“Your mother didn’t sleep well. She finally invited your grandparents to the wedding last night over the phone.”
I brace myself and wait for the rest of the story.
“She wasn’t expecting them to accept the invitation. She’s been a nervous wreck ever since.”
I can only imagine. “Where is she?”
“At the diner. I’m sure seeing you will ease some of the nerves.”
After telling him I’m heading back out, I zip my coat up again and dig out my purse from the bag on the floor, then leave.
When I get there, Mom and Beverly are seated at a booth near the counter with papers scattered on the table. After a round of hugs, I join my mother as Beverly leaves to take the order of a couple who just arrived.
“Chris told me the good news.” Her tired gaze snaps up to mine. “Or bad news?” I add quickly. I hate seeing her like this. “It’s your special day. Your happy day. You shouldn’t invite them if you don’t want to.”
She sighs, pulling her dreads into a ponytail and tying them together with the hairband around her wrist. “I thought . . . I mean . . . you get along quite well with them. I figured it wouldn’t hurt since you’ll be there.”
My heart aches. She invited them because of me? “It’s your wedding, Mom. Yours. I do get along with them, but I haven’t forgotten how they treated you when you needed them the most. I want you to have fun on your wedding day, and not be miserable because you’re trying to please me.”
She nods. “Okay.”
“So, just say the word. I’ll call and talk to them.”
She frowns and averts her gaze to the papers in front of her. Her throat spasms as she swallows. “We’re not uninviting them. I don’t know why I care, but I do. God, I do. I want them to see that I’m happy. That I found a good man who loves me and doesn’t care about my past.” She shrugs helplessly. “I want them to care that their daughter survived and raised their beautiful granddaughter.” Tears shimmer in her eyes. “Is that too much to ask?”
I shake my head, blinking hard to keep my own tears in check. “You deserve only the best. And if you want them at your wedding, then we’ll make it happen.”
Beverly returns and sits across from us. They catch me up on what they were working on—putting together an invitation list, then work on a seating chart.
After almost an hour, the door to the diner swings open, ushering in a gust of cold wind. The air around me shifts, and my body fires up. Only one person has that effect on me.
I glance up from the notebook in front of me just in time to see Seth already inside, holding the door wider for Sol as he balances his weight on the crutches. I sit up straighter and hold my breath.
Sol hasn’t noticed me yet, so I take a few seconds to absorb him. He’s wearing his favorite blue cap backward with locks of hair curling at the nape of his neck, scruffy jaw, jeans hugging his narrow hips, and a hip-length black coat.
God, he looks so hot.
“Hey Grace,” Seth greets with a wave and a grin, snapping me out of my thoughts. I wave back with a, “Hey, guys,” and Sol’s head snaps up. His mouth curls into a smile, and I feel it deep inside my soul.
Once they’re sitting in a booth several feet away, I excuse myself to go take their order, and I hear my mother snicker under her breath.
Moments after Seth and I are seated, Grace wanders over, filling my vision and my senses before I can collect myself. The minute I stepped into the diner and saw her, my thoughts scattered.
Act cool.
Pretend Grace is just another hot girl. I fail miserably. Grace is not just another hot girl. She’s the girl.
“What can I get you guys?” she asks, her eyes moving to Seth first, then to me, smiling. They linger a little too long on me before sliding back to Seth, giving me the chance to check her out in the fitted dark blue jeans that hugged her hips and legs, a white sweater, and knee-high brown boots.
“What about you? Sol?” she asks, and I realize I’ve been staring at her for the length of time it took for Seth to order. My cheeks heat. I point at Seth with my chin, and blurt out, “I’ll take what he’s having.”
“Hot milk and a muffin?” Grace asks, mouth twitching with amusement. Seth snorts and mutters, “Real smooth, dude.”
I nod. Real men drink milk and all that, right? “Sure.”
She chuckles, walking toward the counter. I trail her, watching the way her jeans tighten on her backside, her hips swaying with every step. God, I’m getting hard. Grabbing my coat, I subtly pull it across my lap.
Seth groans. “Watching you two do that flirt-not-flirting thing is torture.”
“I wasn’t flirting,” I protest.
He snorts. “Yeah, right. You were staring at her like you wanted to do some major damage on her. Sexy damage.”
I exhale, exasperated. “What do you know? You’re a kid.”
He cocks his head to the side. “Probably more than you. I’m seventeen, dude.” He has a point. I got in the game pretty late. “You know, I keep asking myself how you survived without having sex. Respect, man.”
Grace chooses that moment to bring our order. After setting it in front of us, she asks if we need anything else. Seth answers for both of us. I’m hopeless when this girl is around. She walks away, and I force my eyes to stay on the glass of milk.
“So you left the seminary for her, yet you’re here, and she’s way over there, and you’re eye-fucking each other.”
“It’s complicated.” I sip my milk, then shove half the muffin in my mouth.
“She’s really hot.”
“Shut your mouth,” I growl at him, and he laughs.
“I’m not interested in Grace. My girlfriend would knock my balls back into my stomach if she heard me. She’s jealous, which is kind of hot, know what I’m saying?”
The jealous part, I understand. When I visited Grace in Northford last year and met Levi, I wanted to do more than shove his balls into his stomach.
“This is good.” I raise my glass, desperate to change the topic. “Have you decided which colleges you’ll be applying to?”
“Changing the subject, huh? Nice, Callan.” He laughs. “I haven’t decided yet. Have you?”
“Soon. Luke and I plan to visit a few colleges in April.” My skin prickles with awareness seconds before Grace reappears in my line of vision.
“Hey, Seth. Can I steal him from you?”
“Of course.” Then the little shit turns to me and winks. “You don’t mind, do you?”
I bite back a smile and look at Grace. “What’s up?”
“Want to get out of here?”
“Sure,” I answer, lifting the glass to my lips and downing the rest of my milk.
I grab my crutches and stand, meeting Debbie’s and Beverly’s curious stares. Seth doesn’t join us. He just waves at us, pulls out his cell, and starts typing. So I follow Grace as she heads for the door.
“Where are we going?” I ask her when we’re sitting inside her tiny car, my body vibrating with anticipation.
“It’s a surprise.” She flashes me a smile before connecting her cell and tapping play on a playlist. Seconds later, Linkin Park’s “Numb” fills the small space. She starts the car and drives off.