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“Wouldn’t go that far,” I hedge.
“Oh, duh. There’s a limit.” She blinks the stars and hearts from her eyes. “Just like how I used to be insanely attracted to you.”
I almost stagger sideways as the implication hits me. “As in not anymore?”
Her shrug is crooked. “Why bother crushing on someone when you know it’s not leading anywhere?”
That notion doesn’t sit well with me when it comes to us, not that there’s an alternative. “Never hurts to stroke my ego.”
“You have plenty of girls who do that,” Grace teases.
“Not that I take seriously.”
Her expression sobers. “Are you saying this is serious between us?”
Now I do stumble while standing upright. “What? No. Why would you think that?”
The blank mask cracks, her entire body shaking with laughter. “Wow, your face is priceless. Don’t worry, I won’t mistake you for marriage material. But that makes me wonder if you’re truly afraid of commitment.”
“I have plenty of attachments,” I argue. Then I force the strain from my stance in an attempt to appear casual. In reality, my body slumps against the bar in an uncoordinated heap.
“Do any of them include platonic relationships with women who aren’t family?”
“Maybe I was saving that honor for you.” I bounce my brows as if that’s convincing.
As if staged, Grace rolls her eyes hard enough to tip backward, catching herself at the last moment with an impressive pinwheel maneuver. “Whoops.”
I chuckle while reaching forward to assist in setting her straight. “Wanna hear a secret?”
“Obviously.” Her attempt at a snide tone in her current condition is nothing short of hilarious.
My stomach muscles twinge from laughing so hard. “If I was going to date anyone, it would be you.”
“Pssshhhh, you’re just saying that.” She brushes off my declaration with a limp gesture that looks like a dead fish.
I snatch her floppy hand in midair. “It’s true, soulmate. Please believe me. I think you’re the perfect catch.”
Grace’s stare bores into mine. Time is suspended as we exchange silence. Neither of us looks away. My thumb traces a line along her inner wrist. She gasps as my touch wanders to explore more skin. Her pulse hammers, giving a furious beat to this moment. I think it might be too much until she bursts into a fit of giggles.
“Yep, you’re messing with me.” She slips her hand from mine to wag a scolding finger at me.
I clear my throat. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”
“And you’re doing an excellent job overserving me.”
“At your service.” I tip an imaginary hat.
“Keep ‘em coming. I could use it after another botched blunder without the thunder.” She squints while repeating the sentence under her breath.
It’s impossible to trap a smirk. “Yet you’re not jaded on love.”
“Nope. I’m determined to find a connection that lasts forever. Even from the grave.”
A low whistle escapes me. “Damn. That sounds tragic.”
Grace nods, the motion disjointed. “My mom passed away when I was thirteen. That didn’t stop my dad from keeping her memory alive. He never wanted to remarry. Well, not again. They’d both been married and divorced before meeting each other. I have three half-siblings that are older. Two from my dad and one from my mom. We’ve never been that close. Not even my brother from my mom’s first marriage. He took off after the funeral and I haven’t seen much of him in the last decade. I still have my little sister. Layla is my only full sibling. She’s normal. Mostly. I think it was better that she was younger when my mom passed. Wanna hear something wild? She was an aunt before she was born. Crazy, huh?”
Just when I think she’s coming up for air, her story rambles ahead. “But it is what is. My father is literally the best. He could’ve crumbled and checked out after my mom passed. Nope, he did the opposite. A real super dad. It’s no wonder me and Layla are searching for a fairytale. We have high expectations thanks to him. So… yeah. The entire point of all that was to say I’m not settling for less than soulmate status.”
