Gracie’s heart sank. For the past few days she’d been imagining what it would be like if they lived together for real. During that same time, he’d apparently been considering moving farther away from her.
For a second she thought maybe he was thinking of asking her to move in with him, but they’d spent nearly every minute together for the past three weeks and he’d said nothing.
An old, familiar pain filled her chest.
Though it was only an hour away this time, she felt even worse than she had when her ex had told her he was moving to Florida without her. She was still sitting there, dumbfounded when she heard the jingle of Nate’s keys in the locks.
Hurrying, Gracie closed his computer and shot up from the couch. She was half a second too late.
Already through the door, Nate’s gaze moved from hers, to his computer, then back again. Disappointment shadowed his expression.
He quietly turned and closed the door, re-engaging the locks before setting his keys onto the small table next to him. With a deep sigh, he faced her.
“What were you doing?” he tipped his chin toward his computer.
“Nothing,” she lied, a reflexive response she instantly wished she could take back.
He remained quiet, a raised eyebrow his only reaction.
Not quite sure why she felt guilty when he was the one who’d been keeping things from her, Gracie stumbled to find a plausible explanation.
“I-I was just checking my email.”
Nate frowned. “Why didn’t you use your own computer?”
Shit.“Um…I-I forgot to charge it. Battery’s dead.”
Studying her a moment, Nate surprised her when the corners of his mouth slowly began to curve upward. “I just realized something else you and your sister have in common.”
Gracie didn’t even try to guess. “What’s that?”
He walked over to her in almost a predatory manor and wrapped his arms around her waist. Leaning in closely, he whispered in her ear.
“You’re both terrible liars.”
Gracie hid her embarrassment at being caught snooping by addressing the reason she’d felt compelled to do so in the first place. Pushing against his chest, she worked her way loose from his embrace and took a step back.
Arms crossed, she lifted her chin and said, “Well, at least I’m not keeping secrets from you.” She let out a frustrated breath. “You’re moving?”
Nate closed his eyes for a few seconds before looking at her again with a resolved expression.
“Imightbe. And I was going to tell you.”
“When?” She turned toward the kitchen, only then remembering she still had food on the stove and in the oven.
“Soon. I promise. I was just waiting for the right time.”
Head in the oven, Gracie pulled the tray of meatballs out and set them on the cooling rack.
“And when would that have been?” she asked without looking at him. “At your open house party?”
Gracie cringed inwardly, not liking herself very much at the moment. Yeah, he should have said something sooner, but that didn’t mean she needed to be a total bitch about it.
Unfortunately, her mouth had other thoughts.
“You know, Nate. When you said you loved me, I thought that meant we were going to give this thing between us a real try.”
She grabbed the spatula and began scooping the meatballs off the pan and placing them onto a plate.
