Page 40 of The Last to Know

“Are you like this with all of your other girlfriends?” Grace asked before realising how that sounded. “I mean—”

“You’re my wife. None of them made it to that status.” Caz winked and stabbed at a chunk of avocado smothered in grated carrot. “But yeah, if you mean am I supportive, caring, and the kind of woman who wants to make sure her partner feels loved, then yeah…”

“You do certainly manage that,” Grace said, before another question hit her. “Do I do that…for you, I mean? Do I make sure you feel loved?”

Caz placed the fork into the bowl and the bowl into her lap. “Yes. Every day.” She smiled. “You do stuff for me that I wouldn’t think to do.”

“Like what?”

“I’ve never had to clean the bathroom. You’ve wiped it all down before I even think about it. My lunch is made and readyfor me to just grab out of the fridge, and I love the little notes that have smiley faces or a silly joke. They make me smile when I open up the box and see them.”

Grace smiled at that.

“And you call me out on stuff, make me think about things from a different perspective, and give me time to work things out without us needing a row.”

“Do you think it’s weird that we don’t really argue, though?”

Caz picked up her fork again. “No.”

“I’ve never had a relationship where we didn’t row,” Grace mused, “like, full-on screaming at one another.”

Grimacing, Caz put her fork back down. “I mean, yeah, I guess, but it’s different with you.”

“I know what you mean, but why is that, do you think?”

“We did have that one big row, though,” Caz reminded her. “You didn’t speak to me for two days.”

“It was two hours.” Grace laughed. “Don’t exaggerate.” She smiled. “I’d forgotten about that.”

“I haven’t.”

Chapter Twenty-One

October 2024

Halloween was in full effect. Caz had decorated the front garden with skeletons climbing from graves and ghosts swooping down off the roof, much to Grace’s disapproval. She wasn’t a fan of such things, but it had always made Caz happy, so she’d shut up and let her enjoy it.

But getting home to find a full-on Halloween party she hadn’t even been invited to, taking place in the living room, was a bit much.

“It was a graveyard smash,” several voices sang out.

Grace breathed deeply, thrust her key into the lock, and was just about to go inside when a group of kids ran up the path screaming, “Trick or treat,” at her.

It made her jump, and she spun around just in time to get an egg thrown at her. “Too slow.”

They laughed and ran off.

“Fuckers,” Grace seethed, as yolk dripped down the side of her head. She got the door open just as Caz was dancing her way out of the kitchen with three bottles of lager in her hands, laughing as she joined in with the singing.

“It was the monster ma—” Coming to a halt, Caz laughed nervously. “Oh, hey, babe, we’re just…” She spotted the egg and instantly sobered. “Are you alright?”

“Really?” Grace’s sarcasm dripped like the egg, her lips pursed, eyes staring hard at Caz.

She didn’t get to say anything further before Dani made her way out of the living room. “Hey, where’s those drin—oops,” she said, turning instantly and heading back into the safety of the lounge.

Grace looked through and saw Portia wearing a Frankenstein forehead hat, talking to two women Grace didn’t recognise.

Hot women.

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