Page 33 of Hearts of Fairlake

"What's that?"

"That you love me. That you missed me."

"I could have told you that and did...repeatedly."

"Yes," he agreed but still frowned. "But I miss things, a lot. Even with you, I don't always...see things like others do. So it's nice to see those things without you trying to find a way to get me to understand. To see it because that's you being you."

"Ah, okay. I get it. I still feel like that with you sometimes," I admitted. "I think we're always going to try to find ways to see each other."

"Is that...good?"

"I'm not an expert, but I'd say it is. It's important towantto see the other person as they really are. When you stop looking for stuff like that, you start to fall out of love. And I don't want us to fall out of love with each other."

"I want that, too," he said with a smile.

"And...I've beenpatient over here, but I'dlike to come over there and sit with you," I admitted. Sometimes, it was easy to let Grant dictate the pace, but there were times when Ineeded to remember to take responsibility and try to bridge the distance between us.

I shouldn't have been surprised when he blinked rapidly and only then seemed to see the distance between us. It was only a couple of feet, but it was swiftly starting to feel like there were miles and miles between us as the conversation continued. "Oh, I'm sorry, I was still...yes. Please."

I didn't need to be asked twice, and I quickly got up from the chair and plopped down onto the couch next to him. I wasn't surprised to find the smell of flour still stuck to his skin as he leaned into my touch without hesitation. Knowing him, he’d probably decided to shower in the morning rather than deal with it tonight. I might be able to coax him into a shower before going to bed.

"I've taken the next few days off," he told me softly as he laid his head on my shoulder and let out a breath I pretended didn't shake slightly at the end.

My brow rose. “Three days? And with the festival coming up?"

"I want to spend time with you," he said softly. "And it's been long enough that I can trust Devin will run the bakery in Fovel perfectly, and Luke has had a handle on the one in Denver for the past year. Louise is more than capable of running the bakery for a few days without my being there, especially since Devin will run between our two locations to ensure everything is being done properly on the baking side."

I smirked. “Devin, Luke, and Louise ganged up on you and pushed you into this, didn't they?"

I could feel his scowl against my shoulder. “They may have pulled me into an impromptu meeting to inform me of these details, yes."

I chuckled, pulling him closer. "Isn't it great having people around who love you so much that they meddle in your business?"

"The first half of that sentence is true. I'm not as sure about the second half."

"At least you're lucky Sylvia didn't get involved."

He surprised me by bursting into a sudden and rare laugh. "Are you serious?"

"Not often, but now? Yes...why?"

"She stopped in even before your interview was over."

Of course she had. I loved my sister greatly, but that didn't mean she wasn't an interfering, difficult, and headstrong woman. If anything, getting married and then pregnant had only made her worse.

"Oh God," I moaned. "What did she do?"

"She took very little time after getting into town before she dropped by the bakery and informed me I needed to be ready to 'suck it up' when you were here."

"Of course she did," I sighed because, bless my twin, she was insufferable sometimes.

"And," his voice softened. "she reminded me that your life has been very different from mine."

"Of course."

"And I'm not wrong, but she loves you very much."

"Her exact words, I'm guessing."

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