Page 12 of You Complicate Me

And with that, he plucked the check from her limp fingers, pushed off the wall and swaggered toward the register.

It took every bit of strength Grace had to not slide down the wall. She glanced over at the young mother who was staring at her open-mouthed, obviously having witnessed the whole show. “Wow,” she mouthed.

Grace nodded, still shell-shocked. “I know, right?”

The woman gave her a thumbs-up when Grace found her knees and managed to walk toward the register. “I’d go for it. Good luck, girl,” the woman said, shaking her head, looking awed. The little girl giggled. Grace gave her a finger wave.

At the register, Nick was talking to Nadine in low tones. Curious, she sidled up behind him.

“So, you’ll send the pie over after we leave?”

“Sure thing, sweetie,” Nadine said. “But are you sure you don’t want her to know? I’m sure she’d want to thank you.”

Nick visibly grimaced. “God, no.” He handed her his credit card. “Go ahead and add her tab to mine, while you’re at it. Plus whatever her gas total is.”

Nadine finished the transaction and Nick grabbed Grace’s to-go bag. He turned on his heel and stopped short when he saw how close she was.

A slight pink tint lit his perfect cheekbones, making Grace realize just how uncomfortable he was to be caught doing something nice for someone. Typical alpha male, she thought. Didn’t want anyone to go around thinking he was anything other than a great big jerk.

Then it occurred to her that the balance of power in their relationship had just shifted in her favor. If she wanted to, she could make him regret the little stunt he pulled to snatch the check from her.

But she just couldn’t do it. Because the impossible had happened.

Grace had officially developed a crush that wasn’t solely physical on her soon-to-be brother-in-law. She hadn’t had such mushy, girly feelings since Jaime Lannister battled a bear—one-handed—to save Brienne of Tarth on Game of Thrones.

But unlike Jaime Lannister, Nick O’Connor was very real and about to be related to her. Which made her life more like an episode of The Jerry Springer show than Game of Thrones. Although, the Lannisters had a decidedly Springer-like relationship themselves, she supposed, so either example would work in her current…

She gave herself a mental pinch. So not the point.

“What?” Nick grumbled as she stared up at him.

“Nothing,” Grace said as mildly as she could manage, given the circumstances. “That was just a really nice thing to do.”

He frowned. “Anyone would’ve done the same.”

She didn’t argue the point, but she was pretty sure her ex had never donated so much as a penny to the take-a-penny tray at the Gas-N-Sip.

Nick mumbled something about filling up the Escape and stalked out the door.

“You got yourself a good one there, hon,” Nadine said, nodding to Nick’s retreating form.

“Well, you’re half right,” she muttered. “He is a good one.”

Too bad he wasn’t hers.

Chapter Six

Grace ignored Nick’s vehement protests to wait for him to finish pumping their gas before she jogged across the street to get a room at the Sleep Tight motor lodge. She wasn’t trying to be contrary, she told herself. She just needed a little space. Some fresh air to clear her head.

But as she stepped into the motel office, Grace instantly regretted her independence.

It wasn’t the décor of the office that bothered her. She was, after all, one of a very small group of people who didn’t mind ‘70s décor. Grace thought green shag carpet and gold-flecked Formica counters were funky and retro, and so uncool they were cool again.

What truly freaked Grace out was the leering greeting she received from the motel’s night manager, who looked like every serial killer she’d ever seen on Criminal Minds.

“How can I help you, beautiful?”

The emphasis he put on “I” and “you” was disturbing, as was his greasy mop of thinning, dishwater-blond hair. He grinned at her, revealing that he had parsley—at least she hoped it was parsley—stuck between his two front teeth. Grace suppressed a shudder.

---