Page 94 of Forbidden Kisses
Noah grinned. “Of course, man. Krista will make it happen. No worries.”
Jack nodded. “I need your help, too.”
“What do you need me to do?” Noah asked.
Jack clapped a hand on his back. “You know that ex-stepmother that you used to loathe?”
Noah’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah.”
“I want Tammy and Mrs. Smith at the grand opening, too.”
“You want me to chauffeur two old ladies to your event?” Noah asked.
“It’ll help the cause, bro. Please.”
Noah grabbed his drink and headed toward the door. “Fine. But you’ll owe me and I’ll collect when you least expect it.”
Jack laughed. “Thank you,” he called as Noah disappeared.
—
Checking her reflection in the mirror one last time, Grace headed out the door to wait for Krista, who’d insisted on driving today. She didn’t trust that Grace wouldn’t change her mind about going to the grand opening at the last moment and leave. And Krista was probably right.
Grace wanted to be there today, though. For Jack. He’d accomplished a dream for himself and his late friend. She was on her way to doing the same. She’d gotten word yesterday afternoon that she’d been officially enrolled in the local community college. She could start for the winter semester. She’d need to get a student loan, of course, but with any luck she’d also get a scholarship.
Krista pulled around to the curb where Grace was standing—absorbed in her own thoughts, mostly of Jack—and honked. Hopefully Grace would be able to rein in her thoughts before classes started. Otherwise, she’d be sure to flunk out.
“Ready?” Krista asked as Grace plopped into the passenger seat and shut the door behind her.
“I guess. He’ll probably be too busy to notice I’m even there.”
“You and Jack are like magnets. He’ll notice,” Krista said, which didn’t make Grace feel any better. She didn’t want him to notice. Nothing had changed between them. There was nothing left to say or do. All they could hope for was friendship now.
Ten minutes later, Grace and Krista pulled into an empty lot, the future home of Watson and Sawyer Coastal Builders. A nice-sized crowd had already formed around the ribboned-off area where Jack would be talking.
Grace’s heart sped up at the thought of seeing him. She was so in love. How was she ever going to move on?
“Look. There’s even a news van here,” Krista said, pointing across the parking lot at a BB News media van.
“This is great.” Grace smoothed her hair nervously. Krista was wrong. Jack would be too busy to notice her. They got out and crossed the lot where Abby was standing with Joey. Grace spotted other people she knew from town. Even Tina from Castaways was here.
“I’ll be right back,” Grace said. “I want to say hello to Tina.”
Krista glanced across the crowd. “Tell her hello from me, too. We should invite her to sit with us for one of our Thirsty Thursdays.”
“Then who would serve the drinks?” Abby asked, pulling a pair of dark sunglasses over her eyes as the sun rose higher in the sky.
Grace laughed. “I’ll be right back.” She headed over and tapped Tina on the shoulder.
“Hey!” Tina said, wrapping her arms around Grace.
After a quick hug, Grace pulled back and smiled. “How’s it going?”
Tina beamed. This was maybe the first time that Grace had seen her ex-coworker without the dark circles under her eyes. “Loving the new job and it’s all thanks to you, my friend.”
“That’s terrific.”
“How’s it going for you?” Tina asked.
