I grab her a pill and then head back to the vegetables. I start to peel the carrots, melting butter in a pan and sautéing some onions.
“I’m making chicken noodle soup. Is that okay? Or I can make something else,” I say as I finish cutting up the carrots and move onto the celery.
“Chicken noodle soup sounds perfect,” Gracelyn says as she finishes off her bottle of water. “Can I help you with anything?” She asks.
“No, I got it. Let me spoil you,” I say with a wink and I see her cheeks turn a slight pink.
We’re silent for a few minutes as I get the vegetables into the pan and the chicken in the oven. Gracelyn grabbed her laptop at some point and I laugh quietly when I turn around and see her busy typing away on it.
I let her work, knowing how important her job is to her. The soup starts to boil as I roll out the dough for some homemade noodles.
“Did your mom make you soup when you were sick as a kid?” I ask her and I hear her fingers slow on the keyboard.
“Not really. My parents worked a lot. Bella’s did too so we kind of raised each other. There was always someone home but we didn’t have a lot of supervision. What about you?” She asks, closing her laptop and setting it aside.
“She used to. She was the best. The kind of mom who sewed costumes for school plays and Halloween. She made me this pea costume one year. I hated that thing, but she was so proud of it. I got made fun of so much but it was worth it, you know. She told everyone who commented on it, that she had made it for me.”
“She sounds really great,” Gracelyn says quietly and I nod, looking away.
“Yeah, she was. My dad worked a lot. He died when I was twenty from a heart attack and then it was just my mom and me. She passed away three years ago from ovarian cancer.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss, Dash,” Gracelyn says softly and I nod.
“Thanks.”
I finish up the soup and get Gracelyn and I each a bowl before I join her at the counter. We talk about growing up here in Portland. She tells me about her and Bella when they were young and about going to college together. She briefly mentions working at her old company before she moves onto them starting Ivy and Fern.
We move back into the living room after dinner with the intent of watching some TV before bed but we end up talking instead. I tell her about college and starting my software developer company when I was just twenty-four.
It’s close to midnight when Gracelyn’s eyes start to drift shut and I scoop her up in my arms and carry her upstairs. I bring her into my bedroom and lay her down on the bed, tucking her in.
I’m about to head into the bathroom to get ready for bed myself when Gracelyn rolls over and brushes a quick kiss against my lips. She sighs, settling down under the covers and falling asleep.
I stand there stunned for a minute before I smile, brushing my fingers over my lips and heading into the closet to get ready for bed.
Chapter 7
Gracelyn
* * *
My phone buzzing wakes me up and I roll over in bed to find it plugged in and resting on the nightstand. I pick it up and smile when I see it’s Bella.
“Hey, what’s up?” I ask when I answer the phone.
“I was just seeing how you were feeling. Do you need anything?” She asks and I can hear the concern in her voice.
“No, I’m fine. We grabbed my prescription yesterday after we left the hospital. I’m just going to work on the thanksgiving event a bit and try to rest.”
“Do you need help with that? I can help now that the Halloween one is done,” she offers.
“I’m going to try to nail down everything with Dash today so that I can get it ordered this week.”
“How are things going with Dash?” Bella asks and I can tell that she’s curious about what is going on between us.
“Fine. Nothing to report,” I say quickly.
“Uh huh,” Bella says, a smile in her voice.
“I would never– Bella, you know that I would never put Ivy and Fern’s reputation in danger. I’m not–”
“Whoa! Gracelyn, I know. I know that what the jerk said at your last job was a bunch of bullshit. If you like Dash, then go for it. It’s obvious that he’s already all in with you.”
“Funny how you can see that but you never realized that Harry was head over heels in love with you for all these years,” I tease her and I hear her laugh.
“Maybe it’s more obvious from an outside perspective,” she muses and I have to agree.
“Now, tell me what you’re thinking of for menus?”
I sit up farther in bed and lean against the headboard as Bella and I discuss menu options and a décor theme. I tell her what colors I’ve been thinking of using and the floral arrangements I was debating for the centerpieces.
Dash wanders into the bedroom sometime later, when I’m wrapping up my phone call with Bella and I smile at him slightly as I tell Bella I’ll talk to her later.
“Morning,” I say as I hit the end button on the screen.
“Morning. I see you’re already hard at work,” he says as he heads into the closet and comes back out.
He passes me a new t-shirt and pair of sweatpants and I thank him as I try to remember everything that Bella and I discussed about the party.
“We were talking about the thanksgiving party. Going over the menu and color scheme. Did you have a guest list yet? We’ll need to know if any of them have allergies or anything,” I say distractedly as I type out notes in my phone.
“It was just going to be an intimate gathering. I don’t think anyone has any allergies,” Dash says vaguely and I pause to look up at him.
“Okay,” I say slowly. “Can I still get a list of names? I’ll need to send out invites and double check about any allergies.”
“No need to send out invites.”
“Why is that?” I ask, sliding out of bed.
“Because it’s just going to be the two of us,” he says with an embarrassed wince.
“Excuse me?” I yell.
Chapter 8
Dash
* * *
Well, that was a mistake.
Gracelyn looks furious as she stares across the counter at me. For the first time, I realize what a dumb, horrible plan this was. I had just been so desperate to get close to her. I’ve spent most of my life dealing with computers and codes and for the first time, I regret that I don’t have better people skills.
I open my mouth, my brain scrambling to figure out how to fix this. Gracelyn is already storming out of the room though. She types something out on her phone quickly and I have a feeling that Bella will be here soon to pick her up and take her away from me.
“Why would you do this?” She throws over her shoulder as she hurries around the living room, picking up her laptop and bag.
“I was interested in you. I have been since I saw you at that wedding. I just didn’t… I didn’t know how to approach you. I thought if we just spent some time together, then you would fall for me too.”
“So you thought that lying to me would make me fall for you?” Gracelyn asks, finally stopping to turn to look at me.