Page 52 of Fate on the Ice

“It feels like financial pressure no matter what,” she says.

“Work at the salon, figure out whatever it is you want. You have no pressure from me. I love you, Grace, and I’m going to take care of you.”

She shifts, and I know she’s sitting up and likely wants me to look at her. So, I do, only cracking my eyes. It’s about all I can manage right now. I watch her with hooded lids, wondering what her response is going to be. How stubborn she’s going to be.

Grace surprises me. “I’ll never be able to run away, will I?” she asks.

My lips twitch into a smirk. “Not for an asinine reason, no.”

“And it was an asinine reason, wanting you to be happy?”

I cup her cheek, my thumb sliding across her bottom lip as I look into her eyes. “It is when you’re the one who makes me happy. The rest is just icing on the cake. I get to play the game with you in my bed. That is all I need.”

“What about these guys?” she asks.

“They’ll always be my best friends, my brothers. But there’s no other woman for me—just you.”

Chapter

Twenty-Five

GRACE

The salon comes into view, and I think about going back to the house to take care of Otto. But he demands that I go to work, probably because he’s tired of me babying him. I’ve been hovering, and even the doctor said he was able to return to light workouts at the gym.

He’s not even taking pain meds anymore, and his antibiotics are almost finished. He’s almost as good as new, bionic cheek and all.

But I don’t want to leave him alone, not because I don’t think he’s okay, but more because I’m not okay. I’m trying to be, and I don’t think Hayze will be back, but I’m terrified I’ll always look over my shoulder for him.

And when I’m hiding at Otto’s, I am warm and safe. So, I know I’m being selfish because he needs his space. I know it isn’t healthy to hide away and that I’m just as safe in this place as I am at his.

I should also go back to work. He can pay for a lot of things, which he’s declared he will. But Otto should not have to pay for everything. So, my small part-time hourly wage is going to be as much help as I can do right now.

It makes me feel somewhat less selfish, but I know without a doubt that I am not going to put a dent into what it costs to live in this world. So, I’m going to have to figure something else out, but unlike just a few short weeks ago, I’m not desperate.

Not completely, anyway.

I’m still a little desperate because I don’t want to be a burden, not to anyone, and especially not to Otto. I love him. Reaching out, I wrap my fingers around the doorknob and tug it open.

The music is on, the women are chatting, and calmness washes over me. This is home. Otto’s place and here. I feel at peace. Every part of my soul is calm, easy, and happy. It doesn’t matter that my parents are living in their own selfish bubbles.

It doesn’t matter that I’ve been expelled from school. Because all is right within me. Here and beside Otto—I am home.

The chatting stops, and I feel all eyes swing to me. I recognize a couple of the ladies in the chairs, but they aren’t the ones I’m looking at. My eyes well with tears as Brooklynn rushes toward me.

Her arms wrap around me, and I feel her breath exhale against my ear. “Thank God you’re home. Right where you belong.”

“I was stupid,” I say.

She grips my shoulders, taking a step backward as she straightens her arms. Her eyes focus on mine before she speaks. “You were no such thing. You loved him so much that you wanted to give up your happiness for his. That’s bravery, not stupidity.”

“It’s stupid,” I argue with a giggle. “But thank you for not making me feel that way.”

“Well,” a voice calls out as the chair beside us spins around.

Glancing down, I smile at the sight of Lorelai sitting across from me. She’s got foils in her hair and is wearing a smile on her face. I don’t know her well, but what I do know I like. She stands to wrap her arms around me in a quick hug.

“I’m glad you’re back,” she murmurs before taking a couple of steps backward.

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