How to Love Your Neighbour(97)
“We can reschedule,” Rosie whispered, leaning over to Grace.
Grace shook her head, looking at Josh, wishing she could just ask about Noah, but if she said his name out loud, she might cry.
She’d worked toward this for so long. She would not make it less because her personal life was in tatters. Of your own making. If you don’t like how things are, change them. She lifted her chin. She’d go to him. As soon as she finished up with the slide show.
“No. Let’s do this.”
She did her part, speaking the words she’d rehearsed more times than she could count. She kept her gaze on the screen to lessen the nerves of having to stare out at the audience. Of having to deal with the fact that he’d promised. You can’t hold this against him. You told him to stay away. Rosie cleared her throat, pulling Grace back into the moment. It wasn’t until the clapping started that she took a full breath, forced a smile for her teacher, her classmates, their special someones, Josh . . . and Noah.
Grace’s knees wobbled as their gazes locked. He stood leaning against the wall beside Josh, focused on Grace. She pulled in a deep breath, her heart rebooting. She continued to stare, feeling the smile take over her face without any effort. Rosie nudged her shoulder.
Mrs. Kern stood, glanced back at Noah, which struck her as odd. “Fabulous job, ladies.” She walked to the front of the room, turned to face everyone. “All of you did so well. I’m not sure how they’ll choose an intern. I’m so proud of how far all of you have come and you should be as well.”
Grace locked her hands together, unable to break eye contact with Noah. Just looking at him was refueling her energy, her breath, her heart.
“Now, there’s one more special presentation but it’s for one person only. I’ve set up snacks in room 310 if you’ll all join me and we can celebrate your successes.”
Rosie squeezed her hand. Grace looked at her, squeezing back. “What’s going on?”
Her friend hugged her hard. “This is where you get the chance to choose the happiness you deserve.”
Grace pulled away, stared at her cryptic friend. Everyone filed out, including Rosie and Josh, until only Noah and Grace were left.
Noah walked to her, keeping too much distance between them. She wanted to close it, fall into him, and hold on tight.
“I had a plan but I didn’t account for how seeing you would scramble my brain.”
She laughed, understanding. “Plans are good. I’m sorry I haven’t answered your calls.”
His jaw tightened. “You needed time. I want to give you whatever you need but I can’t wait any longer to make things right between us.”
Air whooshed out of her lungs. “You still want there to be an us?”
He closed the distance but still didn’t touch her. “I want that more than I’ve ever wanted anything. I have something to show you, if you can give me a minute?”
He walked to the table. Grace realized Rosie had left her computer attached, and Noah fiddled with it, then adjusted the lights in the room. He pulled a chair closer to the screen while Grace did her best not to wring her hands. She’d forgotten how to breathe without him in her life, and now she pulled in oxygen like she’d been starved of it.
What really struck a chord was the realization she’d come to over the last few days: she’d follow him anywhere. She understood how her mother let herself ache over a man for years upon years, carrying the flame and the hope of him coming back. Because if she couldn’t fix things with Noah, she’d do the same. She also understood how that could make a person hard. Closed off. Like a wounded animal lashing out in the face of more hurt. That didn’t excuse her mother’s behavior, but it lessened some of Grace’s anger.
Noah gestured to the chair. “Can you have a seat?”
She sat, hands clasped in her lap, heart beating like a rabbit on the run.
His fingers flexed, in and out. “Six weeks ago, I didn’t see the words ‘house’ and ‘home’ as different. They’re synonyms, essentially the same thing.”
A small smile snuck onto her lips. He was presenting a project just as she’d done.
“I’ve learned a lot in that time. Not just about what makes a house a home but what kind of man I want to be, what kind of life I want to live. What kind of person transforms you, much like you transform spaces.” He paused, cleared his throat, and Grace could see the nerves in the way he stood. His eyes were tired, like maybe he hadn’t been sleeping any better than she had.
She was transfixed by every little thing about him. The way his hair looked slightly mussed, how his shirt fit perfectly over his strong arms and chest. How his lips twitched just a little and his gaze held hers like they were tethered, like they were keeping each other afloat.
Noah pressed Play on his slide show. Her heart squeezed painfully hard when Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani’s duet “Nobody but You” came through the sound system. It was his words coming up across the screen, however, that put her back together again.
I had no idea what made a house a home.
Until you.
A 3D image of the first level of a house appeared. It was empty.
A house becomes a home when you make it your own with the person you love.
Splashes of paint colored the image, furniture zoomed in, landing in spots on the screen, transforming the room from barren and empty to full and vibrant.