Page 117 of Fake Married to the Grumps

She is beautiful.I had never forgotten how those sage-green eyes made me feel. Like now, they melt my insides and fill me with a heat that burns me to the core.

Gracie’s presence has always had this effect on me.But she can never know that because it is of no good for either of us.

She is the kind of woman I should avoid. She believes in sunshine and magic.The fairytale stuff you read in books.

I am a realist, and, in the real world, there is no sunshine and magic.

I smile when she finally regains her breath, tips her head back, and bursts into a full laugh. The rumble of her merriments strokes something in me and makes my heart tingle.

“I need to get back to work,” Gracie says and turns away from me. “I don’t have time for this.”

I grab her arm and spin her back to face me. Her eyes land on mine before my gaze shifts to her lips.

She is driving me insane, and I’ve only been with her for a few minutes. Will this plan work?

“Let me go,” she says in a stern voice, then wrangles her arm out of my grip. I let her go because I don’t want to hurt her, and she staggers back, her smaller frame shrinking as she lowers her eyes and huffs out a deep breath.

“I own the bookstore now, and I’d like for us to work together. I’ll be making lots of radical changes and firing some of the staff. I’d like you to stay, and I’d like for your friend, Natalie, to stay too because she’s cute and that’s good for business.”

Gracie scoffs and shakes her head. “You can’t be here because of me,” she says, combing her fingers through her hair, and swaying her wavy strands to one side.

“We’re discussing business now, Gracie,” I answer, not wanting to dwell on our previous conversation. Telling her I came back for her was a slip. Her nearness clouds my thinking and makes my heart pound in ways I don’t understand.

I thought the years apart would have crushed these feelings. Gracie was the reason I left Golden Bay to play for the Washington Wizards. Six years on the team and finally all crumbed around me. In my weakest moment, all I could think of was returning home to where I was the happiest.

Of course, my manager had not supported my move back to Golden Bay, but the relocation is temporary until the rumors blow over and my team lifts my suspension.

This time, I must win Gracie back.Because I need her.

She’s still speaking, and I don’t hear her because I’m lost in my thoughts.

“Did you hear a word I just said?” I love the sound of her voice, but I honestly did not hear a thing she said.

“I get it,” I lied, then brushed a hand over my hair. “I’ll try my best.”

Gracie arches a brow. “You didn’t hear me, did you?” She figures out my lie with ease because she knows me well.

Gracie and her brother, Jace, have been family for as long as I can remember. They understand me better than anyone else. I fear Gracie understands me a little too much.

Everything about that scared me back then.

“How are you going to manage the business when you have no idea what we do?”

“I have you,” I answer with a smile. “I know I’ll manage. All you have to do is follow my lead.”

Her defiant glare returns. She tips her head to one side, assesses me closely, and then murmurs, “You wish.”

I chuckle as she walks away, and I admire the smooth sway of her hips from side to side. Gracie has aged well in the six years since I last saw her. She’s added a little weight in the right places. Her skin is more supple than before, and she still has cute freckles.

That scary tingle returns to my heart as I watch her attend to a new customer.Did I make the right choice coming back here? Or will my plan end in a disaster with the one woman I never want to hurt hating me in the end?

***

My first day as owner of Espresso Books didn’t go as planned. There’s a total of six staff here besides Gracie and Natalie. Three are baristas, one is a janitor, and the other two are book sales reps.

Gracie does all their jobs anyway, and I was here early enough this morning to realize that the book sales reps waltz in whenever they want.

“This is bad for the business,” I scold, as we hold a meeting that morning. Gracie isn’t listening to what I’m saying. I sense her hostility stems from the fact that she’s still annoyed at the way I ended things six years ago.

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