Grace blinked back the tears. “Kira, I… I don’t even know what to say. Thank you.”
“Of course.” Kira reached out and took her hand. “Honey, I love you, and anything I can do to make your life easier, I’m gonna do it. You’ve taken care of me for so long, it’s nice to return the favour.”
“I love you too,” Grace said. “So much. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Well, you’ll never get the chance to find out.” Kira grinned at her and held up her arm, showing her the friendship bracelet that matched the one on Grace’s arm. “Addie made us identical friendship bracelets so, you know… you’re pretty much stuck with me for life.”
The doorbell rang and Kira jumped up. “I’ll get it. Stay there and drink your tea, Gracie.”
She returned with a brown paper bag with ‘Nan’s Diner’ written across it. “Gideon sent you lunch.”
“He what?”
Kira set the bag on the table. “A guy from Uber Eats just dropped it off. I’m assuming it’s from Gideon.”
She opened the bag and pulled out the carton of takeout before laughing. “Yep, it’s from Gideon.”
She set the rectangular box in front of Grace. Written on the lid in Nan’s neat handwriting, it said, ‘Eat your lunch, then have a nap. G.’
“You heard the man,” Kira said. “Eat your lunch.”
Grace opened the container. It was a grilled chicken sandwich with Nan’s famous potato salad on the side… her favourite.
She dug into the food, suddenly ravenous, as Kira sipped at her tea. “Gideon said you’d be staying with him until you got your new living arrangement sorted out.”
“Did he?” Grace said.
Kira nodded. “Yep. You know you’re welcome to stay with me and Connor, but -”
“You and Connor?” Grace said.
“Didn’t I tell you? Connor is officially moving in with me. He spends all his time at my place anyway. His lease is up next month at his apartment, so we figured, why not. Once his cast is off and he has a bit more mobility, we’re gonna start packing up his stuff.”
“That’s great,” Grace said.
“Yep. I haven’t told Gideon yet, though, so keep it to yourself for now. Not sure what he’s gonna think about his baby sister living in sin,” Kira said with another laugh. “Anyway, you’re welcome to stay with us, but I actually think it would be good for you and Gideon if you stay with him.”
“Why do you think that?” Grace tried to keep her tone casual.
Kira shrugged. “There’s been a lot of tension between the two of you the last few months. You can hardly be together without fighting. I know that siblings fight, but, man, it just seems a little over the top to me. It’ll be good for you to spend time together and get over whatever it is that has the two of you at each other’s throats half the time.”
“We’re not at each other’s throats,” Grace said.
“Well, you’re not as close as you once were,” Kira said. “You can’t deny that. Oh, hey, I talked to Addie this morning. She’s doing better. It’s only been a couple days but just being out of Harmony Falls has helped, I think. She tried to cancel a bunch of stuff for the wedding, but apparently Harrison had already done it. Douchebag. He couldn’t be bothered to help with any details to plan the wedding but can’t cancel the thing fast enough. God, I’m so glad Addie isn’t marrying him. She’s way too good for him. She’s super worried that people are gossiping about her and Harrison canceling the wedding, but I haven’t heard anything yet, have you?”
“No, but they know we’re best friends with her.” Grace bit into her sandwich.
“True. Still, I don’t think that many people know yet. This isn’t news that people keep to themselves. But I told Addie it didn’t matter what people said and if Harrison even tried to make it sound like this was her fault, she absolutely was in her right to tell everyone about how he wears a dog collar and a leash during sex. There isn’t anything wrong with that, but the cheating asshole deserves to have the entire town know about his kinky side. In fact, I think we should …”
As Kira went on with her revenge fantasy on Harrison, Grace smiled to herself and listened silently as she ate. Gideon’s thoughtfulness was making her feel rather… gooey inside. He’d taken care of everything for her this morning and while that was a foreign feeling to her, she couldn’t deny that it was nice to be taken care of for a change. To feel like she mattered to someone.
“Anyway, I should get going. I have a showing in half an hour.” Kira stood and kissed her on the forehead. “Do what Gideon says. Eat your lunch and have a nap.”
Grace smiled at her. “I might sneak in a hot bath as well.”
“You do you, boo,” Kira said. “Love you, Gracie.”
“I love you too, Kira. Thank you for the stuff.”
“You bet. Text me if you need anything else.”
She left, and Grace flipped the lid over on her takeout container. She traced the message from Gideon before smiling and eating the rest of her lunch.
Chapter Fifteen
Gideon took the chicken out of the roaster and set it on the cutting board. “Don’t even think about it, Tank.”
The big dog huffed loudly before backing away from the counter and sitting.
“Don’t give me that look.” Gideon added the sliced zucchini to the hot pan. “I learned my lesson about letting you stand too close to the counter the first time you stole the chicken. You keep your butt three feet from the counter at all times.”
He shut the rice off and moved it to the back burner. He would finish sautéing the zucchini, and then wake up Grace. He hated to wake her, but it was almost seven thirty and she needed to eat.
“That smells delicious.”
He turned and smiled at Grace. She was wearing a t-shirt and leggings and her hair was in a bun on top of her head. There were still some slight shadows under her eyes, but she looked much less tired than she had the night before.
Tank stood and stretched before joining Grace in the doorway. He leaned his head against her hip, and she petted his neck.
“How are you feeling?” Gideon said.
“Better,” she said. “Thanks to your sister bringing me some toiletries and clothes, I had a hot bath after lunch and feel a little more human now. You should have woken me when you got home. I could have helped with dinner.”
“You need your rest,” he said. “But you can set the table for me if you’d like.”
“Sure.” She washed her hands and set the table quickly, grabbing the plates and the utensils from the cupboard and drawer without having to ask where they were.
Almost a year ago, she’d stopped coming to the barbeques whenever they were at his house. He knew why she did, and at the time he told himself it was for the best. But now, having Grace in his kitchen again, watching her set the table while Tank followed her and glued himself to her side whenever she came to a stop, made Gideon’s chest ache.
He couldn’t lie to himself that this wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted Grace in his home, in his bed, in his life, every night for the rest of his life, but it could never happen. Being with him would only put Grace in danger.