Page 130 of What Are The Odds?
“How are you?” I cautiously questioned.
“Fine.”
“Good to be home?”
“The best.”
That stung, but I shook it off. I couldn’t believe I was actually talking to her. There was so much I wanted to say.
“Grace–”
I stopped midsentence when a guy moved into the shot beside her. It wasn’t one of her brothers. This guy had brown hair. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He was shirtless and tanned, and if we weren’t in different countries, he’d also be dead.
“Who are you talking to?” he asked.
“Levi,” Grace answered.
He nodded as though he knew exactly who I was. That wasn’t reciprocated and I hated not having the upper hand. He looked at the phone, smiling.
“Hey man. I’m Luke.”
Luke? The fucking high school boyfriend?
“Mind if I steal Grace? You get her back in a few days.”
I did? Screw saving face. If Grace wasn’t going to talk, I’d get the dirt from the ex.
“She’s coming back to Philadelphia?”
“Yeah,” Luke answered, not picking up on my surprise. “She only came home for Christmas.”
That one sentence caused everything to change. She was coming back. To me? To school? To swimming? I didn’t care. I’d see her again. That’s all that fucking mattered. When I beamed, Grace seemed to sober. She sat up straighter.
“I’ll be there in a minute, Luke.”
Luke took the hint and left. I’m not sure wheretherewas or what he wanted to steal her to do. Either way, she’d be back soon. That was more than I’d hoped for. I’d literally thought I would never see Grace Hughes again.
“Stop smiling,” Grace said seriously. “I’m not coming back for you.”
“Uh-huh.”
“Levi.”
“Grace.”
She sighed, which was brutal. Her chest rose and fell. I couldn’t pull my eyes away from the bikini top. From her tits. I missed her, and them, so fucking much.
“I’m sorry I’ve ignored your calls and messages,” she said.
I stopped her right there.
“You have nothing to apologise for, Hughesy.”
I walked to the edge of the deck. I couldn’t stop pacing. Fresh blood pumped through my body. It was the best I’d felt in weeks.
“When will you be back?” I asked.
“The morning of New Year’s Eve.”
