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Sincerely,
Grace Monroe
My heart hammers hard, sending a roaring to my ears as I read back through the dates and times. The acceptance came three weeks ago, the day before she came to Jacksonville. She knew the whole trip she’d gotten in, yet she kept it to herself and insisted that I focus on the game.
I think about when I brought up the subject, knowing the time was coming where she should hear something. Holding her tight in my bed, she squeezed me back, telling me there was always next year. Like an asshole, I’d assumed she didn’t get in and didn’t want to press the issue. But I should have.
Then I look at the last time stamp. Her rejection was sent this morning, two hours after she left my condo where I reminded her my three weeks was up. My plan was to have her agree to move in with me before her parents arrived, so we could break the news over the weekend.
She smiled coyly, not acknowledging my timeline, but I figured I’d gotten through to her. Now I know, reading this, Grace was giving up much more than her apartment for me. She was giving up a chance of a lifetime.
When I glance up, there’s a highball of whiskey filled to the rim in front of me. “Peace offering.” He slides it closer.
“She lied to me.” I take a healthy gulp, feeling the sting as I swallow.
“No, she sidestepped your question. She has a knack for that.”
“I didn’t want to be insensitive. I should have questioned her harder.”
“Nah, because then she would have lied to you.”
“How do you know? Maybe I could have convinced her to accept.”
“Because she’s my sister, and I know she’s stubborn.”
Selfless is another word that comes to my mind. “She can’t do this. I’ll talk to her. She’s going.”
“I owe you an apology. I thought you knew. She tells you everything.”
“Apparently not.” I finish the rest of the whiskey, this time welcoming the burn.
“What are you going to do?”
My mind is blank with ideas, but I know I have to think of something. “Convince her to go,” is all I say.
“She doesn’t know I have these emails. I had to backdoor into her email, essentially spying on her, after hearing she turned them down. I needed all the evidence.”
“How do you want me to handle that?”
“I’ll fess up, telling her I called and learned she declined. For now, I won’t mention the emails.”
“I’ll go home and talk to her tonight.”
“Actually, I think you should wait. Let the shock settle before you try to reason with her. She’s going to be mad at me, even more furious I’ve told you. It’s smart to wait a few days.”
“How long?”
“I’ll tell her on Monday. That gives you this week to figure out what you should say.”
“You gonna be able to keep your temper down around her? Treat her normally? Because if you pull the same attitude on her, we’re going to have a problem. A huge problem.”
“Yeah, I actually feel like a dick right now. I assumed you knew and went back on your word.”
“Dick move, but I understand. I’ve been known to jump to conclusions before, too.”
The memory of barging into Shaw’s office last year and laying him out when he hurt Bizzy springs to mind. She was devastated, and when I learned exactly how deep her fears and devastation ran, I went after him.
“Nick, I’m going to ask you something else. I’m not telling my family anything about this because they’ll suffocate her with their meddling. Grace is excited about this upcoming weekend. The game, our families, the holiday—all of it. Don’t ruin it for her.”
