For the first time in a little while, I’d finally be back in a city. Strawberry Springs hadn’t been terrible, but I looked forward to a dining experience where I didn’t have to spill my life story.
I didn’t know how many more questions about Grace I could take.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the night I slept in her bed. I had a feeling she hadn’t either. I’d waited for her to ask me about it, but she never did. She only watched me with a furrowed brow, and I had no idea what she was looking for.
Did she want me to admit it? Did she want me to apologize?
Did she want me to do it again?
That might have been the worst of all the options because I knew that I wouldn’t hesitate to do it if she asked. There wasn’t a question she could pose that I would say no to.
She didn’t know it yet, but I was wrapped around her finger. There was no getting out. She had me, even if she didn’t want me. The time I spent in Strawberry Springs didn’t help, but there was no way I could leave.
And that was fucking terrifying.
I didn’t even want to leave for Clyde. I told him that things had been rough here with Grace being sick and I wasn’t sure when I would be back. The more that I thought about leaving her, the less I wanted to make plans to return.
He understood and told me to take my time, but the fact that I had even said I didn’t want to come back in the first place was alarming. He’d offered a few jobs in Knoxville that were coming up, where I could be closer to Strawberry Springs if Ineeded to be. I told him I’d find a way to work those. At least I would get to see him.
Grace opened the door only seconds after I turned off the engine and got out of the truck. She was in a skirt again, this time burnt orange, with a white shirt tucked in. I could see her belly openly now, and every time I did, it made my heart jump into my throat. There was no denying she was pregnant.
She looked beautiful. She seemed to glow a little bit more every single day. I was lucky that I had gotten to be here for so much of it. I might have been sleeping on a tiny twin bed and developing permanent back issues, but it was worth it.
“Do I look okay?” she asked as she brushed nonexistent crumbs off her skirt. “Now that everyone knows, I can go back to my normal wardrobe.”
“You don’t just look okay. You look fucking stunning. I missed those skirts.”
Both of us had carefully avoided anything that could be considered flirting ever since I found out she was pregnant. This was the first time I’d let anything slip.
Grace’s eyes grew wide as she stared at me. “R-really? I missed them too.”
That was the best response she could have given considering the circumstances. It was almost professional the way she said it.
It reminded me of my place.
She began to walk to the truck, but stopped herself and turned back to me. “I would have thought that seeing me throw up would have completely ruined the vibes. Do you somehow still find me hot after that?”
“Nothing can ruin the vibes,” I replied. “You’re hot all the time.”
She smiled the same way she did when she was leading me to the Treasure Trove to have sex with me.
“You should compliment me more often. I like how it sounds.”
That was enough for me to continue.
“You’re so beautiful all the time, but seeing you pregnant is really something. Your skin is literally glowing. Your smile is even more beautiful now that your cheeks are fuller. You catch my eye every time you walk by. You always did, but now I can’t look away.”
Her eyes grew wide and I realized my compliments weren’t flirty, they were deeper, coming from the heart rather than anywhere else.
“Sometimes a girl needs to hear all of that,” she said. “You’re good at this.”
“Not as much as you think.” I led her to the truck, pushing away any other thoughts. “We should get going, though.”
“Yeah, we should.”
I needed to keep it together.
But the more I wanted to do for her, the harder it was keeping myself in check.
