Page 14 of Beautiful Mess

“Hey, Danielle, it’s Grace. How are you doing?”

“Hey, girl!” she exclaims. “You know, I’m doing alright. Ian got promoted at work, and it came with a nice little pay raise, so we’re re-doing the deck out back. How’re you, sweetie? How’re those little kiddos of yours?”

“We’re all good!” I reply with a smile. This is probably my favorite thing about living in a small town. The way everybody knows you, how they genuinely care how you’re doing. Some people dislike it because they feel like everyone’s always in your business, but I love it. Chatting has always been my strong suit. “Beau just started his second year of baseball. He’s getting so good. Oh, and Blakely starts gymnastics soon.”

“Oh, she’ll love that,” Danielle gushes. “My niece has been doing that for years. She lives down in Georgia.”

“Yeah, she’s pretty excited, and so am I.” Chuckling, I say, “I was super into gymnastics when I was a kid. I did it all the way until the end of middle school, then stopped when I broke my ankle.”

“Ouch! Well, I’m sure that won’t happen to Miss Blakely.”

“Let’s hope,” I reply with a small laugh. “She was supposed to start this week, but she’s got a pretty gnarly double ear infection, and she can’t start next weekend because we have a thing at the school with her class. So, she’s gotta wait two whole weeks, and you’d think I was telling her she had to give up one of her limbs.”

Danielle laughs. “Oh, kids are a hoot,” she murmurs. “What can I help you with today? As much as I’d love to catch up with you all day, I’d imagine you called for something else entirely.”

“You would be right, but catching up with you is always a bonus. You have got to stop by the bakery one day soon. I’ve got a caramel apple covered in Oreos with your name on it.”

“Ah, you’ve always known the way to my heart, Miss Grace. You’ve got yourself a deal.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” I chuff with a smile. “I’m hoping to talk with Alan or the other doctor. The new one… I don’t know why I can’t remember his name.”

Alan Schumer and Charles Thomas opened this practice many moons ago, and they’ve worked side by side up until Charles retired earlier this year. Some new doctor took his place, but I haven’t been in here since he started. Alan has been my primary care doctor since I was a born, and he’s been my children’s from the start as well.

“Dr. Winston Parker is the new Dr. Thomas,” Danielle supplies. “Dr. Schumer is with a patient right now, and he actually has back-to-backs all morning, but I think you’re in luck, because Dr. Parker just got here and he doesn’t have a patient for another half an hour. Let me patch you through to him, sweetie.”

“Thanks, girl. And remember, don’t be a stranger at the bakery!”

The dull elevator music hums in my ear for a minute before the line connects and a thick midwestern accent takes its place. “This is Dr. Parker. Is this Grace?”

“It sure is,” I reply sweetly. “Thanks for taking my call, Dr. Parker. I know we haven’t met yet, but me and my kids are patients of Dr. Schumer’s, so I’m sure we’ll be running into each other one of these days.”

“I look forward to it, ma’am. How can I help you today?”

Lord, his deep voice sounds hot.Chuckling to myself at the thought, I dive into the speech I wrote out for myself, going over the fundraiser as a whole, then getting into what we’re asking of the businesses around town. Dr. Parker graciously agrees to donate free physicals for whichever family has the winning bid.

“That’s so generous of you, Dr. Parker,” I murmur as I check his name off my list.

“It’s truly the least I could do. And while you’re at it, you should put Dr. Schumer down for the same.”

Breathing out a laugh, I say, “Well, I should probably talk to him and confirm first.”

“Ah, trust me. He’ll be on board.”

“Alright, if you say so,” I reply, making a note on my paper to confirm with Alan anyway. “You know, if you’re ever in the mood for a sweet treat, you should stop by my bakery. It’s down on Main Street, and it’s called Bake Me Happy.We’ve got a ton of goodies, and it’ll be on me as a thank you for your kind donation.”

I can hear him snap his fingers through the line. “Oh, I’ve walked past that place a few times on my way to the grill. Wait, are you the one I always see inside with the blonde hair and the pink polka dot apron?”

Chuckling, I say, “Yup, that’d be me. There almost every day. Confessions of a workaholic.”

“Hey, it’s not easy running a small business. I applaud your dedication, ma’am.”

“Please, you can call me Grace.”

“Well, Grace, you can call me Winston.”Oh, awkward.When I was a teenager, I had a hedgehog named Winston. I bite back a laugh as he adds, “It was a pleasure to meet you over the phone, and I look forward to meeting you in person.”

There’s a flirty edge to his tone, and despite not knowing what this guy looks like, I don’t hate it. In fact, I welcome it after the confusing incident with Conway in my office the other day. I still can’t wrap my head around it. We’ve been in each other’s proximity many times over the years, especially since our girls became friends, and he’sneverdone anything remotely like he did. I internally scold myself for the way my body heats at the memory of him looking so damn cocky sitting behind my desk, and then the way he positioned his chair so close to me after I booted him out of my spot. His rich, smoky scent made me dizzy, and I had to keep my eyes away from thevery evidentbulge in his pants as he sat relaxed in the folding chair that was way too small for him. When he kicked his legs wide and interlaced his fingers behind his head, I nearly combusted on the spot.

It’s maddening how sexy Conway is. He’s a smug asshole of epic proportions, who does nothing but get under my skin any chance he can get. He has no right being attractive. And I’m the desperate, sex-deprived fool pathetic enough to notice. I truly don’t understand what happened that day. In the fourteen years since that night he drove me home, he’s never once acknowledged the kiss or the way I exploded on him after. Like it wasn’t a good enough memory to keep, and I won’t lie, that stung. After the cheating and then the rejection on top of it, him acting completely aloof was another slice to my already tattered ego.

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