How to Love Your Neighbour(88)

“What?” She looked outraged, and it filled him with pride.

He smoothed her hair back. “Simmer down, tiger. I’ve already come to terms with who he is. Mostly. This isn’t going to stop me.”

She stiffened, visibly forced herself to loosen her stance in his arms. She touched both her hands to his chest. “Damn right it isn’t. I can’t wait to watch you do this, Noah. I have not one single doubt about your ability to pull it off whether we fundraise, hold charity events, or you borrow the money.”

His heart snagged. “We?”

She stepped closer. “Yes. We. I want in. You need to talk to your brothers because my guess is they’ll want to take part, too.” She frowned.

“What is it?”

“The magazine. There’s got to be ways to raise awareness and money. You’re doing this, Noah. I’ll be right by your side every step of the way.”

Pride filled his chest so full it was hard to breathe. There was something other than pride, too, but he wasn’t going to look too closely at those feelings just yet.

Noah wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground, twirling them both. “You’re the coolest, Grace.” He pressed his mouth to hers, losing himself in the unique taste and pleasure only she could give.

“You’re pretty cool yourself. And smart. So, I’m assuming you have a plan for how to go around your father to get the money from your warehouses?”

He nodded. “I do.”

“What is it?” Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

“I have to go back to New York.”





40


Grace could not miss him. “It’s absurd,” she told Brutus, who had gotten a solo walk today. “We’ve only been apart one day.”

Maybe she just felt like she missed him because she knew how far away he was. Or maybe you’re weak like your mother and depend too much on Noah to bring you happiness.

Brutus barked, making it feel like he agreed with her last thought. She glared down at him. “That’s just cold, mister.”

He barked again. Grace laughed, crouching down to pet him. “Kind of nice without the others, isn’t it, buddy?”

Jumping up to her knees, he tried to give her a generous kiss. “Nope. I’m taken. Keep that tongue to yourself.”

She saw the Blundstones before she heard them. From her crouch, she tilted her head back, locking eyes with Shane.

“You’ve probably broken his heart with that news,” Shane said, reaching out a hand to help her up.

Grace hoped her face didn’t show the embarrassment she felt. She let him help her up before slipping her hand out of his.

He was such a nice guy. If Rosie wasn’t so gone over Josh, she’d have tried to set them up. How do you know he’d want to be?

“You’re looking at me oddly,” he said with a laugh.

“Sorry. Stuck in my own head. I haven’t seen you since we did the renos. Thank you again for your help.”

He shoved both hands into his pockets. “No problem. It was fun.”

They stood there awkwardly for a moment, and Grace wasn’t sure if she should fill the silence.

“You good?”

She nodded, letting out a sharp breath. “I am. I’m dropping this guy off and heading to class. There’s a job fair today with dozens of design firms pitching to the students. It’s pretty cool because it’s a chance to check them all out.”

His eyes brightened with his smile. “That’s awesome. With the magazine, you’ll have a lot of options I’m guessing. Even solo if you wanted it.”

She hadn’t thought much about that. She liked being around others. Rosie often pushed her creative boundaries, made her look at things differently.

“Something to think about. But it’s good to know all my options. Don’t want to put all my eggs in one basket so to speak.”

Shane laughed, gesturing for her to go first up the stairs. “That’s very true. Baskets break.”

He was absolutely right, but she’d been working hard to look at the opposite side of things. The positive.

“Noah left me a voice mail. Any idea what he wanted?”

Interesting. She could guess it had something to do with the community center but it was best to let him fill Shane in. “No. He’s in New York right now, though. He might have some project ideas he wants input on.”

“Cool. I’m game. Tell him to call me when he gets back.”

“I will.”

He waved as he walked away. Would her life have been easier if she could have fallen for someone uncomplicated like Shane or was love—whoa. Shut that down. Were relationships naturally emotional cardio?

It was a bit unsettling to realize she couldn’t make herself feel something she didn’t—that she couldn’t force herself onto the safe path. It made her almost understand things about her mother. Not everything. Everything after she had me was a choice. She could have chosen differently. Even if Grace had no control over her heart belonging to Noah, she was in charge of the rest of it and that’s where her mother let her down.

After dropping off Brutus, she decided against stopping at Morty’s. Smiling, she thought about how he’d tell her to call first. She took the beach entrance to her backyard, hurried inside to shower and change. When she came out of the bathroom, she heard her phone chirping.