Page 26 of Amazing Grace

‘You are quite unbelievable, you know,’ she said, not intending it as a compliment.

‘Just think about it. You know I’m right. Just say the word and you know I’m yours – and we could be a happy family again, for Archie’s sake.’ He turned and walked towards the front door.

Archie came bounding down the stairs and flung himself into her arms. ‘I love you, Mummy. See you after school tomorrow.’

‘Bye, darling. Mummy loves you to the moon and back.’ She kissed his head.

It wouldn’t be that much longer that he’d let her do this. He was growing up fast. And she was noticing things every day, like when she tried to hold his hand, he’d hold hers for a second and drop it; and when she told him she loved him on their walk to school, he just ran in without looking back. She wondered if she’d ever get over the feeling of missing him so much every time he went to his dad’s.

As she waved them off, Grace wondered, not for the first time, whether she should say yes to Mark and mend their broken family.

15

Vinnie was arriving at seven thirty to take her to the pictures. She was really looking forward to seeing him again, even though she had such a lot on her mind this evening. He seemed to have such a calming and comfortable effect on her. She didn’t feel quite so nervous about seeing him this time. He knocked on the door at seven thirty on the dot, and it made her smile; she loved the fact that, unlike Mark, he turned up at the time he said he would. She hoped that this wasn’t just the good behaviour that everyone displayed when they first started dating someone.

She glanced in the mirror, wondering if her jeans and sparkly top looked OK, grabbed her linen jacket from the bottom of the banister and opened the door with a big grin on her face.

‘Hey, beautiful,’ he said as he kissed her cheek. They walked to the car where he held the door open. ‘Your carriage awaits.’ She went to get in the car, but he stopped her. ‘Just one minute, lady, not so fast.’

He leaned forward, closed his eyes and kissed her, long and hard, on the lips. ‘Mmm. That’s better! I’ve been waiting for that all weekend.’

As he closed her door and walked round to the driver’s side, she touched her lips, which seemed to be on fire, and beamed from ear to ear. He climbed in beside her and she had to tell herself to stop grinning like the village idiot, but she really felt that the time she spent with Vinnie was definitely better than that without him. She was determined that despite the conversation she’d had with Mark earlier, she was going to forget about everything else and relax into a lovely evening with Vinnie.

‘So, as I’m not sure what sort of films you like, I’m going to give you a choice of two and let you pick if that’s OK? We could either see that new Melissa McCarthy comedy or the new Tom Cruise action film. Which would you prefer?’

Grace knew that she had to stop comparing Vinnie to Mark but, on the very rare occasions that they’d ever had a night out at the pictures, he’d told her what he was going to see and she was asked if she wanted to go along. To have a choice was a real treat.

‘Being a massive Melissa McCarthy fan, that would be my choice, if you don’t mind, that is.’

‘To be honest with you, Grace, I’m really glad you said that. I can’t bloody stand that little short-arse! I just thought I’d give you the option in case you had a crush on him.’

He grinned at her and her heart skipped a beat. He was looking so handsome tonight. The blue of his t-shirt set off his twinkly cornflower-blue eyes perfectly.God, he’d make beautiful children, she thought, suddenly reining herself in as her mind worked overtime.

They chatted comfortably about their respective weekends. He’d enjoyed some time with Ruth and her family, and Grace told him about their weekend in Wales. He seemed to be really interested in finding out more about Archie. He had two nieces and a nephew and talked about how much he loved spending time with them, so he certainly wasn’t a stranger to having kids around. Always a good point when you were single and had a child. Before they knew it, they’d arrived at the cinema.

‘My treat,’ Vinnie said as he paid the cashier before Grace even had a chance to get her purse out of her handbag.

While Mark had been generous, he’d also always made her feel that she should be grateful that he kept them clothed and housed, despite the fact that Grace was looking after their child and felt she earned it. But with Vinnie, she had the feeling that he was just trying to be a gentleman. Grace loved the fact that now she was working, she had money of her own to spend. She was still getting used to that after being a stay-at-home mum for the biggest part of Archie’s life.

‘Well, in that case, I insist on buying the popcorn and the drinks,’ she said.

The film was hilarious. They both laughed till tears streamed down their cheeks and chatted about it all the way back to Grace’s house. This time, when Vinnie pulled up, she asked him if he had to be up early or whether he wanted a coffee. It was only just after ten o’clock.

‘And I do mean coffee, young man!’ she said jokingly when his eyebrows raised cheekily.

They’d had such a lovely evening but the thought of anything more at this stage, even though she really liked him, just made her feel sick with nerves.

‘Go on then, I’ll have a quick one,’ he said.

This time Grace raised her eyebrows at him, and as he realised how wrong that sounded, he blushed. Grace laughed at him as they headed into the house. It felt good to laugh and she realised again how comfortable she was around Vinnie, even after just a short time.

While the kettle was boiling, Vinnie stood close to her and her nerves were tingling. She bit her lip as his head bent down towards her, and his lips were what seemed like a millimetre from hers when her mobile rang. After a second or two he stepped back, and she grabbed her handbag and fished her phone out. It was Mark.

‘I’m so sorry but I’m going to have to take this. It’s Archie’s dad.’

‘Of course. Can I just pop to your loo?’

She pointed to the doorway at the side of the kitchen.

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