Page 19 of Forever & Again
“You had every right to be upset,” He shook his head, cutting her off. “I truly do not know why I bought him,” Oliver admitted. “Sometimes when someone is gone so suddenly and you have nothing left of them, it can feel as though they were never here.”
“I understand.” Grace nodded slowly, her eyes softened. “Benjamin loved Champion, so I am glad he is with someone who sees his worth.”
In that moment, Oliver wondered if Grace was capable of seeing her own worth. She had every right to be angry, but she was always so quick to apologize, taking every burden onto her own shoulders. She bore responsibilities that were not hers to bear, just for the sake of lessening the burdens on those around her, even if she was already struggling under the weight of what she was already carrying.
Oliver swallowed the urge to tell her how much he admired her strength. If he were to tell her his honest thoughts, it would only make her run away again.
The crickets filled the silence behind them, and the soft hush of the wind stirred in the trees above them. “That was quite the speech you made at the card table,” he finally said, turning the conversation to a slightly lighter topic.
“I meant what I said,” she replied. “You should not leave before the end of the summer; not because of me.”
“I thought I was making things harder for you.”
“You are,” she said, a wry smile tugging at her lips. “But it is also a distraction. I did say I would uphold my end of the truce.”
“You did.” Oliver nodded. “And I meant it when I said I intend to win.”
“Win what exactly?” She asked, arching a brow. “It is a truce, Oliver, not a competition.”
“Everything is a competition if you try hard enough.”
Grace laughed, the sound warming the cool night air. “You are impossible.”
“Persistent,” he corrected. Grace looked back at him with a glimmer in her eye. “And here I thought you were not patient enough to be persistent."
Oliver felt the air rush from his lungs, and his heart skipped a beat. He had said those exact words to her nearly a year ago, on the night they met.
She had been attending the ball with Benjamin, and Oliver had been just as captivated by her then as he was now. The difference was that, back then, it was nothing more than a fleeting moment of infatuation, as her heart was happily held by his dear friend. Now, Oliver felt the feeling take root as something deeper, but alongside it came a sharp pain of guilt that was becoming far too familiar.
“People do change, Lady Rockwell.” Oliver tried to force his tone to stay light. He could see the concentration set in Grace’s brow as she studied him.
“I would like to propose an amendment to the terms of our truce.” He added quickly, desperate for a distraction.
“Oh?” She asked. “What might that be?”
He leaned in slightly, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.. “If I am to refrain from flirting for the rest of the summer….”
“Without intention.” She corrected.
“Yes, without intention,” Oliver confirmed. “I think it is only fair that you have a challenge as well, to balance the scales.”
“I believe my challenge was not insulting you.”
“That is not a challenge, Grace, it is a miracle that requires divine intervention.” His grin deepened as she rolled her eyes.
“Fine,” she said. “What do you propose?”
“I propose that every day, you do something with me. Something small, a walk, a game, an amusing activity, but you will not know what it is until the day of.”
She blinked at him. “This sounds suspiciously like a trap.”
“I promise you, it is not,” he laughed.
“I am still failing to see where the competition is in this.” Grace was still watching him suspiciously.
Oliver smiled at her again, “I simply aim to prove that by the end of the summer, you will no longer see me as insufferable.”
“That,” she said, her lips curving slowly, “is an extremely ambitious goal.”
