Page 76 of Saving Grace

“You wanna head to bed when we get home?”

“I am a little tired,” she says, directing her gaze straight ahead.

A smile pulls up on her lips. Her breaths quicken.

“I can organize this stuff and then we can sit on the porch and unwind if you want?” I offer.

“You’re not carting this all in by yourself. Don’t be chivalrous on my account.” She gives me a playful sideways look with the prettiest smile, but her face flattens a moment later.

“It’s not chivalry I’ve caught, gorgeous girl.”

Her mouth gapes and her gaze sticks to mine. I swear she stops breathing.

“It’s okay, Grace. I don’t expect anything in return.” I return my focus to the road. Half not wanting to see her final decision about what’s alternating over her face. Half out of self-preservation—okay, just preservation, an accident with her in the vehicle is not in the cards. Not if I have anything to do with it.

Silence hangs between us for the remainder of the drive. When we finally turn into the drive for the ranch, I pull up closeto the house to unload. Grace is out her door before I can kill the engine.

Damn.

Too far, Mack.Should have kept my mouth shut. I all but declared my undying love for her. It’s one thing to fool around and make each other feel good. Another thing entirely to fall for someone this deep.

Sweet Jesus, I’m an idiot.

I’ll be lucky if she hasn’t already packed her shit by the time I make it inside. I shut off the truck and grab up my hat and wander toward the house. Unloading the leftovers is the last thing on my mind now. I jog up the few steps onto the porch and fly through the door. The house is quiet. The kitchen light on. Grace’s light is on, but her door is closed.

“Fuck,” I breathe, running a hand over my face.

I dump my hat on the hook over the front table, toe off my boots, and shut the front door. I’m going to have to bring in the leftovers at least. Unable to ignore the pull propelling me down the hall to her door on socked feet, it’s all I can care about. I stop at her door, trying to find something to say to undo what I did in the truck.

No. Hell no. I meant every damn word.

She doesn’t have to feel the same way. But it sure as hell doesn’t make what’s consuming me go away.

The door opens and she stands on bare feet, makeup smudged. Her breaths are too shallow. Her hand is still on the doorknob, the other one sitting on her hip. Her face is stone.

Jesus.

I dip my head. “I?—”

Two fingers press over my lips, hard. She closes her eyes and sucks in a breath. “Let me say this before I don’t have the nerve.”

It’s all I can do to nod.

She studies my face for a heartbeat before letting her fingers fall away. “I’m not indifferent to you either, Mackinlay.” She sighs. “I haven’t done this before. A functional, loving relationship. And the last thing I want to do is hurt you. That would kill me.”

My heart flings against my ribs like shrapnel fired from a canon.

She worries her lip through her teeth. “There’s something else...”

I grip the doorframe above my head and shutter my eyes. “Just say it, Grace,” I rasp.

A wobbly breath huffs.

She sniffs, but her warmth closes in. A hand rests on my chest, over my heart. Then the other beside it. The blood thundering in my head is too loud. I open my eyes to drown it out. Her face is broken.

“I don’t knowhowto love you,” she sobs. “Not the way Addy loves Hudson, or Ruby loves Reed. I’ve never had that. After...” Her face twists. “I think I’m broken. Apart from acting on every whim I have when you’re around, and sometimes when you’re not, I don’t know the rules. Where to even start.” She swallows. “I—I want you to have that kind of love... so much it hurts.”

I stare at her.

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