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I sucked in a breath, let it go, and told myself to get it over with. “How would you feel if I dated Grace?”
Tess’s forehead furrowed in confusion. “You mean, if she was your girlfriend, like when Mum and Steve got together?”
“That’s right.”
She seemed to think for a moment. “What would change? You guys spend all your time together anyway.”
I considered my words carefully. “Well, for starters, it would mean we might live together one day, and if that went well, maybe we’d marry.”
I’d never thought I’d marry again. Maddy did a number on my self-confidence when it came to being a good partner, but I was starting to see that had more to do with how wrong we were for each other and less to do with me personally. Now, I was open to the idea. Especially if Grace was the woman who’d become my wife.
To my surprise, Tess launched herself into my arms. I embraced her, unsure whether she was excited or upset. I waited, trying to gage her mood. When she backed away, I realized she was smiling.
“If Grace lived here, then I’d get to see her even more.” She sounded thrilled. “Grace is already family in my heart. If you got married, then she’d be my family properly—like a stepmum, except not an evil one. I’d like that.”
My heart full, I scooped her into another hug. “I’m so glad you feel that way.”
She looped her arms around my neck. “I love weddings.”
I huffed a laugh. “The wedding is a while away yet. I’ve got to ask her first, and who knows? Maybe living with me will drive her crazy first.”
“It won’t,” she said with the complete confidence of a child.
I really hope not.
I wanted this thing with Grace to go all the way. House, wedding, pets, family. But before that, we needed to find out who meant her harm.
48
GRACE
It wasa subdued author and assistant who showed up at the office on Thursday. Despite sleeping well and being healthy enough to get out of bed, I still didn’t feel completely better, and Alice looked worse for wear as well. She’d only applied mascara and lip gloss and hadn’t bothered to style her hair. For her, that was the equivalent of moping around in unwashed clothes.
“I’m so sorry,” I said to her when we were each seated behind our respective computers.
“What for? Food poisoning? It’s not as if it was your fault.”
I pursed my lips, debating whether to share Nate’s theory that the poisoning may have been deliberate, but if Alice had been caught in the crossfire, she deserved to know. “It might not have been an accident.”
“What?” That had her attention.
I ran my hand through my hair. “Nate thinks there’s a possibility someone intentionally contaminated our food because they wanted to hurt me.”
“No!” Alice’s eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hand. “Who would do something like that?”
“I don’t know.” I wished I did. “But if you want to work from home until we figure it out, I’ll understand. I don’t want you to be at risk.”
“Hell no.” Her shock was beginning to fade, and she looked outraged. “I’m not letting some creep dictate our lives. Screw them.”
“Are you sure?” I prompted. “You can take some time to think about it. Your safety might be on the line.”
“No.” She shook her head, expression determined. “I’m not leaving you.”
“But what if—”
A ringing phone interrupted. I grabbed it from the desktop and checked the screen, then frowned. It was Ryan. I hadn’t expected to hear from him, and it was unusual for him to call during the day.
“Hold on, I’d better take this.” I stood and excused myself from the room, closing the door behind me with both Alice and Duke on the other side. I clicked the Answer symbol. “Hi, Ryan.”
