It was all Damon could do to keep from shouting and punching his arm in the air. He would most definitely be seeing Grace again.
"I'll let you go then. It was nice to meet you, Grace. Thanks for helping me with my bucket list." He tamped down a smile as he motioned to his rental car. "This is me. I look forward to seeing you again."
She stopped walking again and looked at him, a hint of panic in her eyes. "There's very little chance of that happening."
Feeling almost giddy, he winked at her. "Oh, but thereisa chance."
The panic intensified on her face before she turned away and hurried to a white Toyota Camry.
Grace'swhole body trembled by the time she'd stowed the gift basket in her backseat and got into the car. She sucked in a deep breath.
What is wrong with me?
She couldn't decide if her reaction was from enjoying that amazing kiss or the realization that hit the moment Damondeepened the kiss. Things could have gone south real fast if he wasn't the gentleman she hoped he was.
Having the elevator suddenly move and the doors open felt like a lifeline. But then he had to go and ask for her number and offer to buy her dinner. The only reason she'd kissed him was because she'd never have to see him again.
But a part of her wanted to.
He said he was only going to be here for two weeks, though. What was the point in getting to know him? If he was as nice outside the elevator as he was inside, spending time with Damon would be fun, but she could see herself falling for someone like him. And where would that leave her when he left?
With a broken heart.
Because she couldn't leave Providence. Not with her mother so sick, and Gabe, her only other family, living there. Besides, if Damon knew about her past, he might reject her the way Alan did.
It's better this way.
She looked out her window at the red Nissan that Damon climbed into. It was still there. He was probably checking his messages or returning phone calls, which was exactly what she should do.
She started her car, made sure her phone was connected to Bluetooth, and called her mom. Gabe and Paige were likely with Mom, so this was the fastest way to assuage everyone's concerns at once. She would only have to tell the story once.
"Mija, please tell me you're okay." Mom's voice, laced with panic, filled her car.
"I'm okay, Mom, I swear. You'll never believe it, but I just spent..." She checked the time on her dash. She'd been trapped with Damon for over an hour, yet it had felt like fifteen minutes. "...the last hour trapped in an elevator that got stuck when the power went out."
"She's okay. She was stuck in an elevator this whole time, the poor girl." Mom's voice was faint, and Grace assumed she was talking to Gabe. "I'm putting you on speaker, Mija, so Gabe and Paige can hear too."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Gabe's deep voice, full of concern, came through her car speakers.
"Yes, yes, I'm fine." Grace finally put her car into reverse and backed out of her parking spot. "There was some big power outage that caused the elevator to get stuck."
The red Nissan followed her as she pulled out of the hospital parking lot.
"We heard about that," Mom said. "When you didn't answer any of our calls and texts, Gabe called the Richland police."
Of course he did.
"They explained there was a widespread outage, and they would do their best to try to locate you, but it was obvious you weren't a high priority with everything going on."
"It's all over the news," Gabe jumped back in. "Apparently a single prop airplane crashed into one of the city's sub stations."
"Oh, wow!" No wonder the maintenance guy sounded so stressed.
"My cousin Robert," Paige spoke up. "He's the sheriff, in case you've forgotten who's who. Anyway, he's been tracking some of the police reports. With all of the streetlights out, there’s been a rash of accidents."
"Sounds like I was lucky to get stuck in the elevator after all." If she'd left the hospital five minutes earlier, she could have been involved in one of those accidents.
As Grace drove, she noted the absence of lights. It wasn't full-dark yet since the sun was still setting, but there were no streetlights or stop lights. Even the gas stations and store signs were dark. The familiar city streets felt foreign and eerie. A little shudder rippled through her.
