I’d wanted to get home. Where I knew Gracie would be.
I didn’t know what the fuck any of it meant. I knew that she was my best friend. I knew that we had crossed a line. And I knew that I wanted to do it again.
I was self-aware enough to know that I was going through something, and it was making me look differently at my life.
This was Gracie.
I could say anything to her.
I was going to talk to her. Maybe she was feeling the same thing I was feeling.
“Bear!” she yelled, and I heard her feet running down the hall.
I turned on my stool as she lunged right into my arms.
“You are not going to believe this,” she said, stepping back with a big smile on her face as Melody came running out of the room because she’d obviously heard the excitement.
“What’s going on?” Melody and I asked at the same time.
Gracie held up her phone. “I had a missed call from Johnny this morning, so I just called him back.”
“What did he say?” I reached for my coffee and took a sip when she stepped back.
“They just signed a huge client that he’s been telling me they were dying to sign. Apparently, he bought two huge condos in a high-rise, and he wants to knock the walls down and make it one big place,” she said, shaking her head with disbelief. “Well, he not only signed with J&J, but they also gave him the links for all the designers in the New York office, and they included mine because this project won’t start until the beginning of October. And guess who he chose?”
“Could it be you?” I asked, my voice laced with teasing.
“It’s me. He picked me.” She had the biggest smile on her face, and it was a reminder that she was leaving, and she was excited about it.
“That’s my girl. Already have your first client and you aren’t even there yet.”
“So proud of you,” Melody said as she locked eyes with me, and I forced a smile. I’d never do anything to dim Gracie’s light.
I pushed to my feet and wrapped my arms around her. “Congrats, Jeege. This is amazing news.”
Melody came over and pushed her way into the hug. “I can’t wait to come visit so we can live ourSex and the Citydreams. You are going to crush it in the Big Apple, Gracie girl!”
We all laughed, but mine felt forced.
Because now I definitely wouldn’t be telling her about the way I’d been feeling.
That would just confuse her.
And I wasn’t a selfish prick. Not where she was concerned.
Another week had gone by, and I’d been swamped at work.
Gracie had taken on a few more jobs with our clients, because Blue Sky Bay was a small town and word traveled fast.
Everyone knew she was doing design for ROD Construction temporarily, and they all wanted her guidance.
She was busy with my family’s home (which was moving along quickly), the Petersons’ place, and a few small jobs for local homeowners who wanted to do updates on different rooms in their houses.
We grabbed a late lunch at the Cozy Griddle to talk about all the projects we had going. We ate burgers and shared a milkshake before Gracie dragged me to an antique store in town for some pieces for the Peterson project.
“This is what I’ll miss most when I leave for New York,” Gracie said as she perused the back of the large store. Personally, I’d never come in here before now. I knew Wanda Waters, the woman who owned the place, but antiquing wasn’t really my thing.
“Not me? You’re going to miss Wanda’s antiques?” I laughed as I reached for the very aged cowboy hat sitting on a table and placed it on my head.
