards a small group of Skylar’s teaching buddies clustered over by the pool.
Skylar flops into a chair opposite me. “Last thing I want is Max hitting on any of my friends.”
I look to where he’s schmoozing a few ladies at the moment. “Too late.”
“I meant my close friends. And what I said was a crock...You know that, right?”
“The part about her seeing someone or about being happy?”
“She’s not seeing anyone. I can’t really speak to the happiness part.”
I look down and nod. “I hope she’s happy.”
Skylar smacks her head. “Ugh! She says the same thing about you! When your name comes up she looks like she’s been kicked in the gut, but then she smiles and tosses out that same lame line. Do youreallyhope Grace is happy without you?”
“She knows where I stand. I can’t force her to want to be with me.”
“Doesshe know where you stand? Are you sure? If I were in her shoes and you just gave up when I told you to go, I don’t know...I’d think maybe I wasn’t all that important to you.”
“You don’t know—”
“Everything she’s been dealing with? I do. She told me. And I know she confided in you, too. Do you really think she wants to be alone in all this?”
I don’t answer because I really don’t have a clue.
Skylar reaches over and puts a hand on my shoulder. “No pain, no gain. Isn’t that what you guys always say? Got to her, Owen. Worst thing that can happen is she turns you away and you’re no worse off than you are now. But stop wasting time.”
* * *
I spend the next few weeks doing just that, wasting time. I visit one of my old naval academy buddies at his beach house in Jersey, do another sprint triathlon with my sister Willa over Labor Day weekend, and then I’m back into my fall routine of teaching and work-related obligations. But I think about her every damn day.
That night we spent at her house, our trip to New York—I replay every kiss, touch, and the words spoken over and over in my mind. Being with Grace was good in every way. In bed, out of bed, talking to her and just holding her close were the best times I’ve ever had with a woman.
I don’t want to close the book on what we were just starting. And this hurts, so fucking bad.
People mean well but they don’t understand. My family walks on eggshells around me, and my mother gingerly asking if I might want to bring Grace over for dinner one night gets her nothing but a growl. Friends who think they’re doing me a favor by introducing me to their sisters, single friends or coworkers make me want to ram my head into the nearest wall.
I want her.
No one else.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Grace
This little shindig is for my friends and for the people who helped me accomplish this labor of love, it’s not for me.
I pick a few stray weeds from the flower beds, pleased when I take a step back and take it all in. The house came out better than I ever could have hoped for.
It’s Nantucket meets Western Pennsylvania, if that’s even a thing.
