| Chapter Nineteen |
| �You�re fired.� �That�s nice,� Grace sighed distractedly. Lynn usually a patient woman, gave Grace a hard push, �Snap out of it!� It did the trick; Grace sat up straight and cleared her throat, �I called Mr. Lockhart yesterday. He said he�d be able to cater your luncheon Friday; he�s sending over a few menus. He doesn�t do vegan, so we�ll have to find someone else to do Mrs. Wright�s lunch.� �That�s fine.� Lynn was watching Grace closely. Narrowing her eyes, she gasped loudly, �What�s his name?� Grace�s stomach fell. An image of Justin immediately popped into her mind. She didn�t dare tell Lynn. How did you tell your boss that you were in love with her son and that he�d given you your first amazing kiss? Her lips curled involuntarily as she thought of that night and the way it felt when he�d kissed her. �Look at you,� Lynn exclaimed, she pushed all her paperwork to the side and took Grace�s hands, �you�ve been grinning and daydreaming all day.� �Sorry.� Lynn waved off the apology, �It happens to us all. I met Justin�s father when I was in high school, and it was the same way. I couldn�t do anything but figure out names for our children.� Her head tilted the side, and she seemed lost in memories. Grace hadn�t named any children, but she had spent the most part of her weekend replaying her first kiss over and over again. Her very first kiss. It had taken twenty-two years to the day, but it had happened. And it was beautiful. �Oh god,� Lynn said, shaking her head, �we�re not going to get any work done if we�re both daydreaming. Why don�t you go downstairs and finish up the laundry? You can get all the sighing out of your system there.� It felt like she was being banished, but Grace didn�t think it was professional to argue with her employer. Besides, Lynn was right; they were wasting valuable time. Jotting down a list of all the vegan restaurants in town, she handed the list to Lynn, �When you pick one, come and get me. I�ll put in a call.� She waited to see if Lynn changed her mind, but she didn�t. It was almost like taking the walk of shame on Fear Factor. Not that she�d ever done that, but she could imagine how embarrassing it would be. She was being sent to do laundry because she couldn�t stop thinking about Justin. She passed his door on the way down. Pausing for a moment, she stared at it, wondering what would happen if she knocked. She heard movement within, and hurried downstairs, not stopping until she was safe in the laundry room. �Nerd,� she groaned, leaning against the washer until she caught her breath. When she was breathing at a normal pace again, she grabbed the laundry basket and tried to busy herself with folding towels. It was a full five seconds before she started to think about him again. If she thought hard enough, she could remember exactly how it felt. How it�d made her feel. �You�re being pathetic again,� she sighed. She had to mentally check herself from time to time. If not, she would forget the most important thing: he didn�t feel the same way. She could romanticize it all she wanted, but she wouldn�t allow herself to believe, even for one moment, that it�d meant anything to him. They were friends, and he�d kissed her accordingly. Not that she had many friends who kissed her. But then again, she�d never asked any of them for a kiss. She�d never asked anyone for a kiss. �Ah, there you are. I�ve been looking for you.� Grace felt herself go numb. She wasn�t ready to see him yet; she needed a few more years. Glancing up, she tried to be casual which was nearly impossible when she was seconds away from passing out. �Hey.� �Hi� He leaned into the doorframe. She could feel his eyes on her; it was impossible to do anything under his scrutiny. �Nice sweater.� Grace looked down at the sweater her sister had given her; she was sure she�d seen an elderly lady wearing it. �Thank you,� she continued folding towels, �you were looking for me?� He came further into the room until he was inches away from her. �I have something for you.� He reached into his pocket and produced a small box and placed it on the stack of folded towels. �Happy Birthday.� Inhaling sharply, Grace fell even more in love with him right there. She was entirely too emotional for this. �You didn�t have to get me anything.� �I wanted to. Come on, open it.� Although she didn�t like accepting gifts, Grace�s curiosity got the best of her. Trying to conceal her excitement, she slowly opened the box. �Oh,� she sighed, looking at a lovely pair of earrings. Pig earrings. �Thank you so much.� �I�m sorry it�s late, but I had no idea what to get you. When you said you liked pigs, I remembered seeing these.� �Thank you.� �Your welcome.� Grace put the gift in her purse, promising to wear them tomorrow. There was an awkward pause. �Do you need some help?� He moved to her side and grabbed a towel from the basket. She giggled at the thought of him folding towels. �I didn�t think pop superstars knew how to fold clothes.� He pushed up the sleeves of his shirt, �You�re in for a surprise because I just so happen to be an old pro.� He grabbed another towel and quickly folded it. Holding it out for Grace to see, he had a self-satisfied grin on his face. �Only you could be competitive about laundry,� she sighed with a shake of her head. �I can�t help it if I�m the best at everything. It�s a gift.� Grace rolled her eyes and grabbed a pair of sock. �Your ego astounds me,� she said before throwing the them at his head. Without looking up from his work, he caught the socks seconds before they hit. �It�s a gift,� he said just to annoy her. She stuck out her tongue, unable to think of anything witty to say. She felt like a first grader with a crush; pretty soon she was going to start chasing him around the playground. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched him methodically fold a towel and place it on the stack. She had so many questions for him. Why had he kissed her? Did he like it? Would he do it again? �God, I�m good,� he laughed, admiring his work. The smile he gave her went from ear to ear. �Oh, be quiet,� she replied, annoyed. Maybe she�d ask him all her questions another day. She didn�t want to ruin the moment. |