Page 33 of The Last to Know

One she hadn’t expected she’d need to deal with. There had never been any expectation she’d ever becomethatintimate with Grace, despite her wife’s jokey offers.

Impregnating your wife felt pretty intimate in the grand scheme of things. Possibly the most intimate she could ever consider being with anyone.

She pushed the door open to the bar and stepped inside. It was busy. People were enjoying their last moments of the weekend. She paused in the doorway.What if Dani and the gang were here?They’d question why she was here, and not at home with her new wife.

Backing out, she quickly turned and walked towards the bridge again and into Amberfield. There was a coffee shop she liked that would still be open, just about.

Questions and thoughts fired off in her mind again. It wasn’t right, was it? To be gawping at your best friend’s vagina? But it’s scientific, she corrected herself. Gawping suggests leering, and she’d not be doing that; she’d be making a baby.

She thought back to their previous attempt. It had all been so simple. They went to the clinic, did all the tests, and picked a donor. Then they’d gone back to the clinic, Grace had had the procedure, and they went home and waited.

And then the heartbreak.

Maybe Grace was right. Maybe something more natural was the way forward. And didn’t she want to give Grace everything she wanted? Didn’t she want to make her happy?

Chapter Fourteen

She got home and kicked off her boots, reaching down to straighten them up and make sure there wasn’t any mud on the floor. With that sorted, she took off her coat and hung it up. Turning, she found Grace standing in the doorway to the living room, arms folded, leaning against the jamb, one brow raised and a curious smile on her face.

“Well?” she said, and Caz realised, yet again, just how much this woman understood her, allowing the space to process and not pester her for answers until the time was right.

“Okay, I’ll do it. But…” Caz held up a finger. “I can’t be down there like a doctor, fiddling around.”

Grace frowned a little, a questioning narrowing of the eyes. “Okay, what is your compromise?”

Caz walked down the hallway to the kitchen with Grace following. “I was thinking, I could lie beside you and reach down, but be focusing on your face.”

“Alright, and how would you know if you’ve hit the spot, so to speak?”

Rolling her eyes, Caz huffed. “I know where the spot is. And anyway, you can tell me.”

Grace smiled. “Thank you.”

Flicking the kettle on, Caz returned the smile.

“But first, we’re going to get away for a few days. Sod Portugal, let’s stay local and not waste time travelling.”

Closing the space between them, Grace flung her arms around Caz’s waist as Caz dropped teabags into mugs. “I can definitely agree to that. Anywhere in mind?”

“Well, I saw someone post a video about West Wittering. It’s not that far—sandy beaches for miles. Kate Winslet lives there.”

“Oh, well, if it’s good enough for Kate…” Grace grinned, finally letting go of Caz. She moved to the side and leaned back against the worktop. “It is the weather for the beach, and no point going abroad when you’ve got it almost on the doorstep.”

“Yep. So, I thought we’d have a cup of tea and then get on Airbnb and find something for tomorrow?”

“I would love that,” Grace said, straightening up to kiss Caz’s cheek. “You’re too good to me.”

“Uh, I think you’ll find, I’m just treating you how you deserve to be treated.”

Grace was quiet for a moment, before she said, “Yes. You are.” And then she left the room.

Shrugging, Caz finished the tea-making and then followed to find Grace sitting cross-legged on the sofa with a magazine in her lap.

“Here you go.” Caz placed the mugs down onto the coffee table and then threw herself into the corner of the couch and pulled her feet up. With her phone already in her hand, she started scrolling on the Airbnb app.

“Just so you know,” Grace said, as Caz continued to scroll. “I’m really happy with you.”

Caz looked up and found the eyes of her wife set on her with such an intensity, that for a moment, she forgot this was her best friend and not a lover.

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